#victory over aids flag

[hellokittystims]

Victory over AIDS LGBT flag 🖤

“The flag was reportedly suggested by a San Francisco organisation, and Sergeant Leonard Phillip Matlovich – a Vietnam War veteran – suggested that the black stripe be removed, and all surviving flags featuring the black stripe burnt, once a cure for AIDS had been discovered.”

x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x

[joelswritingmistress]

Neighbors with Benefits: Chapter 14 (Joel x reader)

Joel Miller x f!reader

Word Count: 2000

Your mother was busy getting all the side dishes ready for the picnic while your dad packed coolers of beer, soda and water outside and prepped the grill.

“I'll bring these out,” you offered, repeating what felt like a thousand times, “What else do you need?”

You knew your mother had a thousand things to say, and maybe a hundred questions after that. Still, she remained cordial and attempted to seem normal on the surface. You knew by her tightly wound mannerisms that she wasn't even close to portraying that - at least not to you. She might've fooled a coliseum full of people with her mask, but not you.

When everything was set up and less than an hour remained until guests began to arrive, you tried to excuse yourself.

“Okay, I’m going to shower.” You scampered toward the stairs but your mother called you back.

Fuck. You had almost gotten up the stairs, but without stalling made your way back to where your mom stood in the kitchen.

“Do you need any more help?” You tried to butter her up a bit by offering your aid and pressing on a smile, but your mother wasn't having it.

“You need to consider what you're doing, (Y/N),” she warned, “I'm saying it for your own good.”

“Okay,” you halfheartedly agreed.

“I mean it,” your mother went on. “I honestly don't know what other advice to give you. He’s a man. He's married.”

“He's not with Cecille,” you insisted, “Do you really think I'd get involved with a married man? I mean, I guess legally he is but they haven't lived together for awhile and they're getting a legal divorce.”

“You're twenty-three.”

“And I'm able to date who I want to date,” you said without trying to sound confrontational. “Mom, I know on the surface this looks bad. But I'm going to feel this out and see where it goes. If I get my heart broken, it's on me. I have feelings for Joel and he has feelings for me. I’ll deal with the consequences, whatever they might be.”

She stared at you for a long moment before saying quietly. “Okay.” Her white flag was waving and, if nothing else, she was done fighting you on it - for the moment.

A temporary victory. You knew this meant your mother wasn't going to tell your father; not yet. And so you silently thanked her with a closed-mouth smile and took the stairs to take a shower.

***

The picnic had dragged. You checked your phone again and again and again. Joel, you guessed, was refraining from being the one to initiate conversation. You couldn't blame him, and you hoped that was all it was - him being cautious.

What if it's over? You wondered. What if that's it? What if all this scared him off?

Your anxiety got the best of you and you wandered around the side of your house to text him. Your thumbs danced on the screen as you asked how his day was going, if he got in touch with Tommy and if later was still good to meet up.

You chewed on your thumbnail and rounded back into the picnic. It was much to your relief that Cecille hadn't shown up. As the hours ticked by you grew more hopeful that she wouldn't swing by. Still, seeing her car in the driveway next door made your insides twist with a concoction of feelings.

Ding! Your phone sounded off and your head was pulled down like a magnet toward the screen.

Text me a time, Joel texted back to you, remember how to get to the fishing spot?

You typed back without hesitation: Yes. I'll let you know when I'm done here.

All you wanted was to be back with. You wanted to take in his body language, hear his words. You wanted to know that despite what had happened that morning, that everything was alright.

You glanced around the backyard at the scene you would have typically enjoyed. There was a four on four volleyball game going on, two people were playing cornhole, others were talking and laughing around the tables you'd helped your parents set up. Regardless of the smiles, the music, the laughter and the sun shining down on everyone, your smiles were forced and fake.

By the time the last of the guests were waving goodbye, you couldn't wait any longer.

Seven o'clock? You typed to Joel, while helping your parents clean up.

You folded a table in half and began lugging it toward the open bay of the garage. When your phone pinged, you set the table down on the driveway so you could check it.

I'm addicted, you acknowledged. Fuck.

Being head over heels for someone was more than you bargained for. You truly felt addicted to Joel Miller.

I'll be waiting, Joel wrote back.

His words out more pep in your step, and you hurried to lug in the cornhole boards and a second table. Inside, you helped your mother wrap up some of the leftovers and wipe down the countertops before finally hurrying to retrieve your keys and a backpack you prepared.

“Are you going to be home tonight?” Your mother asked. She held your gaze and you shook your head.

“I don't think so “ you told her honestly, “But I'll let you know for sure.” She added, “Is that alright?”

“Like you said, you're twenty-three.” She shrugged. “You can do whatever you want.” Your mother turned toward the sink. “Be careful. And text me.”

“I love you.”

She turned and met your gaze. Despite her outward, quiet concern for the situation she said honestly. “I love you, too.”

On a completely opposite and oblivious note, your father high-fived you by the front door as he entered after putting some things in the garage.

“See ya later, kiddo!”

You smiled to yourself, relieved by his nonchalant demeanor. “See ya later, Dad. Love ya.”

“I love you, too.”

You were out the door a few seconds later, speeding off into the night to meet Joel at your secret location. You needed to see him in the worst way. Despite his agreement to meet, there was doubt that plagued the back of your mind.

What if, what if, what if…

Your foot hit the gas a little harder as you drove from back road to back road until the park came into view. You had to really think to remember a few of the last bends in the road but soon you recognized the wooded area that led down to the lake.

Where is he? Where is he?

Relief filled your core when you saw Joel’s truck in a small clearing. Your stomach filled with butterflies as you pulled up beside him. Joel turned from where he sat in the driver’s seat and he flung his door open almost immediately.

Oh, no, you thought. He has something to say.

Joel looked like a man on a mission. You prepared yourself for the worst. You prepared yourself for the heartache. The other shoe was about to drop. All of a sudden you were scared to get out of the car. Joel's face was too serious. If you just sat there then you wouldn't have to hear his let down.

Stop! You scolded yourself.

You popped open your door and let yourself as Joel rounded the front of your car.

Fuck, he looks good.

Joel was all you thought all about all day - not that that was anything new. He stared at you down with jeans a snug fitting white t-shirt. It hugged his rugged upper in all the right places and your former anxious thoughts were replaced far different ones.

“Hi,” you said to him, folding your hands in front of you.

Joel didn't immediately say anything. He appeared as if he was studying you. You were sure he was far better at it than you were.

He walked the rest of the way to you and you went to speak again.

