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Sunday, July 31, 2022
Nichelle Nichols
From News Nation:
“Nichelle Nichols, Lt. Uhura on ‘Star Trek,’ has died at 89”
Nichelle
Nichols, who broke barriers for Black women in Hollywood when she played
communications officer Lt. Uhura on the original “Star Trek” television series,
has died at the age of 89. Her son Kyle Johnson said Nichols died Saturday in
Silver City, New Mexico. “Last night, my mother, Nichelle Nichols, succumbed to
natural causes and passed away. Her light however, like the ancient galaxies
now being seen for the first time, will remain for us and future generations to
enjoy, learn from, and draw inspiration,” Johnson wrote on her official
Facebook page Sunday. “Hers was a life well lived and as such a model for us
all.”
Her role in
the 1966-69 series as Lt. Uhura earned Nichols a lifelong position of honor
with the series’ rabid fans, known as Trekkers or Trekkies. It also earned her
accolades for breaking stereotypes that had limited Black women to acting roles
as servants and included an interracial onscreen kiss with co-star William
Shatner that was unheard of at the time. “I shall have more to say about the
trailblazing, incomparable Nichelle Nichols, who shared the bridge with us as
Lt. Uhura of the USS Enterprise, and who passed today at age 89,” George Takei wrote
on Twitter. “For today, my heart is heavy, my eyes shining like the stars you
now rest among, my dearest friend.”
Like other
original cast members, Nichols also appeared in six big-screen spinoffs
starting in 1979 with “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” and frequented “Star
Trek” fan conventions. She also served for many years as a NASA recruiter,
helping bring minorities and women into the astronaut corps. More recently, she
had a recurring role on television’s “Heroes,” playing the great-aunt of a young
boy with mystical powers.
The original
“Star Trek” premiered on NBC on Sept. 8, 1966. Its multicultural, multiracial
cast was creator Gene Roddenberry’s message to viewers that in the far-off
future — the 23rd century — human diversity would be fully accepted. “I think
many people took it into their hearts … that what was being said on TV at that
time was a reason to celebrate,” Nichols said in 1992 when a “Star Trek”
exhibit was on view at the Smithsonian Institution. She often recalled how
Martin Luther King Jr. was a fan of the show and praised her role. She met him
at a civil rights gathering in 1967, at a time when she had decided not to
return for the show’s second season. “When I told him I was going to miss my
co-stars and I was leaving the show, he became very serious and said, ‘You
cannot do that,’” she told The Tulsa (Okla.) World in a 2008 interview. “’You’ve
changed the face of television forever, and therefore, you’ve changed the minds
of people,’” she said the civil rights leader told her. “That foresight Dr.
King had was a lightning bolt in my life,” Nichols said.
During the
show’s third season, Nichols’ character and Shatner’s Capt. James Kirk shared
what was described as the first interracial kiss to be broadcast on a U.S.
television series. In the episode, “Plato’s Stepchildren,” their characters,
who always maintained a platonic relationship, were forced into the kiss by
aliens who were controlling their actions. The kiss “suggested that there was a
future where these issues were not such a big deal,” Eric Deggans, a television
critic for National Public Radio, told The Associated Press in 2018. “The characters
themselves were not freaking out because a Black woman was kissing a white man
… In this utopian-like future, we solved this issue. We’re beyond it. That was
a wonderful message to send.” Worried about reaction from Southern television
stations, showrunners wanted to film a second take of the scene where the kiss
happened off-screen. But Nichols said in her book, “Beyond Uhura: Star Trek and
Other Memories,” that she and Shatner deliberately flubbed lines to force the
original take to be used. Despite concerns, the episode aired without blowback.
In fact, it got the most “fan mail that Paramount had ever gotten on Star Trek
for one episode,” Nichols said in a 2010 interview with the Archive of American
Television.
Born Grace
Dell Nichols in Robbins, Illinois, Nichols hated being called “Gracie,” which
everyone insisted on, she said in the 2010 interview. When she was a teen, her
mother told her she had wanted to name her Michelle, but thought she ought to
have alliterative initials like Marilyn Monroe, whom Nichols loved. Hence,
“Nichelle.” Nichols first worked professionally as a singer and dancer in
Chicago at age 14, moving on to New York nightclubs and working for a time with
the Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton bands before coming to Hollywood for her
film debut in 1959’s “Porgy and Bess,” the first of several small film and TV
roles that led up to her “Star Trek” stardom. Nichols was known as being
unafraid to stand up to Shatner on the set when others complained that he was
stealing scenes and camera time. They later learned she had a strong supporter
in the show’s creator. In her 1994 book, “Beyond Uhura,” she said she met
Roddenberry when she guest starred on his show “The Lieutenant,” and the two
had an affair a couple of years before “Star Trek” began. The two remained
lifelong close friends. Another fan of Nichols and the show was future
astronaut Mae Jemison, who became the first Black woman in space when she flew
aboard the shuttle Endeavour in 1992. In an AP interview before her flight,
Jemison said she watched Nichols on “Star Trek” all the time, adding she loved
the show. Jemison eventually got to meet Nichols. Nichols’s regular appearances
at “Star Trek” conventions became limited starting in 2018 when her son
announced that she was suffering from advanced dementia.
^ This is so
sad. She was a great Actress. ^
Shelter Incentive
From Reuters:
“Brazilian
city's homeless get incentive for going to shelter: beds for their pets”
A small city
in southern Brazil has found a way to attract more homeless people to one of
its shelters on chilly winter nights: They now also take in people's pets. Canoas
-- a city with an estimated population of 348,000 in the state of Rio Grande do
Sul -- came to the realization that many people living on the streets avoided
staying at the city's 14 shelters during the Southern Hemisphere winter now
taking place because their pets were not welcome, said the city's animal
welfare special secretary, Fabiane Tomazi Borba. "Many times, they prefer
not to stay in a shelter, so as not to abandon their pets," the animal
care specialist said.
Homeless
people and their pets can now sleep under a roof and find shelter from the low
temperatures at the La Salle Sao Paulo school facilities, which can house up to
150 people per day. Machado de Lima has been sleeping at the shelter with his
dogs. "If I couldn't stay at the shelter, I would take them (dogs) to
sleep with me. They sleep with me in the street," he said.
