I saw this on quora and thought it was cool and wanted to share it on here. Its a long read but crazy. Its from Erik Painter
They did try. And they did capture Navajo men. However, they were unsuccessful in using them to decipher the code. The reason was simple. The Navajo Code was a code that used Navajo. It was not spoken Navajo. To a Navajo speaker, who had not learned the code, a Navajo Code talker sending a message sounds like a string of unconnected Navajo words with no grammar. It was incomprehensible. So, when the Japanese captured a Navajo man named Joe Kieyoomia in the Philippines, he could not really help them even though they tortured him. It was nonsense to him.
The Navajo Code had to be learned and memorized. It was designed to transmit a word by word or letter by letter exact English message. They did not just chat in Navajo. That could have been understood by a Navajo speaker, but more importantly translation is never, ever exact. It would not transmit precise messages. There were about 400 words in the Code.
The first 31 Navajo Marines created the Code with the help of one non-Navajo speaker officer who knew cryptography. The first part of the Code was made to transmit English letters. For each English letter there were three (or sometimes just two) English words that started with that letter and then they were translated into Navajo words. In this way English words could be spelled out with a substitution code. The alternate words were randomly switched around. So, for English B there were the Navajo words for Badger, Bear and Barrel. In Navajo that is: nahashchĘźidĂ, shash, and tĂłshjeeh. Or the letter A was Red Ant, Axe, or Apple. In Navajo that is: wĂłlĂĄchĂĂĘź, tsĂŠniĹ , or bilasĂĄana. The English letter D was: bÄŻÄŻh=deer, and ĹĂŠĂŠchÄ Ä ĘźĂ =dog, and chʟįįdii= bad spiritual substance (devil).
For the letter substitution part of the Code the word âbadâ could be spelled out a number of ways. To a regular Navajo speaker it would sound like: âBear, Apple, Dogâ. Or other times it could be â Barrel, Red Ant, Bad Spirit (devil)â. Other times it could be âBadger, Axe, Deerâ. As you can see, for just this short English word, âbadâ there are many possibilities and to the combination of words used. To a Navajo speaker, all versions are nonsense. It gets worse for a Navajo speaker because normal Navajo conjugates in complex ways (ways an English or Japanese speaker would never dream of). These lists of words have no indicators of how they are connected. It is utterly non-grammatical.
Then to speed it up, and make it even harder to break, they substituted Navajo words for common military words that were often used in short military messages. None were just translations. A few you could figure out. For example, a Lieutenant was âone silver barâ in Navajo. A Major was âGold Oak Leafâ n Navajo. Other things were less obvious like a Battleship was the word for Whale in Navajo. A Mine Sweeper was the Navajo word for Beaver.
A note here as it seems hard for some people to get this. Navajo is a modern and living language. There are, and were, perfectly useful Navajo words for submarines and battleships and tanks. They did not âmake up words because they had no words for modern thingsâ. This is an incorrect story that gets around in the media. There had been Navajo in the military before WWII. The Navajo language is different and perhaps more flexible than English. It is easy to generate new words. They borrow very few words and have words for any modern thing you can imagine. The words for telephone, or train, or nuclear power are all made from Navajo stem roots.
Because the Navajo Marines had memorized the Code there was no code book to capture. There was no machine to capture either. They could transmit it over open radio waves. They could decode it in a few minutes as opposed to the 30 minutes to two hours that other code systems at the time took. And, no Navajo speaker who had not learned the Code could make any sense out of it.
The Japanese had no published texts on Navajo. There was no internationally available description of the language. The Germans had not studied it at the time. The Japanese did suspect it was Navajo. Linguists thought it was in the Athabaskan language family. That would be pretty clear to a linguist. And Navajo had the biggest group of speakers of any Athabaskan language. That is why they tortured Joe Kieyoomia. But, he could not make sense of it. It was just a list of words with no grammar and no meaning.
For Japanese, even writing the language down from the radio broadcasts would be very hard. It has lots of sounds that are not in Japanese or in English. It is hard to tell where some words end or start because the glottal stop is a common consonant. Frequency analysis would have been hard because they did not use a single word for each letter. And some words stood for words instead of for a letter. The task of breaking it was very hard.
