Dear President Biden,

We come together as artists and advocates, but most importantly as human beings witnessing the devastating loss of lives and unfolding horrors in Israel and Palestine.

We ask that, as President of the United States, you call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost. More than 5,000 people have been killed in the last week and a half – a number any person of conscience knows is catastrophic. We believe all life is sacred, no matter faith or ethnicity and we condemn the killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians.

We urge your administration, and all world leaders, to honor all of the lives in the Holy Land and call for and facilitate a ceasefire without delay – an end to the bombing of Gaza, and the safe release of hostages. Half of Gaza’s two million residents are children, and more than two thirds are refugees and their descendants being forced to flee their homes. Humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach them.

We believe that the United States can play a vital diplomatic role in ending the suffering and we are adding our voices to those from the US Congress, UNICEF, Doctors without Borders, The International Committee of The Red Cross, and so many others. Saving lives is a moral imperative. To echo UNICEF, “Compassion — and international law — must prevail.”

As of this writing more than 6,000 bombs have been dropped on Gaza in the last 12 days — resulting in one child being killed every 15 minutes.

“Children and families in Gaza have practically run out of food, water, electricity, medicine and safe access to hospitals, following days of air strikes and cuts to all supply routes. Gaza’s sole power plant ran out of fuel Wednesday afternoon, shutting down electricity, water and wastewater treatment. Most residents can no longer get drinking water from service providers or household water through pipelines…. The humanitarian situation has reached lethal lows, and yet all reports point to further attacks. Compassion — and international law — must prevail.” – UNICEF spokesperson, James Elder

Beyond our pain and mourning for all of the people there and their loved ones around the world we are motivated by an unbending will to stand for our common humanity. We stand for freedom, justice, dignity and peace for all people – and a deep desire to stop more bloodshed.

We refuse to tell future generations the story of our silence, that we stood by and did nothing. As Emergency Relief Chief Martin Griffiths told UN News, “History is watching.”

Alia Shawkat

Alyssa Milano

Amanda Seales

Amber Tamblyn

America Ferrera

Andrew Garfield

Anoushka Shankar

Aria Mia Loberti

Ayo Edebiri

Bassam Tariq

Bassem Youssef

Cate Blanchett

Channing Tatum

Cherien Dabis

Darius Marder

David Cross

Dominique Fishback

Dominique Thorne

Elvira Lind

Farah Bsaiso

Fatima Farheen Mirza

Hasan Minhaj

Hend Sabry

Ilana Glazer

Indya Moore

James Schamus

Jeremy Strong

Jessica Chastain

Joaquin Phoenix

Jon Stewart

Kristen Stewart

Macklemore

Mahershala Ali

Margaret Cho

Mark Ruffalo

May Calamawy

Michael Malarkey

Michael Stipe

Michelle Wolf

Mo Amer

Oscar Isaac

Quinta Brunson

Ramy Youssef

Riz Ahmed

Rooney Mara

Rosario Dawson

Ryan Coogler

Sandra Oh

Sebastian Silva

Shailene Woodley

Shaka King

Susan Sarandon

Vic Mensa

Wallace Shawn

Wanda Sykes

👉🏿 https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/hollywood-demands-gaza-israel-ceasefire-joaquin-phoenix-cate-blanchett-1235763646/

Since my blog is gaining followers i figured I'd do a pinned intro

HI! I'm Sabri. I'm 29, I'm 6'4", and I'm a Hispanic Latine Genderfluid Nonbinary Pansexual (any pronouns, whatever you feel most comfy with 😊)

Everyone is welcome here except the following

DNI: Race/age/ableists, Xeno/Homo/Transphobes, Anti-Semitic/generally hateful/toxic and otherwise vile people.

On this blog, we stand for a FREE PALESTINE, Black Lives Matter, AAPI Lives Matter, Jewish Lives Matter, Palestinian Lives Matter, Latine Lives matter, LGBTQ+ Lives Matter, Indigenous Lives Matter, Genocide is condemned, Trans Women are real women, Trans Men are real men, Non-Binary and Queer people who don't fit into standard boxes are valid, Ace and Aro people are valid, all bodies are beautiful, Nobody owes you androgyny or anything else because of their pronouns or labels, and Love is love is love. Kindly fuck off if you disagree with any of that.

Things I love:

Hobbies: Gaming, reading, writing, cooking, cackling at memes, learning useless knowledge about niche subjects, singing, playing guitar, More.

Games: Stardew Valley (all time favorite), The Sims, Frostpunk, The Witcher, Age of Empires, Tsuki's Odyssey, Animal Crossing, Legend of Zelda, Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart, Assassin's Creed, The Elder Scrolls, More.

Books: Just literature in general, Edgar Allen Poe, the Osten Ard series, Tolkien, George RR Martin, Harry Potter(Fuck JK tho), ASOUE, More.

Music: Sara Bareilles, Nelward, Soupy Garbage Juice, The Altogether, Led Zeppelin, Classic rock/Folk rock/Folk pop/indie/Alternative, More.

Movies/TV: LOTR/The Hobbit, Harry Potter (Fuck JK tho), ASOUE, Game of Thrones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Ted Lasso, Sex Education, The Witcher, Doctor who, Supernatural, Sherlock (Yes i was a Superwholock, shut up), Bob's Burgers, South Park, Pixar, Disney, Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel, Poirot, More.

Youtube: Markiplier, Jacksepticeye, Dimension 20, Dropout, Gab Smolders, Crankgameplays, Game Grumps, Jarvis Johnson, Andy King, Drew Gooden, Danny Gonzalez, Kurtis Conner, Chad Chad, @strange-aeons, Sarah Z, Sam Onella, Binging with Babish, Uncle Roger, More.

Aesthetic stuff: Dark Academia, Cottagecore, Victorian, Nature, Art Nouveau, Edwardian, More.

I used to be @theactorsmind-blog and @theactorsmind-blog1, but those have long since been dead.

I've been on this hellsite since i was about 14, on and off sometimes. I was here stealing shoelaces, I've liked the color of the sky, i saw (read:Participated in) the mishapocalypse, i witnessed the great Titty Famine, I've been around for a good long while.

On 26 October, the Palestinian Ministry of Health released the list of names of Palestinians killed since 7 October. Among them, from the al-Masry family, are:

Jamil Hafez Hassan (74), his wife, Maysoon Ali Alyan (61), and their children Muhammad Jamil Hafez (44) and Amani Jamil Hafez (39);

Abdul Razzaq Hamed Eid (72) and his son Ramzi Abdul Razzaq Hamed (41);

Malik Mahmoud Ibrahim (71);

Ramadan Suleiman Youssef (63), his son Ahmed Ramadan Suleiman (25), and Ahmed's son Ayman Ahmed Ramadan (1);

Intisar Jaber Muhammad (63);

Mahmud Suleiman Mahfouz (58) and his children Aya Mahmud Suleiman (30), Muhammad Mahmud Suleiman (29), and Bara'a Mahmud Suleiman (20);

and Mahmud's son Ahmed Mahmud Suleiman (27), his wife Shahrzad, and their daughter Hanzada Ahmad Mahmud (3);

Yusri Ayesh Mahmud (58);

Maisarah Mahmud Ahmed (57);

Sabah Muhammad Abdel Qader (55);

Walid Jihad Ramadan (49) and his children Ridha Walid Jihad (27), Subhia Walid Jihad (26), Muhammad Walid Jihad (24), Mahmud Walid Jihad (22), Ahmad Walid Jihad (19), Nidal Walid Jihad (17), Jinan Walid Jihad (13), and Fatima al-Zahraa Walid Jihad (11);

and Walid's sister Asma Jihad Suleiman (30);

Jahan Jasser Hassan (49);

Ahmed Jamil Mustafa (40);

Manal Nazir Mustafa (39);