“Joel, I-” You were cut off when he grabbed your face and kissed you firmly on the lips. You kissed him back, letting your guard down completely in his embrace. Almost immediately it grew heated. Your hands began to wander. He began to snake your shirt up over your head and before you knew it you were nearly naked in the bed of his truck with his body blanketing yours.

“Joel,” you finally choked out, “I want you.”

“I love you,” he voiced in a gruff whisper against your lips before devouring them once more.

“I love you,” you whimpered back. One of your legs hooked around his naked waist and Joel groaned into your mouth.

Everything about the moment was feral and raw and right. Being apart all day amidst the uncertainty and the angst made you needy for one another. As bad as you wanted Joel, you wondered if he wanted you more. It felt impossible, but the way he approached you that evening without even saying a word left you breathless.

Darkness had fully taken over the world when the two of you finished. Even long after your lovemaking was through, your lips touched, your hands explored one another and Joel kissed along your collarbone, neck and shoulders.

Being out in nature completely nude and basking in the afterglow of perhaps the most tender, emotional sex you had ever had was an experience you wouldn't soon forget.

“I was afraid you were going to break things off with me,” you said quietly, kissing Joel’s neck as he closed his eyes beside you.

“I could never do that.”

“Never?” You let your teeth graze his neck as you continued to kiss him there.

“Mmm..” Joel moaned out loud, “Never.”

Laying face-to-face you linked your arm up under his and rested your palm on his shoulder blade. You pulled him close and kissed him. There was no getting enough of Joel. You slipped your tongue past his lips and he eagerly reciprocated. As you made out you felt him harden again against your upper thigh.

“I want you again,” you practically begged, pulling him closer. “Please.” Your hand drifted down to his lower back and Joel rolled his body back on top of yours with your encouragement.

His kiss was smoldering. You pawed your arms around him and tangled a hand in his thick, dark hair. When Joel’s lips parted from yours he kissed down your neck to the tops of your breasts before separating himself from you.

“No,” you begged, pulling him back with a smile as your teeth caught your bottom lip.

Joel satisfied you with a sloppy, closed-mouth kiss. “I'm just reaching inside for some blankets,” he explained, whispering against your lips. Joel pried open the back window on his truck and grabbed a small stack of blankets from the back seat.

You adjusted so he could place a few down on the truck bed and then laid back down flat and pulled him back to you.

Your bodies connected immediately as his lips crashed back against yours. When your lips finally parted to take a breath, you gasped out the words, “Don't leave me.”

Why was this such a problem for you? Even Joel, himself, saying he would never leave wasn't convincing enough. You were too deep into it emotionally and it was making you a wreck inside.

Joel, patient as ever, brought his lips to your ear. “You're mine.” His teeth latched onto your ear lobe and he swirled his tongue around the area. “All mine.”

Your head dropped back in pleasure and you dug your fingers into his back.

New kink unlocked.

CLICK HERE FOR NEXT CHAPTER

@mellymbee @pedropascal111 @axshadows @mybritishstyle @untamedheart81 @amyispxnk @goodvibesonly421 @cosmic006533-blog @ashleyfilm @maybetomorrowgirl @rebeccawinters @cuteanimalmama @vickie5446 @writlingerz @drewharrisonwriter @churchofjoemiller

[genderqueerpositivity]

Because we always need more rainbows.

(Image description: ten square pride flags with white text that reads "you'll never have the comfort of our silence again".)

These are inspired by an image of a sign taken at an anti-Anita Bryant protest in 1978.

Flags:

Six stripe rainbow

Philadelphia pride flag

Indivisibility pride flag

Victory Over AIDS flag

Progress pride flag

Philadelphia pride flag with added trans pride stripes

9 stripe Love Fest Festival pride flag

Rainbow/bisexual flag combination

Gilbert Baker's 2017 9 stripe Diversity flag

Baker's Diversity flag with added black and brown stripes

[90shaladriel]

Theory: Sauron Did Not Kill Galadriel's Brother in the Rings of Power

In my quest to exonerate the Dark Lord Sauron of all his accusations of wrong doing I wanted to present a little theory I've been thinking about. (Has anyone shared this before? Please let me know in the replies).

The premise given to us in Rings of Power Season 1 in Galadriel's opening prologue is that after Morgoth was defeated (in the The War of Wrath) that Sauron bade any who would follow to the North.

Finrod, Galadriel's eldest brother and king of Nargothrond who canonically was killed honoring an oath to aid Beren in his quest to recover a Silmaril for Luthien's father before the War of Wrath, went on a mission to seek out Sauron and bring him to justice dead or alive presumably. Finrod was killed and Galadriel found his corpse which was desecrated with the strange markings.

This sent Galadriel on a quest for vengeance for hundreds of years looking for the Orcs who killed her brother and she believed still served Sauron.

She finds the same symbol on the anvil in the dark fortress in the Forodwaith where Sauron had ruled before being assassinated by Adar and the Uruks. Later she learns was a symbolic map of Mordor in the event of Morgoth's defeat.

In Season 1 the Uruks under Adar's leadership invade the Southlands and enact the secret fallback plan to create Mordor which Sauron in disguise even tries to prevent.

So what about the theory?

Galadriel says Finrod was killed by Sauron. She believes it.

Galadriel also believes the symbol is Sauron's symbol.

Galadriel believes that Sauron plans to return to power through the plan she learned about and that his goals are to take over Middle Earth or at least pose a threat to her people's kingdom when he does.

What if she were wrong as so many of her Elven peers believed?

Sauron never used or uses the symbol for himself

We never saw Sauron using the symbol of Mordor for himself. After the defeat of Morgoth he does not encourage the Uruks to go to the Southlands, he literally takes them in the opposite direction, to the North. As the symbol is a creation of RoP and set in the second age, it also tracks that Sauron adopts the "Eye of Sauron" symbol for himself.

Adar on the other hand, does use the symbol that was conveniently carved on Finrod's corpse. He uses it as a flag!

Sauron Didn't Enact The Successor Plan

As far as we know from Season 1 and 2, Sauron went directly North, did not pass Go and did not collect $200. He bade all others follow him there where he seemed to work on his experiments of Power over flesh.

If he had killed Finrod in or around the time of the War of Wrath. Why carve a message into Finrod's body that would tell his enemies where they were going?

Were the Uruks possibly already planning the move to the Southlands per the plan when Sauron forced them to the North instead? Hence why they were so eager to rebel against him for Adar?

When we meet Sauron in season 2 he appears to be attempting to find Adar and the Uruks, perhaps to get his own vengeance, but meeting some men along the road they easily persuade him to try to seek Numenor instead. He could care less it seemed if the Southlands did burn or not at this point.

