#Southwest Afghanistan

[bikerlovertexas]

[toshkakoshka]

hey guys! planning on doing a lot of readings for a story i want to write, it’s a far cry fanfic taking place in west asia and is abt US invasions/involvements in west asia, so if anybody wants to help in giving sources (advice and personal experiences especially if you’re west asian also helps!) feel free to send them to me!

note: i AM currently reading on west asian issues regarding that whole deal, plus interferences from israel. i just need to know if there’s anymore sources i can find so i can read more!

[beardedmrbean]

Under clear blue skies, extra French police have been making a show of force around Paris today, on foot patrol at railway stations and near stadiums, seeking to reassure the public amid new warnings that the Islamic State group might be planning to attack European football events.

The heightened security in the French capital marks a moment of growing concern across Europe, as governments seek to assess, and react to, threats made on a pro-IS media channel.

It also comes at a complicated moment for France itself, as it prepares to host the Olympic Games in July following growing concerns that the Kremlin is deliberately trying to spread doubts and fears about the French government's ability to keep its citizens safe.

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said he had "considerably strengthened security" around Wednesday night's Champions League quarter-final match at the Parc des Princes in southwest Paris.

The move follows an online threat to European sporting events that Mr Darmanin said had been "publicly expressed" by IS. The pro-IS media channel had reached out to supporters in France and elsewhere, who may feel emboldened after seeing the recent IS-claimed attack on a concert hall in Moscow.

But Mr Darmanin was keen to put the threat, and a raised national threat level, in context, stressing that the risk of an IS attack was "not new" and that "I don't have - and I say this quite frankly - any specific information. We don't know which location might be particularly affected, nor under what conditions".

He also pointed out that his forces, with long experience of tackling Islamist extremism, had foiled two attacks since the start of the year and arrested five individuals in three different cases in the past fortnight.

Two fans who had come from Toulouse ahead of the PSG-Barcelona match, were quick to brush aside the risks.

"We live constantly under the threat of terrorists and attacks so we have not stopped ourselves from living and coming to a superb match even after these threats," said Julien, 21.

"We must not be afraid," declared Alexandre. who's 27. "If they are doing this communication campaign, it is above all to scare us and terrorise us, so that the French no longer go out. So we must continue to live, and show them we are stronger than that."

But across Europe, with a long summer of sporting and cultural events ahead, governments are expressing growing concern about IS-K, as the jihadist group's Afghanistan-based wing is known.

Germany now calls it the country's biggest internal threat and is increasing security ahead of this summer's European Football Championship, including the rare step of introducing land border checks.

In recent months there have been police raids targeting IS-K supporters in Germany, Belgium and Austria and reports by police of foiled plots, for example against Cologne Cathedral on New Year's Eve.

But finding the right balance between security preparations and public reassurance is never easy, and France faces some particularly tricky challenges with the Olympic Games due to begin with an unprecedented opening ceremony along the river Seine in the heart of Paris in little more than 100 days.

The right-leaning French newspaper, Le Figaro, has already warned that too much attention is being given to IS threats, claiming that "the propagandists of the Islamic State have already achieved part of their objective".

French security expert Guillaume Farde argued that it was important for a democracy like France to be seen not to be cowed, otherwise "we are playing the game of terrorist organisations who want to establish a climate of terror, a climate of distrust".

France has experienced many devastating Islamist incidents in recent years, from the Charlie Hebdo killings of 2015, the Bataclan attack of the same year, the Bastille Day murders in Nice in 2016, and a series of brutal murders of teachers.

The authorities have responded with Operation Sentinelle, a military force focused on protecting people from terrorist threats. Twenty thousand soldiers will be involved in securing the Olympic Games in Paris, alongside some 40,000 police and gendarmes.

Army training was in full force ahead of the Olympics at Gap in south-eastern France on Wednesday, simulating a knife attack and a hostage situation.

The lieutenant-colonel supervising France's 4th regiment de chasseurs had a message of reassurance for visitors to Paris: "At my level, I just can say that we are well prepared for this mission and my battalion is ready to protect the population during the Olympic Games."

But the war in Ukraine has added a new dimension, with President Emmanuel Macron warning that Russia now presents "a risk" to the Olympics.

President Macron has taken an increasingly tough line with the Kremlin, which appears to have responded with an aggressive cyber-campaign designed to discredit France at every opportunity.

"I'm not going to link Russia with jihadist terrorist organisations. On the other hand, Russia is attempting other destabilising actions," said Guillaume Farde, citing examples of online cyber-trolling networks, linked to Russia, seeking to spread false information and to amplify "bad news".

The French defence ministry, for example, recently took the rare step of publicly denouncing a fake, copy-cat version of its own official website, which appeared to invite 200,000 French people to "get involved" in Ukraine.

Analysts believe it is part of a broader Kremlin-backed campaign to weaken Western support for the Ukrainian war effort.

[smbhax]

"The Palace of Aigai, built more than 2,300 years ago during the reign of Alexander the Great's father, is seen from above after it fully reopened in ancient Aigai, some 65 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of the port city of Thessaloniki, northern Greece, on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. It was the largest building of classical Greece: The palace where Alexander the Great was proclaimed king before he launched a conquest that took him as far as modern-day Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)"

[workersolidarity]

🇦🇫 🚨 💥SUICIDE BOMBER IN AFGHANISTAN STRIKES TALIBAN GOVERNMENT OFFICE IN NIMROZ PROVINCE💥

Afghan media is reporting an explosion resulting from a suicide bomber at a Taliban Governor's office in the Nimroz Province area in the southwest of Afghanistan, wounding three Taliban personnel.

In a statement issued to the Afghan International news agency, Taliban Ministry of Interior spokesperson, Abdul Matin Qane said that an attacker wearing explosives bypassed two security checkpoints as Governor Mohammed Qasim Khalid exited his offices for prayer.

Gul Mohammed Qadrat, a spokesperson for the local Police Command told local media that the suicide bomber detonated his explosives after being identified by the bodyguards of Governor Khalid, who opened fire on the attacker.

Residents in the city of Zaranj reported hearing explosions coming from the direction of the Governor's office on Sunday evening, and witnesses told local media they heard gunfire shortly after the explosion.

#source

@WorkerSolidarityNews

[astramthetaprime]

IceMav Landmarks

For the curious, here’s a few real-world points of interest with regards to the Shooting Star series:  

Ice and Mav’s first little house that they buy in “The Night Road” is located just to the west of Oxnard College in Oxnard, CA.  There is no specific neighborhood to pinpoint.  It’s within a quarter-mile of the college, with a natural foods co-op market within a mile west or southwest of it.  