Ramadan Kamal Mustafa (37) and his sister Aya Kamal Mustafa (21);

and Ramadan and Aya's brother Yasir Kamal Mustafa (33) and his infant daughter Maria Yasir Kamal;

Mahim Mahir Khalil (34);

Zaynab Maher Ahmed (33);

Mahmud Maysara Mahmud (31);

Wafa Nabil Mansour (30);

Mahmud Hani Ahmed (29);

Mushir Khayri Rajih (28);

Salih Asaad Mustafa (28);

Lubna Muhammad Atiya (26);

Samar Imad Muhammad (26);

Rawan Anwar Jaber (24);

Wisam Othman Hassan (20);

Azzam Azzam Anis (17);

Wiam Mahfouz Suleiman (14);

Abir Muhammad Kamal (13) and her sister Faryal Muhammad Kamal (9);

Jamil Fayez Muhammad (12);

Abdul Razzaq Ramez Abdul Razzaq (9) and his sisters Sama Ramez Abdul Razzaq (7) and Yasmin Ramez Abdel Razzaq (less than a year old);

Hadi Muhammad Abdel Nasser (7) and his sibling Sham Muhammad Abdel Nasser (2);

Saba Gamal Sabry (5);

Dana Shadi Abdel Salam (5);

Amir Hammam Salem (5);

Munib Salem Salama (30);

Hamdi Ibrahim Mahmoud (43);

Abdullah Tayseer Sami (23);

Moataz Radwan Marwan (2) and his brother Marwan Radwan Marwan (1);

Akram Ayman Muhammad;

Maryam Ayesh Nasser (6);

Mahmud Nabil Fouad (34);

Mahmud Tawfiq Mahmud (37);

Amir Mahmud Zuhdi (less than a year old);

and Hassan Abdel Youssef (68).

You can read more about the human lives lost in Palestine on the Martyrs of Gaza Twitter account and on my blog.

another anon here! I'm not a public person, obviously, but I work in advertising and omg I'm one of the most discreet and shy people, so even if his husband doesn't care about photos in the feed or exposing his image because of work (just like me ), I would understand if he was averse to people speculating about their private life, because if they keep it low key, people will comment or if they admit it, people will comment even more lol it will be more invasive, so if this is In any case, living in silence is one of the best ways!

Lol, here we have one vote for staying silent, one vote for testing the waters and one for making him straight. No consensus then. More under the cut.

I think he's testing the waters! They're probably seeing that people didn't react badly to the rumors and will comment on it at some point, in a delicate and beautiful way, just as their relationship should be. I see him being an actor similar to Jonathan from the Bridgerton series.

With Tpz it feels to me like they are trying to make him look straight but I really hope I'm wrong. They were pushing the S*brina C*rpenter thing a bit. If he does start performing heterosexuality I think the lgbtq+ community should call it out on social media. I don't blame him but his representatives and the industry. This is going to continue happening but if people call it out and bring attention to it then it may go viral and his representatives might think twice about it. I HATE the closet defenders, they're everywhere. Stop defending the closet. It's okay if it's entirely the person's decision to be closeted but when it comes to celebrities it is usually the industry's doing. These celebrities are made to feel that they can't be successful if they're queer. How does the industry know queer people can't be successful if they don't give queer people the same opportunities that they give straight people, they don't invest as much money into them. People might think they're helping by defending the closet but it does more damage because the industry will see it and continue what it's doing. The silence around Tpz and his husband on twitter from fans is crazy. Stop pretending that his husband doesn't exist??? I completely agree with you that if Tpz asked for privacy from fans/gp then people would respect it. He could make a social media post and say that he has a husband but his husband doesn't want to be in the limelight, please respect their privacy thank you. People would respect it. People like transparency. It's all the lying that makes people dig more. Just be honest with people. But me being skeptical, I think that they're going to try and hide this husband so women can project heterosexual fantasies on to Tpz. He's a good looking guy. But I hope I'm wrong. It's like with Harry and Louis. All this rubbish about them wanting a private life. All they would have to do is CO and say that they're in a relationship but could people please value their privacy. The majority of people would. It's not quite that simple with HL but you get my point. Another thing that drives me crazy is the twitter purity police telling people not to speculate on someone's sexuality. Harries especially (but I've seen this with Nick fans too) will preach about not speculating about his sexuality and they'll scold fans who are doing it but then they'll turn around and say that he's sleeping with every woman he is standing next to. How is that any better? Sorry this is long!

Hi guys!

First of all, i've seen the promo for tzp's other projects were they tried to connect him to joey and sabri*a etc. I haven't seen that this time around. That was also before the fandom found out he had a husband.

Testing the waters would be a good plan! Jonathan bailey is actually a good example because he has a long time partner! That nobody knows that much about. Jonathan doesn’t have a fandom like tzp does though.

And staying slient and being in a glass closet can be a good idea. I'm just not sure if it'll work now that the husband is known. I think that's the most likely course of action, at least for the time being.

THE SPIRIT and WHAT FOLLOWS: Part 1

Based on al-Milal wa'n-Nihal ("The True and False Ways of Belief and Thought") by ash-Shahristani, Tahafut al-Falasifa ("The Incoherence of the Philosophers") by Imam al-Ghazzali, Mawqif al-'Aql wa'l-'Ilm wa'l-'Alam ("The Place of Reason, Science, and the Created World") by Mustafa Sabri Efendi, Falsafa-i 'Ula ("The Ancient Philosophy") by Şemseddin Günaltay, and al-Ba'th wa'l-Khulud ("The Resurrection and Eternity") by Ali Arslan, I deem it useful to take a short journey around the Sufi concept of spirit in the "Emerald Hills of the Heart." I seek refuge in my Lord from and implore forgiveness for any mistake I may make and any disregard of the truths that lie in the essence of the matter that I may unwittingly show. I also seek His forgiveness if I confuse pure, simple minds, and throw them into any ungrounded suspicion.

In the Qur'an, the Qur'an itself—the Divine Revelation—and the angel who brought the Revelation are both called ar-Ruh (the Spirit). However, the spirit which we will study here is the non-material essence of human existence, motion, perception, feelings, and intellectual and "spiritual" development. Throughout human history many have discussed this matter, from philosophers to the sacred Scriptures, and from primitive societies to civilized ones; numerous volumes have been published about it. I think this is partly because humans have a tendency to go into detail without being content with the summarized information given, and partly because of confusing the essence or essential nature of the spirit with its functions. It may also be due to the fact that the horizon of people is usually restricted to the scientific level of the age in which they live. The essential nature of the spirit was taught to humanity via the Prophets in a summarized form, but people have not been content with that and have tended to go into detail. Therefore, the matter has been elaborated. However, both religions and philosophical approaches have generally agreed on the fact that the spirit is the sole source of life, motion, perception, feelings, and consciousness.

From the very beginning of its existence, humanity has been concerned with the existence and nature of the spirit, the existence of which it has felt in dreams and certain other experiences, and has tried to understand its real nature. However, not being satisfied with the information given by the Prophets, it has ramified the matter with subjective approaches and considerations, mainly from the perspective of different names—such as "the intellect," "the soul," "the speaking soul," and "the ego"—which it has given to this non-material essence, and it has only made it more confused and incomprehensible.

As God has bestowed a spirit on all living creatures as a manifestation of His Attribute of Life, He has also breathed into the Prophet Adam, who was the first human being on earth, as well as into each of his descendants, a conscious spirit from the Realm of (the Initial Manifestation of) His Commands. This is what the Qur'an and the established Prophetic Traditions say about the spirit. That is, the only information the Qur'an and the established Prophetic Traditions give about the spirit is that it is something breathed into humans by God from the Realm of (the Initial Manifestation of) His Commands. This information has been developed by some philosophers and Sufis to the extent that it has come to cover innumerable volumes. These philosophers and Sufis have attempted to know and describe it in respect of both its essential nature and its functions and its relations with the body.