Homeless
people receive an amenity kit containing items like soap, towels, toothbrush
and toothpaste, and are provided with breakfast and dinner. Their pets receive
a veterinary checkup. Animal care specialist Borba said pets are checked for
parasites, vaccinated and castrated or spayed. "They can live here with
their parents, sleep warm, healthily and with the guarantee that they will not
transmit any illness. So the perspective is to care for humans, but, also, for
pets," she said.
^ This
practice is one that every town and city across the globe needs to implement.
It helps both the Homeless Humans and the Homeless Pets. ^
Church's Genocide
From the CBC:
“Pope says
genocide took place at Canada's residential schools”
Pope Francis
described Canada's residential school system and its forced assimilation of
Indigenous children as genocide. Brock Pitawanakwat, the co-ordinator of the
Indigenous Studies program at York University, called the Pope's comments
'late,' but said they were an 'important development.' While the word genocide
wasn't heard in any of Pope Francis's addresses during a week-long trip to
Canada, on his flight back to Rome, he said everything he described about the
residential school system and its forced assimilation of Indigenous children
amounts to genocide. "I didn't use the word genocide because it didn't
come to mind but I described genocide," Pope Francis told reporters on the
papal flight from Iqaluit to Rome on Friday.
Over the last
week, the Pope visited Edmonton, Quebec City and Iqaluit on a "penitential
pilgrimage" of healing, reconciliation and hope between the Catholic
Church and Indigenous people. While addressing residential school survivors and
their families in Maskwacis, Alta., Francis expressed deep sorrow for harms
suffered at the church-run schools and asked for forgiveness "for the
wrong done by so many Christians to the Indigenous peoples." The Catholic
Church ran over half of the residential schools in Canada. More than 150,000
First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were forced to attend the
government-funded schools between the 1870s and 1997.
The Truth and
Reconciliation Commission, which released its final report in 2015, concluded
that the school system amounted to cultural genocide. Since 2021, when the
discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at former residential school sites
waved across the news, many are calling what had transpired more than cultural
genocide. Last year, NDP member of Parliament Leah Gazan made a failed bid for
Parliament to recognize the residential school experience as genocide, as she
believes it meets the definition of genocide drafted by the United Nations.
The United
Nations defines the term as a number of acts committed with the "intent to
destroy, in whole or in part, a national ethnical, racial or religious
group" such as killing members, inflicting bodily or mental harm to
members, deliberate physical destruction in whole or in part, imposing measures
intending to prevent births within a group, or forcibly transferring children
of the group to another group.
The National
Centre for Truth and Reconciliation in Winnipeg, which holds the records
gathered by the TRC, has documented 4,118 children who died at residential
schools thus far. In his multiple speeches over the week, Pope Francis
described the school system as a policy of assimilation and enfranchisement,
and that it harmed families by undermining their language, culture, and worldview.
"I condemned it, taking away children, changing culture, the mind,
traditions, a so-called race. A whole culture," Pope Francis told
reporters. "Yes, it's a technical word, genocide. I didn't use it because
it didn't come to mind. But yes, I described it. Yes, it's a genocide."
Rescinding
the Doctrine of Discovery Indigenous people from coast-to-coast-to-coast
have been calling for papal bulls that make up the Doctrine of Discovery to be
rescinded. The calls grew louder at each stop of the papal visit, with
arguments being made that the papal bulls, or edicts, are the root cause of
genocide against Indigenous peoples and laid the foundation for Canada to
establish assimilation policies like the residential school system. When
asked about issuing a statement on the Doctrine of Discovery, Francis did not
answer the question directly but talked about it as a doctrine of colonization.
"It's true, it's bad. It's unjust. Even today it's used," he
said. "That mentality, that we're superior and Indigenous people don't
count, that's why we have to work on … what was done that was bad, but with the
awareness that even today, that same colonialism exists."
Support is
available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools or by
the latest reports. A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been
set up to provide support for former students and those affected. People can access
emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis
line: 1-866-925-4419. Mental health counselling and crisis support is also
available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Hope for Wellness
hotline at 1-855-242-3310 or by online chat at www.hopeforwellness.ca.
^ The Pope’s visit
to Canada accomplished what it was supposed to – officially apologizing for
what the Catholic Church did to the Indigenous People especially regarding the
Residential Schools and to go to the places and to see some of the people that
were directly affected by the Church’s Actions.
I hope that
now the apology is made that the Catholic Church will do more to help the
victims and their families that suffered and continue to suffer from these past
traumas. Any records or information they have should be given to the Federal,
Provincial, Territorial and Tribal Governments. ^
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/pope-francis-residential-schools-genocide-1.6537203
Saturday, July 30, 2022
Changing Russian Aims
From the DW:
“Ukraine:
How Russia's war aims are changing”
(Firefighters
extinguish a fire in a shelled house in Bakhmut, Ukraine)
In the five
months since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, statements by Russian
representatives have repeatedly shifted the goalposts with regard to Moscow's
war aims. DW has this summary of the main changes. "We will help the
Ukrainian people get rid" of the absolutely anti-popular and anti-historic
regime," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a meeting of the Arab
League in Cairo, Egypt on July 24. As reported by Russia's TASS news agency,
Lavrov added: "We sympathize with the Ukrainian people, who deserve a much
better life." However, fewer than three months earlier, he had said
something very different: that Moscow's goal was to protect the people in the
Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Back then, he had maintained that the Kremlin
was not seeking a change of power in Kyiv.
DW has
compiled a summary of how statements on Moscow's war aims in Ukraine, made
by Russian President Vladimir Putin,
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and other Russian representatives, have shifted
over the past five months.
July:
'Geographical objectives' extended On July 20, Lavrov told the Russian
state news agency RIA Novosti and the Russian broadcaster RT that Moscow was
continuing to pursue its objective of "denazification, demilitarization in
the sense that there are no threats to our security or military threats from
the territory of Ukraine." This time, though, he added: "Now the
geography is different; it's far from being just the DPR and LPR [the
self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics], it's also Kherson and
Zaporizhzhia regions and a number of other territories." Lavrov did
not rule out expanding Russia's "geographical objectives" in the war
against Ukraine beyond the so-called People's Republics, adding that it made no
sense to negotiate with Ukraine "in the current situation." These
comments provoked very strong reactions in the Ukrainian media, which
speculated that Russia could be "preparing the ground for the annexation
of southern Ukraine."
