#one of which was hadassah

[catkin-morgs-kookaburralover]

a trip down memory lane (remembering ancient ocs who were definitely various flavours of neurodivergent and I didn't realise)

#one of which was hadassah #i've since lost the document but i had a super detailed outline for her story and i'd written bits #wrote to it cope with school at times #looking back hadassah was unintentionally autistic for sure #i loved bits of her story #now i think it could be a fascinating thing if framed as an unreliable narrator because i was looking through my own lens and some of that #was messed up for sure #i've kind of intended to return to her and her story someday #maybe the inklings challenge is gonna be a reworking of her story but more honestly and in a different setting? #but the same themes and struggles perhaps #it's starting to feel Right #haven't thought of her for three years at least #i first wrote of her in year nine iirc #which would track #writing #inklings #vibes #i just. i want to write a character as pleasant and weirdly comforting to read about as L in Judas.... #but idk if i can do that #anyway #also my own tag for the inklings challenge is gonna be just inklings #i know that's different from what the organisers are saying to use but it'll help me keep track better and i can tag some of it officially

[l-e-morgan-author]

If I was to start up a writing newsletter, what features would be interesting? Spitballing at present. They're not mutually exclusive.

drabble

writing update/s

life update/s

excerpt

photo of Ransom

other photo/s

art/s

poem/s

free short story

reading updates

#my writing #writeblr #creative writing #writing community #editing a couple of hadassah inklings stories at present to be a 'when you join this newsletter' gift #one of which i've pulled from my website the other i've never shared #because i'm not happy with the autism rep the way i originally wrote it #hadassah winter #inklings story #a fragile solace #ever changing ever near #<- the last two are the titles for the stories

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week - June 6, 2023

1. Biden orders 20-year ban on oil, gas drilling around tribal site in New Mexico

Hundreds of square miles in New Mexico will be withdrawn from further oil and gas production for the next 20 years on the outskirts of Chaco Culture National Historical Park that tribal communities consider sacred, the Biden administration ordered Friday.

The new order from Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland applies to public lands and associated mineral rights within a 10-mile (16-kilometer) radius of the park. It does not apply to entities that are privately, state- or tribal-owned. Existing leases won’t be impacted either.

2. Groundbreaking Israeli cancer treatment has 90% success rate

An experimental treatment developed at Israel's Hadassah-University Medical Center has a 90% success rate at bringing patients with multiple myeloma into remission.

The treatment is based on genetic engineering technology. They have used a genetic engineering technology called CAR-T, or Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy, which boosts the patient’s own immune system to destroy the cancer. More than 90% of the 74 patients treated at Hadassah went into complete remission, the oncologists said.

3. Federal Judge Makes History in Holding That Border Searches of Cell Phones Require a Warrant

With United States v. Smith, a district court judge in New York made history by being the first court to rule that a warrant is required for a cell phone search at the border, “absent exigent circumstances”. For a century, the Supreme Court has recognized a border search exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement.

4. Indigenous-led bison repopulation projects are helping the animal thrive again in Alberta

Indigenous-led efforts are reintroducing bison to their ancestral lands in Alberta, bringing back an iconic species that was nearly extinct. These reintroduction projects, such as the one led by the Tsuut'ina Nation, have witnessed the positive impact on the bison population and the surrounding wildlife.

The historical decline of bison numbers was due to overhunting and government policies that forced Indigenous peoples onto reserves. These initiatives aim to restore ecological integrity while fostering spiritual and cultural connections with the land and animals. Successful results have been observed in projects like Banff National Park, where the bison population has grown from 16 to nearly 100, providing inspiration for future wilding efforts.

5. Breakthrough in disease affecting one in nine women

Sydney researchers have made a world-first leap forward that could change the treatment of endometriosis and improve the health of women living with the painful and debilitating disease. Researchers from Sydney's Royal Hospital for Women have grown tissue from every known type of endometriosis, observing changes and comparing how they respond to treatments.

It means researchers will be able to vary treatments from different types of endometriosis, determining whether a woman will need fertility treatments.

6. Latvia just elected the first openly gay head of state in Europe

The country’s parliament elected Edgars Rinkēvičs to be its next president, Reuters reported prime minister Krišjānis Kariņš saying.

Rinkēvičs publicly came out as gay in November 2014, posting on Twitter: “I proudly announce I am gay… Good luck all of you.” In a second tweet at the time, he spoke about improving the legal status of same-sex relationships, saying Latvia needed to create a legal framework for all kinds of partnerships.

7. France bans short haul flights

The introduction of France’s short-haul flight ban has renewed calls for Europe to cut down on journeys that could be made by train. Last week France officially introduced its ban on short-haul flights.

The final version of the law means that journeys which can be taken in under 2.5 hours by train can’t be taken by plane. There also needs to be enough trains throughout the day that travellers can spend at least eight hours at their destination.

----

That's it for this week :)

This newsletter will always be free. If you liked this post you can support me with a small kofi donation:

BUY ME A COFFEE ❤️

Also don’t forget to reblog.

