#but it’s a step closer and better for Palestinian rights within the un

[finntaur]

The UN general assembly just voted in favor of backing Palestine’s bid for membership btw. Huge fucking steps

[40sandfabulousaf]

大家好! I was quite excited about trying instant meepok for my weekly simple breakfast out of compassion for Palestinians. This is hands down my favourite type of noodles, whether it's bak chor mee (pork noodles), as well as fishball or wonton mee. The reviews were pretty good and one even said this tasted authentic. They were right; this was a highly slurpable bowl. It's supposed to be eaten dry, but I like mine soupy, so I added more water. It's something I would buy again, but for the time being, I want to try other brands and there're quite many of them!

SC, JK, DT, MI, CL and I caught up over lunch at a new place. There were a few stalls selling fish soup, local western-style food, nasi briyani and Korean fare. I craved noodles but fish soup is so widely available that I decided not to have it. 2 options remained: ramyeon or spaghetti. Many places house local western-style stalls whereas Korean ones are less common, so I opted for ramyeon. The light clear broth wasn't too salty, which was great. The noodles were a little more chewy than our QQ (springy) ones but still very slurpable. Overall, it was a decent bowl with shrimp, crab sticks, clams, mussels, tofu skin and cabbage. More importantly, I also had fun chatting and laughing with the rest.

Palestinians scored a triumph last week. The voting results for a resolution which would give Palestine more participation and some rights within the UN General Assembly showed the global community's overwhelming support. 143 nations voted in favour, 9 voted against (the US included) and 25 abstained. Innocent civilians in Gaza continue to suffer immensely as Israel prepares to expand its offensive in Rafah, which increasingly looks like a gradual invasion. The US may have suspended a shipment of bombs to Israel but it continues to supply other types of weapons. This victory is bittersweet; many innocent Palestinians have died for it. I hope it gives them comfort during perhaps the darkest times of their lives.

I returned to the stall selling local western-style dishes to try their chicken spaghetti. $10.90 got me a large slab of chicken and mountain of spaghetti. Colleagues sniffed that this was too expensive and it was for local hawker fare; other stalls charge about $8.50. No wonder there're few customers whenever I visit. Then again, it's a better deal than the $18 - $22 price tag at a cafe or restaurant and much higher value than the $18.90 and above one needs to fork out for avocado sourdough toast with a topping. I like the way they cook spaghetti here: slurpable like noodles. Al dente, to me, is overrated.

We're into a brand new week; I hope it brings us a step closer to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. From 100,000 Palestinians fleeing Rafah under Israel's instructions, that number has risen to 300,000. The invasion of the city is happening as the US continues to arm Israel with weapons apart from the bombs it suspended. The death toll has risen to over 35,000 and that isn't the end. I'll continue to pray hard that countries arming Israel during this genocidal war will be severely punished. This needs to end already. 下次见!