May: 'The
goal is not regime change'
(Russia
initially said it was not seeking to overthrow Ukraine's President Zelenskyy;
recent statements suggest otherwise)
Just three
months before his July 24 statement in Cairo, Lavrov was still maintaining that
Russia was absolutely not trying to overthrow the President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy's government in Kyiv. "We are not demanding that he
surrender," Lavrov told Italian broadcaster Mediaset on May 1. "We
are demanding that he give the order to release all civilians and to stop
resisting. Our goal does not include regime change in Ukraine. This is the
specialty of the US. They do it all over the world," he said. In the same
interview, which was the first that he had given to European TV journalists
since the war began, he said that Russia's true objective was to "ensure
the safety of people in eastern Ukraine, so that they won't be threatened by
militarization and Nazification and that no threats against the Russian
Federation emanate from Ukrainian territory." Later, on May 31, at a meeting with Hissein
Ibrahim Taha, the secretary general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation,
Lavrov expressed the view that "Western colleagues" were exploiting
the situation in Ukraine to prevent the "emergence of a multipolar
world."
March and
April: Ukrainian neutrality; containing NATO
(Russian Defense
Minister Sergei Shoigu)
Immediately
after the start of the war, it was the alleged threat to Russia from the West —
and NATO in particular — that was the main focus of the speeches of Russian
politicians. They kept reiterating that Ukraine must be neutral, as that was
the only way to prevent it from joining NATO. Vladimir Putin also emphasized
this at a meeting with representatives of Russian airlines on March 5. He added
that, were there to be a conflict between Russia and NATO, everyone was aware
of what the consequences would be. A few days earlier, on March 1 — a week
after the start of the invasion — Russian
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had told the state-run RIA Novosti news
agency: "The main thing for us is to protect the Russian Federation from
the military threat posed by Western countries, who are trying to use the
Ukrainian people in the fight against our country." But toward the end of
March, after the failure of the Russian offensive against the Ukrainian
capital, Kyiv, there was a marked shift in Moscow's rhetoric.
"Denazification and demilitarization" receded into the background;
support for the Donbas, and conflict resolution through negotiation took
precedence. On March 25, for example, the deputy head of the General Staff of
the Russian Forces, Colonel General Sergei Rudskoi, stated at a briefing that
the "main goal [of the Russian special operation] is to provide assistance
to the people of the DNR and LNR, who have been subjected to genocide by the
Kiev [Kyiv] regime for eight years." to provide assistance to "the complete regime for eight
years."
In April,
however, Russian officials again switched their focus to confrontation with
NATO and the United States. On April 11, Sergey Lavrov told the Russian state
broadcaster Rossiya 24: "Our special military operation is designed to put
an end to the reckless expansion and reckless course toward total dominance of
the United States — and the other Western countries under it — in the
international arena." The West, he said, had turned Ukraine into "a
springboard for the final suppression and subordination of Russia" — and
he stressed that Russia would never accept a position subordinate to the West.
(Russian
troops guard an area near Melitopol where farmers are harvesting their grain.
Kyiv fears Russia is trying to annex part of southern Ukraine)
Dmitry
Medvedev, the deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, has also
spoken of preventing Ukraine from becoming a member of NATO. On June 29, he
told the Russian newspaper Argumenty i Fakty that this would be more dangerous
for Russia than Sweden and Finland joining the alliance. In the same interview,
he insisted that Crimea would be a part of Russia, forever. "Any attempt
to encroach on Crimea is a declaration of war against our country," he
warned. "And if this is done by a NATO member-state, this means conflict
with the entire North Atlantic alliance; a World War Three. A complete
catastrophe." Vladimir Putin had said the same in March, at his meeting
with airline representatives.
Feb. 24:
'Protecting the people of Donbas.' The supposed threat to Russia from
further eastward NATO expansion to the east was already a key theme of Putin's
televised address of February 24 announcing the Russian invasion, which he
described as a "special military operation." He said that "the
purpose of this operation is to protect people who, for eight years now, have
been facing humiliation and genocide perpetrated by the Kiev [Kyiv]
regime." This, he continued, was why Russia was "committed to the
demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine," pledging to "bring
to trial those who perpetrated numerous bloody crimes against civilians,
including against citizens of the Russian Federation." Putin also
declared: "It is not our plan to occupy Ukrainian territory. We do not
intend to impose anything on anyone by force."
^ Putin and
Russia have completely messed-up in Ukraine. In 5 months they have lost more
Russian Soldiers than in every previous Russian War since the Soviet Union
collapsed in 1991. The Russian War Crimes being committed in Ukraine against
innocent Ukrainian Men, Women and Children have only isolated Russia from the
world – except for other Dictatorships in China, Belarus, Africa, the Middle
East, South America and Asia.
Russia has
also Defaulted for the first time since 1918. Putin has become so paranoid with
the world, with ordinary Russians and with his own Advisors that he isolates
himself from everyone and lives in a bubble of make-believe.
Putin has had
to change his aims in Ukraine because his Military is not as well-trained or as
well-equipped as he thought they were and the Ukrainians have beaten the
Russians back from nearly every place.
The only way things will eventually end in Ukraine is with Russia being Defeated. ^
https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-how-russias-war-aims-are-changing/a-62632099
Jan Yoors
From US Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Facebook:
These
photographs are rare, intimate portraits of Romani life before World War II.
The photos
were taken in the 1930s by Jan Yoors, a Belgian non-Romani teenager who
befriended and traveled part time with a Lovara Romani family. They depict
lively scenes, such as men raising their glasses in a toast and children
leading a horse. Soon after these images were captured, life for Roma and Sinti
in Europe would become increasingly dangerous.
Roma and Sinti
would be targeted by the Nazi regime because they were considered to be
“asocial” and “racially inferior.” Throughout the Nazi era, tens of thousands
of Roma and Sinti were subjected to forced sterilization and imprisonment. The
Nazis and their allies and collaborators murdered between 250,000 and 500,000
Roma and Sinti during World War II.
Though Jan
stopped traveling with the Lovara family when he was 18, he maintained a
connection to the Romani people. In one of his memoirs, he described how,
during the war, he worked with the resistance recruiting Roma to help smuggle
food and arms to resistance fighters. He eventually fled to neutral Spain,
where he was imprisoned in the Miranda de Ebro camp.
While Jan
survived the war, it is believed that a majority of Jan’s Romani friends were
killed.
