#assist refugees and soldiers

[sadbicth]

israel posted a video of them giving water bottles to palestinians on a beach, then destroyed their luggage and shot at them after they stopped recording.

israel posted a photo of one of their soldiers "assisting" with an elderly man, then they shot him twice in the back and killed him.

in 2015, the idf posted pr photos of an israeli soldier giving water to an elderly palestinian woman, only for them to execute her after the photo was taken.

in 2005, an idf soldier emptied his rifle into a 13-year-old palestinian schoolgirl. he said he would have done the same thing if she was 3-years-old. he was acquitted of all charged.

israel claimed that hamas beheaded 40 israeli babies and then a month later cut off power to a palestinian hospital where premature babies were on incubators.

israel bombed a group of children collecting rainwater.

israel shot and killed two palestinian children playing with their scooter.

israel shot a hard of hearing girl in the face with a stun grenade and broke her jaw.

israel is using bombs with blades that are designed to cause maximum damage to the person in range.

israel forced medical workers at al-Nasr medical center to leave babies in incubators in order to evacuate the hospital they were bombing.

israel turned off power to hospitals in palestine, forcing nurses and doctors to use their phone flashlights when treating patients.

israel raised their flag over Al Shifa hospital.

israel has blown up the chambers of the palestinian legislative council.

israel targeted a "suspicious vehicle containing several terrorists”, meanwhile the only people in the car were three girls, ages 10, 12, and 14, their grandmother, and their mother. the only survivor was the three girls' mother.

israel planted a copy of mein kampf in a children's bedroom in a gazan house they claim hamas was hiding in.

israel poured fake blood onto the floor of an israeli child's bedroom and claimed hamas killed them.

israeli soldiers posted a video of them dancing on gazan graves.

israel posted a video showing a calendar in a palestinian children's hospital was a hamas guard list because it was written in arabic.

israel was using white phosphorus on hospitals.

israel bombed a refugee camp.

israel has burned olive trees in palestine.

israel has put cement into the water supply of palestine.

israel claimed that they found tunnels under Al Shifa hospital, only for it to be exposed that those tunnels are actually in sweden.

israel built a bunker and command room under Al Shifa hospital in 1983, only for them to now say that they are hamas tunnels.

israeli police arrested an israeli high school teacher, who posted on facebook expressing sympathy with palestinian civilians who have been killed.

israeli soldiers filmed themselves throwing a stun grenade into a palestinian mosque.

we are witnessing a genocide in real time framed under the guise of stopping hamas. israel has been terrorizing palestine for as long as israel has existed, but their access to technology and social media has made it much easier to fool people into supporting them.

meanwhile, noah schnapp is posting that zionism is sexy and celebrities are standing with israel. just absolutely twisted shit.

edit: for those who would like sources, my twitter is alliiesmith. i have retweeted everything i’ve mentioned. i apologize for not providing this sooner

edit 2: i’ve had some people in the replies and reposts pointing out that linking my twitter seems like promotion. i just wanted to clear up that that was not my intention. i’ve been retweeting resources and news much faster than i’m able to add to this post, and i thought that my twitter profile could be something of a hub for information. i don’t care if you follow me, but i think scrolling through and seeing what i’ve retweeted could be helpful.

[gremlingottoosilly]

Gremlin!!!! You can't just drop Mafia!König and leave us there. I'm obsessed, ahhhhhhh!!!!!!

Konig doesn't even talk about it as being in a gang or a part of a mafia family!! For him, it's just the extension of his work in the military - he allows veterans and his fellow retired soldiers to find a new place in life. He supports the community in a way - his refusal to deal with the trafficking and prostitution industry actually makes Vienna a way safer place for refugees...unless he employs you at his under-the-table gun production. Still better than brothels for German payers though. He is just...he can't get his hand off you. Such a good and hard worker, you're the assistant for a job that doesn't exist - he doesn't even keep track of all the faux candy shops and veteran support center he has, the business is losing thousands per month because he doesn't really care about it as long as he can launder money from guns through it. You're such a good worker, he just knows that if he were to employ you as an enforcer for his "trading and protection" services, he'd make triple the money. He can't, of course. Poor thing, so innocent, it would kill you to know what he is doing. But the colonel fucking hates the way you look at him. Not as a lover or a husband - you're too innocent to know about his advances. You look at him with pity, that rotting feelings that he knows you have for him - a retired colonel from special forces, a mercenary with enormous PTSD and struggles with anxiety and anger issues...not a partner material, not for a good girl like you. You see him as a charity project, help for this funny retired spec ops guy who helps you with the job and talks about his military experience. You accept his invitations to the restaurants because he is lonely! How could you not bring him a nice company? It's better than escorts and some shady people who he hands out with...you just want to help him adjust to civilian life, that's all. And you can't really refuse his gifts, he doesn't have a partner or children, so he has too much money to know what to do with it...and if you're a bit drunk, he is a bit drunk, you're both consenting and lonely adults... Konig won't hesitate to make you his wife - even if he'd have to hide his real job from you till the end of times. It's all worth it when he can see your sleepy face on a pillow next to him every morning.

[ana-bananya]

Asking for help is not easy, I ask for a small donation of only 20$ from each person, 20$ will save my family from death in Gaza 💔 Donate through the link in bio (gofundme) Together, we can achieve our goal within a day and provide crucial support to me and my family in Gaza. Your contribution means everything to us and in these difficult times your kindness is our greatest hope. We are very grateful for any assistance you can provide and thank you for your kindness and generosity in our time of need

I can't do $20 at this time, but I can give $10. I will reblog with my proof of donation once I make the donation and I'll encourage others to do the same.

$130/$50,000

Mahmoud's account hasn't been vetted to my knowledge, but it is credible. Please donate to him if you are able. His gfm was made back in February and only has $130.

Here is the family's situation, as explained by Mahmoud in the gfm:

"Dear beloved friends, My name is Mahmoud Alkhaldi. I am a Palestinian refugee living with my fiancée and family in a catastrophic situation-in tents- in Rafah. However, for 116+ days, me and my family have been under intense bombing and warplanes rockets in the Gaza strip. I’m asking funds to evacuate (5) members of my family from Gaza to a safe place in Egypt, including my younger brother (Mohammed, his wife, and his 1 and half year son Yasser), and me and my fiancée Sujood). It could be very expensive and costly to evacuate a war zone at a miserable time like this. We will need approximately $50000 and a lot of prayers.

My home was cozy, beautiful, and warm before the war. Here is some pictures for our house before the war

Our home was targeted in a tank bombing on the 25th of November 2023 that left it unlivable, along with the entire neighborhood of Al-Burij refugee camp, in Gaza City.

When we returned back to our home to get some needed itemsand clothes, we found that Israeli soldiers also steal our belongings. Since that day, my family has been sleeping in a miserable tent in Rafah, in the south of Gaza, which has become a home for all people from the Gaza strip, whose homes were also destroyed by airstrikes, but they have survived thus far.