When translated directly from Navajo into English it is:
âSILVER TWO BLUE JAY CHICKEN HAWK SHEEP AXE NOSE KEY BLUE JAY IRON FISH AND WHALE. â
You can see why a Navajo who did not know the Code would not be able to do much with that. The message above means: âCAPTAIN, THE DIVE BOMBER SANK THE SUBMARINE AND BATTLESHIP.â
âTwo silver barsâ =captain. Blue jay= the. Chicken hawk= dive bomber. Iron fish = sub. Whale= battleship. âSheep, Axe Nose Keyâ=sank. The only normal use of a Navajo word is the word for âandâ which is âdóó â. For the same message the word âsankâ would be spelled out another way on a different day. For example, it could be: âsnake, apple, needle, kettleâ.
Here, below on the video, is a verbal example of how the code sounded. The code sent below sounded to a Navajo speaker who did not know the Code like this: âsheep eyes nose deer destroy tea mouse turkey onion sick horse 362 bearâ. To a trained Code Talker, he would write down: âSend demolition team to hill 362 Bâ. The Navajo Marine Coder Talker then would give it to someone to take the message to the proper person. It only takes a minute or so to code and decode.
On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard fired on Kent State students, killing four and wounding nine. A former student who now teaches there
Canfora says she's inspired by what she's seeing from college students today, noting that they have much less free time for activism than her generation did â in part because so many have to work to afford tuition[âŚ]
"These students today don't have that time," she says. "And they are finding that time to act, to make their voices heard."
And that's important, she says, because â then and now â college students are "the conscience of America."
"If not a college campus, where else in our society, in this democracy, can we count on large groups of people to do exactly what these college students are doing: paying attention to the world, looking at what is being done in the world ... and coming up with strategies for opposing it if they don't agree with it?" she asks. "That's healthy. That shouldn't be something that is feared."
Definitely read the whole article, it talks in some detail about the Kent State massacre, including contributing factors and what the survivors did in the aftermath.
(Be aware there is a photograph halfway down that shows Kent State students ducking and running for cover with several lying on the ground, as well as several photos throughout of the National Guard mobilization. I highly recommend the article, but be prepared if imagery of police brutality is traumatic for you.)
They have been telling the civilians from the start to evacuate to Rafah as the idf had designated it a safe place and now the plan to invade and continue to bomb it.
THIS IS GENOCIDE.
Please spread this around and do not let this become background noise.
Recently, while staring far too long at a potato chip, it occurred to me that the ridges could possibly be used to create a lenticular effect. So I got out some chip dip (and the smallest paint brush I have) to test it out. I started with a simple 2-frame illustration of a football and a basketball, then I painted a little sour cream and onion dip bird. đĽđď¸ - via my new @brockdavisart instagram
[ID: a hand holding a ridged potato chip and tilting it back and forth. A bird has been painted on the chip with dip, and with each tilt, the lighting changes so that the bird appears either to have its wings up or down, creating the illusion of flight. /end ID]
Hey, everyone please do me a favor! s2b2's tumblr has been flagged as adult for ages, but when the editor sent a polite request to staff for it to be unflagged so it would be searchable, they just... insta-deleted the whole fucking thing. It would be very helpful if everyone could contact support and ask them to reverse this.
ettingermentum has just published an excellent guide to protest voting state-by-state. for those of you who are bemoaning your choice between biden and trump, for those of you who are against genocide, and for those of you want to utilize your civic duty to vote: this is how you can pressure joe biden for a ceasefire
How to protest the administration in all the remaining primary states.
Earlier this week, when I was talking with my girlfriend about the Michigan primary results, she asked me if we could also vote uncommitted in our stateâs primary. Since we live in Georgia, I knew that we didnât have that option, so I told her that it wasnât possible and that I personally planned to use my ballot to write in Jane Fonda. Then she asked me if that vote would be counted, which made me realize something: I didnât know if it would. I looked it up, and and after a bit of searching, I learned that the answer was no. As a Georgia voter, I have to either vote for one of the three names on the ballot or a âvalidated write-in candidateâ or my vote will be discarded. My year-old plan to vote for Jane had always been DOA, and I had never known it until that moment.