Friday, July 29, 2022
No Ties
From the BBC:
“Spain
heatwave: PM tells workers to stop wearing ties to save energy”
Spanish Prime
Minister Pedro Sanchez has called on workers in the public and private sector
to stop wearing ties, as an energy saving measure in the heat. Mr Sanchez said
his government will adopt "urgent" energy-saving measures on Monday
as European countries strive to become less dependent on Russian gas in the
wake of the war in Ukraine. On Friday, temperatures reached 36C (96.8 F) in
Madrid and 39C in Seville. Over the past few weeks Europe has experienced
record-high temperatures. At a news conference in Madrid, Mr Sanchez pointed
out that he wasn't wearing a tie - and said he wanted his ministers, public
officials, and workers in the private sector to do the same. "This means
that we can all save energy", he added. The prime minister said the move
will ensure people stay cooler and therefore lower energy costs, because air
conditioners will be used less often.
Spain is not
the first to take this move. In 2011, Japan introduced its "Super Cool
Biz" campaign, which encouraged office workers to wear cooler clothes in
summer. And during sweltering temperatures in the UK recently, politicians were
told they could ditch their suit jackets while in the House of Commons. Mr
Sanchez's government is working on an energy-saving decree, which is expected
to be approved on Monday. It includes a move to encourage businesses to keep
their doors closed where possible, to prevent air conditioning from escaping. A
similar rule was introduced in France earlier this week.
The measures
are part of the European Commission's €210bn (£176bn) plan to boost renewable
energy and reduce European countries' dependency on Russian gas following its
invasion of Ukraine. Germany is following suit, with one of its cities,
Hanover, announcing that it would only offer cold showers in public pools and
sports centres. Extremely high temperatures over the past couple of weeks have
led governments across the world to reconsider their energy usage - from an
environmental and cost saving perspective. Heatwaves have become more frequent,
more intense, and last longer because of human-induced climate change. The
world has already warmed by about 1.1C since the industrial era began and temperatures
will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to
emissions. As well as increasing energy costs, recent heatwaves have led to
more than 500 deaths in Spain over the past two weeks. The World Health
Organization said Europe's most recent heatwave has led to "needless
deaths".
^ Forget the
heat wave this is just someone trying to be “too cool for school.” ^
FedEx Again
FedEx sent me an e-mail saying they had delivered my package today. I checked all around my property and didn't see anything. I then drove off my Mountain and 3 Streets away to my mailbox and saw my package sitting between my mailbox and someone else's mailbox.
This is not
the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or even 4th time this has happened. In fact in March 2022
they left a package in the snow and mud and I complained and was given the
local FedEx's Manager's Number - which I called today.
He is out
until Monday, but I made another complaint and said I wanted him to call me
about this.
UPS seems to
manage to figure out how to deliver to my house (they came today at Noon) so I
don't know why FedEx is so dumb.
He's My Brother
From Disability Scoop:
“PBS
Documentary Explores Shortcomings Of Disability Support System”
(Christine
Hanberg with her brother Peter in the documentary "He’s My Brother,"
which airs next month on PBS.)
What happens
when a family is left to care for an adult who is deaf, blind and has autism
without support? That’s the focus of a new documentary that’s set to premiere
on national television. The 60-minute film “He’s My Brother” follows
co-director Christine Hanberg and her family as they look at what their future
holds with her brother Peter, 31, who has multiple disabilities. Until five
years ago, Peter attended a day center, but when it closed, his care fell
completely on his family. Peter’s mother quit her job to care for him full time
while his father works and Christine helps as much as she can. “Weeks and
months went on, so I grabbed the camera and started filming because I could not
comprehend how much responsibility we as relatives have to take when the system
fails,” Christine Hanberg said. “Now, seven years have gone by and we still
haven’t gotten any help at all. Not even one offer for day care for Peter and I
see so many people struggling with the broken system.”
Christine
Hanberg notes that Denmark, where her family lives, has one of the richest
welfare states in the world, but still fails to help people like Peter. The
documentary shows how Peter experiences life through touch, smell and taste and
explores Christine’s worries about becoming her brother’s primary caregiver
when her parents are gone. “It happens all over the world,” she said. “I hope
that our film can start a discussion about basic human rights for people with
disabilities and about how big a responsibility we as relatives should take.
For my part, I will be there for my brother anytime. But what about those who
do not have the opportunity or the time in their lives? If the system doesn’t
help. Who will, then?”
“He’s My
Brother” will have its national broadcast premiere Aug. 1 on POV on PBS and
will stream for free at pbs.org and on the PBS Video app until Sept. 1.
^ I am really
interested in seeing this. ^
5 Soldiers
From Stand With Ukraine’s Facebook:
On July 24, five
Ukrainian soldiers arrived in the United States to receive medical treatment,
prosthetic legs and undergo rehabilitation at a Minnesota medical facility.
The next day,
July 25, to the surprise of the doctors and medical staff, the young men were
up and about, walking around the hospital without assistance, greeting the
nurses and interns with smiles and victory signals.
The trip was
made possible by the Protez Foundation, a local organization that launched
Prosthetics for Ukrainians. They are now helping Ukrainian children, soldiers
and civilians who have lost limbs because of the war get free prosthetics in
the United States.
The idea was
initiated by Yakov Gradinar of Limb Lab, a Minnesota-based orthotics and
prosthetics service.
KSAR: Joni
From Kabul Small Animal Hospital’s Facebook:
Baby Joni is
woozy from the pain medicine, but has an appetite and has tried to hobble
around a little. She has a crack in her femur and it looks to be on the (very
low quality) x-rays slightly dislocated, but she's a tiny puppy and age is on
her side here, so with rest, pain management, and physiotherapy, we are hoping
she's able to recover the use of her leg. In the meantime, she'll be treated
gently and fed everything her little body needs. We are grateful for all the
support, and to those who call in these emergencies.
^ Kabul Small
Animal Hospital, run by American Charlotte Maxwell-Jones continues to help
abandoned and hurt animals throughout Afghanistan nearly 1 year after the US
fled and the Taliban took over.
The KSAR currently has 250 animals (dogs,
cats, birds, sheep, etc.) in their rescue in Kabul. Besides evacuating 300
animals to Canada recently they also offer a 24 hour Veterinary Clinic treating
owned and stray animals – regardless of ability to pay.
To help with
all of this they have Veterinarians, Vet techs, Support Staff and 60 Animal
Caretakers. KAR continues to help both animals and humans in Kabul despite all
the Internal Restrictions and the International Restrictions placed on them.