We will approach the matter from the viewpoint of what the Sufis mean by the spirit and spiritual life. However, since the matter of the spirit has been a matter of lengthy debates, we will summarize how it has been dealt with in different cultures, philosophies, and religious traditions in order to provide the reader with an opportunity to make comparisons. So, let us examine how different trends of philosophy, religious traditions, intellectuals, and scholars from different religious sciences have elaborated on a matter about which the All-Sublime Creator has given only a small piece of information.

Even in the earliest centuries of history, humanity thought and spoke about the spirit, including its origin, nature, and functions. Although it sometimes approached the matter in the light of the guidance brought by Prophets, it frequently erred and suffered contradictions, without being able to understand or correctly explain why or how we come into the world, and why we stay here for some time, and then depart. But it always affirmed the existence of an immaterial or metaphysical power, which is living, conscious, perceiving, and which causes motion.

Some have called this metaphysical power, a power that all agree is a living, conscious, immaterial thing independent of the body, by names that mean soul, psyche, air, life, or liveliness. Sanskrit-speaking people call it Atman, the Greeks, Psyche, the Latin people, Animus, the French, Esprit, the Goths, Saivala, and the Persians, Rawan.

People from different cultures and religious traditions have generally not only agreed on the spirit's being an immaterial essence independent of the body as the source of life, perception, and motion, but have also shared similar views about its future. The majority have believed that after spirits depart from the world, they continue to live in another realm in accordance with how their owners lived in this world. The spirits of those who have lived a righteous life will receive a hospitable welcome and be rewarded, while the spirits of those who have contaminated them with evil will be punished.

Even in the earliest centuries of history, humans perceived a duality in human existence, but when they tried to work out the details of the nature of what we call the spirit, they came up with many fallacies. We come across some of them in the chapters about animism in books concerned with the history of religions. One of these fallacies is undoubtedly the doctrine of reincarnation in the sense of the rebirth of a spirit in another body or the transmigration of spirits. In order to satisfy their inborn feeling or need for eternity and to lessen the suffering that comes from anxiety about going into eternal non-existence, some have sheltered in a doctrine that is based on the continuous migration of spirits from one body to another.

Tongue and sting.  Eucera dubitata, female. Georgia / Florida border. Sabrie Breland collector.   Compare your tongue to Lady Eucera's tongue.  Not really the same thing at all, is it?  Look closely.  Everything is there for a reason.  Each hair, the comb structure, the hinges, the parts, the palps, the dimensions, the colors even. Most people spend their lives not thinking about bee tongues.  Not you though, you can't unthink thoughts about bee tongues any longer.  