When he had a chance to stop the eruption of Mt. Doom and to fight the Uruks and Adar. He took it eventually and tried his best to prevent it, seemingly. Talk about the 4th Dimensional Chess all you want but he wasn't acting in collaboration with Adar at this point, nor did it particularly help his cause to let Adar have this "victory".

Sauron doesn't carve messages into people's bodies

At least so far... but Adar does in Season 2 before the siege the Elvish soldiers find one of their men mutilated with a message for Sauron "Where is He". That seems to be Adar and Uruks calling card.

Again there is no reason for Sauron to carve the symbol of Mordor into Finrod. Especially if that was pre-War of Wrath: Beren & Luthien timeframe. If ROP has a different timeframe for Finrod's death which comes after the War of Wrath, it's not clear that Finrod even was killed before or after Sauron was overthrown by his own soldiers.

There's also the bit where Adar and the Orcs are branding the Southlanders with the symbol of Mordor. They don't view it as Sauron's symbol but claim it for themselves.

Sauron never admits he did it

Well why would he? It's a fair question. He did come clean with various other aspects of what he did to Galadriel. In the forge when he says "I'm sorry. For your brother. For all of it." He doesn't say he is sorry for what HE did to her brother, just for his own part in the overall war and the fact that he worked side by side with that enemy in the darkness for so long.

In the canon story, Sauron definitely orders Finrod's death. Again in ROP this might not be how it happened. If the timeline is:

Morgoth defeated

Sauron goes to Forodwaith with the Uruks

Finrod goes to hunt Sauron

Sauron is turned into the goop monster by Adar

Somewhere the Finrod comes upon Adar and the Uruks in the wild lands as they journey to the South and kill him. Carve up his remains as a message to other Orcs making that journey to their new home

Galadriel finds the corpose of her missing brother and takes up his quest for vengence, assuming that it was Sauron's doing not Adar's

In this timeline, Sauron has an alibi!

Sauron knows Adar did it and yet he is taking the blame

This might give further meaning to the exchange between Halbrand and Adar in S1E6 where he pins Adar down.

Adar says "did I cause someone you love pain?"

Sauron winces and barely contains his rage. What if Sauron KNOWS it was Adar who killed Finrod and how much that pain has brought to Galadriel? But he cannot tell Galadriel the real truth without revealing himself at this moment. As we all know now, Sauron loves Galadriel, so Adar's words perfectly reflect what Sauron is feeling.

"You don't know what he did!" Sauron barks at her when she tells him to stop.

It makes so much more sense.

Does it excuse Sauron for pretending to be Finrod when he invades Galadriel's mind in S1E8... eh.. not really, but it does change the context to be slightly less creepy I suppose?

[mystery-twin-mystery-bags]

STRETCH GOAL UPDATE #11

WE DID IT! We reached our all of our stretch gals, and now this McGucket standee designed by PossumBreath on YouTube could be yours for Tiers 4+! We have been beyond grateful and amazed by all of your support for this project; and there is still six more days to get yourself a Mystery Twin Mystery Bag.

Shop | Kofi All proceeds go to aid for Gaza. Preorders close January 15th!

How Do Stretch Goals work in a “Mystery” Bag? Stretch goals add items to the Mystery Bag item pool!

In the case of stretch goal pins, charms, or stickers, reaching this goal means the ones in your bag might be upgraded to a specialty charm/pin or a holo sticker!

In the case of other stretch goals, like notebooks and fake tattoos, these will be added to all boxes above a designated tier!

The only bag tier where you are guaranteed to get all items, including stretch goal items, is Tier 5!

Stan & Ford Chibi Art by @starryemeralds

Image Description: an animated video with various graphics while the Gravity Falls Theme song plays.

Image 1: The background is a painted background of the forest in Gravity Falls. In light yellow words is, "STRETCH GOAL #11 UNLOCKED!" that bounces.

The image slides to the next.

Image 2: In front of the same background now has a trail, labeled "STRETCH GOAL CHASE!" On on end is a chili angry Ford; at the other end is Stan running with the Mystery Bag -- a navy blue pouch with Dipper and Mabel's zodiac symbols in the Palestinian flag colors. Spread out across the trail are various silhouetted items with a yellow question mark over them. Ford runs from the tenth to the eleventh, which then enlarges to the center of the screen.

The image slides to the next.

Image 3: A graphic designed to look like a page from Journal 3 with coffee stains, ink splatters, and symbols. On a taped slip of paper in the top right corner reads: "350 ORDERS STANDEE" Below are is a standee of McGucket. Side 1 of a young McGucket sitting and playing with a Rubik's cube; the other side is of McGucket in a Society of the Blind Eye robe and holding the memory gun.

Image 4: The forest background returns, now with the "How Do Stretch Goals Work in a “Mystery” Bag?" message from above.

The image slides to the next.

Image 5: Chibi art of a victorious Ford holding the Mystery Twin Mystery Bag while Chibi Stan stands annoyed behind him. Above them reads "ALL STRETCH GOALS REACHED!!" And then below, "Thank you for your support"

[workingclasshistory]

On this day, 19 July 1936, in response to a right-wing coup by general Francisco Franco, workers across Spain took up arms and launched one of the most far-reaching social revolutions in history. The ensuing civil war pitted the working class against the Spanish capitalists, who were backed by Nazi Germany and fascist Italy. In the revolutionary areas, anarchist and socialist workers and peasants took over workplaces and land and began to run them collectively. Thousands of mostly working class people came from all over the world to aid the workers of Spain. One of them was British socialist author George Orwell, who described the scene in Barcelona: "It was the first time that I had ever been in a town where the working class was in the saddle. Practically every building of any size had been seized by the workers and was draped with red flags or with the red and black flag of the Anarchists; every wall was scrawled with the hammer and sickle and with the initials of the revolutionary parties… Every shop and café had an inscription saying that it had been collectivised… Waiters and shop-walkers looked you in the face and treated you as an equal. Servile and even ceremonial forms of speech had temporarily disappeared. Nobody said ‘Señor’ or ‘Don’ or even ‘Usted’". Western democracies, including Britain and France, abandoned the republic and enforced a blockade on Spain which stopped the flow of aid and weapons to the anti-fascists. Meanwhile, Italy and Germany openly flouted the ban, and the US oil giant Texaco supplied the nationalists with oil and other supplies without even demanding payment while stopping any supplies to the republic. Ultimately, after nearly three years of bitter and bloody warfare, the nationalists with their superior weaponry and equipment, were victorious. Learn more in our podcast eps 39-40. We've also got books and more commemorating it, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/spanish-civil-war?sort_by=created-descending https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=664426942397191&set=a.602588028581083&type=3

[pmvstump]

flag is under the read more :)

i also made a version where i combined it with the 2017 philadelphia pride flag (black and brown stripes at the top) and another with the victory over aids black stripe at the bottom. both can be seen here.