Their second house is located in Simi Valley, in a relatively new and actually quite wealthy subdivision.  It’s within 2 miles of the Simi Dog Park, so that when Mav goes out for his daily run he runs to the dog park and back for the full 4 miles as he intends to do in “Hiding and Hunted”.  Ice and Mav mostly designed the new house (with the help of an architect) and had it built in 2018, so it’s still very new.  

Sarah’s psychotherapy practice is in Pasadena, CA.  Look up the Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA and the picture that comes up on Google Maps is the model I had for her office as used in “The Devil You Know”.  

NAS Point Mugu and Point Mugu State Park are as in the real world, though of course with my own inventions as to their layouts and contents.  They’re quite a ways west of the city, on the coast.  Oxnard is north and west of the base so it’s an easy drive in to work for Ice and Mav, and not too much longer later once they build the Simi Valley house.  

Slider went home to New York after he left the Navy but once Avex Aeronautics became a real going concern they relocated their operations to Phoenix, AZ and he relocated there himself.  I don’t have a specific location for where he lives though, but I imagine it’s near Sky Ranch at Carefree in the northeast part of the city where he keeps the little red jet.  When he comes up to see Ice and Mav he flies out of there and lands at Camarillo Airport which is near their Simi Valley house.

Sayyad, Kholm, the AH-76 and FOB Robatak in "The Night Road” are real places, as is the narrow valley where Mav was shot down.  Look up Sayyad, Afghanistan and you’ll see the AH-76, then just west of that you’ll see the mountains that constitute the narrow valley.  The south end of those mountains are the narrow part where Mav flies sideways on one wingtip, and what told Ice he’d been bored with the patrol pattern and was playing when he was shot down.  The place where Mav was found by Bowcott and his squad is Saighanchi between Sayyad and Kholm.  I used the pictures on that entry quite a lot as to what the terrain was like in the area, the caves, etc.

Dryden Flight Research Center is a real place, though these days it’s been renamed to NASA Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center.  If you look it up on Google Maps and switch to the terrain view, look at the dry lake bed to the east of the center.  They’ve got a very convenient compass and several landing strips carved into the dry lake bed.  Almost directly east from the center, at the edge of the lake bed, you’ll see a small mountain with no name that looks like it’s been split down the middle from east to west.  This is Turnaround Hill, where Slider and Sarah went to watch Mav on his Mach 10 flight in “The Shooting Star” and where the disturbance and Alan appeared in “Windfall”.  

Hope you enjoy!  

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Loyal Service Dog Gets A Special Send-Off On Her Final Flight Home

9 February 2023

Kaya helped her owner, a Marine Corps veteran, through PTSD and suicidal thoughts, and even inspired a national law to help veterans get service dogs.

When Kaya was diagnosed with terminal cancer, Cole flew her home — and the airline gave her a beautiful special tribute on her final flight

Service dogs are invaluable companions for so many people, especially veterans. The benefits are great: dogs provide therapeutic companionship that can be used to treat conditions like PTSD.

For many vets who have service dogs, these dogs become their best friends in the world.

For Marine Corps veteran Cole Lyle, that dog was Kaya, a German Shepherd. Kaya was by his side all the time, even on hundreds of airline flights.

Sadly, Kaya took her final flight recently — but was given an incredible honor on board.

Cole, from North Texas, came home after a six-year tour in Afghanistan and was suffering from PTSD.

“I tried pills and tried therapy. The pills just made things worse. I spiraled down and almost became a veteran suicide statistic,” the veteran told WFAA.

A fellow veteran suggested he try getting a service dog. Cole brought home Kaya, the runt of her litter, and spent $10,000 of his own money to have her trained as a service dog.

It was well worth it: Kaya was trained to wake the vet up from nightmares and to stop anxiety attacks.

Cole said the dog made a huge difference on his condition and even credited her with stopping his suicidal thoughts.

“A dog can be a powerful thing to keep you around,” he said. “If you get to that point, you look down at the dog and say, well, I can’t leave the dog. The dog would miss me.”

Kaya not only made an impact on Cole’s life but for veterans around the country.

After Cole became an advisor to the US Senate on veterans policies, the pair lobbied for the PAWS Act, which provides canine training for veterans with PTSD.

That act was passed into law on August 2022, receiving bipartisan support.

Kaya lived quite a life: she met many politicians and celebrities, walked at graduation with Cole, and accompanied the vet on hundreds of flights around the country.

But sadly, a tumor under her tongue metastasized in January and took a toll on her quality of life. Cole didn’t want to see his loyal friend suffer.

“I didn’t want her to be in pain and suffer after all the pain and suffering that she stopped,” Cole told WFAA.

Realizing the end was near, he took her on one last flight, from Virginia to their home in Texas.

“She’s a Texas girl and I didn’t want her to die in Virginia,” Cole explained.

But it wasn’t just any ordinary flight. They flew on Southwest Airlines, with whom they had traveled over 250 times.

After finding out that this was Kaya’s final journey, the airline did something inspiring to mark the occasion.

On the February 2 flight, the pilot got on the intercom and made a special announcement.

He introduced Kaya, explaining to the travellers her work as a service dog and her work to get the PAWS Act passed.

He then explained he had the “solemn honor of what will be her last flight, as she goes home to rest where she was born and first met Cole.”

“On behalf of Southwest Airlines, your two veterans up front, we thank both Maya and Cole… for their service.”

In a video shared by Southwest Airlines, you can see Kaya get a round of applause from the plane’s passengers — and Kaya, who had been laying down, suddenly lifts her head up.

After the two arrived in Dallas, the airline also provided a cart for Kaya’s mobility issues.

A few days later, Cole announced that Kaya had died.

Rest in peace, Kaya. You may be gone but you made a huge difference in the world and were a best friend to Cole. We hope you’re at peace now.

https://thespacedogs.com/loyal-service-dog-gets-a-special-send-off-on-her-final-flight-home/

Texas service dog with 250+ Southwest flights takes her final trip home

9 February 2023

Kaya, a German Shepherd with years of service, went home to Texas last week.

[warningsine]

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Lightning and heavy rains have killed at least 49 people across Pakistan in the past three days, officials said Monday, as authorities in the country’s southwest declared a state of emergency.

Some deaths occurred when lightning struck farmers harvesting wheat. Rains caused dozens of houses to collapse in the northwest and in eastern Punjab province.

Arfan Kathia, a spokesman for the provincial disaster management authority, said 21 people had died in Punjab, where more rains were expected this week. Khursheed Anwar, a spokesman for the disaster management authority in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, said 21 people died there.