MYTH Human Rights Watch has proven Israel is an “apartheid” state. FACT In its longstanding campaign of demonization of Israel, Human Rights Watch (HRW) adopted a new tack in its latest report. Knowing the absurd and ineffective efforts of anti-Israel propagandists to compare Israel to Afrikaner South Africa, HRW decided to write a new definition of “apartheid” it could selectively apply to one state – the Jewish state. HRW relies on definitions that apply to the systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other racial group. Neither Jews nor Palestinians are racial groups so HRW expands the definition to include groups – actually only Palestinians – that share descent, national or ethnic origin. As Professor Gerald Steinberg noted, “Beyond South Africa, no other regime or government has been deemed to meet the international definition of apartheid, not even murderous and oppressive regimes practicing separation based on race, religion, and gender such as Saudi Arabia and China” (Gerald Steinberg, “Human Rights Watch demonizes Israel via propaganda of apartheid,” Jerusalem Post, April 27, 2021). “The report mocks the history of apartheid by using its hateful memory to describe a grab bag of policies that HRW happens to disagree with, and in many cases are not in effect, or were never in effect. Apartheid is not just a term for policies one dislikes,” the Kohelet Policy Forum wrote in its response to the report (“HRW Crosses the Threshold into Falsehoods and Anti-Semitic Propaganda,” KPF, April 26, 2021). For its part, the Biden administration wasted no time rejecting HRW’s conclusion: “It is not the view of this administration that Israel’s actions constitute apartheid,” a State Department spokesperson said (“US disagrees that Israel carrying out ‘apartheid,’” France24,” April 28, 2021). Too often, however, truth does not matter. When a human rights organization, even one with a long history of anti-Israel bias, makes an inflammatory accusation it is assured of attracting media coverage, as was the case with HRW’s report. Journalists rarely factcheck the material before quoting the report and its authors in stories with incendiary headlines. By the time the information is evaluated by third parties, it is too late because the original, unverified story has been transmitted around the world to become fodder for Israel’s detractors. Graphic courtesy Elder of Zion Thus, you are unlikely to see any quotes about the report from Judge Richard Goldstone, who was appointed to the Constitutional Court of South Africa by Nelson Mandela, played an important role in that country’s transition to democracy, and was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate alleged crimes committed during Israel’s operation in Gaza in 2009. In a New York Times essay, “Israel and the Apartheid Slander,” Goldstone wrote, “In Israel there is no apartheid. Nothing there comes close to the definition of apartheid under the 1998 Rome Statute” used by HRW in an effort to get around the specious comparison to South Africa (New York Times, October 31, 2011). In a rebuke to the equally fallacious claims made in the recent B’Tselem report, Goldstone noted, “there is no intent to maintain ‘an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group.’ This is a critical distinction, even if Israel acts oppressively toward Palestinians there. South Africa’s enforced racial separation was intended to permanently benefit the white minority, to the detriment of other races. By contrast, Israel has agreed in concept to the existence of a Palestinian state in Gaza and almost all of the West Bank, and is calling for the Palestinians to negotiate the parameters.” Presciently anticipating the similarly misguided argument of John Brennan, Goldstone notes, “until there is a two-state peace, or at least as long as Israel’s citizens remain under threat of attacks from the West Bank and Gaza, Israel will see roadblocks and similar measures as necessary for self-defense, even as Palestinians feel oppressed.” Speaking to those who demonize Israel while claiming to be interested in peace, Goldstone concluded, “The charge that Israel is an apartheid state is a false and malicious one that precludes, rather than promotes, peace and harmony.” Hirsh Goodman, another native South African, said HRW “is blind to fact and reality.” He called the report, “a disgrace to the memory of the millions who suffered under that policy in South Africa” (Hirsh Goodman, “I left apartheid South Africa. Applying the term to Israel is disingenuous,” Forward, April 27, 2021). Goodman noted that HRW is an advocate of discrimination against Jews, supporting the anti-Semitic BDS movement, and that the report came out as an Israeli Arab, a member of an Arab party in the Knesset, and an Islamist no less, had the potential to determine who would be Israel’s next prime minister. In the previous election, a coalition of Arab parties was the third largest faction in the Knesset. This is discrimination? What about Palestinians who are not Israeli citizens? They have the opportunity to vote for their leaders in Palestinian elections, which were last held in 2006 (the one scheduled for May was just cancelled because the president, serving the 16th year of his four-year term, is afraid of losing). HRW apparently has no problem with the fact that a Jew cannot vote in a Palestinian election even though the outcome will affect Israel or that a Palestinian who has acquired Israeli citizenship also cannot vote in the Palestinian Authority (Elder of Ziyon, “Another Double Standard: Palestinian Law Excludes Israelis From Voting,” Algemeiner, March 26, 2021). HRW condemns Israel for treating Palestinians in the disputed territories and Israeli citizens differently, but Israel has no obligation to treat them the same. In the Oslo Accords, Israel agreed the Palestinians should be responsible for their own lives in virtually all areas except security; hence, about 98 percent of Palestinians are governed by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. The fact that both deny their own people civil and human rights goes unmentioned by HRW. HRW also ignores reality while applying a standard that would make nearly every country, including the United States, guilty of apartheid. Take, for example, the report’s criticism of the Law of Return. Yes, it grants automatic citizenship to Jews, but non-Jews are also eligible to become citizens under naturalization procedures similar to those in other countries. More than two million non-Jews are Israeli citizens and 21% of the population are Arabs who enjoy equal rights under the law with Jewish citizens. Meanwhile, Ireland has a law allowing immigrants of “Irish descent or Irish associations” to be exempt from ordinary naturalization rules while Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany and a number of other democratic states also have policies similar to Israel’s Law of Return and yet are not labeled by HRW as apartheid. HRW apparently has no problem with Arab nations that have laws that facilitate the naturalization of foreign Arabs, with the exception of Palestinians, or with Jordan’s “law of return that provides citizenship to all former residents of Palestine – except Jews. Graphic courtesy Elder of Zion For HRW it is a crime for Israelis to want a Jewish majority in the Jewish state. Are Muslim states equally guilty for not accepting a non-Muslim majority? The report castigates Israel for placing restrictions on the movement of Palestinians, ignoring that checkpoints and the security fence were created to protect Israeli citizens – Jews and non-Jews from terrorists. It accuses Israel of “Judaization” of Jerusalem, the Galilee and the Negev, implying that Jews should not be allowed to live in parts of Israel where there are “significant Palestinian populations” (which is not the case in the Negev), including its capital. Israel is also condemned for not agreeing to commit suicide by allowing the 5.7 million Palestinians UNRWA calls “refugees” to live in Israel. To refute the charge that Israel is therefore discriminating against Palestinians simply refer to the thousands of Palestinians who left the country and were allowed to return and become citizens (“Israel Claims 184,000 Palestinian Refugees have Returned since 1948,” Al Bawaba, January 1, 2001). Israel has also repeatedly offered to accept a limited number of Palestinians as part of a peace agreement (Gene Currivan, “ISRAEL TO ACCEPT 100,000 REFUGEES; Offer, to Go Into Effect When Peace Comes, Is Delivered to Arabs at Lausanne,” New York Times, July 30, 1949). Summarizing the absurdity of HRW’s argument, one writer tweeted: “Israel: The only country that’s shrinks when it colonizes, grows the population it’s genociding, fattens the people it starves and consistently increases quality of life and freedoms on every metric for the people it apartheids” (@TheMossadIL, April 29, 2021). Contrast Israel’s behavior with that of the Arab states which deny Palestinians living within their borders, sometimes for decades, the right to become citizens. The Lebanese government goes even further by denying Palestinians a host of rights and placing limits on where they can live and work (Lisa Khoury, “Palestinians in Lebanon: ‘It’s like living in a prison,’” Al Jazeera, December 16, 2017). If you want to talk about discrimination, consider that it is a crime for a Palestinian to sell land to a Jew and a fatwa was issued by the preacher of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Ikrimah Sabri, saying it is permitted to kill the seller (“Khatib Al-Aqsa issues a Sharia fatwa regarding the diversion or sale of real estate to settlement associations,” Sama News Agency, April 8, 2021). Ironically, the author of the HRW report, Omar Shakir, was happy to live in Israel (imagine a black person choosing to live under the Afrikaner regime) until the Supreme Court revoked his residency permit. He is an advocate of the BDS campaign, which raises the question, Why would HRW choose someone who objects to Israel’s existence as the arbiter of its behavior (Ben-Dror Yemini, “A most dangerous and mendacious report,” Ynet, April 27, 2021)? Highlighting HRW’s hypocrisy, the Jerusalem Post reported that one of the organization’s board members runs a venture-capital fund that invests in Israeli start-ups (Lahav Harkov, “Human Rights Watch chairman invests in Israel as he calls it ‘apartheid,’” Jerusalem Post, May 2, 2021). It is also worth remembering that HRW uses its anti-Israel record as a fundraising tool, as we learned when Sarah Leah Whitson, the director of HRW’s Middle East and North Africa division, went to Saudi Arabia to raise money by highlighting the group’s demonization of Israel (David Bernstein, “Human Rights Watch Goes to Saudi Arabia,” Wall Street Journal, July 15, 2009). The founder of HRW, Robert Bernstein, said in 2009 the organization had become devoted to “helping those who wish to turn Israel into a pariah state.” Contrasting Israel with the countries HRW once focused on, he noted it had “at least 80 human rights organizations, a vibrant free press, a democratically elected government, a judiciary that frequently rules against the government, a politically active academia, multiple political parties and, judging by the amount of news coverage, probably more journalists per capita than any other country in the world.” Writing in the context of a biased HRW investigation into Israeli actions in Gaza, Bernstein lamented that “Israel, the repeated victim of aggression, faces the brunt of Human Rights Watch’s criticism” (Robert L. Bernstein, “Rights Watchdog, Lost in the Mideast,” New York Times, (October 19, 2009). Israel’s government is not immune to criticism and many of its policies are subject to vigorous debate and, in some cases, harsh condemnation by Israelis. What distinguishes Israel from the countries HRW should be investigating is the internal democratic processes that lead to self-examination, more enlightened policies and, where legally warranted, punishment for criminal activity. Nevertheless, Israel’s detractors and anti-Semites will use the report to reinforce their existing prejudices and try to convince the uninformed of HRW’s alternative reality. It also feeds into the BDS narrative by arguing it is not just the “occupation” that is bad; Israel itself “is intrinsically racist and evil” and therefore should be dismantled (Herb Keinon, “The HRW apartheid report: Does it matter?” Jerusalem Post, April 27, 2021).

Jewish Virtual Library refutes the odious myths perpetrated by “Human Rights Watch” (except Jewish rights) in their latest edition of “Myths versus Facts”. 

ISLAM 101: Spirituality in Islam: Part 59

Wujud (Finding and Existence)

Part 2

In the realm of the relative truths–the facts related to creation–there are manifestations with different names or titles, such as living and non-living, and in the living realm, there are the animals, humankind, angels, and jinn and Satan. All the existing beings that are called by such collective names can be traced back to a unity that arises from a stage or rank in the process of creation, which we call “the first determination” or “the Pure Realm of Divine Dominion” or the “Truth belonging to Ahmad” (the name of the Prophet before his coming to the world). The overall Divine manifestation in this stage is viewed as His overall manifestation over the whole of creation with all His Names (Tajalli Wahidiya), though some prefer to call it Tajalli Ahadiya. This manifestation caused the archetypes in God’s Knowledge to develop and, with the concentration of the manifestations of certain Divine Names while others remained subordinate–the manifestation which we usually call Tajalli Ahadiya–the archetypes were individualized.

One with a true knowledge of God and a true vision of the truth behind the appearances can discern the relative truth and its relation with the Divine truth and God’s absolute Oneness and His overall manifestation over the whole of creation with all His Names at the same instant. They do not lapse into confusion. Even though they feel that everything goes back and ends in an essential unity, they can see each individual being in its particular nature and therefore can distinguish between the absolute, necessary and essential Existence and the relative one. This does not cause them either to ignore the gifts coming from spiritual vision and discoveries or to remain indifferent to the acquisitions of feelings and sound reasoning. Those who have set up their royal tents on this horizon express their perceptions in their true nature and with a true distinction between those things that are absolute, essential and original and those that are relative and dependent. They conclude that although there is an absolute, essential truth, its manifestations as sensible existence are numerous. They never lose their bearings or true direction and therefore do not fall into deviancy.

In addition, the Existence of the Truth has usually been viewed from two perspectives. Looking from one perspective, the Attributes are ignored and therefore the differences among them or their manifestations are not considered. Those who view the Existence of the Truth from this perspective are people of state and vision, who concentrate only on the Divine Being Himself. Some view this perspective as that of the Pure Being, but leading scholars of Sufism give to it such designations as Uniqueness, the Pure Divine Realm, the Realm with No Determination, and the Unknown Identity. Those who have acquired this perspective, which is also a rank from where the Divine Being can be viewed, experience this state each according to his or her capacity. Looking from the other perspective, the Divine Being is considered with all His Attributes in the differences of their particular characteristics and manifestations. This perspective, which is also a rank, is designated as the Oneness, the Pure Realm of Divine Dominion, the First Determination, or the Truth of Muhammad.