[leohtttbriar]

The conservative US supreme court justice Samuel Alito spoke to Donald Trump hours before the president-elect’s lawyers asked the court to delay Friday’s sentencing hearing in his felony conviction for falsifying business records. The pair talked on the phone to discuss the credentials of one of Alito’s former law clerks, who has been recommended for a job in Trump’s incoming administration. “William Levi, one of my former law clerks, asked me to take a call from president-elect Trump regarding his qualifications to serve in a government position,” Alito told ABC News, which broke the story. “I agreed to discuss this matter with president-elect Trump, and he called me yesterday [Wednesday] afternoon.”

Alito said they did not discuss the sentencing application or any other past or pending matter coming before the court that might involve Trump. But advocacy groups said the conversation revived ongoing ethics concerns surrounding several court justices, including Alito himself. Routine job references for a prospective administration officials are usually dealt with by lower-level aides, rather than the president himself.

“The call was merely an excuse for Trump to speak with one of the nine people determining the fate of his hush money sentencing in the coming days and who will review many more Trump-related issues over the next four years,” Gabe Roth, executive director of Fix the Court, an advocacy group, told the New York Times. “Typically, Trump and Alito are better at hiding their ethics issues, at least for a few months or sometimes longer. But with the supreme court green lighting near-absolute presidential immunity last year, and with Congress refusing to pass enforceable ethics for the justices, it appears there’s no reason to even try.” Trump’s lawyers have asked the court to delay a sentencing hearing scheduled for Friday – 10 days before his inauguration – at a court in New York over Trump’s 34 felony convictions for falsifying documents in relation to hush money paid to the adult actor Stormy Daniels shortly before his 2016 election victory. The conviction could carry a four-year jail sentence, although the judge, Juan Merchan, has indicated that he is likely to give Trump an unconditional discharge – in effect confirming his status as a convicted felon – in view of his presidential transition efforts and last July’s supreme court ruling granting him broad immunity for acts carried out in his role as president. Alito previously faced calls, which he rejected, to recuse himself from cases involving Trump, over the January 6 attack on the US Capitol and his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. The demands followed disclosures that a US flag was flown upside down – a symbol used by pro-Trump protesters in the January 6 breach – at Alito’s Virginia home, while a so-called “Appeal to Heaven” flag, also used by Trump supporters, was displayed at his holiday home in New Jersey.

[divorcedwife]

i found another great anecdote in the memoirs of Marcellin Marbot... Marbot recounts a story where he presented Napoleon with some captured flags from a victory over the Austrians, and then a few days later helped Napoleon put on a little play to scare the ambassador of Prussia

"Marshal of the Palace Duroc, after telling us what we were to do, had all the Austrian flags which we had brought from Bregenz secretly replaced in the lodgings which Massy and I occupied; then, some hours later, when the Emperor was in conversation with Count Haugwitz in his study, we re-enacted the ceremony of the handover of the flags in exactly the same way as it had been done on the first occasion. The Emperor hearing the band playing in the courtyard, feigned astonishment, and went to the windows followed by the ambassador. Seeing the flags carried by the N.C.O.s. he called for the duty aide-de-camp and asked him what was going on. The aide-de-camp having told him that we were two of Marshal Augereau's aides who had come to hand over to him the flags of Jellachich's Austrian corps captured at Bregenz, we were led inside; there Napoleon, without blinking an eyelid, and as if he had never seen us before, took the letter from Augereau, which had been re-sealed, and read it, although he had been aware of its contents for four days. Then he questioned us, making us go into the smallest details. Duroc had warned us to speak out loudly, as the ambassador was a little hard of hearing, this advice was of no use to Major Massy, who was the leader of the mission, since he was suffering from a cold and had almost completely lost his voice, so it was I who replied to the Emperor, and taking a lead from him, I painted in the most vivid colours the defeat of the Austrians, their despondency, and the enthusiasm of the French. Then, presenting the trophies one after the other, I named the Austrian regiments to which they had once belonged. I laid particular stress on two of them, because I knew that their capture would have a powerful effect on the ambassador, "Here," I said "is the flag of the infantry regiment of his Majesty the Emperor of Austria, and there is the standard of the Uhlans, commanded by the Archduke Charles, his brother." Napoleon's eyes twinkled, and he seemed to say, "Well done young man!" At last he dismissed us, and as we left we heard him say to the ambassador, "You see, monsieur le Comte, my armies are everywhere triumphant…. The Austrian army is no more, and soon the same fate will befall the Russians." Count Haugwitz seemed deeply impressed, and Duroc said to us, after we had left the room, "The count will write tonight to Berlin, to tell his government of the destruction of Jellachich's force, which will put a damper on the war party, and give the king new reasons for holding off. Which is what the Emperor very much wants."

This comedy having been played out, The Emperor, to be rid of a dangerous onlooker who could give an account of the disposition of his forces, suggested to Count Haugwitz that it was not very safe for him to remain between two armies which were about to come to blows, and persuaded him to go to Vienna to M. Tallyrand, his minister for foreign affairs, which he did that same evening.

The following day the Emperor said nothing to us about the scene which had been enacted the previous evening, but wishing, no doubt, to give some sign of his satisfaction with the manner in which we had played our parts, he asked Major Massy, kindly, about the progress of his cold, and he pinched my ear, which with him was a sort of caress."

[mariacallous]

The collapse of the Afghan state amid the United States’ withdrawal in 2021 gifted the new Taliban government with more than $7 billion worth of U.S. military equipment. Afghanistan’s new overlords suddenly found themselves with fleets of Humvees, mountains of machine guns, and forests of radars and satellite dishes. The vast hardware hoard also included dozens of aircraft: a motley mix of Hind and Blackhawk helicopters, cargo planes, and close air support props.

Before the Taliban even had time to inventory their new arsenal, Egyptian filmmaker Ibrahim Nash’at arrived in Kabul. From his home in Berlin, he had seen the scenes of civilians storming Kabul’s international airport in a desperate attempt to flee, and he had managed to obtain permission to come to Afghanistan and film. But his plan—to record the suffering of ordinary Afghans—was swiftly dashed. Accompanied by a Taliban minder at all times and forbidden to film anyone other than a Taliban commander and his men, Nash’at was forced to switch tack. That commander happened to be Mawlawi Mansour, the Taliban fighter in charge of creating a new Taliban air force from the equipment and pilots who were left behind.