SUBCRIBE HERE for more good news in your inbox

#best news of last week

[matan4il]

Daily update post:

Over the last couple of days, 3 independent Palestinian terrorist attacks took place. In one of them, Palestinian terrorists killed a Palestinian man that they mistook for a Jew, 33 years old Amar Mansour. A 42 years old Palestinian woman who was in the car with him was wounded. She was evacuated to a hospital in Ramallah, and then later transferred to the Hadassah medical center in Jerusalem, where she works as a pharmacist. Israeli soldiers risk their lives whenever they go after terrorists, and they are doing that for these Palestinians, just as they do for Israeli Jews and for Israeli Arabs murdered by terrorists.

Since Saleh al-Arouri was eliminated in Lebanon, the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has escalated. The terrorist organization, which is destroying civilian communities, has struck an Israel Air Force base, nicknamed "the country's northern eyes," which is dedicated to monitoring aerial threats invading Israel's north, and monitoring aircrafts in Israel's northern sky (so they're kinda like an air force control tower, making sure aircrafts don't crash). Hezbollah released footage showing 2 of the base's 3 domes being hit. Reports say it took two hours to get the fire under control, and the base back online. It's not the only army base hit by Hezbollah (the Northern Command's base was struck today), but probably the most damaging attack so far.

Following that, a Hezbollah senior terrorist was killed yesterday in Lebanon. In the terrorist organization's announcement, he was described as 'The Commander,' a term not used for any of Hezbollah's other killed terrorists, suggesting just how important he was to their terrorist activity. There's a report on Saudi news, that Hezbollah tried to attack an Israeli natural gas rig using drones, but it's too early to know how true this is.

Here's a conversation made by a Gazan to an IDF officer, to ask for aid. The IDF officer tells the man to raise white flags as they approach Israeli soldiers for this purpose, but then the man inquires when the Israeli army will destroy Hamas. He points out that Hamas is killing Gaza's people.

As Israel is being sued by South Africa at the International Court for Justice (here), and as SA chose to appoint a judge to the case (in addition to the 15 permanent judges of the ICJ, a right given to both the suing and sued countries in that court), Israel has appointed Aharon Barak as a judge on its behalf. Barak is an 87 years old Holocaust survivor, globally renowned and respected judge and legal expert, and the former president of Israel's Supreme Court of Justice.

Since the anti-Israel crowd love quotes from Israeli officials (and to take them out of context, in a way that vilifies the Jewish state), here's another one (source in Hebrew): Moshe Arbel, an ultra orthodox member of the Knesset (Israel's parliament), and currently Minister of Interior Affairs, has said today explicitly that the status of the Arabic language in Israel must not be harmed, and that despite some populist utterances, most of the public in Israel is looking for that which unites everyone here, rather than that which divides us.

Among the things you never hear about when looking at anti-Israeli sources, is that when Jews build houses illegally, those are demolished by the state, just like when Palestinians do it. This night, Israel did exactly that in Judea and Samaria.

It's the third time, at the very least, that Israel has done so since the start of the war in Gaza.

The families of the hostages have said that today, they'll had for the border with Gaza, to block the way of aid trucks going in from Israel. They are upset that while their family members have been held hostage for over 90 days (when we know that there has been rape and abuse of the hostages in many different ways, when the mothers have started talking about the fact that their daughters might be forced to carry pregnancies from the Hamas terrorists continuously raping them in captivity, when the hostages are known not to be receiving proper medical care or even enough food and water), the aid going into Gaza is being stolen by Hamas, allowing them to continue to fight, and to refuse the release of the hostages. At the time of compiling this post, IDK yet if the families carried this out.

This is 86 years old Shlomo Mansour.

In one of my past daily update posts, I mentioned him, and that he's the oldest hostage in Gaza. He was 85 years old when he was kidnapped. He's also a Holocaust survivor. I watched a touching piece that was aired in Nov about him, interviewing his wife in light of their upcoming 60th anniversary, during which he was still held captive by terrorists. Now it's been translated into English:

This is 35 years old Idan Amedi.

If you watched Fauda, you may know him from that show as an actor.

If you're Israeli, you probably know him even before that as a singer. I got to watch a vid at a relatively early stage of the fighting in Gaza, where Idan's voice can be heard, dedicating his unit blowing up a terror tunnel, to their friends murdered on Oct 7. I believe many Israelis saw that vid, and knew he was in there, fighting for over 3 months by this point.

Idan was seriously wounded, one of at least 9 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza yesterday, and at least 6 soldiers injured. His cousin asked everyone to pray for him (Idan ben Tova). Israeli-Serbian basketballer Deni Avdija, who plays for the Washington Wizards, took the court today with a dedication to Idan on his basketball shoes. It says, in Hebrew, "For the healing of Idan son of Tova Amedi."