God’s being the One or Oneness, which denotes, in connection with His relation to the creation, His overall manifestation of all His Names throughout the universe, has an inward and outer aspect. We can call the former His being the Deity or Divinity and the latter His being the Lord or Lordship. Although these two aspects are two faces or aspects of a single truth, there is a slight difference between them which initiates can discern, according to their personal experiences during the journey. For this reason, initiates of varying states, perceptions, and pleasures can interpret the states differently. For example, some initiates tend to do away with their carnal selves and egotism, freeing themselves from the considerations of their relative, self-existence, which they regard as an obstacle to feeling the All-Holy Existence with all their hearts. They are rooted in annihilation in God and absorbed in subsistence with God, sipping peace and contentment from the pure water of His company. Others have melted away in the face of the rays that come from the All-Holy Existence to the extent that they are unaware of their own relative existence and their surroundings. More than this, they regard the ability to discern the relative existence of others than the Absolute One as a dream and the attribution of existence to others than Him as covert polytheism.

It is natural that those who have different perceptions and feelings should voice these and interpret the issue of existence differently. Some may suggest pantheism in their styles, some monism, some may assert the Unity of Being, while still some others clearly adopt the Unity of the Witnessed.

Now let us see how the theologians and the scholars of Sufism themselves view the matter:

Sa’d al-Din al-Taftazani[3] deals with the Sufis in two categories from the viewpoint of their perceptions of existence. According to him, some Sufis are quite sensible in their view of the Unity of Being. Although they accept the multiplicity of other things in existence other than the absolutely Existent One, when they reach the final point in their journey and see themselves totally immersed in the infinite ocean of Divine Oneness with their being absorbed in the Divine Being and their attributes in the Divine Ones, all else save Him disappears from their sight; the result of this is that they can only see the All-Holy Existence. This state is regarded as and called the annihilation in Divine Oneness, which the one who is the most advanced in belief in Divine Oneness, upon him be peace and blessings, indicated in his report from God, Who said: “My servant gets nearer and nearer to Me until I love him by fulfilling the supererogatory acts of worship. When I love him, I become his ears with which he hears, his eyes with which he sees, his hands with which he grasps, and his feet on which he walks. (His hearing, seeing, grasping, and walking take place in accordance with My will and commandments.)” Those who have almost completed their journey in this rank cannot find words to express the scenes they witness nor the feelings that arise in their consciousness, and therefore they may utter words whose meanings are beyond their purpose and which sometimes suggest union and incarnation.

According to Taftazani, there is another group of Sufis. They claim the Unity of Being and project it as a philosophy or theory. They regard whatever there is in the name of existence as comprising the Divine Being only. According to them, there is no other kind of existence save the Existence of the All-Originating One in the universe. All other things or beings that seem to exist are no more than a mirage or an illusion.

As Mustafa Sabri Effendi[4] also pointed out, the first group are called Sufis, while the second group are known as pretenders of Sufism. The expressions of the first group that suggest Unity of Being arise from a spiritual, ecstatic state and an inability to find the words to express it. The consideration of the others is a distinct philosophy or theory.

Jalal al-Din al-Dawwani[5] tries to base the considerations of the Unity of Being on a theoretical foundation. He explains: Since it is inconceivable that all other beings save Him can come into existence by themselves, every contingent being (i.e. whose existence is not necessary or absolute) must depend on an absolute, necessary existence. In addition, as any contingent, created being cannot have come into existence or subsist by itself, it cannot oppose the point on which it is dependent in coming into existence and subsistence. So, all things and/or beings and causes or means of their coming into existence can continue to exist by the point (the First Cause or Creator of Causes) on which they are dependent. This leads tothe conclusion that the existence of every other being save Him is relative, even nominal. Although such beings have relative existence that is dependent on the absolute Existence, we cannot regard them as having an independent self-existence.

According to this approach, although there are numerous, relatively existent beings in the universe, there is only One with a true, independent, self-existence. All the things we observe are the manifestations of that All-Originating One’s acts.

Muhy al-Din ibn al-‘Arabi goes a step further and observes: Nothing has anything worth mentioning in terms of existence other than that it is something originated, or manifested, or reflected. These manifestations or reflections occur (like the frames on a film) so quickly, and follow one another so fast, that we wrongly perceive this occurrence as being uninterrupted. After all, all that (other than the Absolutely Existent One) we regard as existence consists of this seemingly-uninterrupted manifestation. Jami’ shares this consideration, saying: “Whatever there is in the universe is either an illusion or imagination or shadow-like reflections in mirrors.” Badr al-Din al-Simawi[6] refers or reduces everything to matter and cannot be considered to be among even those who have a theoretical view of the Unity of Being worth studying.

The considerations of some concerning the doctrine of Unity of Being are based on a state of pleasure, while some fix their eyes on the True Being exclusively, and others have only a theoretical or philosophical approach to the matter, having provoked different thoughts, comments, and expressions. Despite all of these, those who share this view at all times and places are agreed that there is no existent being that exists and subsists by itself save God. For this reason, attributing existence to others than God is done because their existence or subsistence depends upon God, not because they exist or subsist by themselves. There is a single true existence, with all things and events being manifestations of it. From another perspective, if existence is an ocean, objects and events are the waves. However, each wave has a unique characteristic, distinguishing it from the others, while it is seen to be lost in the ocean by those who are immersed in a state of spiritual pleasure.

If the Unity of Being is approached from a merely philosophical perspective without considering that it is a view based on a state of spiritual experience and which sees the creation as a mere shadow of the True Existence, it will inevitably be reduced to the denial of the Divine Attributes and Names and cause many negative ideas to arise concerning religion, morality, knowledge, and wisdom. It can even cause one to fall into a hidden association of partners with God in the name of Divine Unity.

With its essential principles, such as Say, “There is no deity save God,” and attain salvation, and Say, He is God, the One and Unique (112:1), and Your deity is the Deity Who is only One (2:113), the religion of Islam has continuously insisted on the absolute Oneness of God, never mentioning ideas or concepts such as the Unity of Being or the Unity of the Witnessed, as doctrines it has sanctioned. For this reason, such concepts have been regarded as arising from spiritual states and experiences and have not been considered as objective or binding teachings.

Actually, the concepts of the Unity of Being and the Unity of the Witnessed arise from certain feelings and perceptions that people who are of a particular temperament and way of journeying, and who have reached a particular rank of knowledge of God, develop in the state in which they have been favored during their spiritual journey. When they get out of, or are awakened from, that state of pleasure or intoxication, which has caused them to voice these concepts, review their feelings and perceptions in the light of the essential doctrines which the Messenger brought and preached. Nevertheless, it is also a fact that some sayings uttered by those favored with true knowledge of God in moments of intoxication and immersion, and some others which, even though they have been uttered in wakefulness, have caused confusion due to the choice of words, have led those with ill opinions of these people to make philosophical speculations about the Absolute Self-Existence and the existence of contingent beings. A mind devoted and obedient to the Shari’a understands from the dictum There is no existent being save Him that there is no true self-existent and self-subsistent being except Him, while those who deal with the matter purely from a philosophically speculative approach understand that whatever exists is God. According to the former group, only God has a substantial existence, with every other being than Him having only a relative existence or as a shadow. As for the others, all existence, visible or invisible is He. It is clear that such a view or consideration entails polytheism and has nothing to do with the doctrine of the Unity of Being, which the Muslim Sufis perceive and express in a spiritual state of spiritual pleasure. It has almost the same meaning as pantheism and/or monism, which is related to union and incarnation. Such deviancy has been continually responsible for the most abominable forms of the association of partners with God, such as Ezra is God, the Messiah is God, ‘Ali is God, Baha’ullah is God, the Pharaoh is God, and Nimrod is God.