I can't express how useless and depressed we felt after finding out what they'd been through and are currently going through. Each moment, we worry about losing them. Without connection settings, we cannot constantly contact them. During the moment of typing, over 25,0000 individuals have been killed in Gaza. They are without electrical power or heating for a period of three months, food is limited, and their drinking water is unsafe for human consumption. My family's only hope is to evacuate to to a safer place out of Gaza. My family went through the loss of several friends, and many of them have lost their spouses and children. I am afraid of losing my family. They are the light that leads me through my life. I cannot live or survive without them."

[jelzorz]

191.

Opeli has never been to the Banther Lodge.

She has never had a reason to. Typically, it's used as a retreat for the royal family during the winter festivities, although once, one of Ezran's distant relatives had lent it to the city orphanage to use while their own building was being rebuilt after a fire. It's large for a cabin, obviously supposed to be rustic without losing its air of luxury, and without the castle...

Well. It's better than camping in the temples, that's for sure. It's too far away from the city to use as a permanent base, but it will have to do until other arrangements can be made. Tents have sprung up on the grounds to house both soldiers and refugees, and although it's crowded and busy, Opeli likes it.

It's a quiet place, nestled in the heart of the woods, away from the hustle and bustle of the city with enough space to breathe, to think, to simply be without all the trappings of court life. All things considered, it's a lovely reprieve, and she wonders if, one day, she might be able to come out here and enjoy it for what it is. There's just... one thing about this current arrangement that sets her on edge.

The kingslayer sharpens his blades.

Opeli's fingers twitch.

It has not been an easy few weeks. The attack on the castle was grave indeed, and although Ezran and Corvus had returned with Queen Aanya's troops and Queen Janai's to provide aid and assistance, the loss of their home still rings painfully through camp. Prince Callum and Rayla had returned shortly afterwards as well, and Opeli had been pleased to see them, her unofficial wards home and safe, until Rayla had ushered forward someone new—or someone not so new, and all hell had broken loose among their friends.

For what little it's worth, Ezran had managed it well. His pain was most obvious in his eyes and in the crack of his voice, and he'd been composed as he dealt with it but hasn't spoken to Callum in days. He holds his anger tight, keeps it all buried under the mountains of things they have to do, blue eyes filled with cold that he doesn't let leech into his words, but he avoids the issue entirely and spends almost all his free time with Queen Aanya or Corvus, people he can't be angry with, people to distract him from kinglsaying banther in the room.

Opeli has been less mature about it, if that can be believed. She had Rayla arrested once for breaking into the chambers beneath the castle to steal the kingslayer's bow, but Callum has made it clear that he will not stand for that, so instead Opeli funnels her frustration into sharp words and biting remarks, which she does not temper, even for Callum.

The air is tense. Their council is fractured. But if Ezran won't let himself be angry, the Justice help her, Opeli will be angry in his place.

It's dinnertime. Everyone is pulling double duty because the circumstances demand it, and Opeli is helping Barius dole out the food tonight to give the other staff a bit of a break. She passes bowls of stew to Ezran, to Corvus, to Soren, to Queen Aanya, her lips tilted in an appreciative smile as they thank her, and then slams bowls wordlessly down before Callum and Rayla and the other elf who only shifts uncomfortably in his seat as the stew sloshes over the rim.

"Enjoy your dinner," she snaps, and Callum, because he's Callum, snarls and snaps back.

"What the hell is your problem, Opeli?" he demands. "You've been passive aggressive about everything for days. This isn't okay anymore."

Opeli bristles at him. "And I suppose it's okay to have a murderer at the table instead."

"He was imprisoned in a magical coin for years, he's been punished enough—"

"Has he?" Opeli sneers. "Historically, kingslayers are hanged."

"You need to back the hell off—"

"That's enough!"

Silence falls over them, and things are dire indeed because it comes from Soren. He glared at Callum and Rayla, the elf with them shrinking beneath it, but it's Opeli that he turns to, that he offers his hand to, that he ushers away from the table leaving Callum, Rayla, and the elf alone and in silence in the dining hall.

Opeli waits until they are out of earshot before she rounds on Soren too. "You're not defending that murderer now, surely."

"No," mutters Soren darkly, "but Callum's right. You need to back off."

She scowls, affronted. "That elf shouldn't even be here," she snaps. "He murdered King Harrow, and would have murdered King Ezran too, if Rayla hadn't stood in his way. And they have the nerve to bring him here, our last stronghold, at a time like this?"

"I know," says Soren, grimacing. "I agree with you. But haven't we lost enough?"

"All the more reason he shouldn't be here."

Soren sighs. "He's Rayla's dad, Opeli. You have to let her have this."

"I certainly don't," says Opeli loftily. "Why on earth should he be allowed to walk free after the things he's done?"

"Because Rayla needs him," says Soren, "and not all of us are lucky enough to have a dad we can forgive."

A pause. A breath. A beat so heavy that Opeli feels it slam the air out of her chest. Soren looks away and swallows, his own conflict painfully clear in the way that he blinks and breathes and clenches his jaw.

She relents.

"I'll leave them be," she mutters at last. "But he can't be here long."

"He won't be," agrees Soren. "But just for now. Okay?"

"Yes." Opeli takes a breath and touches his arm, a promise to make an effort, for him more than for anyone else. "Just for now."

[mothiir]

words rarely spoken

for @kit-williams, who requested perturabo and a praise kink. my first time writing the Big Iron Boy so apologies if his characterisation is a little all over.

—

cw: power imbalance.

—

The best thing that the leaders of your world ever did was die, and die swiftly, so cooler heads — those with a more accurate assessment of your ability to defend against the might of the Imperium — prevailed, and negotiated a surrender. Surrender is a delicate way of putting it — wholehearted supplication is more accurate. Levies and taxes and all sorts of sacrifices made; but the intricacies of the deal do not trouble you. The important thing is that you are still alive; that your cities may be rubble, but the land is not scoured and irradiated waste.

You were in a refugee camp, bird-boned and hollow-eyed from living off thin soup and stale bread, when the Iron Warriors swept through looking for serfs. You were picked because — though skinny — you were still able to stand on two feet, and were not actively dying of dysentery.

You are at the unveiling of the new barracks by pure chance. Your status is lowly enough that you are, in essence, the serf of a serf; the assistant to a housekeeper for the recruits. She attends, since she will be overseeing the running of the mighty kitchens, designed to deal with the appetites of baby Astartes; you attend, because she needs someone to take notes, since she’s almost completely deaf after years of dealing with neophytes who are unable to control the volume of their eardrum-busting voices, and she does not want to admit it.

A chill sea breeze whisks your hair back, carrying with it the scent of salt and the distant aroma of lasgun fire, still lingering even months after the capitulation of the system. The barracks is built along the coast, great buttresses of durasteel effortlessly blending in with the native black stone cliff, while the pinnacle of the building stretches towards the slate grey sky in a series of brutalist blocks that — despite their overtly industrial inspiration — seem perfectly at home in the bleak landscape. Already salt-stained and circled by dozens of gulls, howling to each other over the scream of the wind, you would think that the barracks had stood here since time immemorial.