Please click
on the link to donate or share:
Thank you. ^
The Stermers
From Untold Stories of the Holocaust’s Facebook:
(The Stermer
Family)
The Germans
invaded Ukraine in 1941, and they began to order Jews to the ghettos. Esther
Stermer, the matriarch of her family, refused to bring her family into the
ghettos. The Stermers lived in Korolowka when the Nazis arrived in fall of
1942. The Gestapo began to force the Jews of the city into trucks to transport
them to the concentration camps. Over the next few weeks, the Germans found the
remaining Jews left in the city and forced them to dig their graves before
killing them.
The Stermers
and five families fled the town in the middle of the night and found shelter in
a cave. For a year and a half, the families lived underground, hiding from the
Germans. In all, thirty-eight people were living in the cave. They stayed
hidden during the day, and they would come out at night for food and supplies.
Eventually, the Germans found the cave in which they were hiding.
(The cave they
hid in)
When the
Germans found the cave, Esther confronted the soldiers. She reportedly said,
“What are you afraid of here? The Fuhrer is going to lose the war because we
live here?” The German SS soldiers left the cave and never came back. When the
Russians liberated Ukraine in 1944, the families were able to come out of
hiding.
The Stermers
and the five other families successfully remained in hiding for eighteen
months, the longest underground survival event in history. After the war,
Esther Stermer wrote a memoir of their experiences called We Fight to Survive.
Thursday, July 28, 2022
Situation In Ukraine
From the BBC:
“Ukraine
war in maps: Tracking the Russian invasion”
Ukraine is
stepping up its operations to recapture occupied territory as Russian forces
continue attempts to advance in the east.
Here are
the latest developments:
Ukrainian
forces attempting to retake southern city of Kherson
Russian troops
there are "virtually cut off" after bridge attack
In the east,
Russian forces are trying to advance in Donetsk
Ukraine's
second largest power station reportedly captured
Meanwhile,
work to resume grain exports from Odesa is underway
Ukraine on
offensive in south
A
counter-offensive by Ukrainian troops in the south of the country is
"gathering momentum" around the occupied city of Kherson, according
to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). Ukraine's forces have been using new
long-range artillery to target bridges across the Dnipro River and the MoD said
that two recent attacks on the Antonivskiy Bridge in Kherson have left Russian
troops "virtually cut off". Kherson was the first city in Ukraine to
be taken by Russian forces after their invasion in February. The MoD said its
loss would "severely undermine Russia's attempts to paint the occupation
as a success". In the southern port of Odesa, which has remained under
Ukrainian control throughout the conflict, officials have said they are working
to resume grain exports after an agreement was reached with Russia last week. Under
the deal, Russia agreed not to target ports while grain was in transit, while
Ukraine pledged to guide cargo ships through waters that have been mined. However,
the agreement was thrown into chaos less than 24 hours after the deal was
signed, when two Russian missiles targeted the port in Odesa.
Russia
edging forward in east
Russian
officials have said their forces are fighting for the "complete
liberation" of the Donbas, which broadly refers to Ukraine's eastern
regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, where Russian-backed separatists held
significant territory before the invasion. Russian forces now control all of
the Luhansk region and they are continuing to make small advances in the
Donetsk region. Having captured the strategically important cities of
Severodonetsk and Lysychansk in recent weeks, Russian troops are now focussing
the efforts in the region on the nearby cities of Siversk and Bakhmut. The
Russians say they have now taken control of Ukraine's second-largest power
station in the nearby town of Svitlodarsk. Seizing the Soviet-era coal-fired
Vuhlehirsk plant would be the first strategic gain for Russian forces in more
than three weeks. But the offensives in this area are the only operations that
the Russians appear able to sustain in Ukraine at the moment, according to the
Institute for the Study of War (ISW), with their resources stretched by the
Ukrainian counter-offensive in Kherson and another around Izyum.
Western
weapons boost Ukraine
President
Volodomyr Zelensky has called on Western countries to send Ukraine more
weapons, telling a recent meeting of Nato that his forces needed "much
more modern systems" to help them "break the Russian artillery advantage".
Several Western shipments of heavy weaponry - such as US multiple rocket launch
systems - have made it to the front line in recent weeks, allowing Ukraine to
attack from greater range. Retired British Army officer General Sir Richard
Barrons told the BBC that he had no doubt that the arrival of "some
Western weapons has made a difference" to the Ukrainian side. He said
Ukraine's new longer-range weapons had forced Russia to "reorganise how
they operate" but he warned that there was "still a long way to go"
in the conflict. Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, but Ukrainian forces
retook large areas around Kyiv in early April after Russia abandoned its push
towards the capital. Areas in the west of the country, including Lviv, have
seen missile attacks but no attempt by Russian forces to take and occupy
ground. The Russians have suffered heavy losses since the invasion began and significant
quantities of Russian weaponry have also been destroyed or captured.
^ Here’s
hoping Ukraine is successful in retaking Kherson and all the other currently
Russian-Occupied parts of Ukraine. Putin, his Nazi Zs and Russia needs to be
defeated for the good of the whole planet. ^
JetBlue Wins
From Reuters:
“JetBlue
wins Spirit takeover battle with $3.8 billion deal”
Spirit
Airlines Inc on Thursday agreed to a $3.8 billion buyout offer from low-cost
rival JetBlue Airways Corp, ending a drawn-out battle for the carrier whose
acquisition would help create the fifth-largest U.S. airline. The victory for
JetBlue comes after Spirit canceled its $2.7 billion sale to Frontier Group
Holdings, but the potential combination is expected to kick off a fight with
antitrust regulators. JetBlue's offer price of at least $33.50 per share
represents a premium of nearly 38% to the last closing price of Spirit shares.
Including a "ticking fee", or small monthly payments to Spirit
shareholders from January next year until the deal is completed, the offer can
go up to $34.15 per share Spirit shares were up nearly 5% before the bell as
investors cheered the end of a takeover saga that began in April. JetBlue rose
1%, while Frontier was 1.6% higher.
Both carriers
were locked in a bidding war to create a combined airline that will better
compete with legacy U.S. carriers at a time when the industry faces a labor
crunch and high jet fuel costs. Spirit had in February agreed to a $2.9 billion
offer from Frontier before JetBlue jumped into the fray with in April. Despite
JetBlue's better terms, Spirit had pushed for a merger with Bill Franke
backed-Frontier, citing antitrust concerns with a potential JetBlue tie-up. But
it could not muster investor support for the deal and was forced to delay a
shareholder vote on the proposed acquisition four times. At the latest meet
that was set for Thursday, Spirit shareholders were expected to vote against a
merger with Frontier, Reuters reported. Spirit canceled the merger with
Frontier without giving details on results of the shareholder meet. The outcome
is a setback for Franke, who was instrumental in starting the talks with Spirit
last year. Franke's airline-focused buyout firm, Indigo Partners, is a major
shareholder in Frontier.