This got me thinking. If I, someone who writes about politics for a living, didnât know the exact procedures for a protest vote in my primary in my own state, how many prospective uncommitted voters out there actually know what their options are? I presumed that someone out there had published a guide for how to protest vote in each state, but, at least as far as I can tell, such a guide does not exist. To remedy this problem, I decided to create a guide myself. The following is the first ever state-by-state, territory-by-territory cheat sheet for how you can, and cannot, cast a protest vote against this administration in your upcoming Democratic primary.
Category 1: Can Vote Uncommitted
This is the simplest and most straightforward category. In these states and territories, voters are given a Michigan-style uncommitted option on their ballots. These ballots are fully counted in the results like votes for any of the named candidates. If the total uncommitted vote reaches 15% statewide or in a congressional district, it will be awarded delegates.
Although some of these states have additional protest voting options in addition to uncommitted, selecting the uncommitted line is the most direct and straightforward way to register an anti-Biden vote. If available, it should be chosen over all other options, including write-ins, blank ballots, or votes for named candidates like Dean Phillips or Marianne Williamson.
State/territory list:
March 5th: Alabama, Colorado (Called âNoncomittedâ), Iowa (Mail-only Caucus), Massachusetts (Called âNo Preferenceâ), Minnesota, North Carolina (Called âNo Preferenceâ), Tennessee, American Samoa
March 6th: Hawaii
March 12th: Northern Mariana Islands, Washington, Democrats Abroad
March 19th: Kansas
March 23rd: Missouri
April 2nd: Connecticut, Rhode Island, Wisconsin
April 6th: Alaska (Called âUndeclaredâ)
April 13th: Wyoming (Caucus, Called âUndeclaredâ)
May 14th: Maryland
May 21st: Kentucky
May 23rd: Idaho (Caucus)
June 4th: Montana (Called âNo Preferenceâ), New Jersey, New Mexico
June 8th: Virgin Islands
Category 2: No Uncommitted Option, But Can Vote Write-Ins
Following the set of states and territories that provide straightforward uncommitted option, we reach a small, unique category of primary contests. These states do not provide an uncommitted option, but they do allow for write-in votes, and they take the unique step of tallying every single one of these write-ins in their vote totals. This allows for voters to vote for whoever they want, from Abraham Lincoln to the demiurge, and still see their ballots counted in a broad âwrite-inâ pile of general dissent.
Unlike uncommitted votes, write-in votes will not be able to win delegates as a categoryâthey are only tallied together as a group convenience on election results pages for the sake of convenience. Legally, they all represent votes for entirely different candidates. While it would technically be possible for a write-in candidate to win delegates if they hit the required benchmarks through write-in votes for them, there are currently no efforts to coordinate this. As such, feel free to vote for whoever or whatever you want if you live in these states or territories.
State/territory list:
March 5th: Vermont
May 21st: Oregon
June 4th: Washington, D.C.
Category 3: No Uncommitted Option, Most Write-Ins Not Tallied, But Blank Votes Tallied
Right on the heels of the previous small list with very specific rules is another small list with even more specific rules. Like Category 2, these states do not provide an option to vote uncommitted, but allow for write-ins. Where they differ from the Category 2 states is that they do not count most write-ins in their overall tallies. To save time, only write-in votes for âqualifiedâ write in candidates are considered valid and counted. This means that any write-in vote that says something like âceasefire,â âuncommitted,â and, yes, âJane Fonda,â will be discarded.
For most states that do this and donât provide an uncommitted option, this rules out the possibility of a protest vote beyond voting for the named candidates. These states are the exception, however. Unlike most states, they count blank ballots in their totals. While blank ballots cannot earn delegates, they are counted as a bloc, making them a clear statement of opposition to Biden that avoids providing support for Phillips or Williamson. As such, it is best to send back ballots in these states.
State/territory list:
March 5th: Maine
March 30th: North Dakota (Caucus)
April 2nd: New York
April 28th: Puerto Rico
Category 4: No Uncommitted Option, Most Write-Ins Not Counted, Blank Ballots Not Counted
Category 4 states have easily the most delegates of any section on this list. Unfortunately, theyâre also where the options for protest votes become sharply limited. These states have similar rules as Category 3 states. They donât provide an uncommitted ballot line and donât tally write-in votes except for those given to qualified write-in candidates. What makes them different from Category 3 states is that they also donât count blank votes in their tallies.