Rain also lashed the capital, Islamabad, and killed seven people in southwestern Baluchistan province. Streets flooded in the northwestern city of Peshawar and in Quetta, the Baluchistan capital.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in televised remarks that he had ordered authorities to provide relief aid. Pakistan’s water reservoirs would improve because of the rains, he said.

Rafay Alam, a Pakistani environmental expert, said such heavy April rainfall is unusual.

“Two years ago, Pakistan witnessed a heat wave in March and April and now we are witnessing rains and it is all of because of climate change, which had caused heavy flooding in 2022,” he said.

In 2022, downpours swelled rivers and at one point inundated one-third of Pakistan, killing 1,739 people. The floods also caused $30 billion in damage.

Meanwhile, heavy flooding from seasonal rains in Afghanistan killed 33 people and injured 27 others in three days, according to Abdullah Janan Saiq, the Taliban’s spokesman for the State Ministry for Natural Disaster Management.

More than 600 houses were damaged or destroyed while around 200 livestock died. The flooding also damaged large areas of agricultural land and more than 85 kilometers (53 miles) of roads, he said.

He said authorities in Afghanistan had provided aid to nearly 23,000 families, and that flash floods were reported in 20 of the country’s 34 provinces.

[direwombat]

tagged by @adelaidedrubman for a wip sunday!

and taggin’ forward @socially-awkward-skeleton, @natesofrellis (i know you’re on haitus so no worries, this is more for you when you come back :3) @sstewyhosseini, @thomrainer, @noetikat, @confidentandgood, @aceghosts, @strangefable, @purplehairsecretlair, @funkypoacher, and anyone else who has work to share and wants to share it :D

let’s start off with a continuation of dutch and syb hashing out some plans for her canonical timeline:

“I’m gonna need a gun.”

“There’s one in the safe over there,” he says, nodding towards the wall near the door. “Should be a map too, if you want it.”

She nods. A place to make notes of intel as she receives it will be useful; the pocket book she used on the job was soaked through after her impromptu swim. If what Dutch says is true and the Peggies really have taken over the county, then she’s going to need something to keep track of what is, and more importantly, what isn’t safe territory.

“How much do you know about what’s going on up top?” she asks

“Best I can tell, it ain’t good. From what little I could gather, your partners, Hudson and Pratt are alive. For now. And well, dunno how much of it you saw or heard, but Peggies were dragging your Marshal away when I pulled you from the river.”

“What about Whitehorse?”

Dutch sighs and crosses his arms. “Unclear.”

Sybille presses her lips into a thin line. Her brother, her coworkers, the Marshal, and her boss. It’s a lot of people scattered to the wind, and if the cult has a lick of sense, then they’ll be keeping them as far apart from each other as possible. She’s done her fair share of combat search and rescue operations back in Afghanistan, so it’s not like she’s at a total loss of how to proceed. Locate. Infiltrate. Extract. The procedure is nothing new and the latter two are what she was best at. But she can’t do it alone. The county is too big for one person to search, especially without air support.

Besides, she needs someone watching her back and providing cover fire. “We got any way to call for backup?”

“Negative,” Dutch shakes his head. “Like I told you, the roads are closed, phone lines are down, and the radio towers are being jammed. Help isn’t coming. Nobody knows what’s going on here, and they won’t know until it’s too late.”

She chews on the inside of her cheek, glaring at the image of Joseph pinned to the cork-board. They’re alone, and his words rise to the surface of her mind, sending a jolt of adrenaline coursing through her. No one is coming to save you.

But she isn’t some damsel in need of saving.

She cocks her head to the side, plotting the course she had taken with the Marshal before they’d been blown off the bridge. “Where are we, exactly?” she asks.

“Right here,” Dutch says, tapping a small island to the Southwest of the one where Joseph’s compound is situated. Her lips quirk up. It’s the first good news he’s given her. The piece of land itself can’t be more than two or three square miles. It may not be much, but if the two of them can secure the area, it would give them enough breathing room to form a plan.

“We need to get a foothold,” she says

“My thoughts exactly,” Dutch agrees.

A structure on the southern part of the island catches her attention. “Is that a power station?” she asks, pointing at it.

“Radio tower. It’s the central one in the county. Why, what do you -- Oh,” he says, his brows shooting up and he returns her faint smile.

“I clear those waves and we’ll have a better picture of what’s goin’ on here. People gotta be callin’ for help locally.”

“And there’s gotta be people out there willing to fight back against the cult,” Dutch nods. “We just need to show them how. Build us a resistance.”

“They’ve got an army,” Sybille muses, “we need one too.”

“An army needs a General,” Dutch says, looking at her from the corner of his eye. “Is that something you’re prepared to do?”

“Don’t much matter,” she shrugs. The county is at war, she can’t just sit on her ass while people are dying. She stands a little straighter, a little taller. At attention. The look she gives him is hard with the same determination she wore on the battlefield.

“I’ll do what needs to be done,” she says. “Just tell me where to start.”

and here’s a c*d fic that’s in the works, where tuck is separated from the rest of the squad after their helicopter goes down:

When Kentucky comes to, she’s suspended by the chords of her parachute with her feet dangling in mid-air. There’s a throbbing ache pulsing on the back of her head and something warm, thick, and wet -- blood, she realizes -- trickles down her neck, soaking into her collar. Every muscle in her body screams like she’s been hit by a goddamn truck, and she can feel harness shaped bruises from her sudden and violent cease of momentum beginning to bloom all over torso and thighs. 

She groans, the darkness at the edges of her vision never quite leaving as she spins gently, the strings of her ‘chute working to untangle themselves. Her ears ring in the familiar way they do after an explosion and a wave of nausea rolls through her. She must have knocked her head against something on her way down. Warily, she cranes her neck, just to see how fucked she truly is, only to find that some cosmic whim decided to grant her mercy. The ground is not only visible beneath her, but it’s close. Maybe about twelve feet. 

The fall is gonna hurt like hell, but what’s a little more pain on top of what she already has? What matters is that it won’t kill her.

Probably.

The ringing softens into static, and as she grabs her knife to work on cutting herself free,  she hears Ghost’s voice, faint and crackling, whisper through her radio. “Kentucky, how copy?”

She lets out a growl, unable to answer with her hands busy, and cuts herself free. The rest of her body moves while her stomach stays put, lurching directly into her throat, and she barely has enough time to maneuver to keep from landing feet first and snapping her legs like twigs. She lands in a graceless heap of gear and limbs, the weight of her backpack crushing the air from her lungs.

“Kentucky, can you hear me?” 