Under orders from Mansour, Nash’at became the unexpected chronicler of a high-profile facet of Afghanistan’s regime change. The result is Hollywoodgate, a 90-minute documentary named after the sprawling U.S. base in Kabul, where the Taliban created their new air force after U.S. forces fled. In a total of seven months in the new Afghanistan and assisted only by a lone translator, Nash’at shot 220 hours of footage, later culled down with a team of five producers and nine Afghan translators. Overcoming his subjects’ extreme suspicion, Nash’at managed eventually to blend into Taliban meetings, inspections, and military missions, becoming so invisible that his subjects forgot about his camera and relaxed.

Mansour takes command of the former U.S. air base and immediately sets to work. He inspects his new force and is impressed by the scale of U.S. resources. But he is appalled by their Spartan aesthetics; “plant some trees here” is a constant command to scurrying subordinates as Mansour strides across the base. Taliban conversations show a sudden inversion: Off-screen holdouts against the new regime are “the insurgents” opposed by “our special forces.”

For Mansour’s men, the order of the day is repairing aircraft, many of which were purposely disabled by departing U.S. forces. After a perfunctory grilling, a handful of pilots from the old Afghan air force are welcomed into the new force. (Many others had fled with their aircraft to neighboring countries.) Training new Taliban pilots will take time, but Mansour gets a course up and running, his lecturers aided by a cardboard mock-up of a cockpit.

Women are immediately pushed to the margins of the new Afghanistan. With a whiff of amusement at their past effrontery, Mansour dictates that women in his ministry may return to work, but only if they are veiled. His own wife, he brags to his staff, is a doctor, but he restricted her to the home upon marriage.

The mood among Mansour’s future Taliban airmen is upbeat. We see low-ranking fighters exulting in their victory over the Americans and “the Jews.” An ambitious lieutenant is showered in confetti to celebrate his acceptance into the new air force academy. A gleeful door guard flags every comrade passing him in the hall with his U.S.-made M-4 rifle—the cocktail of frivolity and danger that characterizes many an insurgency or militia in the poorest parts of the world.

At times, the new overlords can verge on endearing. Mansour and his men visit the base’s well-appointed gym, where one Talib struggles to press a pair of dumbbells above his head. The boss steps on a treadmill and happily plods along, ordering one sent to his home “to make my belly smaller.”

I witnessed a very similar scene when I was deployed to Afghanistan as a U.S. Marine more than a decade ago. When we handed over a coalition patrol base to one of the Afghan government’s paramilitary forces, the incoming commander breezed by the fortifications, operations center, and mess hall. But a derelict elliptical trainer in our sandy outdoor gym fascinated him. He hopped aboard with a big grin and churned away, to the bemusement of the handful of watching Marines.

Outside the tight circle in which he was permitted to film, Nash’at was far less welcome, he told me in an interview this summer. In his wordless brushes with Afghan civilians, he felt indicted by their stares. He was convinced that they saw him as an Arab propagandist—a voyeur who had come to Afghanistan to see and celebrate the Taliban’s triumph.

Despite the restrictions placed on him as an outsider, Nash’at managed to get glimpses of ordinary Afghan life. Children occasionally appear onscreen, and we get a sense of the extent to which they have been formed and traumatized by a lifetime of war. Hanging on a tow ring of a hulking mine-resistant vehicle, one boy in a camouflage shalwar kameez mumbles that he will “take a weapon and kill you all.”

After months of maintenance, training, and reorganization, Mansour gets his triumph. Toward the end of Nash’at’s filming, the Taliban stage a military parade for their own men and a handful of Russian, Chinese, and Iranian dignitaries. After a show of marching infantry, armored vehicles, and a battalion intended for suicide bombing on motorcycles, Hinds and Blackhawks fly past the grandstand. It’s a successful first operation for the Taliban’s new air force, even if the fly-by is bit too fast for Mansour’s liking.

In the film’s final scene, Mansour is seen on his cell phone berating an official at the Tajikistan Defense Ministry for harboring the Taliban’s enemies. Nash’at told me he believes that many Taliban have aims beyond Afghanistan’s borders. One high-ranking leader told him, “I can’t wait until we conquer Egypt.” The Taliban believe they and their forebears have turned Afghanistan into the graveyard of empires, defeating the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and now the United States. One fighter exults that “with American weapons we will rule the world!”

Whatever their intentions, the film also leaves viewers skeptical of the Taliban’s ability to wield meaningful military power. Like many journalists since then, Nash’at immediately picked up on the boredom among the Taliban fighters that followed on the heels of military victory. While negotiating Kabul’s traffic in a sedan just weeks after the city’s fall, one of Mansour’s lieutenants tells the filmmaker that he already longs for war: the return of the Americans, 500 bullets, and martyrdom. Late in the film, an enthusiastic crowd of Taliban tries to pile into an aircraft for a VIP test flight and are beaten off with curses by Mansour’s men. Afghanistan’s new rulers are likely to have their hands full just keeping discipline among their own former fighters.

Nash’at likened the realities of governing after fighting to coming down from a narcotic high. Building a bureaucracy seems much harder work than winning a war. Staff meetings and wrangling over budgets are a poor substitute for ambushes and assaults. Early in the film, one Talib waxes nostalgic for the life of an insurgent, showing Nash’at the cave he and a few other men took refuge in.

Despite his fear and disgust of the Taliban, Nash’at believes that the West should engage them. He said that if they are ignored, they will act out for the world’s attention, to the detriment of their own people and the region. But he harbors no illusions that such engagement will yield swift changes in the character of the Taliban.

With Hollywoodgate, now streaming after a limited theatrical release, Nash’at may not have made the film he originally set out to make. The suffering of the Afghan people was walled off from him. The Taliban’s strictures confined him to a narrow lane and, as he notes in an introductory voice-over, to the story they wanted to tell the world. But if the Taliban thought that they had put Nash’at on a short enough leash to force him to produce a piece of propaganda for the new regime, they were mistaken, too.

After Mansour’s air show, Taliban secret police demanded that Nash’at come to their office and show them all of his footage. As he told IndieWire in an interview, he knew then that his work was done: “I was filming the transformation of a militia into a military regime, and I realized at that moment the transformation was complete.” Through empathy, patience, and not a little audacity, Nash’at succeeded in capturing a story of Afghan nation-building—but a far different one than almost any Westerner could have imagined 20 years before.