You, and the other household serfs, are honoured with a place on the levitating platform that sweeps along the barracks’ length; you stick to the back corners, not held in place by chain or protocol, but by simple human awe — for at the head of the platform, atop a dais of raw iron, stands Perturabo, Primarch of the Iron Warriors; builder, destroyer, champion. His face is as hard and merciless as the ocean, and even his sons — terrifying creatures that they are — treat him with deference. You’ve heard rumours of decimation, of brutality your sheltered life can’t begin to fathom. So you avert your eyes. So you make yourself small. So you, like the other serfs, attempt to be as grey and faceless and featureless as the cogs in a machine.

The platform is silent, save the occasional hushed conversation between a nervous Iron Warrior and his Primarch. You cannot hear much, but occasionally make out a word or two —

“…not fit for purpose…apologies father —“

— it sounds like he is grovelling. You feel a strange stirring of pity and find yourself wondering: what is the point of all this? Peturabo built the barracks; his sons were overseen by him personally. Surely there is nothing here he has not already seen. And he cannot be trying to impress his serfs, or the native populace. Then why have this barebones ceremony at all?

You glance around the platform, as discreetly as possible. It is huge, larger than a town block (back when your towns still stood). Almost like it was designed to accommodate more people. Almost like he was expecting more guests.

You shake yourself out of your fantasy — you’re not one of those who fervently believe that the soldiers from the stars can read minds, but you don’t want to risk it. To distract yourself, you look back at the building — just as a bolt of sunlight struggles through the cloud, illuminating the barracks in streams of gold. All at once, it is transformed, sharp angles glowing, cavernous pockets of shadow providing dramatic definition against the light. Despite yourself, you whisper: “It’s so beautiful.”

You are not accustomed to how swift Astartes can be, nor how silent — and so when a low voice rumbles behind you, you almost jump out of your skin, heart leaping straight into your gullet.

“What did you say?”

The serfs around you peel away with astonishing speed; there is no solidarity here, especially not when a Primarch looms behind you like a threat. You daren’t turn around, through his shadow obscures the sun, and you smell him — hot iron, and burning plastisteel — and feel the heat of his armour radiating against the chill. You are no psyker, but you feel the weight of his presence heavy on your shoulders, and the prey-animal fear it ignite in you almost has you bolting to the sea, seeking the solace of the waves, and the drowning dark.

However. You master that feeling. You have lived this far; you will continue to live, so help you — not god. No gods here, not anymore. So help you you.

“It’s beautiful,” you say, then think that this is somewhat lacking. “My lord,” you add.

No one shoots you, so you assume this is the correct form of address.

“Beautiful? No. It serves the purpose it is intended for.”

You really should let it slide. You should. But your lips, numb with cold and salt-stained, are still moving. “It can do both — it can be both beautiful and functional. The way the buttresses slope to the waves, along the cliffs like veins or tree-roots; the way the buildings are angled just-so, looking like — “

You risk a sidelong glance; not at his face — you are not so bold — but at his shoulder-pauldrons.

“—looking like your armour, sire — uh, lord — it all has this rhythm to it, this poetry, this uh — “ Shit, shit, shit, you’re going to die, you’re going to die. “—pattern.”

Silence. Full, poignant silence. The serfs have now completely abandoned this corner of the platform; out of the corner of your eye you see that both they and the Astartes have taken up position at the far end, all making a show of looking literally anywhere but at the Primarch. Some are more convincing than others.

“—go on.”

You take in a deep breath, and continue. The windows, visible at a distant, small enough to insulate, large enough for natural light. The grey of the rock stained black by the waves. The craftsmanship of it all. Your voice trembles a little — after all, Peturabo still looms behind you — but the passion in your words is genuine. It really is beautiful, and more beautiful when you consider the context of it all: the coastline had been benighted by warfare and is now transfigured into something useful, something that will stand the test of time; a monument to endurance.

—

You have been talking for ten minutes and thirty two seconds and Perturabo has been hard for eight of those minutes — approaching nine. Now nine. Damn it all to the Warp, his body is a vile useless animal, and he despises its frailty, and you are a lowly mortal, your opinion is worthless, you are worthless —

“The craftsman really understood the native landscape —“

By the Emperor’s right ballsack, he’s going to go mad. He rests one hand on your shoulder — you oof at the sudden weight, peering up at him properly for the first time, all huge eyes and spit-wet mouth.

”Come with me,” he says, and strides off — you jog to keep up, managing three swift strides for each one of his, asking no questions, reeking of fear. And yet you were totally honest with him — he could sense it. Every word of your praise had been the unvarnished truth, even if your voice shook.

You genuinely thought the barracks beautiful, his craftsmanship without peer. Which - -yes, obviously, of course you would. It is. And yet — to hear it stated so plainly —

He does not say a word, nor look at you, the entire journey back to his quarters aboard ship. You trot in his wake the entire way, and when the doors roll open to his spartan accommodation you stare around: blank grey walls, a Primarch-sized bed, topped with a mattress roughly the width of a human thumb. A singular grey pillow.

“Um,” you say, and Peturabo ignores you, tapping at a panel on the wall to lock the door. His erection is acutely uncomfortable, sandwiched against his armour, and even thoughts of the least appealing things he can muster — Dorn naked, Dorn naked, that one time he saw Horus’s hairy arse in the shower — it isn’t going away. His thoughts, usually so regimented, keep turning back to the earnest praise you delivered in that lilting mortal voice, powered by lungs smaller than his palm.

“Talk,” he orders, striding towards you; you shrink back, and he huffs impatience. “I am not going to harm you; you are not in trouble. Talk. Repeat what you said about the barracks.”

”S-sure,” you say, and begin the tale again; it isn’t a duplicate of what you said before, but an escalation, going into more detail, more observations about the quality of the stone masonry. His cock throbs, and he fiddles with his armour, managing — with some indignity — to remove the crotch plate, and thumb aside the skin suit, revealing his hard, leaking member. It is roughly level with your chin, even as you stand, and the sight of your pink tongue gives him some ideas — but then you wouldn’t be able to talk. And he so wants you to talk.

“Touch me,” he says, and you reach up to obey, soft hands against his overheated flesh. Soft hands that have never known truly hard work, fingers that won’t span his girth, and a voice that continues praising him.

“And uh — making destruction into something functional, rebuilding, that’s — that’s a talent that —“

You’re starting to stammer as you stroke him, using both hands to do so. He feels his orgasm start to build — it has been far, far too long — and he moans throatily, his eyes half-closing with pleasure.

“Keep going.”

You are breathless with effort now; he’s heavy in your palms, and he’s crowding closer, leaving you with no choice but to angle his cock directly to your face.

“—and you’re good, you’re so good, you’re the craftsman who makes crisis into construction into cities —“

With a hard grunt, Peturabo cums — and keeps cumming. He paints your face and throat white, and knocks your hands away so he can milk the last little bit out himself, directly onto your chest, soaking the fabric.

“There,” he pants, self-satisfied and rose-cheeks. “Good girl.”