To register a non-Biden vote in the tallies here, you have to vote for someone pre-approved by the state, whether that be a named candidates on the ballot or a qualified write-in candidate. For most states, this leaves you with Dean Phillips and/or Marianne Williamson if you want your vote to count. Feel free to choose between the two at your own discretion, although you can always vote for another listed candidate or even prick someone from your stateâs list of qualified write-in candidates if you really want to avoid voting for either of them.
State/territory list:
March 5th: California (Both Dean and Marianne on ballot), Texas (D and M), Virginia (D and M), Utah (D and M)
March 12th: Georgia (D and M)
March 19th: Arizona (D and M), Illinois (D and M), Ohio (Dean only)
April 23rd: Pennsylvania (Dean only)
May 14th: Nebraska (Dean only), West Virginia (Dean only)
Category 5: No Uncommitted Option, No Write-in Option, Blank Ballots Not Counted
Category 5 is very similar to Category 4, except with one difference. Instead of just making the write-in option functionally useless, these states donât provide it at all. Thereâs no way to get around voting for one of the named candidates of you want to cast a protest vote in these states.
State/territory list:
March 5th: Arkansas (D and M), Oklahoma (D and M)
March 12th: Mississippi (No D or M or anyone else. Biden will just get 100% of the vote here. Theyâre still holding the contest, though.)
March 23rd: Louisiana (D and M)
June 4th: South Dakota (D and M)
June 8th: Guam (Candidate list currently unavailable)
Category 6: No Primary
Hereâs the strangest section of them all. These states just cancelled their primaries and handed all of their delegates to Biden. They wonât let you vote against him even if you want to!
State/territory list: Florida and Delaware
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voting 'uncommitted' aka utilizing the protest vote is now one of the key strategies to let the biden administration know exactly what you think of their policies. it doesn't affect your vote in november, but it does very much affect the US policies being enacted on the ground in gaza right now.
think of it as a "fuck you" to joe biden, in the most democratic way possible.
you're not abstaining. you're not voting third party. you're not voting for trump. this is a protest vote. you're exercising your civic rights and letting joe biden know: fuck you.
A guide to all accessibility-related needs on the indie web!
I've been sharing this site around in all sorts of places, but I wanted to post it here, too - the Accessible Net Directory!
The indie web has a problem with accessibility. Namely, it seems like very few creators care to implement it. Which I get! It seems daunting to tackle at first. But also, it makes the indie web really, really difficult to traverse for disabled folks.
The Accessible Net Directory is two-fold in its uses.
1) It provides disabled people a list of safe indie sites
In order for a site to be featured on the directory, it needs to meet basic accessibility guidelines. This includes (but isn't limited to) no autoplay, unlabeled flashing images, low contrast, small / hard-to-read fonts, keyboard inaccessibility or non-described images.
Additional, non-required accessibility options for the directory are encouraged, and listed in a site's description on the directory. (Such as zoom-friendliness and different font options.)
2) It provides webmasters a ton of resources for implementing accessibility
It not only provides a list of steps one can take to make their site more accessible, but also provides the "why" of each step.
For example - one listed guideline for the directory is to use rem/em instead of px units for font sizes. Why? Well, the directory explains, "Users with low vision may need to increase the size of the text in order to be able to read and see better. Therefore it is important to always use scalable units for text."
Then, it goes on to list RESOURCES for changing px to rem/em!!
This site is an absolute treasure trove of resources for making your site accessible, and doing so with ease! I've used the resources listed to make my own site more accessible, and it's made the process seem so much more manageable!
So! If you run a personal site, then give the site a look, learn about accessibility practices, and apply them to your site! An inaccessible web is not a free web!
hey everyone! i've put together a document with a bunch of resources for contacting the united states government regarding palestine. there's scripts for demanding a ceasefire, information on how to send a fax, etc. if you live in the usa please check it out!
On the last day of the strike, and in the days/weeks following the end of the strike, please give your time to these resources and share them with others.
Donation Links:
The PCRF has been able to bring tangible resources to those in Gaza.
World Food Program has also provided food inside the Gaza Strip, and Hind has reported on this a few times.
