#cipher talk

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The Gaza municipality has been fundraising so it can supply people with water, increase its current ability to maintain sanitation, repair roads, and implement pest control. The current campaign is at 82% of its goal of 1,000,000 USD. There are 35 days remaining for the fundraiser.

There are also these graphics that you can post on Instagram or even print out and wheatpaste up as posters!

There's also a campaign for the Artifical Limbs and Polio Center, which has $663 out of its goal of $100,000

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Funds for Haiti and Haitian Americans

A Haitian American woman with long Covid and her daughter with cancer have both been struggling to raise funds that would help them during their illnesses. Both of them live in the Midwest, which is where a lot of the most recent fear mongering has been centered.

COJEHA is a Haitian organization that provides financial support for youth, teaches agricultural skills, helps ensure children attend school, and teaches other soft life skills. They're working on building a farm with fish and vegetable crops where teaching occurs, which will also increase local access to fresh food.

P4H Global is the organization that has been working on building the canal connected to the Massacre River, another agricultural project. They have also been working to support education in Haiti, with both teachers and students.

The Haitian Community Center in Springfield, Ohio. Springfield's food bank, community health center, and a local Catholic organization that provides aid are also accepting donations.

Richard Pierrin is a journalist who has had to flee Haiti and is trying to get a visa that will allow him to work, and that doesn't end after 3 months.

Marc Henry and his family have been dealing with food insecurity for months, and are trying to get funds so they can eat, as well as supplies like livestock and fishing equipment so they can sustain themselves even after the fundraiser is done. They're close to their goal.

An elderly couple's home was damaged multiple times over the last few years and they are trying to raise funds to finish construction. They are also very close to their goal.

A fundraiser for children in Jacmel to provide food, water, and clothes.

A fund for several families to secure plane tickets out of the country

OTRAH is an organization that helps trans Haitians and wants to expand their services to combat HIV. They don't have a gofundme, instead donations are discussed over email.

There is also this thread of Haitian gofundmes which updates fairly regularly

This document explaining the leadup to where we are now also names some organizations that could use financial support

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Fundraisers for Sudan

Funding for food at the Kassab IDP camp

The Save El Geneina initiative, which provides food and education/childcare to refugees in Chad

Evacuation fund organized by a friend of mine for 15 families trying to get out of Darfur

Food aid for Sudanese refugees in Cairo, who urgently need it as they face discrimination in Egypt

The Khartoum Aid Kitchen, a program supporting 10 kitchens that feeds thousands of people in the greater Khartoum area

The relocation and potential evacuation of an extended family consisting of at least 33 people

The Sudanese American Physician Association, which has been supporting hospitals and medical professionals in Sudan

The Darfur Women's Action Group (Darfur being a region with a higher Black Non-Arab population)

Two initiatives aimed at distributing menstrual hygiene products to people in Sudan

Hometax, a trusted on the ground org

Aid for the Gorom Refugee Camp in South Sudan, handled by a refugee led program

A continually updated thread on Twitter of even more gofundmes

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Hurricane Helene Relief Funds

Brother Wolf Animal Rescue operates out of Asheville, which has been hit aggressively by storm and flood damage

The Asheville Survival Program is reaching out. They appear to actually be the ones who use the Cashapp $Streets1de, and they just got put with Appalachian Med for convenience.

Beloved Asheville is reaching out. www.PayPal.me/belovedasheville and venmo.com/beloved-asheville

Homeward Bound helps the homeless in the Asheville/Buncombe area

Theres a fund for smaller rural communities around Asheville. It's close to its goal, but I really wish they'd set it higher considering what people are gonna need. Someone make sure they surpass it!

Charlotte NC is reaching out. Charlotte Mutual Aid: Helene Disaster Relief. CashApp: MutualAid704. Venmo: MutualAid704. Open Collective: Helene.cltfnb.com

Olive Branch Ministry is reaching out from West NC

Josh Griffith is fundraising for his efforts to deliver food in WNC

Breathitt County in Kentucky is fundraising to help NC through the Rousseau Volunteer Fire Department, as well as asking for physical supply donations. Their paypal is jrousseauvfd, put "for NC flood". Jaxon Flower shop in Jackson KY will also take physical donations. They aren't looking for clothes, moreso cleaning supplies and other items.

North Durham Mutual Aid is reaching out.

Eastern Kentucky Mutual Aid is also reaching out for funds. There looks like there might be two orgs with similar names, but if so both are helping. There's PayPal.me/ekymutualaid, Venmo - @ekymutualaid, or Cashapp - $ekymutualaid. There's also a Facebook group where individuals are posting requests for aid.

There's a fund for relief in Erwin, Tennessee

Helbender Harm Reduction is collecting physical supplies in Knoxville alongside First Aid Collective Knoxille, whose Cashapp/Venmo is: $firstaidcollectknox. If you're nearby they're looking for clothes, blankets, shelf stable food, rain gear, flashlights, and batteries, which is what most other groups asking for supplies are looking at too.

The TriCities Mutual Aid group is mostly asking for volunteers and supplies in the Tennessee/Virginia area. However, they may shift to donations, and you can reach out to them to see if they would be welcome either way.