With a pained groan, she rolls onto her back and pushes herself into a seated position. “Loud and clear, Lieutenant,” she answers. Gently prodding at the throbbing spot on her scalp, she winces and finds her fingers tacky with blood. “The fuck happened?”

“RPG hit the heli,” he says, and, yeah, that’s kind of what she figured. 

One second she was sitting across from Gaz and the next thing she knew she was plummeting towards the treeline. There was barely enough time to pull her chute. She gives the wet spot on her head another poke, gauging the extent of the wound. Stars burst across her vision despite her eyes being wide open and another wave of nausea hits her. “Fuck,” she swears, biting back the bile rising in her throat. “I think I have a concussion.”

“Eyes open, Private,” he orders. “Don’t want to waste our time trying to find your body.” 

A shock of adrenaline shoots through her, leaving her blood boiling in its wake. While already high, her will to live multiplies tenfold, just so she can throttle him after she rendezvous with the rest of the team. Private. A title meant to mock her more than anything else. She technically isn’t even military, but considering the nature of her work, bureaucracy dictates that she can’t exactly be classified as a civilian, either. 

So, Private. Low rank. Bottom of the food chain. 

One of these days she’s going to successfully stab him. Not just a graze or slice. A proper stab. One that pierces muscle and flesh. 

But she needs to get out of this FUBARed situation first. So, she does what she always does: plaster on a smile and muscle through it. “Aww, Ghost,” she tuts, her tone dripping with sarcasm, saccharine and venomous. “I didn’t know you cared.”

“You’ve got classified intel on you. Can’t let that fall into enemy hands,” he says simply.

She rolls her eyes. “God, you’re a charmer, aren’t you?” she mutters, and she picks herself off the ground. The world swims around her and this time she can’t hold back the vomit rising to the surface. She doubles over, heaving bile into the dirt, and staggers to lean against the sturdy trunk of a tree.  

“Mind your tongue.”

“Or what?” she asks, her voice rough and wet as she wipes her mouth. “You gonna reprimand me for insubordination? Again?”

“I’ve half a mind to.”

She quirks a smile at that, clearly recalling the heat and pleasant aches leftover from the last time he reminded her who her superior was. “Promise?”

“Fucking hell.” The roll of his eyes is fucking audible. “What are your coordinates?”

She quints at the numbers on her watch. They blur together in the dim light, but they come into focus when she presses a button on the side to illuminate them. She rattles off the latitude and longitude provided by the device’s GPS.

“Good,” Ghost grunts. “You’re not far. We’re fifteen klicks due Northwest.”

“Speak American,” she says, mostly to fuck with him. He gives both her and Soap shit for their respective variances on the English language. The least she can do is dish it back to him whenever she can.

“Move out, Kentucky,” he growls. His patience is wearing thin. She’s lingered in one place for far too long for someone with a bright red target all but painted on her back. 

Fifteen klicks. It takes her a second to do the math, but the rest of the squad is a little under ten miles away. 

[She pushes herself off the tree with a lazy mock salute and stumbles into the woods. “Yessir,” she says. She starts hiking, everything made significantly harder by the dense foliage and her swimming vision. She’s nearly snapped at by a snake and she cries out as she stumbles and falls on her ass. “Fucking snakes,” she grouses.] 

“You make it sound like you’ve never done wilderness survival training before,” Ghost says, and she can hear the fucking taunt in his voice. 

She’s just as skilled in the art of death as he is, but at the end of the day, she isn’t a soldier. Most of her former targets stayed within an urban setting, and even for the ones who didn’t, she never found herself parachuting to their isolated mansions. Sure, she had some experience in the foothills of the Appalachians, but that was over a decade ago. Traipsing through the fucking jungle like this? With a concussion? Not her strongest skill.

“They didn’t offer that class in assassin school,” she quips. 

“Yet another failure of the American education system,” he hums.

“Not all of us can go to posh British schools,” though she suspects he didn’t either. The stink of Private and Ivy-League schools that followed Graves is one that Ghost distinctly lacks. The look of a student from the School of Hard Knocks is unmistakable. She should know. She has it herself. People don’t end up like her or Ghost without a certain level of trauma. “I bet you were bullied,” she says, and while she meant for it to come out snide and probing, there’s a hint of uncharacteristic gentleness to her voice. Probably because she also bets she’s right. 

“Quite the opposite. I was very popular,” Ghost says flippantly.

She snorts. “I doubt that.”

“I have a winning personality.”

“Is that what your mommy told you?”

“School newspaper.”

“Now I know you’re making shit up.”

“Gotta pass the time somehow.”

[menalez]

apologies if you’ve spoken ab this before but what are ur thoughts on the phrase “islamophobia?” i ask bc i’m not mena but i do have some issue with the phrase. for one, islam is a religion, and i don’t think people can be oppressed on the basis of their beliefs. islamophobia doesn’t exclusively target muslim people, from what i’ve seen it can target anyone from arab to south asian, because most “islamophobes” are really just racist and assume every person southwest of china is muslim. for two, it makes addressing the misogyny perpetuated by muslim males a constant “slippery slope,” because muslim culture/faith is so sacred because it’s not white (unlike christianity, where we are actually allowed to criticize their misogyny) so their beliefs about (typically mena) women have to be respected (thus implying mena women are less deserving of liberation from religious misogyny literally just because they’re not white). it obfuscates the issue that the religion is inherently misogynistic, and whether women “consensually” adhere to its standards for womanhood doesn’t change the fact that it necessitates the belief that women are inferior. but also, i’m not mena so idk if it’s really my place lol.

ive def spoken about this before so ill try to find the other stuff i wrote on it and link it later here !! 

i don’t think people face oppression on the basis of their beliefs, but i think in the west, esp since islam is racialised, they can face oppression on the basis of being identified as a member of a religious group (regardless of their actual beliefs). there’s numerous statistics and studies showing high rates of hate crimes against ppl specifically bc they’re muslim and such hate crimes often target women bc they’re the group of muslims that are often most identifiable due to hijab. as a result, a huge portion islamophobic hate crimes aren’t even racially motivated but in fact motivated by being identifiably muslim via being a hijabi and thus most are also misogynistic attacks in nature.

such attacks even impact white muslims which is why i believe that while its often a racialised form of prejudice, it isn’t always to do with race.

also there’s some implications in ur msg that muslims are typically MENA, which isn’t true, or that south asia & islam are mutually exclusive which also isn’t true. iirc pakistan, afghanistan, and bangladesh are all muslim-majority south asian countries, and islam is prominent in a lot of south asia:

i mean most of MENA is muslim but we also ultimately only make up like 20% of muslims overall. but you’re right that sometimes it’s purely racism and non-muslim south asians are assumed to be muslim by ignorant racists and attacked on that basis. in that case id say they’re more racist than islamophobic but clearly they’re not particularly keen of muslims either.