Maybe Idan's biggest, most well known song is Warriors' Pain (which he wrote himself, lyrics and melody). One of its haunting lines is, "You don't understand why, I have long stopped being myself, images running from that night." I am gonna add the official YT vid of this song, and dedicate it to the memory of all of those who were injured or died fighting the terrorists from Gaza, whether on Oct 7 or since.

You know what was absolutely abhorrent? I pretty much stopped going on Twitter, because the antisemitism is beyond disgusting. But I had a moment of weakness, went there, and saw a tweet from a British journalist, who couldn't say anything yet, but implied that many Israeli soldiers were killed yesterday, and the amount of commenters basically celebrating it was despicable, but also a reminder... people who care about human rights don't celebrate the death of so many human beings. Every single one of those soldiers is fighting in a war that Israel didn't choose to start, and that Hamas could have ended a long time ago. Not a single one of them would have chosen to be in Gaza and die, if Israelis had a choice. Each one is an entire family destroyed. I was listening to an interview with the best friend of one killed soldier, and she was so clearly devastated, fighting to speak through tears, it was hard to bear so much pain, and she wasn't even a relative or spouse. Those disgusting people who celebrate the death of Israeli soldiers prove that they don't care about human rights, they just rejoice over the death of Jews.

Oh, and a part of why they do that, is because they don't want us talking about our pain. Who would talk about their pain, when it just because a weapon for haters to inflict even more emotional pain? But that's the thing. We're human beings. The antisemitic anti-Israel crowd seeks to de-humanize us in the same way the Nazis did. If we speak about our pain, if people hear us, that is way more threatening to them than any of their distorted facts being called out. So I'm not going to stop talking about our pain, we deserve to share it when we're hurting, we deserve to be seen as the human beings that we are. And people who are so morally lost, that they can try to use it, to inflict more pain? They don't deserve for their words to count.

This is 32 years old Dvir David Pima.

He was a deputy battalion commander, who identified a terror tunnel shaft as booby trapped, but without enough time to stop it from blowing up. He threw himself at it. His body took the blast, and by doing so, he saved the lives of the 3 other soldiers who were there.

May his memory be a blessing.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

#israel #antisemitism #israeli #israel news #israel under attack #israel under fire #israelunderattack #terrorism #anti terrorism #hamas #antisemitic #antisemites #jews #jew #judaism #jumblr #frumblr #jewish #Youtube

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

By Edward H. Kaplan and Evan Morris

At Ben Gurion-Soroka Hospital, Technion-Rambam Hospital, and the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical Center, we saw how integrated their medical schools and faculty are. The percentage of doctors, nurses, and pharmacists who are Arabs greatly exceeds their share in the total population.

We heard Arab university vice presidents, and their Jewish counterparts take full pride in jointly leading Israeli university life. Unlike the scene on American campuses, Muslim and Christian Arabs, Druze and Jewish students understand that their job is to learn, not to fight each other.

In presentations by an Israeli Arab journalist and a Druze professor, we learned that contrary to conceptions prevalent on American campuses, the majority of Israeli Arabs do not seek to separate from Israel. Indeed, while Israeli Arabs do have demands, we learned they are in service of more integration into Israeli society—better schools, law enforcement, and physical infrastructure—not less. Similarly, we learned from a Druze professor the strong connection to the Jewish State felt by the Israeli Druze.

We met face-to-face with faculty in academic disciplines matching our own at each of Ben Gurion University of the Negev, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, the Weizmann Institute of Science, and Tel Aviv University. We also met with the leaders of Sapir College in Sderot which came under direct attack on October 7, and Tel Hai Academic College which is currently evacuated due to the Hezbollah threat from Lebanon.

The President of Israel's Academy of Sciences and Humanities and a Nobel Prize winner addressed the challenges facing Israeli academics in discussion with us. Facing such brilliance (and in such a small country), we were dismayed to learn the extent of academic discrimination being directed at Israeli academics: faculty who were invited to address conferences only to be told later—and in one case upon arrival in Australia—that they were no longer welcome to speak; external reviewers returning evaluation requests because they refuse to consider Israeli scholars; journals reneging on decisions to publish papers that were already accepted.

This is especially upsetting to us given the emergence of organized faculty extremists on American campuses with the publicly stated objective of boycotting Israeli academia. Our reaction to such prejudice is clear: we will build upon already existing collaborations with our Israeli colleagues, invite Israeli speakers to campus, offer to provide objective evaluations and reviews within our academic areas of expertise, and provide opportunities for budding young Israeli researchers.

#ben gurion saroka hospital #technion rambam hospital #israel #yale #hebrew university of jerusalem

[mariacallous]

WASHINGTON (JTA) — In the wake of the murder of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy in a Chicago suburb, Jewish groups across the religious spectrum are pleading with Americans to not allow anti-Muslim hate to spread because of Israel’s war with Hamas.

Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist umbrella bodies have joined a statement spearheaded by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, a national public policy group, and two Orthodox groups have released their own statements.