The Spearhead

I realize that I make a lot of reference to Urbosa’s soldiers, so I thought I’d put my thoughts all in one place for later reference.

For most of “The Center Cannot Hold” Urbosa is accompanied by six other warriors, comprising her Spearhead. A Spearhead is the smallest unit in the armed forces of Gerudo Town, usually comprised to three pairs of sworn sisters and a leader. Urbosa’s Spearhead is a ceremonial guard that is also lethally functional. Every woman there has proven herself worthy to ride the war-road with their Chief, though some of Urbosa’s choices are considered unorthodox by the Town Elders.

Makeela Urbosa va Rana: SHE. Needs no introduction. The Point of the Spearhead.

Taarvi va Vikla, aka Old Taarvi, aka Battle Crone: The oldest member of the team at 156; she was once a member of Urbosa’s mother’s Spearhad back in her prime, and swore an oath to Chief Rana that she would look after Urbosa as long as she was physically able. Has known Urbosa since she was a baby. Loyal unto death, but Extremely Done with everyone and everything. Still refuses to retire and take up the mantle of Elder. Can and will kick the ass of anyone who looks sideways at Urbosa. Had Some Kinda Thing with Urbosa’s mom but refuses to elaborate. Wants Urbosa to settle down with a nice Gerudo girl and maybe stop dropping everything to help the Hylian Princess...but also recognizes that a mother’s duty is to her daughter.

Corvuu va Fatira: The Spearhead’s combat medic. Highly skilled, has saved the life of everyone in the Spearhead thrice over. Extremely calm under fire, intense interest in the natural world. She’s writing a book on the commonality of all living organisms, and employs an army of children to collect specimens for her wherever they go. Decent at fighting, but prefers the scalpel to the sword. Is very done with the dumbass younger members of their group injuring themselves in foolish stunts. Married happily to Sabri. Will occasionally eat thing she shouldn’t to test the effects.

Sabri va Savee: Corvuu’s reckless and cheerful wife; full of roguish charm, has connections all over Hyrule because she used to work for a mercenary group. Gave up the roving life the moment she met Corvuu and worked her ass off to prove herself worthy of joining Urbosa’s outfit. Will flirt with Corvuu at the least appropriate times possible. Excellent storyteller, and has an unending barrage of dirty jokes in her arsenal. Irritates the living shit out of Taarvi for sport. Absolutely is the reason that one of Zelda’s first words in Gerudo was ‘fuck’.

Brona va Deerdra: Grim and unyielding in battle, Brona is nevertheless is warm and gentle in her everyday life. Tries to find peaceful resolutions to conflicts, much to her sworn-sister Taarvi’s irritation. Everyone is mystified by her relationship with Taarvi, who is at least a century her elder. The popular theory is that Brona’s unrelenting good humor eventually broke Taarvi’s spirit. Enjoys music of all kinds, and has some skill with a few instruments, including the Zora harp. Her true talent is with the Gerudo pipes, and serves as the piper when their unit marches to battle. Once had a wife and daughter, but lost them when their village was attacked by Yiga infiltrators. Refuses to speak of them at all; mentioning them is the one thing that can flip the switch on her affable personality.

Makeela Ubala va Ubari: One of the newer members of the Spearhead, eldest daughter of Urbosa’s sister. Joined the army the hot second she turned 17 to get away from the chaos of six sisters and parents who are nauseatingly in love. Loves the life of a soldier and is proud to serve under her aunt. Like all the women of her family, she is extremely stubborn and has a deep sense of honor and justice.Hates to see people in power mistreating people below them. A horse-hearted young woman who wants to build up the cavalry. Frequently engages in dumbass behavior because impulse control is not her forte. Considers Zelda her baby cousin (even though they have only recently started spending time together and is only a year or so older than her), tries to bring her out of her shell.

Ritva va Retava: Sworn sister to Ubala, the youngest member of the Spearhead at 17. A bit shy, and deeply anxious to prove herself. Daughter of the greatest armorer and blacksmith in the tribe, she has an innate understanding of how to repair or rebuild things. Finds ancient technology fascinating, and hopes to study it in greater depth when she’s done with her stint in the army. Falls hard and fast for Princess Zelda as they bond over the Sheikah slate, which has not escaped Urbosa’s notice. Co-conspirator in dumbassery; is the first to suggest they try to ride things that have been charged with a Stasis rune.

BONUS: Arakna va Amala: Urbosa’s sworn sister; they’ve been bound since they were fifteen, when they went through something traumatic together. Loyal to the point of fanaticism. Spy master and occasional murderer for the sake of Gerudo interests, side-hustle/cover as a cloth merchant. Would kill for Urbosa. Has killed for Urbosa. Has eyes and ears all over Hyrule Castle and beyond. Largely cheerful and irreverent, she nonetheless has a lethal temper. Can and will gleefully roast Urbosa at the slightest provocation. Has a deep aversion to touch; you don’t touch Arakana, she touches you. Multilingual, excellent dancer and seamstress. Favors poisons and strangulation as methods of disposal. Will very literally murder anyone who hurts Urbosa in any capacity; the only reason Rhoam’s still alive is because Urbosa ordered Arakna to lay off. Aranka keeps offering to kill him at least once a year.

Gif source:  Sam

Imagine jokingly telling Sam that you are a total Sabriel shipper.

---------  Request for anon  ---------

“I just can’t believe people can get behind any of this,” Sam scoffs, scrolling through the online forums for the Carver Edlund novels.

“I don’t know,” you can’t help but poke the bear a little bit, biting your lip as you grin, “some of that Sabriel content is pretty steamy, Sam.”

“Sabri--- what?” he swivels in his chair to look at you with a raised brow, unadulterated shock on his face as he scrutinizes you from where you stood across the library from him.

“Yeah, the romance between Sam,” you point at him, trying not to crack right then and there, “and Gabriel. It’s a hot topic on some of the forums. Really hot stuff.”

The way he shifts in his seat and lets out the smallest of scoffs, you know he’s just ramping up for a whole speech, but instead he tries to wrap his head around what you’re laying down, “Wait, you’re into that stuff?”

“Oh, totally,” you nod, barely able to keep it together, “I live for the sexual tension between you two in the books.”

He studies you a bit longer, but it sounds like more of an uncertain question than a conclusion when he manages, “You’re... bullshitting me, aren’t you?”

DAY 4311

Jalsa, Mumbai                  Dec 25,  2019               Wed 10:24 PM

Birthday - EF Hany Safa Sabry  .. Tarenjit Singh .. Rajib Banerjee Ef  .. Thursday, December 26 ... greetings and birthday wishes to all from the Ef .. have a wonderful day and years ahead ..

A day of greetings .. Christmas greetings .. of cheer and peace and harmony and well being .. and the angel on my desk carved in wood expresses all, in its benevolence ..

..  the expression captured in its face and eyes says more  ..  

.. a benignity , a social consciousness .. a compassion .. to humanity , to them that live and exist in possible quietude .. conditioned to themselves .. in their own world and realm .. content and fulfilled ..

But do they really ..

When ever did we extend our selves to the ‘other’ to perhaps discover , realise their silent state .. or that which brings them to such condition .. if there be a condition .. a condition known or unknown .. not just to themselves but to another ‘other’ ..

.. and we meet today as a group, long hours by the setting sun .. by the end of day .. by the end of light .. into the darkness of night ..

.. a darkness that reveals nothing but the unknown .. to them yes .. but to another , perhaps not ..

.. so do the ‘another’ , or does the ‘another’ desire to know .. know the condition of the darkness, or there be a revelation that remains silent, unspoken .. in the fear of its reveal .. throttling its express than to open the vocal and scream or whisper or just talk ..