for your last point, i don’t think talking about misogyny among muslim men or misogyny in islam or criticising islam the same way u criticise any other religion like christianity is islamophobic. i think some religious muslims liked to misuse the term and argue criticism of the religion and misogyny towards women is islamophobic bc it gives them a shield to hide behind. many moc will also argue the same, that criticising their misogyny without being racist is still racist somehow. oppressors will find a way to coopt terms referring to prejudice & discrimination & instead use it as a silencing tactic. i know saudi argued many times that criticism towards them is islamophobic as if anyone in saudi faces discrimination for being muslim💀 but them misusing the term doesn’t mean there isn’t any genuine hatred towards muslims and anti-muslim prejudice and discrimination in the west and other non-muslim countries like india for example

[usafphantom2]

USAF will deploy A-10 attack jets in the Middle East

The deployment of A-10 attack planes in the Middle East occurs when Washington seeks to focus on the rivalries of major powers with China and Russia.

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 24/03/2023 - 12:00 in Military, War Zones

An A-10 Warthog prepares to take off from Al Asad Air Base to provide approximate air support to ground troops in the Middle East.

The U.S. plans to send old A-10 attack planes to the Middle East in order to send more advanced combat aircraft to Asia as part of a remoteness from the region to focus on major power rivalries with China and Russia.

The measure, reported by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, comes when the Pentagon seeks to reduce its presence in the Middle East.

Earlier this month, U.S. Air Force officers proposed a $7 billion budget for 2024 for operations in the Middle East and Southwest Asia, about $1.6 billion less than last year.

The proposal comes even when the air force increases its overall expenses. The total budget requested by the air force and the space force on March 13 was US$ 259.3 billion, US$ 9.3 billion more than the budget approved last year.

"We are united in our commitment to modernize the Air and Space Forces and achieve the transformation we must have to be competitive with our pace challenge - China, China, China, China," U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said in a statement.

The U.S. Air Force maintains important military centers at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar; Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates; and Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait. More than 17,000 U.S. soldiers are stationed in all three locations.

But the U.S. has slowly decreased its military presence in the region.

The Biden administration withdrew American troops from Afghanistan in August 2021. The U.S. combat mission to Iraq officially ended in December 2021, with U.S. troops transitioning to an advisory and assistance function.

Washington continues to work with Iraqi and Syrian partners for Operation Inherent Resolve, which focuses on preventing the return of the militant group Islamic State. The U.S. maintains about 900 soldiers in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq.

U.S. assets in the region are often attacked by Iranian representatives. Meanwhile, U.S. officials have noticed an increase in Russia's aggressive air maneuvers amid tensions over the war in Ukraine.

Russian jets overw over a U.S. military post in Syria every day in March, which a senior U.S. official called on Wednesday “a substantial increase” in overflights.

“It’s an uncomfortable situation,” Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich, commander of the air component of the combined forces of the U.S. Central Command, told NBC News.

“They are regularly flying directly above our units, and I have defined directly above, as about a mile, no more than a mile displaced from one side to the other, while we have forces right there on the ground in ATG,” he said in reference to Al-Tanf Garrison, which is at a strategic point along Syria’s border with Iraq and Jordan.

The U.S. Central Command intends to maintain two and a half fighter squadrons in the region, according to the Wall Street Journal. The squads in the region total about 12 planes.

Under the new plan, an A-10 squadron will be deployed in the Middle East, in addition to two F-15E and F-16 fighter squadrons. The A-10s are scheduled to be deployed in April, according to the WSJ.

“It would probably be a combination of several different factors that would allow us to marginally reduce our costs in this area,” Jones said.

The A-10 is a 40-year-old anti-tank aircraft, specifically designed to support ground forces. Although this may make it suitable for fighting lightly armed militants or agile Iranian vessels, it is not as sophisticated and agile as the F-16.

The U.S. will also maintain two Patriot anti-missile battalions in the region.

Some defense officers suggested cuts in these numbers, but faced resistance from Army General Erik Kurilla, head of the U.S. Central Command, the WSJ reported, citing officers familiar with a confidential memo sent to General Mark Milley, chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who recently traveled to the region, decided on the current deployments.

While the U.S. seeks to reduce the region to focus on China, there are signs that Beijing is intervening. In March, Beijing negotiated a reconciliation agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, taking the U.S. by surprise.

Tags: A-10 Thunderbolt IIMilitary AviationUSAF - United States Air Force / U.S. Air ForceWar Zones - Middle East

Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work throughout the world of aviation.

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[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

I don't really know how to say this so let me just jump in here and put this into perspective a little bit, as someone who's lived in an EXTREMELY earthquake prone area of the US for most of her life:

in Alaska, an M6.1 or 5.9 earthquake pauses your day for maybe 5 minutes. you hear it before you see it, maybe something falls off your shelves. you perk up, listen closely and pay attention; take stock of where everyone around you is, where the exits are, and places you can shelter if it gets big. usually, that means a large piece of furniture, or if you're in a concrete building, the nearest doorway. you stop your day, stay put, take stock until it's over. pick up anything that's fallen, maybe exchange glances with someone nearby — that one was bigger than normal, eh? might be some little aftershocks later, we should move those glass trinkets from the top shelf — and then you move on.

"Normal" in a place like Alaska or California means anything from M1.5 through about M5.3. anything above that is much, much more notable, but not devastating. the largest earthquake I've ever experienced was the M7.1 on November 30th, 2018. that was hecking terrifying, both because it was huge and because it lasted so much longer than normal. but no lives were lost. two roads — one a highway overpass, and the other a city road built overtop an unstable marsh — were destroyed and some already old and vulnerable, unused buildings collapsed. a bunch of people's glass objects broke. my family went on with our day as it was planned, pausing only to take stock of how big each aftershock was.

November 30th, 2018, epicenter at Point MacKenzie Alaska. Magnitude 7.1. zero lives lost.

June 22nd, 2022, epicenter Southwest of Khost Afghanistan. Magnitude 5.9. over 1000 lives lost and hundreds more injured.

I don't usually talk about global news or topics like this, like, AT ALL, bc I'm really just here to have fun and be nice to people, but the perspective of this is haunting to me. in the West, we live in a place of privilege. we have infrastructure and building codes — Alaska and I believe Cali as well has SPECIFIC BUILDING CODES designed around the prevalence of earthquakes in those areas — that offer us the ability to remain relatively unaffected by the single most unpredictable form of natural disaster. the Golden Gate Bridge has hung suspended over a full mile of open air directly beside the San Andreas fault for 85 years.