“This is a moment of deep Jewish pain, mourning the lives taken and praying for the safe release of the hostages in Gaza – and this pain and fear is compounded by a horrific rise in antisemitism here in the United States and around the globe,” said the JCPA statement, which in addition to the religious movements was also signed by the American Jewish Committee, J Street, Hadassah and the National Council of Jewish Women, among other groups.

“We also know that we are not the only ones being targeted in this moment,” it said. “Our Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian American neighbors are facing bigotry, threats, and violence – including the despicable murder of a six-year-old child this weekend outside Chicago, by a man who reportedly espoused anti-Muslim hate.”

The Anti-Defamation League separately condemned the attack and two Orthodox groups, Agudath Israel of America and the Orthodox Union, put out statements expressing horror at the crime.

“Agudath Israel condemns this heinous crime and sends its sincere condolences to the bereaved family members and their entire community,” it said in a statement.

The Orthodox Union said in a statement that “we reject anti-Muslim bigotry along with all forms of hate against individuals based on their faith and absolutely reject revenge attacks against innocent Muslims and Arab Americans in this country or anywhere.”

Police on Saturday charged Joseph Czuba, 71, with stabbing the boy, Wadea Al-Fayoum, to death, and seriously injuring the boy’s mother, in Plainfield, Illinois. Police said Czuba was motivated by anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian bias. Reports quoted Czuba’s wife as saying he was moved to rage by conservative media coverage of Israel’s war with Hamas.

The killing has spurred fears of an increase in anti-Arab and anti-Muslim violence, including expressions of concern by President Joe Biden and J.B. Pritzker, Illinois’s Jewish governor. A group of Chicago area rabbis attended Al-Fayoum’s funeral.

Also signing the JCPA statement were an array of local Jewish Community Relations Councils, which often work with local Muslim and Arab groups.

[leoneliterary]

So I’m assuming that Sefu’s got a lot of beef with anyone that is considered a noble+ (most likely due to his and Tamu’s past experiences, which is understandable) so he probably wouldn’t be the most supportive of Laverna/Aretas/Merikh/Sarai romances… Also very likely an anti-Sutek supporter as well for obvious reasons lol

I wonder if he’d come around though if the MC has really high friendship with the Ducklings/Talons? It’s hard to choose between found family vs. blooming love :(

I'm so happy you brought this up!

A lot of attention has been paid to how the ROs with status and the people around them would react to the MC, but the MC has people too. The MC's loved ones aren't going to just sit and watch the MC get involved with someone without forming an opinion.

Sefu, Desma, Tamu, Amatus, and even Hadassah and Yusra will have certain reactions to certain ROs, whether that be concern, approval, or outright "over my dead body" responses. Depends on your choices. (You'll have to read to see who feels which way about who hehe)

You could also try to keep some relationships hidden. What could go wrong with that?

#honor amongst thieves #interactive fiction #if wip #game development #writing #worldbuilding #interactive novel #Sefu #Tamu #Desma #Amatus #the ducklings #duck's of amatus

[girlactionfigure]

In the wake of the murder of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy in a Chicago suburb, Jewish groups across the religious spectrum are pleading with Americans to not allow anti-Muslim hate to spread because of Israel’s war with Hamas.⁠ ⁠ Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist umbrella bodies have joined a statement spearheaded by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, a national public policy group, and two Orthodox groups have released their own statements.⁠ ⁠ “This is a moment of deep Jewish pain, mourning the lives taken and praying for the safe release of the hostages in Gaza – and this pain and fear is compounded by a horrific rise in antisemitism here in the United States and around the globe,” said the JCPA statement, which in addition to the religious movements was also signed by the American Jewish Committee, J Street, Hadassah and the National Council of Jewish Women, among other groups.⁠ ⁠ “We also know that we are not the only ones being targeted in this moment,” it said. “Our Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian American neighbors are facing bigotry, threats, and violence – including the despicable murder of a six-year-old child this weekend outside Chicago, by a man who reportedly espoused anti-Muslim hate.”⁠ ⁠ Police on Saturday charged Joseph Czuba, 71, with stabbing the boy, Wadea Al-Fayoum, to death, and seriously injuring the boy’s mother, in Plainfield, Illinois. Police said Czuba was motivated by anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian bias. Reports quoted Czuba’s wife as saying he was moved to rage by conservative media coverage of Israel’s war with Hamas.⁠ ⁠jtanews

#Palestinian American #anti-Muslim hate #Israel /Hamas War #Jewish groups

[blitz-horsie-enthusiast]

Lilith and Alastor and straight up Hadassah meances to the multiverse aren't they

YES I AGREE WITH THAT STATEMENT SO MUCH

Though I have one pretty nice Alastor

Which is @alastor-the-demon even though he never answered me about the deal I asked him about, but oh well, and @alyxdefoisnthere likes him so I can’t hate him, unlike that Alastor that destroyed Stolas’s grimoire…