.. learned and concerned minds that wish and have worked long years in this direction apprise me of the designs and conditions .. of them that suffer .. of them that have been given a term .. a term that goes by a name ..

.. a name ..

... mental health .. depressive conditioning .. mental disorder .. depressive and anxiety disorders .. relationship between mental disorders and physical conditions .. considering depressive and anxiety disorders independently ..

.. depression without anxiety .. anxiety without depression .. depression plus anxiety ..

.. disturbing to even think about it let alone discuss .. discuss for what .. to bring succour and relief .. to explain to find condition from self reports .. or through diagnosis ..

BUT how .. ??

I can discover a medical condition through diagnosis, through tests of various kinds .. get the blood and find .. put the body under a scanner .. an MRI .. know the inside conditions ..

.. but mental disorder .. depressive conditioning .. are there any yardsticks or any ‘red flags’ - as the expression goes among them that seem to know what they are talking about - to ascertain, to know the how and when and where ..?

.. they talk of the statistics .. of the many that suffer and the need to identify them and tell them, educate them on how to overcome it ..

all very well and honourable .. but how to know whether one is in a mental depressive disorder .. ?

what be the symptoms ? do they fall in order of a generalisation ? can you look and tell .. ?

I can get my TB and my Hep B and my neck condition, diagnosed through tests and reports , but reports and tests for depression or mental depressive conditioning .. !

Are there ..?

How do I know I am a patient or a sufferer , or ..?

Unless I know, how do I think treatment .. that is if treatment is available in such conditioning .. or whether I need treatment ..

How does one disclose it .. does one have the capacity and the mental strength to speak or disclose it ..

Is my mental strength sufficient enough to discover the ‘disclose’ .. or has the strength been saturated and squeezed dry to perform any such act ..

I ask and debate and get no answers that can satisfy my curiosity .. to guide me to lead a campaign of awareness .. if I am not aware of the aliment or its process of diagnosis, how is it expected that I guide ‘others’ to its repair ..

How do I ascertain that the Ef that connects with me suffers or is on the brink of it ..

Does anyone know ..?

Do you my Ef ..?

Have you encountered any such .. how did you find out .. what did you do then .. what happened after .. ?

If I am to talk on it .. the ‘other’ needs to talk first .. to confide if it needs confidentiality ..

I need answers .. I do not wish to give answers .. for I do not have them readily available ..

Talk to me .. tell me .. speak .. I shall listen .. and when I can find the right answer I shall speak back ..

IT IS DISTURBING ENOUGH TO KNOW OF THIS .. EVEN MORE TO KNOW , HOW TO KNOW IT .. !!

In anxiety now ..

Amitabh Bachchan

Week 7: Public health campaigns & communities

Inevitably, social media is one of the greatest creations in this era. Not only does social media enable us to stay in contact with others since all you need is just an internet allowing us to call or text people whenever you want, but also social media allows information to be reached out to people instantly whereby we all dont have to rely on newspaper in order to keep ourselves updated to the latest news and events, all we need is first signing up a social media account and following other users, news forums and organizations. 

In terms of public health campaign, social media plays a huge role in promoting public health campaign to the people especially this time of Covid-19 pandemic, i believe most of us use social media to read the daily reported cases, information from WHO and even consult health information via Google. As this year is a year full of disasters which completely affect our usual daily lives and livelihood. According to the general director of the World Health Organization, the Covid-19 pandemic is spreading fast and has taken more than 1 million lives. He has also anticipated with a pessimistic tone that the vaccine will only be introduced next year by latest, which means we still have to practice social distance, wear face masks and wash hand frequently. Therefore, we have yet to return to normal life due to the fact that pandemic still exists and has not been quelled. Speaking of which, it is time for us to adopt a totally new normality.

Despite social media plays a huge role in promoting public health campaign, there will definitely be a major problem arising, which is the spread of fake news. Since social media is a platform for information delivery and news sharing, some irresponsible users will spread news that are not genuine and without undergoing scrutiny, it creates panic in the community. Such problem is prevalent especially at this period of time where social media usage is boosting up as people rely on social media to keep updated with daily reported Covid-19 cases and latest announcement from the authorities such as Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Health. Indirectly, some irresponsible users grab opportunity to fabricate information and make it widespread in the community so that they can achieve their motive that people are getting panic-stricken to the extend to which, obstructing the SOP implemented by authorities.

According to Arumugam (2020), Fake news on Covid-19, on both the social media and messaging apps, remained rampant although threat of stern legal action and repeated reminders. Minister of Defence, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob reported that as of May, police and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had opened 262 investigation papers. Among the total, 179 cases were still under investigation, 29 cases had been brought to court, 11 were issued with warning notices, and 18 of the accused had pleaded guilty. The MCMC's Quick Response Team (PRP) was set up to monitor suspicious news and allegations to help combat the spread of fake news related to Covid-19. Those presented figure does not represent the whole since there will be some unreported incidents. In our community, we often receive circulated voice messages from others sharing fake news or unconfirmed information. Those perpetrators usually are elderly people since they are new to social media and stubborn to scrutinize information beforehand which mislead them to share ingenuine information straight-away without proper justification. 

Taking my personal experience as a metaphor, I once read a Facebook post from an old lady (probably in her late fifties) stigmatizing a local Cafe owner) that he was tested positive because of 2 reportedly positive-tested customers used to patronize at the Cafe. As soon as the post went viral, immediately there was a public backlash against the old lady since she did not have understanding of the whole fact and soon the Cafe owner announced to the public that he had gone through SWAB test and eventually tested negative. A few days later, she advertised an apology notice via Facebook and newspaper stating that she was deeply remorseful for her irrational act and made a promise that she will reform and always think thoroughly before posting any information. 

In a nutshell, although social media contributes the delivery of public health campaign, we still cant guarantee that those information are genuine since nowadays, people can spread fake news easily and it is hard for us to identify how precise those information really are. As a friendly advice to all social media users, always stay rational and neutral when receiving information, which means never jump to conclusion hastily, think thoroughly before sharing information to the public. It is our responsibility as a social media user to uphold our own integrity. 

Reference list:

Arumugam, T 2020,  Fake news on Covid-19 still rampant, New Strait Times, viewed 28 October 2020,

<https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2020/05/591198/fake-news-covid-19-still-rampant-nsttv>.

Under a bridge on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur sits a small huddle of dilapidated shipping containers – each divided into two levels, carpeted with canvas sheets and ventilated by small whirring table fans.

For 65 Bangladeshi construction workers these containers are home, and as Malaysia enters its sixth week of a national lockdown to stem the spread of Covid-19 – during which most workplaces are closed and non-essential activities suspended – migrants living in these cramped, close quarters are beginning to feel the pangs of hunger as their money slowly runs out.

“We have not been paid since February because of the lockdown in mid-March,” said Mohamad Hanif, who has been living in one of the containers since he arrived in Malaysia last year. Although as a group they have scraped together everything they had to buy groceries during the lockdown period, nothing lasts forever.

“We cook communally. Our meals are usually rice, some vegetables with lentil curry. But it is difficult now because there isn’t money, there isn’t enough food to go around and we are all hungry. We need help.”

Mohamad Hanif’s situation isn’t unique. Malaysia is a temporary home to an estimated 5.5 million migrant workers – more than half of whom, about 3.3 million, are undocumented – from countries across Asia, but mostly Indonesia, Bangladesh and Nepal. They are employed in sectors such as construction, security and manufacturing: jobs that employers refer to as “3D” – dangerous, dirty and difficult.

Activists say many of these workers are subject to numerous human rights violations, from non-payment of wages by unscrupulous bosses to physical abuse, trafficking and debt bondage. Now, as the coronavirus pandemic sweeps the globe, their cramped living quarters mean they are at greater risk than most of infecting each other.