I've always been saddened by the decade-old reports of the 2010 Haiti earthquake — magnitude 7.0, over 160,000-316,000 lives lost. I've lived what that felt like, but from a place of incredible safety. my house didn't fall down around me, the ground wasn't taken from under me. I ran outside in slippers and waited it out, then went back inside 10 minutes later and had breakfast. I've lived what a 5.9 feels like, and continued on preparing dinner. the ground was solid under me. my house was firm around me. the people of Afghanistan can't say the same.

I guess all I'm really trying to say is that we take our own safety for granted. it genuinely is difficult for me to compute the damage this recent earthquake in Afghanistan has caused, because I'm looking at it from halfway across the world and a country that is no longer so devastated when the earth gives way. it feels a little like a slap in the face, like a reminder of blessing, and I think that it's worth mentioning

[beardedmrbean]

Federal air marshals are outraged as the Biden administration continues to send them to the southern border despite a renewed terror threat from al Qaeda. 

Air Marshal National Council Executive Director Sonya Labosco joined "Fox & Friends First" Tuesday to discuss why the diversion has put Americans at risk and why they are going to "suffer" as a result of the move. 

"It looks absolutely insane," Labosco told co-host Todd Piro. "We don't understand why these decisions are being made. The intel is clear. Al Qaeda is watching for our weak areas. Our aviation is a high-risk area. We're not protecting our aviation domain, and we're going to the border. It is absolutely madness."

US OFFICIALS MEET WITH TALIBAN IN PERSON FOR FIRST TIME SINCE DRONE STRIKE KILLED AL QAEDA CHIEF IN KABUL 

High-level Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sources told Judicial Review that "al Qaeda says upcoming attacks on US possibly involving planes, will use new techniques and tactics."

Despite the looming terror threat, the Biden administration announced mandatory deployments to the border as the migrant surge continues to strain already-worsening conditions amid staffing shortages. 

Many agents pushed back on the Biden administration over the move, expressing willingness to refuse the deployment and face possible termination.

Labosco suggested the mandatory diversions may not have sufficient legal grounds.

US TAKES OUT AL QAEDA LEADER AYMAN AL-ZAWAHRI IN ‘SUCCESSFUL’ AFGHANISTAN COUNTERTERRORISM OPERATION 

"We do believe it's a violation," Labosco said. "We do believe that DHS has overstepped their bounds. We are waiting for Congress to get sworn in, hopefully today, and we can get some movement here. We need someone to step in, in Congress, and stop the deployment of federal air marshals."

"This statute, when it was originally a tent and set by Congress, was not to deploy air marshals to the border, and to be clear, there is no national emergency," she continued. "There's been no national emergency declared at this point. So we're still saying that it is we need an injunction from Congress that they cannot send us to the border."

The Air Marshal National Council sent a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over the weekend, calling out the administration for the policy since the border crisis has garnered little attention. 

"How can you justify sending FAMs to the border in huge numbers, when the border is in your words secure, and there is no emergency yet?" the letter read. "Yet we have major security incidents happening right now affecting our aviation security."

Even amid the diversion, Labosco noted the American people have not forgotten the critical lessons learned following the devastating 9/11 attacks, more than two decades after thousands lost their lives. 

"I can tell you who hasn't forgotten, we haven't forgotten," Labosco said. "The American people, the family and friends of those that died on 911, they haven't forgotten."

"We're not we're not going to catch al Qaeda trying to grab an airplane down in El Paso," she continued. "It's going to happen right here in a commercial airport, in a commercial aircraft."

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a DHS spokesperson pushed back on the claim that flights are being left vulnerable.

"Federal Air Marshals have long supported various Departmental operations on a regular basis across Democratic and Republican administrations alike. There is nothing new or unique about this. They have been deployed to support the U.N. General Assembly, Operation Allies Welcome, hurricane recovery efforts, and CBP at the Southwest border. The last Administration in 2019 temporarily deployed some Federal Air Marshals to support CBP at the Southwest border. 

"The suggestion that flights are being left unprotected is completely false. TSA takes its responsibility to secure the skies for the traveling public very seriously. We will continue to protect commercial flights through our multi-layered security processes, including through the Federal Air Marshal Service which supports this critical mission on the ground and onboard aircrafts," the statement read.

[gokitetour]

9 of the best places to visit in Uzbekistan

Nestled in the heart of Central Asia, Uzbekistan is a land of vibrant culture, rich history, and breathtaking landscapes. Bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Kyrgyzstan to the northeast, Tajikistan to the southeast, Afghanistan to the south, and Turkmenistan to the southwest, Uzbekistan holds a strategic position along the ancient Silk Road trade route.

The country's landscape is diverse, ranging from the vast deserts of the Kyzylkum and Karakum in the west to the lush Fergana Valley in the east, surrounded by the imposing peaks of the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains. The Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, once the lifeblood of the region, still carve through the land, sustaining fertile oases amid the arid plains.

Here are nine must-visit places in Uzbekistan:

1.Samarkand: Known as the "Pearl of the Orient", Samarkand is one of the oldest inhabited cities in Central Asia and boasts magnificent Islamic architecture, including the Registan Square, Shah-i-Zinda, and the Bibi-Khanym Mosque.

2.Bukhara: With its well-preserved historic center, Bukhara is like stepping back in time to the Silk Road era. Highlights include the Kalon Minaret and Mosque, the Ark Fortress, and the trading domes of the Old City.

3.Khiva: This ancient city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is renowned for its well-preserved mud-brick architecture. Wander through the labyrinthine streets of the Itchan Kala, visit the Tash-Hauli Palace, and climb the minaret of Islam Khodja for panoramic views.

4.Tashkent: As the capital city, Tashkent offers a blend of modernity and tradition. Visit the Khast-Imam Square to see the ancient Quran of Caliph Uthman, explore the Chorsu Bazaar for a taste of local life, and stroll through the beautiful Amir Timur Square.

5.Shakhrisabz: Birthplace of the great conqueror Timur, Shakhrisabz is home to several historic sites, including the Ak-Saray Palace ruins, the Dorus-Saodat Complex, and the Kok Gumbaz Mosque.

6.Fergana Valley: This fertile region is known for its lush landscapes, traditional crafts, and rich history. Visit the city of Kokand to see the impressive Khudayar Khan's Palace and explore the vibrant markets of Fergana City.

7.Nurata: Nestled amid scenic mountains, Nurata offers a tranquil retreat with its ancient fortress, sacred spring, and nearby petroglyphs. Don't miss the opportunity to experience a traditional yurt stay in the surrounding countryside.