#helluva blitzo #helluva boss #blitzø #helluva boss blitz #hazbin hotel #alyxdefoisnthere #helluva stolas #stolas #hazbin lilith #hazbin lillith #alastor radio demon #alastor the radio demon #hazbin alastor #alastor #hazbin hotel alastor

[bringmemyrocks]

“I recall an incident that involved a Christian minister who was touring the country on behalf of [Zionist org] Hadassah and Zionism in 1942. He made a stirring appeal for support of Zionism, and repeated the shibboleths about the “homelessness of Jews.” He gave a vivid description of the life of Jews in a benighted Europe. Then he closed with the observation that the only way in which the Christian world could requite the Jews was by supporting Jewish demands for a state in Palestine. The man’s obvious sincerity appealed to me and I talked with him after the meeting about the theme of his address. I told him very briefly, over our coffee, something of the history I have told here, and then I asked him, “Doctor, how, as a Christian minister can you, with conscience, admit the failure of Christianity in Europe by agreeing that the position of the Jew there is a hopeless one and that the only restitution the Christian world can make to Jews is to abdicate the fight for Christian morality and pack Jews off to a segregated country of their own?” He thought for a long time and finally said, “I can’t answer you. I’ve never thought of this question in that light before.” I have in my files hundreds of letters from Christians who repeat this minister’s confusion. And I also have hundreds of letters from Jews who say, “I don’t want a Jewish state or a Jewish nation. I just want to belong to any movement that helps my fellow-Jews in Europe.” Their tragedy is that they have never been told. They are still part of the price non-Zionism is paying for the Jewish Agency [the Jewish Agency for Israel]. They are a part of the profit Zionism is collecting from default and appeasement. More and more of the world is coming to believe that Jews are a separate, unassimilable group—and want to be understood that way.”

-Rabbi Elmer Berger, The Jewish Dilemma, 1945, pp. 163-164. Available for free on the Internet Archive here: https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.75472

Elmer Berger z’'l (1908-1996) was a Reform Rabbi and lifelong anti-zionist. His 1945 work The Jewish Dilemma confronts and dismantles the idea of Judaism as a race and explains why zionism will only hurt Judaism and the world long-term, from displacing Jews from their true homelands (Europe, the US, the Middle East and North Africa, etc) and leading to accusations of dual loyalty, thus exacerbating anti-Jewish hatred. Berger never advocated for an end to Judaism, as “anti-assimilationist” zionists claim–he simply refuses to endorse racism or ethnonationalism, maintaining that Jewish safety will be maintained through establishing civil rights everywhere.

In this quote, he briefly mentions the failures of "non-Zionists", Jews who opposed Zionism but who were unwilling to object to it publicly.

I’m posting selections from Elmer Berger because I want to share the history of anti-zionist religious Judaism from the liberal tradition, which has been almost entirely written out of history. Fellow lefty Jews, please learn about Elmer Berger.

#elmer berger #anti zionism #judaism #the jewish dilemma #i

[eretzyisrael]

At least one person was killed and 18 people were wounded, two critically, in two explosions at the entrance to Jerusalem and the Ramot Junction on Wednesday morning in what police are treating as a coordinated double attack.

The causes of the explosions were not immediately determined but Israel Police said that the one near the Central Bus Station appeared to have been caused by a bomb placed in a bag near the bus. The bus was riddled with holes, showing the dispersion of shrapnel. Another explosion went off minutes later near the Ramot Intersection in northern Jerusalem.

Police are treating the two explosions as a coordinated joint attackand Police Chief Kobi Shabtai is present at the scene of the initial explosion where he was briefed on the attack.

Speaking at the scene, Shabtai said that every bus in Jerusalem will be searched by police officers and all of the bomb-sniffing dogs in Israel will be activated to search for explosive devices. He added that police are investigating whether or not there was more than one terrorist involved in either attack.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz held a situational assessment along with the head of the Shin Bet Ronen Bar, the deputy chief of staff Maj.-Gen. Amir Baram, the head of the IDF Military Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Aharon Haliva, and other senior officials.

Outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid will conduct a situational assessment at 12:00 the the Defense Ministry Headquarters at the Kirya in Tel Aviv. He will be joined by Gantz, Public Security minister Omer Bar-Lev, the head of the National Security Agency Eyal Haluta, Shabtai, Bar, Baram, and other senior officials.

Five of the injured were evacuated to Shaare Tzedek Medical Center, two in critical condition, two in serious condition, and one moderately injured. Another five were evacuated to Hadassah-University Medical Center in Ein Kerem.

United Hatzalah EMTs were on the scene of the explosions and the United Hatzalah Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit has also been dispatched and is treating numerous eyewitnesses for emotional and psychological shock.

Several departments in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have stated that as a result of the attacks and to ensure the safety of students, attendance will not be mandatory on Wednesday.

In recent months, Israel has been experiencing a wave of terrorism although the attacks until now have mostly been in the West Bank and were carried out by Palestinians using either assault rifles or knives. Last week, three Israelis were killed in astabbing rampage at the entrance to the settlement of Arielin the Shomron region of the West Bank. 