^ I hope this
merger goes through. Spirit Airlines is one hot mess (even before Covid) and I
refused to fly them. I have flown JetBlue before and enjoyed it. Unfortunately,
Spirit Airlines flies at my closest airport and JetBlue doesn’t. Now JetBlue
should. ^
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/spirit-airlines-agrees-bought-jetblue-103549435.html
Only 1 Choice: Ukraine
From Military.com:
“Future of
US Support for Ukraine at Stake as GOP Grapples with Rift Over Aid”
As the war in
Ukraine enters its sixth month and shows no signs of abating, a Republican rift
is growing over U.S. military support for Ukraine's fight against Russian
invaders. Which side of the GOP wins out could determine the extent of U.S. aid
going forward if Republicans win control of Congress in November's midterm
elections, as political forecasters are predicting will happen. On one side, a
small yet vocal faction of the Republican party that opposes the aid is getting
noisier, warning they will fight to cut off the support if the GOP wins in
November. On the other side are the more hawkish voices in the party that are
taking the opposite stance -- that the Biden administration has been too
cautious in providing military aid and needs to ship more advanced weapons more
quickly to give Ukraine any chance of winning. Some from both camps are
suggesting that U.S. military advisers enter the country to monitor weapons
shipments in a move that could put American troops in harm's way.
For now,
bipartisan support remains strong for the billions of dollars in U.S. weapons
that have been flowing into Ukraine, and some House lawmakers in both parties
sought to downplay the prospect of aid drying up after November as they emerged
Wednesday from a closed-door briefing on Ukraine with administration officials.
"We've seen bipartisan support for Ukraine's fight for freedom," Rep.
Michael Waltz, R-Fla., who was part of a bipartisan congressional delegation
that went to Kyiv over the weekend, said after Wednesday's briefing with Under
Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl; director of operations for the
Joint Staff Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims II; and other officials.
Still, amid
domestic concerns such as inflation, Waltz added that "we constantly need
to talk about why this is in our interest." The last time Congress voted
on Ukraine aid -- a $40 billion military and humanitarian aid package approved
in May -- 57 House Republicans and 11 Senate Republicans voted against it. While
a minority in their party, those Republicans are digging in with vows to cut
off U.S. assistance to Ukraine if their party wins control of Congress in
November. When Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., tweeted earlier this month that
"if the Republicans take over the House in 2022 US support to Ukraine will
come to a halt," Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., replied that "Ruben is
correct." Democrats have seized on such comments to warn about fractures
in the bipartisan support that Ukraine aid has garnered since the start of the
war. "I worry about rhetoric in the Republican primaries, from the MAGA
right, from the extreme right," Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., a Marine
Corps veteran, said Wednesday, referencing former President Donald Trump's
"Make America Great Again" slogan. "It was [Republican Senate
nominee] J.D. Vance in Ohio who notoriously said, 'I don't care what happens to
Ukraine.' And Tucker Carlson, who's the spokesman for the extreme right, who
has queried repeatedly why we're contesting Ukraine with Vladimir Putin." But
Auchincloss also gave "great credit [to] a lot of Republicans in Congress,
[who] have stood up to the extreme right and they have said, 'No, this is going
to be bipartisan.'"
After failing
in its initial goal of quickly seizing Kyiv, Russia has been finding more
success in the eastern Donbas region, where it has been wearing Ukrainian
forces down with a barrage of artillery fire. The West has responded by upping
its military support for Ukrainian forces with heavier weaponry, including High
Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, from the U.S. military, that has
been credited with slowing Russia's advance. Most recently, the Biden
administration announced another $270 million weapons package last week that
included up to 580 Phoenix Ghost explosive drones. And, after resisting calls
from Ukrainian leaders and U.S. lawmakers early in the invasion to provide
Ukraine with U.S. military aircraft, Air Force officials have begun expressing
more openness to the idea. Some Republicans are walking a tightrope on the
issue of aid. Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, a former Navy officer who voted
against Ukraine aid in May, said Wednesday he would support funding if U.S.
military advisers were on the ground in Ukraine ensuring the aid is used
properly, something he readily acknowledged risks mission creep. "We'll
have to wait and see what happens," Jackson said when asked whether he
expects his party to scale back support for Ukraine if it wins in the midterms.
"I think it's important to support them to the extent we can, but we can't
spend our entire national treasure in a war over there. There has to be a
balance." Waltz, who is on the side that the Biden administration has
moved too slowly and is only helping Ukraine "play for a tie" and
"lose slowly," also backed the idea of putting U.S. "logistics
planners and operations planners" in Ukraine to provide oversight of the
aid. "This is the largest military aid package since World War II,"
Waltz said Wednesday when asked whether putting advisers on the ground risks
pulling the United States deeper into the war. "There are literally
billions of dollars of equipment going in. We're pushing it over the border,
and we're essentially blind as to where it's going, who's utilizing it. So to
me, it's just responsible oversight."
Mindful of
Russia's advantage in a war of attrition and the potential for the West to lose
interest in a prolonged conflict regardless of who's in power in Washington,
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on the United States and its
allies to help bring the war to a close soon. "We can achieve a lot of
things before the end of the year, and we can stop this war," Zelenskyy
said in an interview with CNN earlier this month. In the meantime, lawmakers
who support arming Ukraine are warning the war is reaching a critical stage
that could require an evolution in U.S. support. "The next phase of this
war will require longer-range munitions, more sophisticated drones and a closer
connection with advisers provided by the United States and others," Rep.
Jason Crow, D-Colo., said Wednesday. "We don't necessarily need to send
advisers into Ukraine. There's ways that we can provide that support. But we
need to help the Ukrainians evolve the sophistication of their military as they
look at potentially conducting counteroffensives this fall as President
Zelenskyy has publicly talked about. That's a different type of operation that
requires different types of military training and planning."
^ Supporting
Ukraine is not about being a Republican or being a Democrat. It is not about
being a Liberal or being a Conservative. It is not about being pro-America.
Supporting Ukraine is about being against Genocide.