You look astonished more than anything else, reaching up to wipe your face. Once again, he catches your hands.

“Leave it on. I’m not done yet.”

[odinsblog]

Special Field Orders, No. 15 (series 1865) were military orders issued during the American Civil War, on January 16, 1865, by General William Tecumseh Sherman, commander of the Military Division of the Mississippi of the United States Army. They provided for the confiscation of 400,000 acres (160,000 ha) of land along the Atlantic coast of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida and the dividing of it into parcels of not more than 40 acres (16 ha), on which were to be settled approximately 18,000 formerly enslaved families and other black people then living in the area.

The orders were issued following Sherman's March to the Sea. They were intended to address the immediate problem of dealing with the tens of thousands of black refugees who had joined Sherman's march in search of protection and sustenance, and “to assure the harmony of action in the area of operations.” Critics allege that his intention was for the order to be a temporary measure to address an immediate problem, and not to grant permanent ownership of the land to the freedmen, although most of the recipients assumed otherwise. General Sherman issued his orders four days after meeting with twenty local black ministers and lay leaders and with U.S. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton in Savannah, Georgia. Brig. Gen. Rufus Saxton, an abolitionist from Massachusetts who had previously organized the recruitment of black soldiers for the Union Army, was put in charge of implementing the orders. Freedmen were settled in Georgia, particularly along the Savannah River, in the Ogeechee district of Chatham County, and on islands off of the coast of Savannah.

In the end, the orders had little concrete effect because President Andrew Johnson issued a proclamation that returned the lands to southern owners who took a loyalty oath. Johnson granted amnesty to most former Confederates and allowed the rebel states to elect new governments. These governments, which often included ex-Confederate officials, soon enacted black codes, measures designed to control and repress the recently freed slave population. General Saxton and his staff at the Charleston SC Freedmen Bureau's office refused to carry out President Johnson's wishes and denied all applications to have lands returned. In the end, Johnson and his allies removed General Saxton and his staff, but not before Congress was able to provide legislation to assist some families in keeping their lands.

Although mules are not mentioned in the orders, they were a main source for the expression “forty acres and a mule.” A historical marker commemorating the order was erected by the Georgia Historical Society in Savannah, near the corner of Harris and Bull streets, in Madison Square. (source)

👉🏿 40 Acres & A Lie (podcast)

[girlactionfigure]

THURSDAY HERO: Armin Wegner 

Armenian refugees photographed by Armin Wegner, 1915

Armin Wegner was a German soldier stationed in the Ottoman Empire during World War I who was  witness to the Armenian Genocide. Disobeying orders, he gathered extensive documentation and took hundreds of photographs of atrocities committed against Armenians. Later, Armin became a fearless peace activist who was imprisoned for standing up to Hitler.

Armin was born in 1886 to an aristocratic Prussian family in the Rhineland area of Germany. He was educated at schools in Poland and Switzerland, and was a gifted poet, publishing his first volume of poetry, “I Have Never Been Older than as a Sixteen-year-old” as a teenager. He attended law school, but had the soul of an artist and spent the next couple of years (in his own words) as a “farmer, dock-worker, student of drama (with Max Reinhardt), private tutor, editor, public speaker, lover and idler, filled with a deep desire for unraveling the mystery of things.”

When World War I broke out in 1914, Armin joined the German army, serving as a medic in Poland. He received the Iron Cross for rendering care under fire. Armin rose to rank of second lieutenant in the German Sanitary Corps and was sent to the Middle East as part of a detachment to assist the Ottoman Army.

Stationed along the Baghdad Railway in Syria and modern-day Iraq, Armin was shocked to witness thousands of emaciated Armenian refugees forced onto death marches by the Ottomans. The horrifying reality of what was happening was being hidden, and Armin was ordered to keep quiet about what he saw as Germany did not want to alienate the Ottoman Empire, an important ally. Disobeying what he felt was a deeply unjust order, Armin went to great effort to collect proof about the systematic massacre of Armenians – the first modern genocide. Armin was willing to risk his life to document what was happening, and his extensive photographic record remains the most important evidence of the atrocities that occurred.

The Ottomans eventually found out what Armin was doing, and he was arrested by the Germans and sent back to Germany. Some of his photographs were destroyed, but he was able to smuggle out many negatives hidden in his belt.

After the war, Armin became a successful journalist and prominent anti-war activist. In 1919 he published an “Open Letter to President Woodrow Wilson” urging the peace conference to create an independent Armenian state.

He wrote extensively about the Armenian Genocide and testified in court at the trial of Soghomon Tehlirian, an Armenian who killed Talat Pasha, the Ottoman leader who orchestrated the atrocity. Armin’s testimony was so powerful that the court could not convict Tehirian for the assassination, even though there were many eyewitnesses. He was found not guilty for reason of temporary insanity.

Armin was a respected writer and cultural figure who co-created the German Expressionist movement in the mid-1920’s. After visiting the Soviet Union, including the Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia with his wife, author Lola Landau, Armin wrote a book about his trip, which became a bestseller. It was a chilling account of the political violence endemic to Soviet Communist rule. At a time when many in the West were romanticizing the Bolsheviks, Armin was one of the few who could see where the situation was headed: totalitarian Stalinism.

Meanwhile in Germany, Hitler and the Nazi power gained power and in 1933 they urged a nationwide boycott of Jewish businesses. As someone who witnessed the Armenian Genocide and had many Jewish friends, Armin could not remain silent. He wrote an open letter to Adolf Hitler identifying himself as a proud Prussian who could trace his roots in Germany back to the time of the Crusades. In clear language he told Hitler that his persecution of Germany’s Jews would destroy the country. “There is no Fatherland without justice!” he said. Armin was the only writer to speak out publicly against Hitler. Swiftly, he was arrested by the Gestapo, tortured and imprisoned in harsh conditions for a year. In 1934 Armin was released, and immediately fled to Rome, where he changed his name and lived in hiding. His wife divorced him, leading Armin to later say, “Germany took everything from me… even my wife.” He never returned to his beloved homeland. For being the only cultural figure in Germany to speak out for the Jews, Israeli Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem honored Armin Wegner as Righteous Among the Nations in 1967.

Armin died alone in Rome in 1978, at age 92. Per his request, his gravestone contains a quote from Pope Gregory VII as he lay on his deathbed in 1085: “I loved justice and hated injustice/Therefore I die in exile.”

For bravely documenting the Armenian Genocide, and standing up to Hitler at great personal sacrifice, we honor Armin Wegner as this week’s Thursday Hero.