[alex-dontknow]

long live Israel

75 years compared to Palestine's over a millennia isn't very "long lived" imho

imagine condoning the slaughter, genocide, ethnic cleansing and fascist propaganda of a nation stood upon stolen land and the tears of the very people that welcomed Jews and Christians alike into their country.

imagine seeing children, dead and mutilated, sometimes completely unrecognizable in a city with zero defense where the residents are not allowed to leave or even have humanitarian aid allowed inside and think Israel is somehow the victim.

imagine being such a bootlicker to the west and being so brainwashed by propaganda and publicised lies that when a man shoves a dead child into the camera to plead the world to listen,

when a child sobs at their deceased father asking why he left them,

when a mother refuses to wash the blood off her hands because it's all she has left of her family,

you turn the other cheek and proclaim "long live" to a false nation, an apartheid terrorist state with war crimes too numerous to mention, yet are covered by the powerful to never be prosecuted for.

you stand on the side of history schools will teach children to condemn and remember for the atrocity and barbarity it waved like a flag of victory.

Palestine will not be the ones to wave the white flag.

Long Live Palestine. 🇵🇸❤️

[cobrastrikes421]

LGBTQ art

Bisexual fact:

Overall, 4% of U.S. adults say they identify as bisexual, according to an August 2023 survey by the Center. Younger adults are more likely than older Americans to describe themselves as bisexual. the term bisexual was used in Dutch for the first time in 1877, to refer to a hermaphrodite who had their sexual career as both a heterosexual woman and a heterosexual man. Later, the term bisexuality is used to represent both the double sexual-object choice and androgyny.

Aromantic fact:

Aromantic people can also form non-romantic relationships of all types, as well as being able to enjoy sexual relationships. They may also choose to have children, and studies indicate that aromantic individuals are no less likely to have children than alloromantic individuals. One of the earliest uses of the modern term "aromantic" dates back to 2005. The early online community around aromanticism formed on the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN), an online community around asexuality, and social media platforms such as tumblr.

Progress fact:

a reinterpretation of multiple iterations of the pride flag. The original 'rainbow flag' was created by Gilbert Baker in 1978 to celebrate members of the gay and lesbian political movement. It comprised eight coloured stripes stacked on top of each other to evoke a rainbow, a symbol of hope. Daniel Quasar (xe/xyr pronouns) is the creator of the Progress Pride flag, a combination of the original Pride flag by Gilbert Baker, the Trans Pride flag by Monica Helms in 1999, the More Color, More Pride flag introduced by Amber Hikes in 2017, and a black stripe from the Victory Over AIDS flag, inspired by Sergeant Leonard Matlovich, to represent those lost during the AIDS crisis. This flag design “forces the viewer to confront

Aro/ace fact:

Aromantic asexual people are colloquially known as "aro-ace" or "aroace". Aromantic individuals are also able to experience platonic love and may have committed friendships, and some form intimate non-romantic partnerships called "queerplatonic relationships". the early 2000s as a way for individuals to explore and understand their experiences of limited or absent sexual and romantic attractions.

Agender fact:

agender" was actually on the Internet! It was born in the year 2000, on an Internet forum called UseNet. In a chat room discussion entitled alt. messianic, a user posted the following: “God is amorphous, agender, so image can't be a physical or gender or sexual thing.” Agender is a term used by individuals who do not identify with any specific gender or who experience a lack of gender altogether. Agender people have a sense that their gender identity is completely neutral, or does not exist at all. They may use words like "genderless" and "gender free" to describe themselves.

Trigender fact:

In Ancient Greece, Phrygia, and the Roman Republic and Empire, Cybele and Attis were worshiped by galli priests (documented from around 200 BCE to around 300 CE) who wore feminine clothes, referred to themselves as women, and often castrated themselves, and have therefore been seen as early transgender figures. The exact origin of the term "trigender" is unknown, but it has been mentioned as early as 1998. The prefix tri- means three, so "trigender" literally means "three gender".

Gay fact:

2400 BCE, are speculated to have been gay based on a representation of them embracing nose-to-nose in their shared tomb, though critics say that they were likely brothers. In 1978 Harvey Milk became the first openly gay man elected to public office in the United States, and the first openly gay or lesbian person to be elected to public office in California, when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. "The green (Community) and teal (Joy) in the flag represent Nature. I thought this was important because love between men is often seen as “unnatural” in the eyes of society and in religion. Furthermore, gay men have historically used green flowers and plants (Carnations, hyacinths, etc.) to symbolize our love, reinforcing our connection with Nature. The white stripe is adopted from the Trans Pride flag because trans, nb, and GNC men are often erased or talked over and need explicit representation.

Pansexual fact:

the hybrid words pansexual and pansexualism were first attested in 1914 (spelled pan-sexualism), coined by opponents of Sigmund Freud to denote the idea "that the sex instinct plays the primary part in all human activity, mental and physical". created to differentiate between the bisexuality flag, which also has three horizontal bars. It was created on the internet sometime around 2010, and has gained popularity since then. The Pansexual symbol combines the male, female, and transgender symbols into one, new, P-shaped symbol representing pansexuality.

Demigirl fact:

The earliest demigirl flag was created on April 15th, 2014 by Tumblr user kyriefortune. The second demigirl flag was created on August 24th, 2015 by pride-flags based on Willow's demiguy flag. Another flag was posted on the same day by pride-flags also based on Willow's demiguy flag. A gender identity term for someone who was assigned female at birth but does not fully identify with being a woman, socially or mentally. transgender pride-flag, retaining the central white & pink stripes representing enbies & women, but with 4 added horizontal stripes of different shades of grey to signify a disconnect and/or uncertainty associated with this gender-identity.

Hope you all had a great pride month. Can’t wait to do more of them.

What pride art should I do next year?

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Sahil Kapur at NBC News:

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump has chosen Sen. JD Vance, an Ohio Republican, to be his vice presidential running mate, catapulting the first-term senator into the national spotlight.

Vance was an outspoken Trump critic during the 2016 presidential campaign, the same year Vance was promoting his memoir “Hillbilly Elegy.” He has since transformed into one of Trump’s staunchest MAGA allies over 18 months in the Senate, after winning a 2022 race for an open seat in red-trending Ohio. As a senator, Vance is known for his "America First" skepticism of U.S. involvement in global affairs like the war in Ukraine and his opposition to bipartisan deals on government funding. He has also helped lead a rail safety bill across party lines in the wake of last year's deadly train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. And Vance has echoed Trump's attacks on the legitimacy of the 2020 election, which the ex-president has put front and center in his campaign as he continues to promote false claims that it was stolen from him. Unlike some other vice presidential prospects, Vance was not in Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, and didn’t vote on certifying President Joe Biden’s victory. In a February 2024 interview on ABC News, Vance endorsed the claim that the 2020 election was problematic and said Congress should have considered competing slates of electors. [...]