There can be
no more question about whether to support Ukraine over supporting Russia. The
Russian War Crimes in Ukraine (ie. the Bucha Massacre) got rid of that argument
long ago. You are either for human life (and support Ukraine) or against human
life (and support Russia.) There is no Grey Line.
If the
Republicans or the Democrats do not continue to support Ukraine (with words,
actions and funding) then they are supporting Russia’s War Crimes and are just
as guilty as the Russians themselves. ^
Cuomo On News Nation
From News Nation:
“‘We need
insurgent media:’ Chris Cuomo to join NewsNation”
Former CNN
anchor Chris Cuomo took swipes at America’s divided “binary” media and pledged
to “try very hard to be fair” on his new prime-time talk show on NewsNation
that will premiere in the fall. The
announcement of the new show came during Cuomo’s interview with NewsNation’s
Dan Abrams, his first media interview since being ousted from CNN in December.
He said he saw a need for more down-the-middle political coverage during his
break from national TV. “We need this
right now because this binary system is killing us. And the media is trapped in
it very often. You can’t be criticizing the game that you are a part of,” he
said.
Cuomo’s
brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, was accused last year by multiple
women of sexual assault. The anchor was fired from his role at CNN after text
messages released by the New York attorney general last year showed he had
communicated with his brother’s advisers and relayed what he heard from sources
regarding their coverage of the former governor.
In the months
since being fired, Chris Cuomo launched “The Chris Cuomo Project,” a podcast
intended to present his “signature take on today’s pressing current events —
and explores how these stories are being covered by all sides of the media.” After
his ouster from CNN, he said he couldn’t go back to the major TV networks, “to
what people see as the big game.” “I
don’t think I can make a difference there. I think we need insurgent media. I
think we need outlets that aren’t fringe and just trying to fill their
pockets,” he said. “I’m going to go where the news is, and I’m going to try
very hard to be fair.”
Some of the topics
he said he intends to cover on his new show include ranked choice voting,
multi-party systems and pushing purple states, where Republicans and Democrats
are competitive, to apportion their electors. He said he believes citizens
“deserve to have people who present regular and reasonable opportunities” in
the media. “My schtick is having no
schtick,” he said. “I love confrontation. I love friction. And I think that I
can be helpful in those moments because I’m not here to hurt anybody. I’m not
here to take anybody down.” In the early
months of the pandemic, Cuomo interviewed his brother, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo,
on his show multiple times. He told Abrams that he felt he was subjected to a
“purity test” by the rest of the media during an “emergency.” “Everything I know about the situation tells
me that of course there’s a conflict of interest but people got that,” he said.
“Nobody thought I was interviewing my brother the way I was interviewing other
people. That wasn’t the point or purpose of those things.” When
asked if he was going to be more transparent on his new show, he replied: “I’d
like to say yes, because it’s a good sell. But I’ve always been that way. I
really don’t fake the funk.”
^ This is extremely
sad to hear. I looked to News Nation as one of the better and unbiased media
outlets, but after adding Cuomo I am not so sure anymore. I have no plans to
listen to anything he has to say and will be more skeptical of News Nation from
now on. ^
https://www.newsnationnow.com/danabramslive/chris-cuomo-joining-newsnation/
Wednesday, July 27, 2022
2 Tales
A Tale of Two Countries:
Tale 1:
Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska with her Husband Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy taken by Annie Leibovitz in Kyiv, Ukraine in July 2022.
Tale 2:
Russian Dictator Vladimir Putin taken by a Russian Cameraman who is probably
conscripted to fight in Ukraine against his will in Moscow, Russia in 2022.
One Tale shows
youth and love despite a War. The other shows loneliness and hate because of a
War.
Undersea Pickles
I have a
Friend who told me they believed that Pickles came from under the sea and you
had to dive down to get them. They didn't realize they were made from
Cucumbers.
Tuesday, July 26, 2022
Peljesac Bridge
Croatia opened
the Pelješac Bridge today. It now allows unrestricted access from every
location inside Croatia to Dubrovnik (without having to go through Bosnia and
Herzegovina.)
When my Mom
and I visited Croatia in December 2010 we flew from Zagreb into Dubrovnik. We
then took several day trips from our hotel in Dubrovnik to other parts of
Croatia and most of the time we had to go through multiple Border Checkpoints and
got lots of Immigration Stamps in our Passports.
Example: When
we went by car and Driver from Dubrovnik to another part of Croatia we had go through
Exit Immigration in Croatia and then Entry Immigration in Bosnia then after a
few miles go through Exit Immigration in Bosnia and Entry Immigration in
Croatia (and do the reverse when we went back to the hotel.) For that 1 day
trip we went through 8 Border Checkpoints and got 8 Immigration Stamps.
We got many
Immigration Stamps and went through many Border Checkpoints that trip (the UK,
Germany, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro.)
Back when we
went Croatia wasn’t part of the EU (they joined in 2013) so now the Croatian
Border with Bosnia is even more important and takes even longer to pass
through. Hopefully, this new bridge will allow for people to come and go from
Dubrovnik to the rest of Croatia without any more border hassles or waits.
It also still
allows Bosnia water access through their only port Neum.
Russia Pulls Out
From the BBC:
“Russia to
pull out of International Space Station”
Russia says it
will withdraw from the International Space Station (ISS) after 2024 and build
its own station instead. The new head of Russia's space agency, Yuri Borisov,
said Roskosmos would honour all its obligations until then. The US and Russia,
along with other partners, have successfully worked together on the ISS since
1998. But relations have soured since Russia invaded Ukraine, and Russia
previously threatened to quit the project because of Western sanctions against
it. The ISS - a joint project involving five space agencies - has been in orbit
around Earth since 1998 and has been used to conduct thousands of scientific
experiments. It is approved to operate until 2024, but the US wants to extend
that for six more years with the agreement of all partners. At a meeting with
Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Mr Borisov said the decision had been taken
to quit the project after 2024 "I
think that by this time we will start putting together a Russian orbital
station," Mr Borisov said, adding that the new station was his agency's
top priority. "Good," replied Mr Putin. It is not immediately clear
what the decision means for the future of the ISS, with a senior Nasa official
telling Reuters that the US agency had not been officially informed of Russia's
plans.
Analysis
box by Jonathan Amos, science correspondent The Russians have been making
noises about withdrawal for some time but it's not clear how serious they are.