Last week a car exploded close to an IDF post near the settlement of Mevo Dotan in the West Bank. The car, which had three gas cylinders and wires, is believed to have exploded in a botched car bombing.

Road One - the main artery into the capital - was shut to incoming traffic from the direction of Tel Aviv.

Prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu said in response to the attack that he is "praying to the health of the injured people, in the coordinated terror attack in Jerusalem this morning and send my support to the security forces who are operating on the ground."

Speaker of the Knesset, and former Jerusalem Police Commander Mickey Levy, has said in response: "A difficult morning in our beloved Jerusalem, who had known difficult days in the past. I wish for a fast recovery for the injured people and send my support to the dear people of the city.

"This is the place to call everyone to remain aware and to report security forces on every suspicious thing you see. I have no doubt that the security forces will get any terrorist involved in the attack."

Otzma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is expected to serve as Public Security Minister in the new government, issued a statement, saying that he is on his way to the scene of the attack.

"I am on my way to the scene of the painful and sad attack when an explosive device has returned us to the dammed Intifada time. It is time to act with determination and a hard hand against the terrorists, it is time to organize the country. I am praying for the recovery of the injured people along with all of Israel at this difficult hour."

This is a developing story.

#Israel #Jerusalem #Terror attack

[l-e-morgan-author]

Draft cover for the on-newsletter-signup free stories which I haven't finished editing yet. (So you can't have them yet; I'll finish editing them to my satisfaction before I open up my email newsletter.)

Further ramble below; it got kind of long. First about what these stories are about, then more rambling about my current works-in-progress and specifically aspects of Patience, Changing that I'm enjoying. Might recycle some of this for the next newsletter tbh.

A quick and not-edited summary of each story:

Ever Changing, Ever Near - Hadassah is different to everyone else, but despite that finds great joy in the changing seasons.

A Fragile Solace - Hadassah and Nem are friends. Despite what happens after, she treasures the friendship that they have.

Both stories were entered to (different) local competitions and were highly commended. I can't give an estimated story length because at least A Fragile Solace requires a bunch of editing that may lengthen it. Since I no longer have a word count requirement because I'm not planning on submitting them to any other competitions, I can go ham on them.

In case you don't know who Hadassah is, Hadassah is from the 2022(? maybe '23) Inklings challenge, which I wrote about 8k of. I was Team Lewis, portal fantasy. A very rough summary is that Hadassah is an autistic girl in a neurotypical world, one of the peasants of that world and chosen to be sent through a portal. Nobody knows what lies beyond. For Hadassah, what lies beyond is found family such as she hasn't experienced her entire life.

I found getting into her head unreasonably hard at the time, which is why I wanted to write stories about her, and why I haven't finished drafting her story. With more understanding of autistic people and also myself than I had then, I expect that when I get back to that properly I'll find it a lot easier to write.

I also intend to edit The Patience of Hope to be another newsletter freebie - the edited version, I mean. I intend to leave the first draft up on my website indefinitely, even if an edited version is published as part of something else (such as A Quiet Patience, though with the number of novellas I've got planned, that might be quite long...). But that's for a little way down the road, not yet.

As for a general update on writing generally, I've written a little bit more of Hands Made for Gentleness, but not much. That will require a lot of working with it once the first draft is done, but I've written up a rough outline of the rest of the main story beats, and I have a clearer idea where I'm going. I'm ideally going to finish drafting Patience, Changing before I really get back to that, which is about 20k away (yay!). I'm thoroughly into the third act, figuring out I need to know my characters better so the third act will require a good deal of rewriting, even though the bones are good. I'm pleased with the balance of characters, and at times even though I'm going "Hmm this needs work", I can switch that off and just work on it. I've been writing drabbles every day for this month, and currently I'm one (1) day behind. The drabbles have been helpful, providing scene ideas I can flesh out into full scenes, so they might be a bit janky in context, but I can edit that later.

I've really enjoyed two characters I didn't intend to include in this manuscript: Hannah (Patience's aunt) and Connie (who Patience meets in hospital). Hannah is a symbol of the seriousness of anorexia, and I am not looking forward to writing her death. At present the scene I'm writing is set on the 19th of November, 2018, and Hannah dies on the 16th of December, 2018. She's already written the letter to Patience, as well as the anonymous letter Patience doesn't realise is from her and which needs rewriting. But she has to die and it will tear my heart out to write her, though I've got to read at least a good chunk of A Grief Observed (C. S. Lewis) before I write about that. At present her death is set for the third last chapter, but I expect to rearrange things - events that I thought would work for two chapters turned out I'll need to significantly rewrite to get to even one chapter, so I'll probably use those events to close the second act rather than close the second act and open the third act as well, and therefore rearrange things to give enough space for Hannah's death. If I go over my planned word count in these chapters that's fine; whatever works. I just don't want to go under.

Having the 3k aim has been really good, because some of the time it's forced me to write 'filler' that I reread and am convinced I'll keep in, and sometimes it's kept me to only that long which is good practise too.