[smokingasters]

A detail about the Peacebreakers in Providence. (translated + spoilers)

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Overseas Research Department Field Survey Team/Peace Breaker Official activity period: 2098/04~2113/04

A unit that obtains and manipulates information useful to Japan from other countries. Its main mission is to enter other countries, gather information, carry out sabotage operations, and provide weapons and operational support to anti-government organizations who support the Japanese government. Regarding anti-government support operations, operations were carried out through domestic third-party organizations

(Example 1). It has been confirmed that it was provided to and expanded to the government and rebel forces of the former Southeast Asian Union (commonly known as SEAUN) (see corresponding data 04231 for details). Through "monitoring"derived from [...] The members were selected from among the soldiers who belonged to the Special Forces of the National Defense Force, based on the Sibyl System's advanced decisions, and from among them, those who had a particularly strong sense of national pride were selected. Establishment: Wave After its establishment, the company did some original work. Main strategies and execution records. 2099_Conflict within the Union of Southeast Asia

2111_Rebellion in the Republic of South Asia 2112_Operation Footstamp 2113_Kona Island independence group reduced cropping Involved in etc. For details, see 67721 data

In June 2118, the decision was made to dismantle the unit, and in the same month, the whereabouts of the unit commander and training staff went missing.

In October 2118, independent activity was confirmed, and it was completely destroyed. To this day, it is said that its range has expanded to include Japan, Northern Russia, and the Russian Federation. Tonami is said to have been the general manager since the company's founding.

■ PB2098 type TUSIMA PS (Peacebreaker Armor) A powered suit that is standard equipment for the Peace Breaker Corps. It covers the head, upper body, and lower body, and is equipped with heavy armor and assist functions in each part. Increases the wearer's mobility by 1.25 times. Visibility is ensured by using cameras in front and behind the head to project images directly onto the eyes using internal scale projection sensors. It is also equipped with an infrared sensor and 3D prediction function MS2 as an option. It is possible to carry out operations without securing visibility even under conditions of poor visibility. Multi-type labeling function installed on the front of the waist

***

Sibyl itself is promoting conflicts to expand itself, and then denying asylum to the refugees which is why they're confined to Dejima/Kyushu. Sibyl lets MFA do the dirty work and it's obvious that Sibyl just turns a blind eye to this because it benefits their colonisation approach. I wonder what Kogami's thoughts will be when he comes to realise that his "democratisation" in Siam Reap (Psycho Pass Movie) was just a part of Sibyl's grand plan. Also Kona Island? Didn't Rutaganda and his mercenaries live on an island? The knowledge that Sibyl would let the world suffer, after having seen the true effects of it in his journey abroad and that probably every person he met or lost on his journey (including the people that Tenzing lost) was suffering due to Sibyl's duplicity. In Case 3 Novel, Frederica is investigating the Peacebreakers in Tibet-Himalaya and Garcia by extension. Honestly, Kogami Shinya seeing the horrors of war, trying to help people and then returning to become a cog in the System is a tragic enough ending for me. I guess this was the meaning of that painting in that room. (The Abyss, I assume?)

Anyhow, I'm on my fourth rewatch (first time with subs so thank god I can follow the dialogues), and Sibyl has a knack of grinding my gears (pun intended), I've come to despise the System as much as Kogami. I'll delve into a proper review later, for now just accept my ramblings. I have 10,000 thoughts on Akane too, who in this movie punched me right in the heart, honestly I don't know how Akane-chan is so strong. I admire her grit.

[momo33me]

It was premature to report that the US used a Trojan Horse humanitarian aid truck from the floating pier to carry US troops to Nuseirat refugee camp for a joint US-Israel hostage rescue operation. It has not been unproven & is still being analyzed in photo & video images but it has not been indisputably proven. What we know for sure is that US & UK intelligence cells have been in Israel throughout the genocide to assist Israeli intelligence. That was reported in the NY Times which supports the genocide. Those US & UK intelligence cells were involved in engineering the massacre at Nuseirat refugee camp.

We also know beyond dispute that the US allowed Israel to use the floating pier for military purposes, for launching the Trojan Horse aid truck which carried Israeli soldiers & possibly US special forces to the camp. But once again, we do not have indisputable evidence that US special forces were directly involved. There are photos of non-Israeli soldiers in the operation but it isn't certain they are wearing US uniforms.

The ghoulish Matthew Miller, Genocide Joe's spokesperson, officially sanctioned the massacre by evoking the 'Hamas uses civilians & children as human shields' trope. Palestinian eyewitnesses report body parts & dead children strewn all over & bodies pulled out of the bombing rubble in pieces. At least 274 Palestinians were killed & 698 wounded in Israel's brutal attack. Commentators have compared the slaughterhouse in Nuseirat to Guernica or the My Lai massacre. Zionists are triumphal over the massacre which, in the ways of karma, will be part of the Zionist entity's undoing.

What we know for certain is that the US & UK assisted Israel in the genocidal operation, including but not only intelligence operations & the use of the floating pier, but the involvement of US special forces is still unclear.

[isaacsapphire]

Legitimacy, the use of blanket parties and no-go zones, and the monopoly on violence

Perhaps there is an academic, policing, or other specialized term for this phenomenon, but I haven’t encountered it yet. (“Proxy murder” is close but too specific.) The implications of the government’s monopoly on (legitimate) violence are not generally spelled out even by people who are discussing topics where it is inherent and more removed from current American politics, such as interracial violence that is/was tolerated or encouraged by foreign governments that motivated various groups to immigrate or become refugees in history and today.

But disguising and laundering responsibility and guilt is the point, and as far as I can tell, basically no government is exempt from using this technique, including local governments, and even lower levels of authority figures such as teachers may use this method, so of course this isn’t something that anyone wants to say out loud in simple language, despite every brain damaged homeless person understanding it perfectly well.

Perhaps you understand already what I am talking about by gesturing towards blanket parties (where a group in the military is collectively punished for the failures of one member, and the resulting violence against this low performer by peers is not punished or merely tolerated, but actually desired by the authorities, allowing them the have the low performer beaten while also allowing them to honestly say they didn’t have them beaten), various pogroms and genocides abroad, and mentioning homeless people’s knowledge (of course they know what areas camping and drug use are tolerated in and where this behavior is punished), and no-go zones where emergency services, delivery food, and taxi/uber services are limited or unavailable due to expectations of violence in the area.

Simply put, authorities and governments have a “monopoly on violence” where they are the only ones allowed to do violence, and they will come do violence on anyone else who does violence, because the basis of authority is that you’re the only one allowed to do violence in the area you control. Anyone unauthorized doing violence in your area is challenging your authority. But of course, there will always be some crime, and the government will try to stop it, but it can’t stop all of it because [insert whatever].

Sometimes people riot. Sometimes people run around and assault other people. Sometimes people decide to hang someone right now. Sometimes people decide to do drugs in public. And sometimes the government stands back and lets them because they want this violence but don’t want to take responsibility for it.

“Failure to save” is always hard to prove especially in limited circumstances, and is a very low effort method of “doing” violence when available. For example, in policing, it is well known that pissing off your fellow cops can cause them to be slow to respond to your calls for assistance, which can result in you being killed by a criminal who would have been prevented from killing you by other officers if you hadn’t pissed them off.

The biblical story of Uriah comes to mind. He had the misfortune of being married to a woman the king wanted to marry while being a wartime soldier, so the king directed his general to send Uriah on an attack and then pull the rest of the troops back, leaving Uriah to be killed by the enemy.