This PayPal belongs to someone on the ground in Gaza who has been able to distribute aid directly to people in Gaza. You can find more information and proof of these purchases at @helpgazachildren.
UNRWA recently had their funding cut off by the US. They bring aid across Falasteen but you can choose to donate specifically to Gaza on the page I linked.
Gazaesims is a direct way you can donate esims to Gaza to help those inside the Strip stay connected to the rest of the world. If you have any questions about donating esims you can ask me directly!
Anera provides relief items to those in Gaza.
Islamic Relief does work globally. You can choose to donate specifically to their Palestine Emergency Aid program (name might be different depending on if you're on the US site or the global site).
Educational Resources/People to Follow:
DecolonizePalestine is my go-to when giving resources to people who are new to hearing about what's happening in Falasteen. It's a comprehensive, easily navigated archive of the history of Falasteen and the occupation, common myths surrounding the occupation, and resources for learning.
The Palestine Academy has courses on the history of Falasteen, resources on actions to take/education, and resources for Gaza.
IMEU provides news and education about all of Falasteen including Gaza, and provides fact sheets, photo essays, and personal testimonies from Palestinians. You can find their Instagram here.
Hidden Palestine tells the history of Falasteen through photos. They also provide updates about Gaza and other parts of Falasteen on their Instagram.
Subhi is a Palestinian-American who does a lot of work and makes educational videos about Falasteen and Gaza. He also provides many resources and shares news about Gaza/Falasteen in general.
Mohammed El-Kurd is a Palestinian writer who became well-known after defending his family from being evicted from their home for settler theft in Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem. He shares news, provides educational resources, and shares his own videos/writing on the topic of Gaza and Falasteen in general.
Salma Shawa (anat.international) is a Palestinian from Gaza who is not currently in Gaza. She shares videos, news, and resources about Gaza.
Noura Erakat is a Palestinian-American lawyer and activist who shares education, news, resources about Gaza and Falasteen.
News/Coverage/Updates:
Bisan is a young journalist on the ground in the south of Gaza
Hind is a journalist and reporter who has mostly been reporting from the middle areas of the Gaza Strip.
Bayan is a journalist and photographer on the ground in Gaza. She gives updates on what's happening around Gaza City.
Motaz is a journalist and photographer who was on the ground in Gaza until a few days ago. He continues to share news and stories from Gaza.
Princekouta is a Canadian citizen who has been unable to escape from the North of Gaza since the beginning of the genocide. He shares updates on what's happening in the North, which has essentially been cut off from the rest of the Gaza Strip. You can donate to his GFM here.
Miriam Barghouti is a journalist and writer in the West Bank. She shares news/updates about the West Bank and Gaza.
Eye.on.palestine shares videos of people on the ground in Gaza, in the West Bank, and in the '48 territories.
Translating_gaza provides English translations of videos from those on the ground in Gaza/new reports from other sources.
Middle East Eye brings news from Gaza and Falasteen. Here is their instagram.
Electronic Intifada has news about Falasteen along with updates about what's happening in Gaza.
Organizations for Palestine:
Palestinian Youth Movement (resources, actions, organizing, protests)
Adalah Justice Project (actions, organizing, protests)
American Muslims for Palestine (education, organizing, advocacy)
USCPR (resources, actions, updated protest lists)
Actions You Can Take:
BDS provides a list of companies to boycott/pressure to divest from Israel.
Global Protest List
US: Call your representatives to demand a ceasefire now.
Email template for Congress.
USCPR action toolkit.
Canada: Call your MPs.
UK: Write to your MPs.
I feel like I shouldn't have to say this, but in case it wasn't clear: continue to spread awareness about what is happening and Gaza and about Falasteen as often and as loudly as you can. When you see news coming out of Gaza, allow yourself to be moved to action. Share news and resources with others, pressure your governments to call for a ceasefire, make sure your money is not going to a corporation that supports Israeli apartheid, and above all else, do not lose hope. The horrors we are seeing now are not normal, nor will they ever be; use the resources and tools you have at your disposal to take whatever action you can to stop the genocide. And when we do get a ceasefire, we must keep on pushing and doing the work until we achieve a totally liberated Falasteen.
From the river to the sea đľđ¸
*note: falasteeni friends please feel free to add on any donation links or resources you know of that i may have missed!
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