Food Not Bombs Tallahassee has a cashapp: $fnbtally2022. They and Mutual Aid Athens are also boosting any community calls for funds, labor, or supplies in various states on their Instagram pages

Taylor County FL is reaching out. Paypal: Mskatonic138@gmail.com and Venmo @Mskatonic138

The Footprint project's Florida team is asking for people to support their response by texting HELENE to 44-321

Since I don't know if the post I made late last night will get traction I'll reiterate that Mutual Aid Disaster Relief is a trusted org. You can send funds at the linked site, or via Paypal: MutualAidDisasterRelief@gmail.com Or Venmo: @MutualAidDisasterRelief

Appalachian Med is another trusted org I shared last night. They have Venmo: @AppMedSolid. Put Flood Support in the description

Animal Disaster Relief Coalition is helping people make sure their animals are fed.

A list of Mutual Aid groups can be found here

A friend of mine, Vyn, is asking for help since he'll be out of power for around a week in Southeast GA

Other physical supplies people will be looking for in flood impacted areas include:

bottled water, potentially water filters

personal hygiene items: wipes, camping showers, tampons/pads/other menstrual products, handsanitizer, mosquito spray, laundry detergent, washboards, toilet paper, diapers, and especially any products safe for sensitive skin

medications- ibuprofen, monistat and other meds for yeast infections, cold and cough meds, any diabetic meds that can be safely shared, etc

individually wrapped low or no prep food items, baby formula, and Gatorade

duffel bags, backpacks, heavy duty storage totes and trash bags, 5 gallon buckets, coolers

Fans, dehumidifiers, moisture sensors, generators, gas and gas cans, solar charging items and battery banks, first aid kits

chainsaws, crowbars, hammers, air filters, respirators, 2×4 planks, bleach, roofing nails, heavy duty gloves, and potentially waders.

and board games or other non electric activities for children

Double check if you can before you donate these items to make sure whatever local drive you're headed to wants them and can distribute the more specialized ones where they're needed

And please! Add any funds you know of, especially for South Carolina and North Georgia since I wasn't seeing many funds for those areas! I know South Carolina is in desperate need and there's definitely parts of North Georgia in need too. Atlanta saw some bad flooding so keep an eye for them too!

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another Haiti news round up-

The US and the rest of the CORE group are not only continuing the invasion plan supported by the US and the Dominican Republic, they are explicitly aiming to rewrite the constitution. This has unfortunately happened multiple times in Haitian history. This article has been recommended on the subject.

The deportations of Haitians from the Dominican Republic have continued, and have had a massive negative impact on the local economy.

People are being crammed into deportation centers with terrible conditions.

In tandem, the US is also continuing to deport Haitians.

Additionally, the US ambassador to Haiti has admitted to having contact with prominent gang leaders. This not only arouses suspicion about the nature of this contact, it is a blatant example of imbalance and suppression. Haitian journalists cannot interview members of gangs without risking arrest. Many of the gangs in Haiti are also former police/military, and the discussion about "stabilizing" the country via outside intervention typically ignores that the gangs themselves have ties to the would be "stabilizers". These gangs often procure weapons and training from countries like the US, and gang violence has been increasing.

The sharing of photos or videos of violence is also now being censored. This means that Haitians can now be punished for recording evidence of crimes committed against them. This is being framed like it will impact the public promotion of gang violence, as many post about their crimes online, but many Haitians are doubtful that it will be anything other than censorship.

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women in STEM (Stabbing, Treason, Extortion, and Murder)

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thinking about how Sisko is a Moses-figure, not a Jesus figure

He is in some way culturally foreign to the religion he's connected to

He isn't a "Savior", the epithet commonly given to Jesus, but an "Emissary"- a messenger, something closer to a Deliverer

He doesn't die to cleanse Bajor of sin, but is told he will not find his rest there- he us kept from the Promised Land because of a violation in his relationship to the divine

"Idris this is nitpicking" no, the persistent confusion between Moses and Jesus parallels in literature is ignorant and often erases important cultural nuances. In Supermans case it erases the Judaism of it all and in this case there's a VERY specific importance Moses has to the Black diaspora in the Western Hemisphere, and I can't help but think that was possibly intentionally invoked

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Marah, @freepaleatine95, is one of many people displaced in Gaza over the past year. Food is scarce as Gaza has been cut off, and when avaliable it is expensive. These are hard enough to deal with by oneself, when you are reasonably healthy. But again, like many Palestinians in Gaza, Marah is not alone, and the issue of food cannot be isolated from everything else. In her particular situation, both her parents are diabetic.

I am sure that most reading this know what diabetes is, but most likely have a very surface level understanding of it- a key point I would like to impress upon you is that infrequent access to food makes diabetes worse, even if its just infrequent throughout the day. My mother is diabetic, and constantly keeps snacks to moderate her blood sugar. Diabetes also makes any infections you have worse, and can make you more likely to get infections. Not all diabetics are insulin dependent, but infrequent access to food and other factors can shift your health so that you become insulin dependent. If food is not easily getting into Gaza, then one must understand: other medications like insulin aren't either. The treatment for Marah's parents is not accessible.