[workingclasshistory]

On this day, 11 July 2002, German socialist and French resistance fighter Irene Bernard died aged 94. An office clerk and mother of three, Bernard lived in Saarland, which was independent of Germany in the early days of Nazi rule, and became home to many Germans fleeing the regime. There she and her husband, Leander, assisted refugees. When Saarland was annexed by the German Reich in 1935, the Bernards fled to France to escape the Gestapo. There, they kept up their anti-fascist activities and helped volunteers on their way to fight general Franco's nationalists in the Spanish civil war. When the Wehrmacht occupied southern France in 1942, Irene joined Travail Antifasciste Allemand, a combat unit of the French resistance consisting of thousands of mostly German speakers. She then went underground, fought with the National Committee for Free Germany and gathered military intelligence. After the war, Bernard took care of wounded German soldiers who were prisoners of war. Later she returned to Saarland and became involved with women's and anti-war movements, and remained involved with anti-fascism and advocating for victims of Nazism. Learn more about German resistance to Nazism in our podcast episodes 63-64 and 72. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, on our website, or on your favourite podcast app: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/working-class-history/id1355066333 https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=659809479525604&set=a.602588028581083&type=3

[workersolidarity]

🇮🇱⚔️🇵🇸 🚑☠️ 🔞 🚨

ISRAELI OCCUPATION FORCES ASSASINATE PALESTINIAN CHILD FIRING FIREWORKS INTO THE SKY NEAR OCCUPIED AL-QUDS

📹 Captured on video is the moment Palestinian child, 13 year-old Rami Hamdan al-Halhuli, was shot and killed by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) after firing fireworks into the sky in the general direction where occupation soldiers were located.

According to local reporting, the Palestinian minor was critically wounded by IOF soldiers with live gunfire in the Shu'fat Refugee Camp, northeast of occupied Al-Quds (Jerusalem) earlier on Tuesday night. Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) crews administered medical assistance, however the youth died later of his wounds. The governate of Jerusalem announced his death shortly after he succumbed to his wounds.

#source

#videosource

@WorkerSolidarityNews

[daitranscripts]

Skyhold Conversation: Mother Giselle

Investigate: Skyhold Exclusive

Skyhold Masterpost

Giselle: Inquisitor. Giselle: Herald of Andraste. Giselle: Your Worship.

1 - Dialogue options:

Investigate: Who will be the next Divine? [2]

Investigate (first approach): How are the people? [3]

Investigate: How are the people? [4]

General: Goodbye. [5]

2 - Investigate: Who will be the next Divine? PC: Do you know who the grand clerics will choose as the next Divine? Giselle: It is a difficult decision. All the obvious candidates perished with Divine Justinia at the Conclave. As Inquisitor, your actions carry weight. You may affect the decision, whether you intend to or not. Whoever is chosen needs your support. No one else has accomplished anything against Corypheus.

3 - Investigate: How are the people? PC: I’d like information on how the fight against Corypheus is affecting the common folk. Giselle: They are scared, of course. Many have lost homes or loved ones. I doubt many will sleep well until you have sealed the Breach. I have offered what help I can. The rest is for the Inquisition. What more do you wish to know? [6]

4 - Investigate: How are the people? PC: Can you tell me how our people are doing? Giselle: What would you like to know?

6 - Dialogue options:

Investigate: How are people at Skyhold? [7]

Investigate: What help are you offering? [8]

Investigate: How are people elsewhere? [9]

7 - Investigate: How are people at Skyhold? PC: How are our forces at Skyhold doing? ㅤㅤ ㅤ From the Ashes Giselle: Still in shock, for the most part. To see Haven destroyed so soon after the Conclave… You saved many, but still, lives were lost, and traveling through the wilderness did not make treating injuries easier. For all that though, more people arrive every day. Some are refugees, but others want to help. [back to 6] ㅤㅤ ㅤ post-HLTA Giselle: We have many injured. The siege of Adamant was brutal for all involved. Even so, more flock to your banner. They have heard that the Inquisition defeated the legendary Grey Wardens. Your soldiers have been bloodied, Inquisitor. They are veterans, now, an army in more than just name. [back to 6] ㅤㅤ ㅤ Post-WPHW Giselle: With most of the Inquisition forces still at the Temple of Mythal, it is surprisingly quiet. When your army returns, that will change soon enough. Soon, even Skyhold will be filled to bursting with believers coming to join the Inquisition. I have spoken with Ambassador Montilyet. It will be tight, but we will have food and work for all. [back to 6] ㅤㅤ ㅤ 8 - Investigate: What help are you offering? PC: What are you doing to help these people? Giselle: My sisters and I have been tending to the injured as best we are able. Some refugees come with food, while others arrive empty-handed. I have helped ensure that all have enough to eat. Beyond that, many simply wish the familiar comfort of the Chant of Light. It is little enough work to offer some comfort to those in pain. [back to 6] ㅤㅤ ㅤ 9 - Investigate: How are people elsewhere? PC: Do you have information on people elsewhere? ㅤㅤ ㅤ Giselle (have not completed quests for Corporal Vale): The refugees in the Hinterlands are desperate. Without help, starvation or war will claim many lives. Giselle (completed quests for Corporal Vale): You have done much for the refugees in the Hinterlands. Many who would have starved or frozen owe you their lives. ㅤㅤ ㅤ Giselle: (have not closed the rift in the lake) Villagers in Crestwood are besieged by their own dead. They have sent word begging for assistance. Giselle (closed the rift in the lake): With the rift near Crestwood sealed, the villagers have begun rebuilding their homes… and lives. ㅤㅤ ㅤ Giselle (have not cleared Sahrnia Quarry/Suledin's Keep): People are vanishing in the hills of Emprise du Lion. It may be demons, or something worse, but they are terrified. Giselle (cleared Sahrnia Quarry/Suledin's Keep): The people in the hills of Emprise du Lion are safe again, thanks to you. They may even plant crops this season. ㅤㅤ ㅤ Giselle: More than that, I cannot say. It is a chaotic time for all in Orlais and Ferelden. [back to 6]

5 - General: Goodbye. PC: Farewell, Revered Mother. PC: Farewell.

Giselle: Maker go with you. Giselle: Until next time. Giselle: Farewell. Giselle: Be well, Inquisitor.

[eretzyisrael]

The advocacy group UN Watch, enumerated on how teachers in UNRWA schools express support for terrorism and Palestinian terrorist groups, and indoctrinate students to violence. On July 15, 2022, Hillel Neuer, director of UN Watch tweeted that UN Watch has “easily identified 120 UNRWA teachers, school principles and other employees who praise Hitler, glorify terrorist attacks and spread snit-Semitism.”  Watch decried the, “exploitation of children as child soldiers” as a “form of child abuse and a violation of international law.”

Recent reports from Israeli sources, including the Telegram news channel Abu Ali Express, reveal disturbing instances of UNRWA schools incorporating art projects that glorify terrorists. The juxtaposition of landmarks like the Dome of the Rock with images of infamous figures like Osama Bin Laden raises serious questions about the agency’s educational content and its clear impact on fostering a culture of violence.