An opponent of Ukraine aid and abortion rights

Vance has carved out a niche as a vocal opponent of aid to Ukraine, arguing that the U.S. should encourage a deal in which Ukraine cedes land to Russia in order to end the war. He has dismissed concerns that Vladimir Putin would continue his territorial march through Europe if he takes Ukraine. And while he has continued to express support for Israel, he has broadly stood against interventionist U.S. foreign policies.

“There’s still this fundamental inability to deal with the limits of American power in the 21st century,” Vance told NBC News in April, after the Senate passed $95 billion in Ukraine aid, adding that his colleagues — who have “have presided over the declining relative strength of this country” — should instead work to rebuild it. During his year-and-a-half in the Democratic-controlled Senate, Vance has led the introduction of 57 bills or resolutions, none of which have become law, according to the legislative tracking website Congress.gov. He has co-sponsored many more, just two of which have made it to President Joe Biden's desk. They would have undone Biden's consumer and environmental regulations. Biden vetoed both. Vance has co-sponsored symbolic resolutions that have been adopted by the chamber, including a resolution to celebrate the U.S. flag and the Pledge of Allegiance, and another resolution to honor the life of former first lady Rosalynn Carter. Vance has been a reliable vote with the right flank of the party against most of Biden’s legislative priorities, judicial nominees and bipartisan government funding deals that have been championed by Republican leaders in both chambers.

Like most Republicans, Vance has consistently voted against Democratic-led legislation to codify abortion rights, restore the protections of Roe v. Wade, establish federal rights to access contraception and create protections for in vitro fertilization. Vance opposed and campaigned against last year’s ballot initiative in Ohio to protect abortion access, calling the measure’s passage “a gut punch.” He has rejected calls for tougher gun laws and clashed with Democrats over the politically thorny issue. And he voted to sink a bipartisan border security deal this year that Trump and many conservatives said didn't go far enough. [...] On the one-year anniversary of the Capitol attack, Vance — a Yale Law School graduate — falsely claimed that “dozens” of people “who haven’t even been charged with a crime yet” were being held in “D.C. prisons” pre-trial when, in fact, every person who was held in pretrial custody had been charged and had been ordered held by a judge. Vance linked to a fundraiser for Jan. 6 defendants including Jack Wade Whitton, who subsequently confessed to his crime and was sentenced to more than four years in federal prison.

Trump VP pick J.D. Vance has crafted a far-right image during his time in the Senate, such as opposition to Ukraine Aid funding, support abortion bans, opposition to IVF and contraception protections, election denialist claims about the 2020 election being “stolen”, and opposition to bipartisan government funding bills.

[josefavomjaaga]

Bessières and Soult in Spain

After the battle of Baylèn in 1808, King Pepe Joseph had been driven from Madrid for the first time. Napoleon could not come to his brother’s aid immediately, because he first had to watch some theater plays together with Alexander during their meeting at Erfurt. Priorities. However, among others, Bessières was still holding out in Spain (under direct orders of Joseph which cannot have been much fun), leading second corps.

When the congress of Erfurt had ended, Napoleon hastily threw all available troops into the peninsula, including a certain marshal Soult who was destined to take over second corps. And while Soult’s presence usually caused his fellow marshals to adapt a slightly hostile attitude, Bessières, waiting in front of the enemy fortress of Burgos and not quite daring to attack, might be the only example of the marshal species who even wished for Soult's prompt arrival. It even seems that, on learning on 6 November 1808 that Soult was on his way and that he himself would take over Murat’s former position at the head of the cavalry reserve, he deliberately postponed all action and rather chose to leave the job to Soult:

The day of 8 November was lost unnecessarily by Bessières, and this was a blunder [...] The Marshal gave no serious excuse for his inaction; was it the high number of men attributed to the enemy that stopped him, was it that he waited for Soult's arrival in order to hand over command of the 2nd corps to him and to concern himself only with the cavalry? In a first letter to Berthier, he announced that "a full-scale battle" was needed to take the vicinity of Burgos, but he did not dare or did not want to fight it. In a second letter, he wrote: "I would very much like Marshal Soult to arrive soon... Marshal Soult and I will get on very well together."

As weird as that sounds, he was right about that latter point. Bessières also seems to have been delighted at the idea of rejoining Napoleon’s guard and at taking over the cavalry. Sounds as if he, learned cavalryman that he was, had not been very comfortable with commanding infantry.

Soult set out from Vittoria towards Briviesca on the evening of the 8th and joined Bessières on the morning of the 9th, who handed over command of the 2nd Corps to him.

Bessières: Oh, for god’s sake, you’re here! Look, I’m perfectly fine with the cavalry stuff but … there’s also all these folks who have uniforms and weapons – but no horses? Do you know what those are? What are we supposed to do with them?

Soult took command of his troops and began his offensive movement: he stopped on the evening of the 9th at the entrance to the defile which from Quintanapalla through Villafria leads to Gamonal and opens onto the Burgos plain. He wrote to Berthier: "His Excellency Marshal Bessières has kindly agreed to come with me as far as Burgos…"

Soult: Oh, c’mon, Bessie, I’m sure the emperor can wait another day. We’ve not even had time to properly catch up on everything…

Bessières: Okay. But only as far as Burgos. I’m not in the mood for another of Nappy’s lectures...

Bessières was to lead the cavalry, Soult the infantry. Soult had only expected an "avantgarde engagement" to take Burgos: it was a battle that had to be fought, as Bessières had thought, but the battle was a brilliant victory. On 10 November, at noon, Soult wrote to the Emperor from Burgos: "Your Majesty is master of Burgos: the corps of Estramadure, 12,000 strong, is destroyed. There are already more than 1,000 prisoners, 10 cannon, many caissons: the ground, for more than a league, is covered with corpses, weapons and debris; two flags have also been taken. Marshal Bessières has already passed Burgos and is pursuing on the road to Madrid all those who fled in a rout..."

[Translated from: A. Rabel, Le Maréchal Bessières, Duc d’Istrie]

Seeing somebody work well together with Soult in Spain is a nice change for once. Unfortunately it was pretty much the only time.