8.Chimgan Mountains: Nature lovers will enjoy exploring the Chimgan Mountains, located just outside of Tashkent. Hike through alpine meadows, take a cable car ride for breathtaking views, or try your hand at skiing during the winter months.

9.Aral Sea: While the Aral Sea has diminished significantly over the years due to environmental issues, visiting its shores provides a sobering reminder of the consequences of human impact on the environment. Explore the eerie ship graveyard in Moynaq and learn about efforts to mitigate the ecological damage.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Uzbekistan is a treasure trove of history, culture, and natural beauty, offering travelers a unique and unforgettable experience. From the ancient cities of Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva, with their stunning architecture and rich heritage, to the serene landscapes of the Nuratau Mountains and the Aral Sea, there is something for every traveler to discover. With the recent simplification of the Uzbekistan visa process, it has become easier than ever to explore this hidden gem of Central Asia. Whether you're drawn to the intricate tilework of mosques and madrasas, the bustling bazaars filled with spices and handicrafts, or the untouched wilderness of its deserts and mountains, Uzbekistan promises to captivate and inspire all who visit. Plan your trip today and unlock the secrets of this enchanting destination.

Read More-: Ireland visa

[antikosm]

Splinter Collective posted about the Arizona Abortion ban but NYT wants me to subscribe to read it. Thank you quick ctrl+A ctrl+C

Order of Articles

The Latest

What We Know

Court Reinstates 1864 Law

The History Behind the Ban

Impact on 2024 Races

The Latest

Arizona Republicans Thwart Attempts to Repeal 1864 Abortion Ban

Democrats in both houses of the Legislature were blocked from advancing bills to roll back the reinstated ban on nearly all abortions in the state.

By Jack Healy and Kate Zernike

Reporting from Phoenix

April 10, 2024

A decision by Arizona’s highest court upholding an 1864 ban on nearly all abortions created chaos and confusion across the state on Wednesday. As abortion providers were flooded with phone calls from frantic patients, Republican lawmakers at the State Capitol blocked efforts to undo the ban, prompting angry jeers from Democrats.

Democrats, who seized on the decision to resurrect the 160-year-old ban as a pivotal election issue, tried to push bills through the Republican-controlled Legislature to repeal the ban, a move they said would protect women’s health and freedom, and also force Republicans to take a formal vote on the law.

But Republican leaders in the Senate removed one bill from the day’s agenda on Wednesday, legislative aides said. In the House, a Republican lawmaker who had called for striking down the law made a motion to vote on a Democratic repeal bill that has sat stalled for months. But Republican leaders quickly scuttled that effort by calling for a recess, and later adjourned until next Wednesday.

Democrats on the Senate floor yelled “Shame!” and “Save women’s lives!” as their Republican colleagues filed out of the chamber.

“I don’t see why we wouldn’t move forward,” said State Senator Anna Hernandez, Democrat of Phoenix. “Are they serious about this or are they not?” she said of the Republicans. “Are they just backpedaling when they realize they’re on the losing side of a policy battle?”

Despite the pressure from Democrats and some Republicans to undo the law, it was uncertain whether Republican leaders, who narrowly control both chambers of the Legislature, would allow any immediate action on proposals to repeal the ban.

A correction was made on

April 10, 2024

: 

An earlier version of a picture caption with this article incorrectly identified Speaker Ben Toma of the Arizona House of Representatives. That picture actually showed the speaker pro tem, Travis Grantham.

When we learn of a mistake, we acknowledge it with a correction. If you spot an error, please let us know at nytnews@nytimes.com.Learn more

Jack Healy is a Phoenix-based national correspondent who focuses on the fast-changing politics and climate of the Southwest. He has worked in Iraq and Afghanistan and is a graduate of the University of Missouri’s journalism school. More about Jack Healy

Kate Zernike is a national reporter at The Times. More about Kate Zernike

What We Know

What We Know About the Arizona Abortion Ban

The state’s highest court upheld an 1864 law that bans nearly all abortions. Here’s what to know about the ruling.

By Anna Betts

April 10, 2024

Arizona’s highest court upheld an 1864 law that bans nearly all abortions, a decision that could have far-reaching consequences for women’s health care and election-year politics in a critical battleground state. But the law is not immediately in effect. The court put its ruling on hold for the moment, and sent the matter back to a lower court to hear additional arguments about the law’s constitutionality.

Here’s what to know about the ruling, the law and its possible impact.

What is the 1864 law?

The law, which was on the books long before Arizona achieved statehood in 1912, outlaws abortion from the moment of conception, except when necessary to save the life of the mother, and it makes no exceptions for rape or incest. It bans all types of abortions, including medication abortions.

Until now, abortion had been legal in Arizona through 15 weeks of pregnancy. Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade nearly two years ago, supporters and opponents of abortion rights in Arizona had been fighting in court over whether the 1864 law, which had sat dormant for decades, could be enforced, or whether it had been effectively neutered by decades of other state laws that regulate and restrict abortion.

Doctors prosecuted under the law could face fines and prison terms of two to five years for providing, supplying or administering care to a pregnant woman.

What does the ruling say?

On April 9, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled in a 4-to-2 decision that the pre-statehood law was “now enforceable.”

The court said that because the federal right to abortion had been overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022, there was no federal or state law preventing Arizona from enforcing the near-total ban. It noted that the State Legislature had not created a right to abortion when it passed the 15-week ban in 2022.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

Court Reinstates 1864 Law

Arizona Reinstates 160-Year-Old Abortion Ban

The state’s highest court said the law, moribund for decades under Roe v. Wade, was now enforceable, but it put its decision on hold for a lower court to hear other challenges to the law.

By Jack Healy and Kellen Browning

Jack Healy reported from Phoenix and Kellen Browning from San Francisco.

April 9, 2024

Arizona’s highest court on Tuesday upheld an 1864 law that bans nearly all abortions, a decision that could have far-reaching consequences for women’s health care and election-year politics in a critical battleground state.

“Physicians are now on notice that all abortions, except those necessary to save a woman’s life, are illegal,” the court said in a 4-to-2 decision.

But the court, whose justices are all Republican appointees, also put its ruling on hold for the moment and sent the matter back to a lower court for additional arguments about the law’s constitutionality. Abortion providers said they expected to continue performing abortions through May as their lawyers and Democratic lawmakers searched for new legal arguments and additional tactics to delay the ruling.

