benji-cheung - Tumblr blog

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March 16th, 2017 marks the 14th year anniversary to Rachel Corrie’s death where she was killed by an Israeli bulldozer that ran her over while she was trying to stop it from demolishing a home of a Palestinian family in Gaza. 

Rest in Peace Rachel. 

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Osiria, Valentina Minayeva || 30 units (3.00 x 15.00, 1:5) || Instructions

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"Israel is not just a State, it's a project. It's a settler colonial project. And I do think that we are witnessing the beginning of the end of this project. Because it rests on three pillars.

One is material, of course [...] when you use and index that looks at sustainability of state according to their material capability, Israel is doing well. [...] It does well mainly because of the United States. So this is a condition that can change.

The second pillar is the social coherence of the settler society. We know this coherence is nonexistent anymore. There is a bit of an optical illusion because of the Hamas operation of the 7th of October that created a sense of unity. But it's not going to cover up the fragmentation of the society that we have seen until the 7th of October. It seems that social coherence that is based on hatred of the Arabs and the Palestinians and doesn't have anything else in common, is not very sustainable.

And more importantly than anything else, of course, there is the legitimacy pillar. And Israel enjoys the legitimacy of western governments or governments in the global north. And therefore, there is a sense that it can still be sustainable because of the support of the elites. But it has lost the support of the civil societies.

And this is why probably it's the only state in the world that lobbies for its existence. Not for its policies, not for its better economic performance, but for its very moral justification. And it's losing that battle.

As an historian I can tell you that when projects like settler colonialism are reaching their last phase, unfortunately, this can be quite a long period. It doesn't happen in one day or two days. And the problem is, of course, that they become more brutal and ruthless in that last phase."

Ilan Pappè, excerpt of an interview with Al Jazeera

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The only democracy in the Middle East

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from Al Jazeera English, 26/Jan/2024:

Caption: South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor says she would have wanted to hear the ICJ order a “ceasefire” for Israel's war on Gaza, but believes the provisions the court listed can only lead to one.

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re: ICJ ruling; while it may be a bit disappointing to not have an explicit call for ceasefire, I think that ultimately it would be outside the scope of the case and perhaps outside the ICJ's jurisdiction. That is to say, the ICJ can't a priori rule out the "best case" possibility that Israel could, technically, do what it claims to be doing and target Hamas without committing genocide against Palestinians. Of course, we all know this won't happen - both because the IOF is incompetent at anything outside of killing civilians (and its own lmao) and also has made clear overtures towards settling Gaza - but to prove it in court is something else entirely, as it would require an indepth analysis of IOF intelligence and tactical capabilities. For now, the onus is back on Israel to prove it can actually reduce casualties, and this may lead to short-term harm reduction for Palestinians on the ground - that is, if you think the ICJ has any fangs at all. But if you don't, why are we even talking about this?

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Hello! I've been following your blog for quite some time and I really enjoy all the things you make. I wanted to ask you about the paper you use and where to find it, I think the colors and the designs are very pretty! Thank you so much and have a nice day!

All this paper and I still can't find a good set in red black green and white 😭😭😭😭

That said I've already answered similar questions here and here

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From this interview, we have confirmation of several things we didn't have confirmation of before.

1) The zionist occupation doesn't know where Qassaam launch their rockets from. So when they say that 'Hamas launches rockets from schools' and other clearly outrageous claims, they're choosing to lie and spread propaganda. We already knew but this time we're hearing it from them directly.

2) To them this is all about taking pleasure in violating and abusing Palestinians.

3) They are disorganized. They know absolutely nothing. This whole time they never knew where a single Qassam tunnel was, not a single Qassam fighter was, they don't know who any of the 'elites' or 'leaders' are. They accuse random Palestinian guys of being that because they legitimately have no idea who any of them are. Despite all the spying and Orwellian surveillance technology, they're still unable to identify the people they want or the locations they operate in.

And lastly. 4) After almost 4 months of this, they have not identified a single location where a Qassam fighter could be. Which means that every single Palestinian they've killed up to this point, all 30 000+, every one of those 10 000+ children, was a deliberate attack knowing they're targetting civilians and civilians only. It is a pure form of terrorism and genocide. We already knew this, but this is a confirmation of the facts on their end.

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On 11 January, Israeli tanks and quadcopters opened fire on Palestinians waiting for food trucks on Al-Rasheed street, killing and injuring scores of civilians

A man and boy in the southern Gaza city of Rafah transport flour using a wheelchair on 12 December 2023 (AFP/Mohammed Abed)

It was supposed to be a place where displaced Palestinians gathered for desperately needed supplies of food in northern Gaza.