Oh, and also! The other character I've enjoyed. Connie. Connie's in hospital following a suicide attempt, but the psych ward's full up and she's not considered at high risk so she's in a general paeds ward, which is where she meets Patience. She isn't particularly forthcoming about why she's in, and Patience respects that. She suspects but is only told right at the end:

“You make me brave,” she said to Patience, just before she was transferred. “I came in here with a suicide attempt and you have made me discover I want to live. Live! When living has been a slow death all this time. You make me want to live. I wasn’t going to make it and I was okay with that. Now I’m going to fight, because of you.”

They keep in touch afterwards, and probably when I edit The Patience of Hope I'll include a scene with Connie in it. Because just as Hannah has to die, Connie has to live. I love the way both of these characters add to Patience's journey, but without trivialising her own very real issues. That's definitely something I'll have to do an edit pass to make sure I'm not doing, because yes, in the grand scheme of things Patience's hangups are very small but to her they're huge. Which is why I held off on writing this story for a good five years, and I'm terribly glad I did, because this story is far better than it would have been years ago.

Anyway. I'm rambling. All this to say that while I'm struggling a bit with writing it, Patience is still going swimmingly. I anticipate finishing the draft either by end of this month (stretch goal) or next month (realistic goal). Then I can dive back into Hands Made for Gentleness and maybe plotting The Time Travelling Midwife and/or Hadassah's story on the side.

I'm also having a fantastic time with Patience and Nathan's interactions at thirteen/fourteen:

“You’ll get through it,” he said. “In Christ, Patience. In Christ.” She smiled at him. He was very dear to her, standing there awkwardly and smiling his dear awkward smile back.

#tw suicide #hadassah winter #patience changing #patience shepherd #hands made for gentleness #I forget any other tags I want for this xD taglist coming in reblog

[eleemosynecdoche]

Anyways, when people say that the Palestinian situation is complicated and nuanced, part of what they mean is "I don't know what justice looks like here".

Consider Sheikh Jarrah, which was founded in 1865 and was a Muslim-majority, but with a substantial Jewish minority, area of Jerusalem. In the 1948 war, Sheikh Jarrah fell on the Jordanian side of the line, a massacre was perpetrated against a Haganah convoy to the Hadassah hospital on Mount Scopus, and the Jewish population were ethnically cleansed. The Jordanians then gave some of the confiscated Jewish homes to Muslim and Christian Palestinian refugees who had been ethnically cleansed from West Jerusalem, under some conditions by the UNRWA which were ignored on the ground.

Following the 1967 war, Sheikh Jarrah was under Israeli control, but the Israeli government informally indicated that the UNRWA deal would be respected. However, in recent years, Israeli groups have used the Israeli court system to try and evict Palestinians from land that had been Jewish-owned before 1948, and these evictions have in turn seen the houses taken be foisted off on people who have made use of the Law of Return without having substantial assets or guaranteed employment.

So, on the micro scale, what does justice look like here? Does it mean restoring homes to dispossessed refugees? Which ones? I think that in practice, the only acceptable option, one which doesn't endorse ethnic cleansing, is a prolonged arbitration to find a settlement that works for all parties. That's on the micro scale.

But on the macro scale, things are much simpler- such arbitration will not take place, because Palestinians are formally nigh unto powerless to demand such arbitration or any measure of justice from Israel. And that is much simpler, in its way, in that justice on the macro scale, the freedom of Palestinians to engage in self-determination and have that be respected, is relatively straightforward, and it enables the thorny problems like Sheikh Jarrah to be addressed in a way that allows justice.

(I say that, but many people here believe, or claim to believe, that actually the solution is for Israelis to ethnically cleanse themselves voluntarily and peacefully following the establishment of a single Palestinian state. But I think this is an attempt to do an end-run around any of these difficulties by simply hoping for Israelis to universally concede them all, with a fantasy of this being possible without force.)

[clarkes-and-god]

Moriah's Instagram (@mrs.moriah.james):

Today is the baptism, however we have another special occasion! Hadassah and Raphaela both had their birthdays today -- Hadassah is a young lady of 18 now, and Raphaela is 6! Raphaela is one of Dassy's buddies, so it is so nice that they get to celebrate these birthdays together!

Hadassah is such a friendly and loyal girl, and we have been so blessed to have her in our family for the past 18 years. She is so dilligent in her care of her little brothers and sisters, and she is always cooking and cleaning up to help our home run. I couldn't have asked for a sweeter girl to make me a mama! God-willing, she will find a young man to become her headship in the next few years, and she will be such a blessing to him, we'll be so sad to see her go.

Raphaela still has a strong spirit, which we are praying we will be able to resolve in the next few years. She's a very smart little girl, and enjoys homeschool, but sometimes her intelligence gives her the false confidence to speak back to her elders and question what she is taught. We are trying to teach her the more important attributes for a girl to have -- faith, obedience, trust, cheerfulness, and helpfulness. Hadassah has been so helpful in correcting her when she does wrong -- Iva is also in her buddy group and managing two willful girls at the same time has really shown her skills as a future mama!