The ruling immediately set off a political earthquake. Democrats condemned it as a “stain” on Arizona that would put women’s lives at risk. Several Republicans, sensing political peril, also criticized the ruling and called for the Republican-controlled Legislature to repeal it.

Read the Arizona Supreme Court’s Abortion Ruling

The state’s highest court on Tuesday upheld an 1864 law that bans nearly all abortions.Read Document 47 pages

The decision from the Arizona Supreme Court concerned a law that was on the books long before Arizona achieved statehood. It outlaws abortion from the moment of conception, except when necessary to save the life of the mother, and it makes no exceptions for rape or incest. Doctors prosecuted under the law could face fines and prison terms of two to five years.

The History Behind the Ban

The History Behind Arizona’s 160-Year-Old Abortion Ban

The state’s Supreme Court ruled that the 1864 law is enforceable today. Here is what led to its enactment.

By Pam Belluck

Pam Belluck has covered reproductive health for more than a decade.

April 10, 2024

The 160-year-old Arizona abortion ban that was upheld on Tuesday by the state’s highest court was among a wave of anti-abortion laws propelled by some historical twists and turns that might seem surprising.

For decades after the United States became a nation, abortion was legal until fetal movement could be felt, usually well into the second trimester. Movement, known as quickening, was the threshold because, in a time before pregnancy tests or ultrasounds, it was the clearest sign that a woman was pregnant.

Before that point, “women could try to obtain an abortion without having to fear that it was illegal,” said Johanna Schoen, a professor of history at Rutgers University. After quickening, abortion providers could be charged with a misdemeanor.

“I don’t think it was particularly stigmatized,” Dr. Schoen said. “I think what was stigmatized was maybe this idea that you were having sex outside of marriage, but of course, married women also ended their pregnancies.”

Women would terminate pregnancies in several different ways, such as ingesting herbs or medicinal potions that were thought to induce a miscarriage, Dr. Schoen said. The herbs commonly used included pennyroyal and tansy. Another method involved inserting an object in the cervix to try to interrupt a pregnancy or terminate it by causing an infection, Dr. Schoen said.

Since tools to determine early pregnancy did not yet exist, many women could honestly say that they were not sure if they were pregnant and were simply taking herbs to restore their menstrual period.

Arizona’s Abortion Ban

Impact on 2024 Races

Abortion Jumps to the Center of Arizona’s Key 2024 Races

Democrats quickly aimed to capitalize on a ruling by the state’s highest court upholding an 1864 law that bans nearly all abortions.

By Lisa Lerer, Nicholas Nehamas and Reid J. Epstein

April 9, 2024

Democrats seized on a ruling on Tuesday by Arizona’s highest court upholding an 1864 law that bans nearly all abortions, setting up a fierce political fight over the issue that is likely to dominate the presidential election and a pivotal Senate race in a crucial battleground state.

Even though the court put its ruling on hold for now, President Biden and his campaign moved quickly to blame former President Donald J. Trump for the loss of abortion rights, noting that he has taken credit for appointing the Supreme Court justices who overturned a constitutional right to abortion. Just a day earlier, Mr. Trump had sought to defang what has become a toxic issue for Republicans by saying that abortion restrictions should be decided by the states and their voters.

Mr. Trump offered no immediate response to the decision, but Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for his campaign, said: “President Trump could not have been more clear. These are decisions for people of each state to make.”

Nowhere are the politics of abortion more distilled than in Arizona, where liberal advocates have been pushing for a ballot measure in November that would enshrine abortion rights in the State Constitution. Supporters of the measure say they have already gathered enough signatures to put the question on the ballot ahead of a deadline in early July.

That means the state is likely to be front and center in a national push by Democrats to transform the 2024 race into another referendum on abortion rights.

The issue has emerged as one of the party’s strongest political weapons since the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022, powering them to a series of electoral victories. The Arizona ruling on Tuesday will pose yet another test for Republicans, who after decades of efforts to limit abortion rights and access have struggled to find a winning message on the issue amid the transformed politics of the post-Roe era.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 4.10 (after 1920)

1925 – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is first published in New York City, by Charles Scribner's Sons. 1938 – The 1938 German parliamentary election and referendum seeks approval for a single list of Nazi candidates and the recent annexation of Austria. 1939 – Alcoholics Anonymous, A.A.'s "Big Book", is first published. 1941 – World War II: The Axis powers establish the Independent State of Croatia. 1944 – Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler escape from Birkenau death camp. 1963 – One hundred twenty-nine American sailors die when the submarine USS Thresher sinks at sea. 1968 – The TEV Wahine, a New Zealand ferry sinks in Wellington harbour due to a fierce storm – the strongest winds ever in Wellington. Out of the 734 people on board, fifty-three died. 1970 – Paul McCartney announces that he is leaving The Beatles for personal and professional reasons. 1971 – Ping-pong diplomacy: In an attempt to thaw relations with the United States, China hosts the U.S. table tennis team for a week-long visit. 1972 – Tombs containing bamboo slips, among them Sun Tzu's Art of War and Sun Bin's lost military treatise, are discovered by construction workers in Shandong. 1972 – Vietnam War: For the first time since November 1967, American B-52 bombers reportedly begin bombing North Vietnam. 1973 – Invicta International Airlines Flight 435 crashes in a snowstorm on approach to Basel, Switzerland, killing 108 people. 1979 – Red River Valley tornado outbreak: A tornado lands in Wichita Falls, Texas killing 42 people. 1988 – The Ojhri Camp explosion kills or injures more than 1,000 people in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan. 1991 – Italian ferry MS Moby Prince collides with an oil tanker in dense fog off Livorno, Italy, killing 140. 1991 – A rare tropical storm develops in the South Atlantic Ocean near Angola; the first to be documented by satellites. 1998 – The Good Friday Agreement is signed in Northern Ireland. 2009 – President of Fiji Ratu Josefa Iloilo announces the abrogation of the constitution and assumes all governance in the country, creating a constitutional crisis. 2010 – Polish Air Force Tu-154M crashes near Smolensk, Russia, killing 96 people, including Polish President Lech Kaczyński, his wife, and dozens of other senior officials and dignitaries. 2016 – The Paravur temple accident in which a devastating fire caused by the explosion of firecrackers stored for Vishu, kills more than one hundred people out of the thousands gathered for seventh day of Bhadrakali worship. 2016 – An earthquake of 6.6 magnitude strikes 39 km west-southwest of Ashkasham, impacting India, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Srinagar and Pakistan. 2019 – Scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope project announce the first ever image of a black hole, which was located in the centre of the M87 galaxy. 2023 – A mass shooting occurs at the Old National Bank in Louisville, Kentucky that leaves five victims dead and eight wounded.