[acourtofquestions]

Tower of Dawn Chapter 59:

🚨spoiler alert🚨

A naval battle. Aelin against Maeve. He waited for the dangling sword to drop. If he had been too late--

Aelin--thank the gods Aelin had managed to find a way-- "Though there were some interesting details." Then the princess rattled off the facts. The numbers. A third of Maeve's armada, bearing Whitethorn flags, had turned on their own and joined Terrasen's fleet. Dorian had fought--held the front lines with Rowan. Then a pack of wyverns had soared in from nowhere--to fight for Aelin.

Manon Blackbeak. Chaol would be willing to bet his life that some-how, either through Aelin or Dorian, that witch had done them a favor, and possibly altered the course of this war.

"The magic, they say, was impressive," Hasar went on. "Ice and wind and water." Dorian and Rowan. "Even rumor of a shape-shifter." Lysandra. "But no darkness. Or whatever Maeve fights with. And no flame."

"Though some reports claim they spotted flame and shadow on shore--far away. Flickers of both. There and gone. And no one spotted Aelin or the Dark Queen in the fleet."

It would have been like Aelin, to shift the battle between her and Maeve to the shore. To minimize casualties, so she could unleash her full power without hesitation.

"As I said," Hasar continued, fluffing the skirts of her dress, "They were victorious. Aelin was spotted returning to her armada hours later. They've set sail--north, apparently."

He muttered a prayer of thanks to Mala. And a prayer of thanks to whatever god watched over Dorian, too. "Any major casualties?"

"To their men, yes, but not to any of the interesting players," Hasar said, and Chaol hated her. "But Maeve ... there and gone, not a whisper of her left." She frowned at the windows. "Maybe she'll sail here to lick her wounds."

Chaol prayed that wouldn't be the case. Yet if Maeve's armada still sat in the Narrow Sea when they took the crossing ... "But the others sail north now--to where?" Where can I find my king, my brother?

"I'd assume Terrasen, now that Aelin has her armada. Oh, and another one."

Hasar smiled at him. Waiting for the question--the plea. "What other armada," Chaol forced himself to ask. Hasar shrugged, walking from the room. "Turns out, Aelin called in a debt. To the Silent Assassins of the Red Desert." Chaol's eyes burned.

"And to Wendlyn."

His hands began shaking.

"How many ships," he breathed.

"All of them," Hasar said, hand on the door. "All of Wendlyn's armada came, commanded by Crown Prince Galan himself."

Aelin... Chaol's blood sparked, and he looked to Yrene. Her eyes were wide, bright. Bright with hope--burning, precious hope.

"Turns out," Hasar mused, as if it were a passing thought, "there are quite a few people who think highly of her. And who believe in what she's selling."

"Which is what?" Yrene whispered.

Hasar shrugged. "I assume it's what she tried to sell to me, when she wrote me a message weeks ago, asking for my aid. From one princess to another."

Chaol took a shuddering breath. "What did Aelin promise you?"

Hasar smiled to herself.

"A better world."

[warningsine]

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels released footage on Thursday showing their fighters boarded and placed explosives on a Greek-flagged tanker, setting off blasts that put the Red Sea at risk of a major oil spill. The vessel was abandoned earlier, after the Houthis repeatedly attacked it.

In the video, the Iran-backed Houthis chant their motto as the bombs detonated aboard the oil tanker Sounion: “God is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; curse the Jews; victory to Islam.”

The blasts capped the most-serious attack in weeks by the Houthis in their campaign disrupting the $1 trillion in goods that pass through the Red Sea each year over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, as well as halting some aid shipments to conflict-ravaged Sudan and Yemen.

The Sounion carried some 1 million barrels of oil when the Houthis initially attacked it on Aug. 21 with small arms fire, projectiles and a drone boat. A French destroyer operating as part of the European Union’s Operation Aspides rescued the Sounion’s crew of 25 Filipinos and Russians, as well as four private security personnel, after they abandoned the vessel and took them to nearby Djibouti.

The footage released Thursday shows masked Houthi fighters carrying Kalashnikov-style rifles boarding the Sounion after it was abandoned. The bridge appeared ransacked. Fighters then rigged explosives over hatches on its deck leading to the oil tankers below. At least six simultaneous blasts could be seen in the footage.

The footage, as well as comments by the Houthi’s mysterious leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi, confirmed an earlier analysis by The Associated Press that the Houthis boarded and planted explosives on the Sounion. The Houthi-controlled SABA news agency described al-Houthi as saying the Sounion attack shows America “is lying in its claims regarding any deterrence of Yemeni operations supporting Palestine.”

“The effectiveness of our operations and their control of the situation is acknowledged by the enemies,” al-Houthi said.

Western countries and the United Nations have warned any oil spill from the Sounion could devastate the coral reefs and wildlife around the Red Sea. However, the EU’s naval force in the region says it has yet to see any oil spill from the Sounion.

Operation Aspides “is preparing to facilitate any courses of action, in coordination with European authorities and neighboring countries, to avert a catastrophic environmental crisis,” the EU mission said. “Together, we can protect the environment and maintain stability in the region.”

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric commended the efforts by the international community and the U.N. special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, “to secure the immediate access to the vessel and avert an environmental catastrophe.” The Houthis have agreed to allow the operation to proceed safely, he said.

Dujarric did not offer any indication when it might start but added that the reports that “the salvage operations for the tanker can proceed with tugboats and rescue ships to access the incident area” are encouraging.

On Wednesday, the Houthis suggested they may allow the Sounion to be salvaged, though the rebels already once blocked crews trying to reach the abandoned vessel, the U.S. military said.

The U.S. State Department declined to directly comment on the video Thursday. It referred to earlier remarks in which spokesperson Matthew Miller warned “the Houthis’ continued attacks threaten to spill a million barrels of oil into the Red Sea, an amount four times the size of the Exxon Valdez disaster” in 1989 off Alaska.

This isn’t the first time the Houthis have used the threat of an oil spill to their advantage. It took years of negotiations before the rebels allowed the U.N. in 2023 to remove 1 million barrels from the oil tanker Safer off the coast of Yemen, which had been used as a floating storage and offloading facility.

“Experience has shown that the group is willing to interfere with salvage efforts if they can turn the situation into a political bargaining chip,” warned Noam Raydan, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near-East Policy who has studied the ongoing Houthi attacks.

The Houthis have targeted more than 80 vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a U.S.-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets.

The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the U.K. to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.

Meanwhile Thursday, the U.S. military’s Central Command said its forces destroyed a Houthi missile system and drone.