But eyewitnesses have told Middle East Eye how on 11 January a large crowd waiting for a food truck on al-Rasheed Street came under fire from the Israeli military, with dozens killed and wounded in the attack.

The Israeli military shelled the crowd with tank fire and quadcopters. Muhammad Al-Salim, 27, witnessed the massacre, telling Middle East Eye that he saw scores of bodies strewn across the street.

“At 9am me and my two cousins went to Al-Rasheed street after people in our area told us that trucks carrying flour were going to pass by,” he recalled.

“We arrived there at 10am because most of the streets were destroyed and filled with rubble, so cars could not pass.

“When we arrived at Al-Rasheed street, there were already hundreds of people waiting there.

“As we crossed the Nabulsi roundabout, an Israeli army tank appeared from behind a sand hill and started shooting at the people randomly.

“At the same time, quadcopter planes started attacking us and the hundreds of people, including children, around us.”

Salim says he saw two girls in front of him hit by bullets and the people at the front of the line shot and killed by tanks and quadcopters.

He added that he saw upwards of 50 dead and wounded, with hundreds of people in the crowd fleeing into the narrow streets adjoining Al-Rasheed to avoid the hail of bullets and shells.

Despite the killings, Salim returned to the scene along with scores of others when the aid trucks eventually arrived at around 11:30am.

He saw six trucks in total, four carrying flour and canned goods, while the other two carried medicine.

“Many people returned to await the trucks as we did, despite their injuries and the dead bodies around us. They were trying to catch the trucks, to make sure they got some food for their families,” he said.

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Cosmopoeia, Ekaterina Lukasheva || 30 units (7.50 x 7.50, square) || Reverse Engineered

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Ok, I think I got cosmopoeia

Have you tried Lukasheva's Optimum or Cosmopoeia?

Nope neither! Didn't even realize optimum had cp posted so I may try it soon

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Have you tried Lukasheva's Optimum or Cosmopoeia?

Nope neither! Didn't even realize optimum had cp posted so I may try it soon

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Fridays are usually my folding days because I have a long meeting but I didn't get a chance this time 😞 I promise I'll think of something to make soon

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Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle tonight are lambasting the Biden administration for not getting Congressional approval before moving ahead with military strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.[...]

“The President needs to come to Congress before launching a strike against the Houthis in Yemen and involving us in another middle east conflict. That is Article I of the Constitution. I will stand up for that regardless of whether a Democrat or Republican is in the White House,” posted California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna on X, just as news was breaking that the strikes were in progress. Some 30 minutes earlier, there were reports that Congressional leaders were given a heads up that the strikes were a go.

“Only Congress has the power to declare war,” posted Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie. “I have to give credit to @RepRoKhanna here for sticking to his principles, as very few are willing to make this statement while their party is in the White House.”[...]

“@POTUS is violating Article I of the Constitution by carrying out airstrikes in Yemen without congressional approval,” charged Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib. “The American people are tired of endless war.” Democratic Reps. Cori Bush, Val Hoyle, Mark Pocan, and Pramila Jayapal weighed in similarly as of 9 p.m. tonight.

On the Republican side, Sen. Mike Lee, who has often crossed the aisle on war powers issues, also gave Khanna a boost. “The Constitution matters, regardless of party affiliation.”

"The Constitution is clear, only Congress has the power to declare war. President Biden must come to Congress and ask us to authorize this act of war," posted Florida Republican Rep. Anna Luna.[...]

“These attacks have endangered U.S. personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardized trade, and threatened freedom of navigation,” Biden said. “I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.”

The Houthis have said they would continue the attacks until “crimes in Gaza stop and food, medicines and fuel are allowed to reach its besieged population.” The Biden administration, which has not supported a ceasefire in Gaza, said it would hit back hard if the Houthis did not stand down. After a particularly heavy volley of drones and rockets on Tuesday, the administration made its move.

This has a lot of analysts worried about escalation — something the Biden administration said it didn't want. "If the objective is to stop Houthi attacks without escalating matters toward a full war, then bombing them has proven quite inefficient in the past. Just ask the the Saudis," said the Quincy Institute's Trita Parsi, on X, referring to the Yemen civil war in which the Houthis gained major victories despite routine missile bombardments from U.S.-backed Saudi Arabia.

"Moreover, bombing them very likely will escalate matters, which means that not only will the attacks not be stopped, but the broader war that Biden [allegedly] seeks to prevent will likely become a reality."

12 Jan 24

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from al jazeeras live reporting of the first ICJ hearing, 11 Jan 2024