1 of 16: WE ARE ALL JEWS HERE: THE STORY OF RODDIE EDMONDS

One of the most moving and relevant stories of the Battle of the Bulge, or any American Soldier in any war, is that of Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds, a Knoxville, Tennessee native, who served with the 106th Infantry.

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Roddie was captured early on in the Battle of the Bulge, on December 19th, when Panzer forces plowed through his unit.

He, along with almost his entire regiment, was forced to surrender.
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The men were transported to the Stalag IX-A POW camp in Ziegenhain, Germany.

Roddie was the senior enlisted American Soldier at the site. As such, he was the conduit between all American Soldiers and their German captors.
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In late January, the camp’s commandant, Major Siegmann [pictured here], ordered Roddie, a Christian, to identify all Jewish Soldiers and order them to stand in formation by themselves the next day.

[Jewish Soldiers were a minority within American units]
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Throughout WWII, captured Jewish Soldiers were often tortured and then killed by their German captors.

In fact, Jewish Soldiers had been told to bury their dog tags before capture. The dog tag identified Jews with the letter “H” for Hebrew.
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The next morning, Roddie ordered every single American prisoner of war in the camp to assemble outside the barracks for Siegmann.

Siegmann walked out to the courtyard to find all 1,275 men assembled.

There was Roddie, standing in front of his men.
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Siegmann was furious. He walked up to Edmonds, snarling in English, “You are to identify the Jews immediately.”

Roddie replied, “We are all Jews here.”

Enraged, Siegmann took out his pistol and threatened to shoot Roddie, who refused to back down.
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“You are going to have to kill all of us,” Edmonds told his Nazi captor. “We are all Jews,” he repeated.
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Roddie told the Nazi that the war was almost over. The Germans would soon be defeated.

If any of his men were harmed, Siegmann would be hunted, tried, and convicted for war crimes after the war.

Siegmann walked away.
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Roddie’s courage saved the lives of more than 200 Jewish Soldiers in that POW camp.

Three months later, Roddie and all Americans imprisoned in Stalag IX-A were freed by Allied forces.
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After the war, Roddie Edmonds returned to his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee. He started a family and a career as a salesman.

He never once mentioned this story about Stalag IX-A.

No one knew. He received no commendation for his courage while alive.
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Roddie Edmonds died of heart failure at age 65 in 1985.

After his death, his children began to slowly uncover their father’s remarkable wartime deeds through his diary.

Roddie’s son, Chris, a pastor in Maryville, Tennessee, brought this act of love to light.
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With Chris' help, the State of Israel was made aware of Roddie's uncommon courage.

In 2015, Israel recognized Roddie Edmonds as a Righteous Among the Nations, Israel’s highest honor for non-Jews who saved Jews during the Holocaust.
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To tell this story, we spoke with Roddie’s son Chris last week.

Chris had this message: “My father’s selfless actions in the face of unimaginable evil is vital in these days. Especially when our world is full of hatred and we still see anti-Semitism.”
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Avner Shalev, chairman of the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum and memorial, told us: “The choices and actions of Master Sergeant Edmonds set an example for his fellow American Soldiers as they stood united against the barbaric evil of the Nazis.”
FINAL:

We’ll let Chris Edmonds have the last word:

“Each of us has the moral capacity to make a difference in the lives of others. Your ordinary life lived well is extraordinary—even heroic. So live as God made you. Live for others, be the hero!”

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The UN just voted to condemn Israel 9 times, and the rest of the world 0.

View the resolutions and voting results here:

The resolution titled "The occupied Syrian Golan," which condemns Israel for "repressive measures" against Syrian citizens in the Golan Heights, was adopted by a vote of 151 - 2 - 14.

Israel and the U.S. voted 'No'
https://t.co/HoO7oz0dwr


The resolution titled "Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people..." was adopted by a vote of 153 - 6 - 9.

Australia, Canada, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and the U.S. voted 'No' https://t.co/1Ntpi7Vqab


The resolution titled "Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan" was adopted by a vote of 153 – 5 – 10.

Canada, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and the U.S. voted 'No'
https://t.co/REumYgyRuF


The resolution titled "Applicability of the Geneva Convention... to the
Occupied Palestinian Territory..." was adopted by a vote of 154 - 5 - 8.

Canada, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and the U.S. voted 'No'
https://t.co/xDAeS9K1kW
Like most movements, I have learned that the definition of feminism has expanded to include simply treating women like human beings.

(A thread for whoever feels like reading)


I have observed feminists on Twitter advocating for rape victims to be heard, rapists to be held accountable, for people to address the misogyny that is deeply rooted in our culture, and for women to be treated with respect.

To me, very easy things to get behind.

And the amount of pushback they receive for those very basic requests is appalling. I see men trip over themselves to defend rape and rapists and misogyny every chance they get. Some accounts are completely dedicated to harassing women on this site. It’s unhealthy.

Furthermore, I have observed how dedicated these misogynists are by how they treat other men that do not immediately side with them. There is an entire lexicon they have created for men who do not openly treat women with disrespect.

Ex: simp, cuck, white knight, beta

All examples of terms they use to demean a man who respects women.

To paraphrase what a wise man on this app said:

Some men hate women so much, they hate men who don’t hate women
I've seen many news articles cite that "the UK variant could be the dominant strain by March". This is emphasized by @CDCDirector.

While this will likely to be the case, this should not be an automatic cause for concern. Cases could still remain contained.

Here's how: 🧵

One of @CDCgov's own models has tracked the true decline in cases quite accurately thus far.

Their projection shows that the B.1.1.7 variant will become the dominant variant in March. But interestingly... there's no fourth wave. Cases simply level out:

https://t.co/tDce0MwO61


Just because a variant becomes the dominant strain does not automatically mean we will see a repeat of Fall 2020.

Let's look at UK and South Africa, where cases have been falling for the past month, in unison with the US (albeit with tougher restrictions):


Furthermore, the claim that the "variant is doubling every 10 days" is false. It's the *proportion of the variant* that is doubling every 10 days.

If overall prevalence drops during the studied time period, the true doubling time of the variant is actually much longer 10 days.

Simple example:

Day 0: 10 variant / 100 cases -> 10% variant
Day 10: 15 variant / 75 cases -> 20% variant
Day 20: 20 variant / 50 cases -> 40% variant

1) Proportion of variant doubles every 10 days
2) Doubling time of variant is actually 20 days
3) Total cases still drop by 50%

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Viruses and other pathogens are often studied as stand-alone entities, despite that, in nature, they mostly live in multispecies associations called biofilms—both externally and within the host.

https://t.co/FBfXhUrH5d


Microorganisms in biofilms are enclosed by an extracellular matrix that confers protection and improves survival. Previous studies have shown that viruses can secondarily colonize preexisting biofilms, and viral biofilms have also been described.


...we raise the perspective that CoVs can persistently infect bats due to their association with biofilm structures. This phenomenon potentially provides an optimal environment for nonpathogenic & well-adapted viruses to interact with the host, as well as for viral recombination.


Biofilms can also enhance virion viability in extracellular environments, such as on fomites and in aquatic sediments, allowing viral persistence and dissemination.