#she is not our heir! #love u dassy but u have all the personality of a wet wipe #hadassah #birthdays #fundie sims #quiverfull sims #fundie snark #fundie simblr #modest sims #satire #homeschool sims #moriah

[desert-bluffs-and-me]

WTNV quick rundown - 78 - Cooking Stuff: Thanksgiving Special

Featuring the guest voices of Wil Wheaton as Earl Harlan and Meg Bashwiner as Deb the Sentient Patch of Haze.

Cook a feast no family could fully eat. Recite prayers no family could fully believe. And acknowledge a frightful history no family could fully comprehend. Welcome to Night Vale.

Even though it's a cooking stuff with Earl Harlan episode, it is also partially about the trial of Hiram McDaniels.

Earl is here to tell us about how to make the perfect thanksgiving turkey, which starts by freshly killing a turkey because of course it does. Everything is standard for a cooking stuff episode, mixing actual cooking with strange NV methods.

Of note is that turkeys have six hooves and toxic fluids and cooks at 675 degrees. Cecil's mother used to cook him giblets, but Earl insists that giblets aren't a thing which confuses and concerns Cecil about what he was being fed. Carlos and Cecil have both never seen a thanksgiving turkey, let alone prepared one, apparently.

Earl also mentions how he's trying to develop a relationship with Roger still. He mentions how Roger gets up at night and walks the streets in a different pattern each night before returning and going to bed.

He also found Roger just sitting in a cupboard once. Roger's skin is apparently grey, decaying and nearly translucent. There is also no record of him existing at all before 'last fall' but he was allowed to enroll in school anyway, which is going fine, aside from when he's bullied for said grey decaying skin.

Roger is also really intelligent and looks to be about 8 or 9. Earl says they look exactly the same and shows a picture of Roger and then himself at the same age. Cecil agrees they look exactly the same, but questions why there seems to be a steam locomotive behind Earl in his childhood picture. This is interupted by the turkey setting on fire in the oven.

Cecil invites Earl and Roger over for thanksgiving and Earl gratefully accepts.

The thanksgiving parade in NV is apparently full of gore, torture and involves everyone dying. Cecil hates this, but Carlos enjoys it, so Cecil has Carlos just tell him how they all die.

There's an announcement pondering whether bears are dangerous or not, and suggests hugging one. Earl chimes in saying that bears are dangerous and Cecil tells him 'let's not argue'.

Weather: "Autumn's Echo" by Stripmall Architecture

Since NV usually doesn't have any trials, they have no judges, so appoint NV Daily Journal theatre writer Siobhan Azdak as judge. Troy Walsh is the prosecuting attorney. The only other five-headed dragon they can find to sit as a jury of Hiram's peers is his sister, Hadassah.

Listeners, thanks again for tuning in and thanks to Earl Harlan of the restaurant Tourniquet for these helpful cooking tips. Stay tuned next for a nearly exact repeat of this same show, but with the addition of one extra word that changes the meaning of everything. And as always, good night Night Vale. Good night.

Proverb: If a car flashes its brights at you, it's probably a gang. And if you flash your brights back, the gang gives you a cake. It's a cake gang.

#wtnv #welcome to night vale #wtnv quick rundown #wtnv ep 78

[leoneliterary]

Who, in your opinion, has the best fashion sense in Honor Amongst Thieves? Could be a RO or side character! Umm… if there’s a lot of people that come to mind then top 5!

Personally, I think that Amatus’ got some amazing fashion sense for a guy that’s probably gonna be bed-ridden for most of the story! You go, old man! 💪

Oooo good question!

You're right about Amatus' fashion sense. The man knows how to dress and what fits him. (A little off topic but I always imagine him in a shirt that is always somewhat open 😂)

Here would be the Top 5 characters when it comes to fashion:

Sarai- Fashion can be used to convey power and she knows how to put together an outfit that is a statement (or a threat).

Laverna- She has a lot of practice in dressing well and she genuinely enjoys adorning herself. Plus beauty is a weapon.

Amatus- Fun fact: One of the circumstances in which he told the ducklings that it is okay to steal, is if someone has something that would look better on you than it does them.

Lord Menandros Labaton-You haven't met him yet but he's a stylish old devil. He will never be caught even slightly disheveled. He doesn't chase trends though. His fashion style is picking one good outfit and wearing it until they bury him in it.

Hadassah- Not only does she know what looks good on her, she knows what looks good on other people as well.

Honorable mention: Tafta the Tailor (She helped you prepare for the feast)- She could dress better, but she holds back so that her clientele don't get insecure and envious.

#interactive fiction #world building #honor among thieves #if wip #fashion #hat if #honor amongst thieves #game development #ros #Amatus #Tafta the Tailor #Hadassah #Lord Menandros Labaton