UNRWA’s journey has been marked by decades of continuous funding, transforming it into a permanent fixture in the region. The reluctance of the United States to antagonize the Arab world during the Cold War, coupled with fears of Soviet expansion, led to the sustained financial backing of UNRWA, perpetuating its presence year after year.

One glaring issue is UNRWA’s refugee registration system, which has seen the number of refugees skyrocket from the original 750,000 to a staggering 5.9 million. This exponential increase, primarily attributed to its expansive definition of refugee status, raises serious questions about the agency’s objectives and sustainability. The irony is exemplified by Jordan, the country with the highest concentration of registered refugees at two million. Despite the majority being Jordanian citizens, they are still categorized as refugees, highlighting the absurdity of UNRWA’s approach.

To maintain its relevance, UNRWA employs a dubious refugee definition, explicitly stating that it “does not afford refugee status under the 1951 Geneva Convention.” Instead, the agency operates based on a self-crafted definition that determines eligibility for services and assistance. This strategic maneuvering allows UNRWA to continue its operations without adhering to internationally recognized refugee conventions.

The perpetuation of such a system not only raises ethical concerns but also impedes the path to a sustainable resolution for the Palestinian refugee crisis. By maintaining an inflated refugee count and perpetuating a narrative that contradicts the international standards set by the Geneva Convention, UNRWA risks becoming an obstacle rather than a catalyst for a lasting solution.

The time is long overdue for the cessation of all funding to the UNWRA. This odious organization clearly has a dangerous agenda and must be exposed as the anti-Israel propaganda machine that it is.

[good-old-gossip]

Israeli army systematically uses police dogs to brutally attack, rape Palestinian civilians

Palestinian Territory – The Israeli military is using police dogs to systematically attack Palestinian civilians during military operations in the Gaza Strip. The dogs are also used to intimidate, beat, and sexually assault prisoners and detainees in Israeli detention facilities. 

Numerous incidents of Israeli forces using large police dogs during military operations in the Strip have been recorded by the Euro-Med Monitor field team, particularly during raids of homes, shelters, and medical facilities.

These ways include checking out sites before raids without having to enter them, by strapping surveillance cameras to dogs’ backs, as well as allowing dogs torepeatedly maul or otherwise attack civilians, without any interference from members of the Israeli arm. In fact, according to testimonies, Israeli forces often order the dogs to attack civilians, and then mock the victims of the attacks.

The Israeli army’s systematic use of dogs during home raids suggests that the recent attack on Dawlat Al-Tanani, an elderly woman in Gaza City whose mauling by a dog was caught on video and went viral, is not an isolated incident. Rather, her case came to light because it was captured on camera and published.

Sixty-year-old Al-Tanani, who was attacked on 14 May by an Israeli army dog in her home in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, told the Euro-Med Monitor team:

“I was sleeping in my house, which I refused to leave after the Israeli army entered the Jabalia camp. I woke up to the sound of Israeli forces breaking through the wall and into my home. A dog wearing a camera on its back attacked me in a matter of seconds, biting my shoulder and eventually reaching my bone with its fangs. He dragged me outside. As I screamed loudly, the soldiers laughed and offered me no assistance or medical attention. When the dog kept biting me while I was screaming, a relative who��was present in the house came to my aid and shoved the dog with his crutch. I was bleeding heavily. My relative managed to shut the room’s door and, in vain, yelled at the soldiers to assist me. He attempted to halt the bleeding with a scarf, and the following day I was moved to Al-Yemen Hospital, then to Kamal Adwan Hospital and [later to] Al-Awda Hospital. However, the available medical services were limited, and despite wearing a splint, my injury persists.” 

Testimonies were also given to the Euro-Med Monitorteam regarding the use of Israeli army dogs during the recent invasion of the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in March 2024, as well as the mauling of dead bodies and displaced people in the hospital courtyard in late 2023.

“Israeli forces stormed the Al-Youssef Building in the vicinity of Al-Shifa Hospital at around 9 a.m.,” 67-year-old Youssef Faza told Euro-Med Monitor.

Faza explained: “When the soldier opened the apartment door, a black dog barked at me, biting me in the chest, ripping my feet off, and dragging me all the way from the front to the back of the flat. After I had lost a lot of blood, one of the soldiers [eventually]pulled it away from me.”  

   When the soldier opened the apartment door, a black dog barked at me, biting me in the chest, ripping my feet off, and dragging me all the way from the front to the back of the flat   

Youssef Faza, 67

 The following statement was made by a woman who requested anonymity due to safety concerns: “Israeli forces stormed our house [and] brought the dog into the apartment as soon as the door was open. It bit my elderly husband on the chest, stomach, and leg, causing him to bleed profusely, without the army intervening.”

Similarly, M.S., a mother of a two-year-old girl, said: “The Israeli forces stormed our house, brought the dogs in, and attacked us. It was a terrifying situation. After taking us outside, they killed my husband’s uncle and grandfather and made us move to the south.”

Dr Islam Sawali revealed last February that the Israeli army stormed Khan Yunis’ Nasser Hospital with dogs to forcibly evacuate the medical staff and displaced people sheltering there.

A Euro-Med Monitor field team documented the use of dogs to attack and terrorise women and children during the storming of shelter centres in different phases of the Israeli army’s ground operations in Gaza City, the Strip’s north, and Khan Yunis.

The most dangerous and horrifying form of this type of violence, however, has been against male Palestinian prisoners and detainees. This is one of the Israeli army’s many crimes of systematic sexual violence against Palestinian detainees, which also includenudity, sexual harassment, threats of rape, and placingsharp objects in the victim’s buttocks.

Euro-Med Monitor received horrific testimonies from recently released detainees confirming the brutal and inhumane use of Israeli police dogs to rape prisoners and detainees. Lawyer Fadi Saif al-Din Bakr, who was released on 22 February after 45 days of detention, told the Euro-Med Monitor team:

“They held me in a building they called ‘Diapers’ and forced me to wear diapers for two days. Then they dragged me into a dark, musty-smelling, closed-offroom with an iron chair in the centre. The soldiers bound my arms while I was sitting on it. I was speaking normally before I lost consciousness for a while. By the time I woke up, my foot had exploded from the electric shocks [they had given me]. The military doctor then gave me an Acamol pill, and since I was unable to move or speak, the soldiers brought me back to a barn’s and [put me in] a container for a few hours. I remained in the barn until, after a while, the soldiers hurriedly drove me and two other young men to a different location in a military jeep. 

“There, the soldiers took off the blindfolds covering our eyes for the first time. The soldiers later pulled the young man sitting to my right, forced him to sleep on the ground, and tied his hands and feet. Suddenly, the occupation soldiers let loose trained police dogs on the young man, who was subjected to [rape]. Throughout the entire ordeal I endured, this was among the most awful things that I witnessed. Everything was a lot [to go through], and this was just one more [incident]added to the heap of torments. I was hoping todie so that this would not happen to me, but one of the soldiers told me to get ready. [Yet] something miraculous happened in the prison; the torture session quickly ended, and we were brought back to the barn.”