They have over 38k out of their goal of 50k, which will not only help care for Marah and her parents until they can evacuate, but also her married sisters and her young nieces and nephews. There still is a ways to go, but it is the final stretch. Having enough good food always impacts ones health, but this is especially important in this instance. Even a little can add up to a lot, so long as many people dedicate themselves to a little.

The family fundraiser has been verified here by @90-ghost

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I don't think there's enough appreciation for the dark cosmic humor that is Kai Winn's problem being that God won't talk to her, and Sisko’s problem is he can't get God to shut up

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Dresses from the Kharga Oasis region, from Costumes of Egypt by Shahira Mehrez

The dresses of the Oasises are distinct from those of the Nile Valley, but they have similar details in their motifs, composition, and construction. Upper Egyptian Nile Valley dresses have a neckline outline of embroidery with a lozenge at the point, and a border a few inches away from that of embroidery, which fastens down the facing. This is present here (though the lozenge is sometimes omitted), and the second border is both generally enlarged, as well as having its point extended into a large diamond, which fastens down the facing. Upper Egyptian dresses also have a shoulder band, which is present here, though with different motifs. Both regions have vertically oriented lines of embroidery. The Kharga dresses have descending trefoils, chevrons, honey combs, and small crosses in common with Upper Egyptian embroidery. Though the Kharga dresses use plenty of red, it is not as predominant as it is in Upper Egypt.

Unlike Valley dresses, there is no evidence of telli being used in Kharga. Instead, faux coins are sewn on. These may be removed when dresses are sold so the original owner can keep them.

These older tob sebleh dresses are likely predecessors of the Kharga dresses, displaying similar color palettes, motifs, and composition details.

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thinking about how the two times Julian sees Garak do computer stuff before his depression era, he gets this gleam in his eye that screams "I'm gonna fuck that old man"

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I saw a post where someone translated the "No bitches?" meme into Cree, and that reminds me that Coptic has a pretty direct translation for "maidenless".

ⲁⲧⲥϩⲓⲙⲓ (atshimi), meaning "wifeless", and ⲙⲛⲧⲁⲧⲥϩⲓⲙⲉ (mntatshime) meaning "wifelessness"

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something something. Garak privately taking Julian aside after DBIP and sternly offering hand to hand training and sparring because he knows Julian has never actually had combat training for his real strength and dexterity and that's unacceptable with a war on. Pinning Julian again and again. Telling him to hit him like he means it, like he truly might die. Goading him.

Julian snapping and really hitting him. Garak wiping the blood off his face and grinning. The two of them going at until exhaustion- finally, finally, Julian feeling something inside him unspool, all the grief and heartache and rage having an outlet, an outlet with someone who doesn't give a damn, who's invited and incited and encouraged him to this point

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concept: Julian and Garak somewhere they shouldn't be. Someone is coming. Julian whispers in Garak's ear to play along and puts Garak's hands on hips. Starts moaning in his ear- quiet at first, then louder and louder. Writhes against Garak a bit. Garak bends his head down to make it look like he's necking him, tightens his grip- to sell it, of course. The footsteps pass. Whoever was too embarrassed to open the door and check in on what was going on. They part. Garak is horny gripping his nails into his palms the rest of the day.

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The Dominican Republic has seemingly pledged troops to the MSS, an operation that is functionally a planned invasion of Haiti.

This a particularly concerning matter as the Dominican Republic has fostered a campaign of hatred for Haiti for a very long time. The DR restricts citizenship for those of Haitian descent, which it does for no other population. The border between the two states has been closed for around a year, but deportations have continued, and African Americans have been advised not to travel to the DR at all in recent times. Abinader (the DR president) has been pushing for MSS for around three years. Haitians and Dominican allies describe the situation as an example of the inherent failures of a two state solution. And yes, Abinader has threatened further escalation if MSS does not go according to his wishes for the operation.

The Dominican Republic is obviously, not the only nation involved. Lula, the president of Brazil, has been upkeeping his track record of destabilizing and creating havoc in Haiti. Ruto, the president of Kenya, is the one pledging the bulk of the troops for the operation. The US has given tacit approval to this, also furthering its long trend of abusing Haiti. Harris and the Biden administration, much like Abinader, have been pushing for intervention in Haiti long before now, though naturally, Americans frame this as "aid", when Haitians very much do not see it that way. Further, the Biden administration has expressed a desire for allyship with the Dominican Republic, which in this context, absolutely does not bode well.

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Imad Abunada (@imadfamily) is PhD student in France. His family, however, is in Gaza. The difficulty faced has put him in the position of potentially halting his studies, which would make him unable to support his family and unable to repay the debt he's incurred while doing so. He is his family's only financial support, as there is very little opportunity for people to earn an income in Gaza under the bombardment. Earlier on, one of his brothers was able to make some money, but now there is nothing. He has his parents for support, two sisters, and three brothers.

They have a short term goal of €3,000, and still need €1,129 to reach it. I know there are people with the money to make this possible. Please, if you can, take the time to support him and his family.