The lack of space for any sort of physical distancing is even more keenly felt under lockdown, as these small rooms become workers’ quarantine cells. Before, many would have spent much of the day working, running errands or spending free time outside.

“Others were shift workers so the house was never too full at any one time,” said Sumitha Shaanthinni Kishna, director of Kuala Lumpur-based migrant rights NGO Our Journey. “But now that everyone has to stay home with the lockdown, conditions are far more cramped.”

Although Sumitha’s NGO was primarily set up to help with legal matters, since the lockdown began on March 18, its members have been hand-delivering groceries to migrant workers across Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, after obtaining permission to do so through various countries’ embassies.

For most areas, she and her volunteers collect addresses and phone numbers before dropping off groceries individually, but in some government-designated “red zones” – high-risk areas with more than 41 active cases – her team leaves dry goods such as eggs, potatoes, rice and oil with representatives from the Department of Social Welfare to distribute.

One such red zone encompasses Selangor Mansion and Malayan Mansion, two blocks of flats offering low-cost accommodation that have been placed under an enhanced movement control order which prohibits anyone from entering or exiting. About 5,000 people – mostly migrant workers who average 10 people to a three- or four-room unit, for which they typically pay about 2,500 ringgit (US$575) per month – live in these buildings, which are now barricaded with barbed wire and patrolled by security forces.

“The most packed unit I have encountered had 24 residents. People living in Selangor Mansion have told me they feel claustrophobic, that it’s become very noisy,” Sumitha said.

Another red zone is in the township of Selayang, which straddles Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, Malaysia’s richest state. An enhanced movement control order in this area has seen an entire wet market cordoned off, as well as nearby residential buildings. Shamim Miah, a Bangladeshi student who shares a flat with five others in one of the buildings, has been unable to leave to get food for days, and soon it will be the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.

“We have no food, we are scared. Help us, please,” he said.

For now, no infection clusters have emerged among migrant workers in Malaysia, unlike in neighbouring Singapore, where some 80 per cent of its more than 10,000 infections emanate from the 320,000-strong migrant worker community.

The city state, whose partial lockdown termed a “circuit breaker” was this week extended until June 1, now has the most cases of any country in Southeast Asia. It is screening thousands of workers every day and Malaysia’s top health official last week said it would “learn from Singapore” and embark on large-scale screening of the community.

The surge in infections in Singapore this month has sparked criticism of the government there for not taking action earlier to stop the spread of the virus within its 42 huge dormitory complexes, where thousands of workers sleep on bunk beds – between 12 and 20 to a room – and hundreds share communal bathroom and kitchen facilities.

Singapore also houses low-wage workers in about 1,200 industrial or warehouse developments which have been partially converted into dormitories that typically house 50 to 100 workers each, as well as in temporary living quarters on construction sites that have room for around 40 workers.

Residents’ groups in the city state have begun raising funds and collecting donations of food to help migrant workers.

In Malaysia, similar awareness of the dire living conditions of low-wage foreign workers is spreading.

But this has yielded a mix of both compassion and xenophobic sentiment. Earlier in the month, misinformation about urine-filled plastic bags being hurled at armed forces personnel patrolling the grounds of Selangor Mansion had to be refuted by Malaysia’s defence chief after online commentators accused foreign workers of being ungrateful, while some Malaysians questioned why the government had to supply food to these workers.

Migrant workers are disproportionately affected by the government’s lockdown, said M. Ramachelvam, deputy president of the National Human Rights Society. Besides a lack of decent housing and precarious employment, access to health care is a concern: under Malaysian law, doctors must report undocumented migrants seeking health care to the authorities, creating a culture of fear.

“There should be a moratorium against the arrest and detention of migrants for immigration related offences during this pandemic, ” said Ramachelvam, also urging the government to not discriminate when providing health care. So far, more than 14,000 migrant workers have been tested for Covid-19 virus, with 676 positive cases.

In early April, Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the welfare of foreigners was the responsibility of “their respective embassies”, just days after promising that the government would provide these workers with food supplies. Currently the areas under enhanced lockdowns are receiving food from several sources, including NGOs and public donations, as well as government agencies.

Now, with tensions at a high as the lockdown begins to bite, incomes depletedand the threat of an economic recession on the horizon, rights groups have expressed the concern that migrant workers will become scapegoats.

“The sentiment to deny aid to those without documentation in our country is based on xenophobia and will harm those who are most in need in these difficult times,” said migrant rights group Tenaganita in a statement, pointing out that undocumented migrants and refugees without stable work or who rely on a daily wage were disproportionately affected by the movement control order.

“There have been countless reports from the migrant and refugee communities of people going hungry and there are no government policies in place that protect them.”

Tenaganita and other NGOs have rallied together to ensure that aid is doled out. Organisations or civil society groups such as the Malaysian Trades Union Congress, Bersih and Engage have collected money or groceries from members of the public to help vulnerable groups. However, because of travel restrictions under the movement control order, only so much ground can be covered.

“We have to adhere to social distancing and other guidelines, and go to homes one by one. Some workers are too scared to leave their homes because they don’t have their passports. Some don’t even know how to tell us their house addresses,” said Sumitha of NGO Our Journey.

The fact that migrant workers were scattered across the country was another barrier to them receiving help, said Indonesian migrant rights activist Nasrikah, who goes by only one name.

“It’s very difficult to get aid to rural areas even though NGOs and the embassy are giving some support.”

Women’s rights groups say female migrant workers are particularly vulnerable in this period.

Liezl Galdo, who heads the organising committee of AMMPO, an organisation that lobbies for the rights of Filipino domestic workers in Malaysia, has received complaints of employers refusing to give them food.

“One woman who reached out to me said that when she rested on Sunday, her legally mandated day off, her employer withheld lunch and dinner. Another was not allowed to leave the house to go to the bank to send money back to her family,” she said, pointing out that as domestic workers are stuck at home with their employers, they are more vulnerable to abuse.

For other migrant workers such as Sulaiman, 42, housing is not the main issue, although the small two-storey house that the Bangladeshi construction worker shares with 29 other men – all sleeping upstairs – is certainly cramped

Their more pressing concern, however, is that food is running out – the men keep meals to a bare minimum so as not to use up everything they have left.

“We eat bread, rice. We haven’t had vegetables or meat in a while. We didn’t receive any sort of allowance when the lockdown was declared,” said Sulaiman, adding that it was difficult for some of them to even leave the house as their employers had kept their passports.

“We give each other space as much as we can, and have moved some chairs to the veranda so we can at least get some fresh air. We pray together upstairs. We can survive these housing conditions, there is nothing wrong with the house. We can endure – right now we just need food.”

You heard of Punchy, but let’s talk about Wendy!

I thought she was cute before, but never had her in any of the previous games. When Nook Mile Islands opened, I believe she was the very first villager I encountered. I loved her dialogue so much I had to bring her back to town! (peppy villagers are, along lazies, my favourite personality types in New Horizons!).

She’s of course still living in Sabrie  ♥

Hey, thanks a lot for the link :D Mahmood singing in Arabic surprised me, I thought he only speaks Italian? I was actually referring to the upcoming big concert "Heroes" in Verona on Sunday, but I understand the confusing as both shows feature Diodato and Mahmood. There's also the Seat Music Awards on Saturday, again Diodato and Mahmood among other artists! One more question, is Marco Mengoni not active anymore? Strange to see he's not part of any of those streaming concerts :(

I’ll start from the bottom: Marco is still active but on one of those creative hiatus that keep artista away from the stage, while working on new material.

Mahmood delivered a great performance of the popular Arabin song Sabri Aleel, which matched both with the Apulian sonorities and the speech the host gave just before, about immigration.

Getting to Heroes concert, they say it’s going to be available to everyone, everywhere (of course buying a ticket and connecting through A-LIVE app or online on Futurissima.net) and I believe it’s meant not just as everywhere in Italy but literally everywhere, but I can’t swear it.