Thirty-six-year-old Hassan Abu Raida, anotherreleased detainee, stated: “They moved me and the other detainees to a prison. They threw us to the ground and made the dogs urinate on us [as we lay there]. In addition, one of the soldiers struck my rightknee with an iron pipe, and I am still recovering from that injury.”

Dr Hamed Abu Al-Khair, who was detained by the Israeli army from Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital, stated: “We were under attack by multiple squads, including the suppression squad, which attack us twice a week, hurling sound bombs at and around us, and forcing us to sleep on our stomachs and to raise our hands up. Sometimes the dogs were let loose on us, torturing us systematically and sometimes collectively. Dogs used to frequently injure and maul us. A few of us suffered from severe dog bites, to the point where we could hear bones cracking due to the extreme pain they caused. Many of the detainees suffered from suffocation and fractured rib cages as a result of the iron rods they used to beat and assault us.”

According to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the Israeli army’s practice of carrying out these vicious attacks against Palestinian civilians, intimidating them, violating their dignity, and purposefully causing them great pain and suffering,amounts to the commission of crimes such as rape, serious sexual violence, torture, and inhuman treatment—crimes that fall under the purview of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

These violations come as part of the Israeli crime of genocide in the Gaza Strip, ongoing since 7 October2023.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor emphasizes that one of the most abhorrent crimes that needs immediate investigation to ensure its cessation and the accountability of all perpetrators is sexual violence, which has seriously escalated recently and includes the use of dogs to rape prisoners and detainees.

The international community has legal obligations to stop Israel from committing genocide and other serious crimes against the people of the Gaza Strip, including prisoners and detainees. It also needs to use effective pressure tactics to put an immediate stop to Israel’s criminal activities, pressure it to abide by international law, and protect Palestinian civilians in the Strip.

The international community must force Israel to immediately cease its practice of forcibly disappearing Palestinian prisoners and detainees from the Gaza Strip; to immediately reveal the location of all secret “detention facilities”, i.e. concentration camps; to reveal the identities of all Gazan detainees, along with their fate and places of detention; and to assume full responsibility for their safety and lives.

The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Special Rapporteur on the subject of torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment must also swiftly and impartially investigate the detention conditions of all Palestinians in Israeli prisons and detention centres, including those killed there since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on the Strip, and take appropriate action to hold those responsible accountable and provide justice to the victims.

[dualcastimpact]

the tale overflows (it carries your light out to sea)

to be known is to be loved; (and so eternally beloved you become)

Happy nameday, Raginmar!

More context about each character and their relationship with Raginmar below the cut.

L'vazha Tia and Canso Lechanteur

Members of Viatgers Vuit, an adventuring party consisting of Raginmar and his closest companions. Raginmar and L'vazha are both rogues affiliated with the Dutiful Sisters of the Edelweiss (with L'vazha having extensive reach in the shadows beyond that), while Raginmar and Canso both stood against the Garlean Empire at one point in their past (and paid dearly for it). While their histories and personalities vary greatly – Raginmar is a near-unflappable veteran soldier with quiet, cutting wit; L'vazha is a lord in the criminal underworld masquerading as a friendly, jovial merchant; and Canso is a beguilingly charming former Imperial prisoner–turned–adventurer – the ruthless and cold-blooded pragmatism they all share sets them apart from the rest of the party.

Viatgers Vuit are no strangers to killing. These men murder.

Adricienne Brookes

Member of Viatgers Vuit. Currently a postmaster affiliated with the Delivery Moogles, Adricienne was briefly a Scion of the Seventh Dawn before setting out to become an adventurer on her own terms. Joining Raginmar in delving into the mysteries of Haukke Manor was what inspired her to leave Gridania to see the world for herself – a decision that has literally broadened her horizons and taken her across the borders of Eorzea and to all corners of the known world, and eventually reconnected her with her long-lost father.

Regissant Aujouerre and Niko Maimhov

Unaffiliated with Viatgers Vuit, Regissant and Niko are a duo of adventurers who cross paths with Raginmar frequently, beginning from their first adventuring job with Gridania's Carline Canopy, forming a party to investigate the Tam-Tara Deepcroft. Being a Highlander, a Duskwight and a Keeper of the Moon respectively, the trio faced significant prejudice from the Gridanian healer in their party who eventually abandoned them midway through battling the cultists cloistered within the deepcroft – surviving the ordeal fostered a deep bond between them that lasted over years of infrequent meetings in taverns and adventurer guild halls. Similar to Adricienne, it was Raginmar who encouraged the two to leave Gridania and free themselves from the city-state's deeply prejudiced societal shackles, and they have now made a name for themselves across Eorzea and beyond.

Fionn Airgetlam

Member of the Lemures, a Garlean order dedicated to protecting and supporting Garlean refugees in Eorzea. Fionn is technically one such refugee, having been created as a warmachina as part of the VIIth Imperial Legion's Weapon project – only scaled down to the size of a man and possessing of the Warrior of Light's combat data. Despite the nature of its creation, the warmachina developed sentience and chose to flee his creators, eventually finding himself in Ul'dah where he came face-to-face with the very man he was created to destroy.

He had expected death from the Warrior of Light. He had not expected compassion; it was his extremely timely intervention that saved Fionn and fellow Lemure Arnegis from near-certain death. Raginmar would later outfit Fionn with a new arm, replacing the one that had been destroyed in his fight against the voidsent Orcus, and assist him with gaining entry into the abandoned keep of Dusk Vigil to rescue his mentor Drusilla.

(in another timeline, it would be through his first-hand knowledge of the Weapons project that Raginmar could save Gaius' children from perishing in battle and eventually save Alfonse Baelsar from complete subsummation into the Diamond Weapon)

Marzanna Branmirasch and Sasariku Nonoriku

Members of Viatgers Vuit. Originally an independent duo of adventurers, Marzanna and Sasariku became part of the party after joining a number of them on a primal-dispatching quest. It would not be after many adventures moons later that they would learn of Marzanna's past as an Imperial scientist and engineer responsible for the horrific deaths of Raginmar's subordinates over ten years ago. Despite the revelation that nearly tore the party apart, Sasariku stood by his friend and first adventuring partner until the very end – to a resolution that only Raginmar and Marzanna know. Their history remains unknown to the others even now.

Marzanna's scene only shows her (stand-in model's) tail because the female Hrothgar is still unreleased in-game as of the creation of this post; maybe one day I'll remake this once Dawntrail releases.

Kirika Kagutsuchi and Hyllizirn Ahldachtwyn

Members of Viatgers Vuit – the very first members, in fact: Kirika, Hyllizirn, L'vazha and Raginmar were the initial four members of what would eventually become one of Eorzea's finest adventuring parties, although they began their journey simply as a way to make ends meet in a strange new land. Throughout their adventures, Raginmar remained their steadfast pillar of unwavering support – from guild quests to journeys of self-discovery, internal conflicts and reclamations of honour, there is nobody the Viatgers Vuit trust with their lives more that him.