Israel
Many people in The Horde have been worried about Neal in Israel, who sends us interesting content for the Gardening Thread. I heard from him yesterday:
Katy, shalom,
Vann, shalom,
It's very good of you and the Horde to think of us at this time.
We are OK; and, in our immediate family, we don't have anyone in a particularly dangerous place or doing something particularly dangerous in the military. So, personally, we are in better shape than many other families in Israel.
As our daughter works in a security agency, while her husband is in the army, we are occupied every day with looking after their 4 children, including 2.5 yr old twins. It's challenging; it reminds us why it's young people who have children; but it lets us feel that we're contributing something and it keeps us from watching, reading, or listening to news all the time.
Of course, we are all shocked by what has happened - the greatest slaughter of Jews since 1945. Before the Nazi regime industrialized murder of Jews at the extermination camps, it sent Einsatzgruppen into Eastern Europe, whose task was to enter villages and towns, round up the Jews, and murder them all. The Hamas death squads which entered villages and towns along the Gaza border had the same mission, with an additional sadism multiplier. And while the Nazis had some residual moral sense which led them to seek to hide their crimes, Hamas instructed its murderers to record their crimes and circulate them on the internet.
We hope for a better, safer future after the IDF completes its mission in Gaza.
I want to thank you again for your concern. It encourages and strengthens us in a difficult time.
Best regards,
Neal
We are all hoping for the same, Neal. Keep in touch.
Setting down a marker (with references)
Two weeks ago today our normal became a nightmare.
For those of you who may have already forgotten, here's a reminder.
For the victims, for our families, for humanity.
It's our obligation to remember.
Click over for details.
From Yemen
JUST WHAT WE NEED
h/t Ciampino, who also posted some other interesting news in the Tech Thread today:
US warship shot down 15 drones and four cruise missiles 'headed for Israel' during NINE-HOUR onslaught from Iranian-backed militants in Yemen
An official from the Defense Department said the drones and cruise missiles were shot down using SM-2 surface-to-air missiles.
The source added that the rockets fired by the Iran-backed Houthi militants were clearly headed for Israel.
While a US official added that they do not believe the missiles, shot down over the water, were aimed at the US warship.
The Houthi terrorist group in Yemen has signaled its intention to join the war against Israel.
The Al Tanf Garrison military base in Syria, where there are American troops present, was targeted by two drones on Wednesday.
One was destroyed while the other impacted the base following joint action by US and coalition forces.
There are some graphics in this piece which show the targets of the drones, but I only saw one depicting where Yemen was in relationship to some of the targets. Yemen is something of a concern of mine because some immigrants in our area are from Yemen, and some of them travel back and forth or send kids back and forth from time to time. Don't know which side they're on in the civil war. But their ability to travel may suggest that they are not rebels.
Western Elites
I like the phrase "Stenographers of Terrorists"
She also wrote up a nice print twitter rant for shareable quotes. She emphasizes here the relationship between the stupidity of journalists and the degradation of our educational system.
When we eliminate rigorous academic standards, we leave unaccountable activist educators with lots of extra time to indoctrinate students.
You've probably already seen this video of protesting high school students. If you haven't click over.
Hamas terrorists . . . are backtracking, because they now recognize that they overplayed their hand, overestimating the world's tolerance for atrocities against Jews. They have lost their PR edge and now understand that murdering children is wrong, always--even for them.
This about-face catches Hamas's Western allies in an awkward position. American members of groups like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) now appear in a uniquely atrocious light. While Hamas has chosen to deny (falsely) its atrocities, thereby confirming them as atrocities, SJP and similar organizations have already accepted that Hamas's inhumane actions are true - - and celebrated them.
Interestingly, those without ties to elite institutions seem to be less inclined to have ties to Hamas.
Meanwhile, in China
Hope he doesn't get the idea that he has to do something dramatic . . .
From Italy
The world keeps turning . .
Music
Hope you have something nice planned for this weekend. Say a little prayer if you're the prayin' type.
This is the Thread before the Gardening Thread.
Last week's thread, October 14, Maybe diversity isn't always our strength
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