They've talked about building their own outpost - the Russian Orbital
Service Station - but it would require a financial commitment the Russian
government has not shown to the country's existing space exploits. Certainly,
Russian elements on the ISS are ageing but the view of engineers is that the
modules can do a job through to 2030. If Russia does leave, there's no
question it would be problematic. The station is designed in a way that makes
the partners dependent on each other. The US side of the ISS provides
the power; the Russian side provides the propulsion and keeps the platform from
falling to Earth. If that propulsive capability is withdrawn, the US and
its other partners - Europe, Japan and Canada - will need to devise other means
of periodically boosting the station higher in the sky. It's something American
robotic freighters could do.
Cooperation on
the ISS between Russia and the US had appeared relatively unharmed by the war
in Ukraine, with the two countries signing an agreement earlier this month to
allow Russian cosmonauts to travel to the station on US spacecraft and vice
versa. The agreement would "promote the development of cooperation within
the framework of the ISS programme", a Roskosmos statement said. However,
the war has hit other areas of cooperation between Russia and the West. The
European Space Agency (ESA) has ended its collaboration with Roskosmos to
launch a rover to Mars, and Russia has stopped launches of its Soyuz spacecraft
from an ESA launch site in French Guiana.
The Soviet
Union and Russia have a long history of space exploration, and accomplishments
such as putting the first man in space in 1961 remain a source of national
pride. In his meeting with Mr Putin, Roskosmos head Mr Borisov said the new
Russian space station would provide Russia with space-based services needed for
modern life, for example navigation and data transmission.
^ This is no
surprise. I would be more surprised if Russia is able to make their own Space
Station despite the International Sanctions and its Default. ^
War Paws
From War Paws:
“Current
Fundraisers”
LUNA WANTS
TO COME HOME, CAN YOU HELP?
The lovely,
cute Luna arrived with us in June and is currently staying in the lovely
boarding facility we use for the dogs who have owners. Her dad desperately wants to bring her home
and has already paid a chunk of her ticket home but we need your help to get
her to full target. Luna has the most
beautiful eyes and she is a typical happy puppy full of love and waggy tail and
she really does deserve to come home and be reunited with her dad and new doggy
siblings, can you help? Her dad tells her story below: have been working in
Iraq since 2015 and always had a site companion any looked after them. My
current site has a few dogs and we have had numerous litters over the last 2
years and they always get removed from site after becoming a nuisance to some
of the residents on site with barking through the night and mess. I have taken
a particular shine to Luna as she turned up and sat at my office. She has the
most beautiful eyes. As soon as I saw her I took her in and have been feeding
and training her. My family all love her and I am desperate to get her home to
the UK to be with my family
HAWKEYE
(BREAGHA) NEEDS YOUR HELP
This is
Hawkeye, she arrived at the shelter in Iraq a few months ago, a pitiful sight,
skin and bone. She quickly learned that
life could be good after all, with lots
of love, attention and food and now she has a golden opportunity to come and
live in Scotland with one of our amazing War Paws supporters. Her new mom has
written about why she wants to bring Hawkeye (soon to be known as Breagha) home
to Scotland “Breagha (pronounced Bree-aah – Scottish Gaelic for beautiful) At
our 5 acre Highland Croft in Scotland we have lost three of our beloved dog
pack to old age in recent weeks. We believe the greatest tribute you can pay to
a much loved departed soul, is to give their space to one that really needs it
and Hawkeye deserves a life of freedom, love and care after a rotten start in
life with her chain embedded in her neck as a mere puppy. Thanks to War Paws
her fortune can completely change now. To help her “come home” we need your
help. Once she is here she will have the best life – friends, good food,
companionship and everything a beautiful girl could ask for, but first we need
to secure her travel. Will you help our wee beauty travel to Scotland? We will be extremely grateful, and so will
Breagha
PLEASE HELP
LOKIE TO COME HOME
Lokie was born
on a gas facility in Basrah about 18 months ago. She never really fitted in with the rest of
the pack dogs and as a result was attacked many times. Thankfully for Lokie a kind contractor on the
facility took her in and offered her safe shelter and the time has now come for
him to take her home. Lokie arrived with us in Erbil early June, she had been
spayed by a local vet in Basrah and was suffering from an infection at the
incision site but we were able to get that sorted out quickly and she is now
settled into the boarding facility where she will be looked after until she is
ready to be reunited with her dad. Lokie’s dad has already covered approx half
of her costs and we are now hoping that you can help us to spread the word and
raise the remainder. We only need to
raise £2500 and just as soon as she has passed the FAVN blood testing and completed
the 3 month waiting time we can get her on a freedom flight home. Please share
Lokie’s fundraiser, lets help this lovely girl to come home and see that there
is a wonderful life ahead of her after such a rough start.
AID FOR
UKRAINE ANIMALS
17 July 2022
Update: We are sorry….we have been not so great at keeping this fundraiser
updated so here we are with a long awaited update! In June we suffered the
unexpected loss of our rescue partner Dogbus, when the founder of the org,
Kris, passed away unexpectedly. Kris had
been instrumental in making this project happen and she is missed beyond belief
but we will continue the project that she poured blood sweat and tears into, we
will not fail her or the many dogs she helped to rescue. It has been crazy busy
at the shelter in Romania that is currently home to 97 dogs most of whom were
rescued from Ukraine. Louise did a very
quick 3 days trip to Romania a few weeks ago to start the process of titre
testing with the lovely Romanian vet who is taking care of the medical needs of
our dogs. In 3 days we managed to get
the bloods drawn for 77 of the 97 dogs and those samples are now at the lab in
the UK and we hope to start seeing the results in about a week. Some of the dogs at the shelter are actually
Romanian so as soon as we have the titre tests back we will be working with
European Rescues to find them fosters and placements as the British government
extended the ban until September, on animals from Ukraine, Romania, Poland and
Belarus a few days ago and we simply do not expect the ban to just go
away. The dogs who came from Ukraine who
have had their titres done will remain at the shelter in Romania until the 3
month wait time has passed and the can be moved legally. There has been some
major renovations going on at the shelter on Romania, a new kennel block is
being built, a quarantine section for new arrivals is being built and in time
an onsite clinic will be built. As well
as all this we have been ensuring weekly vet visits to the shelter, making sure
every dog is vaccinated, chipped, treated for internal and external parasites
and blood tests for all the usual illnesses we see from the EU and Ukraine
regions. As well as this we have funded another food transport run to Poland
and we have also provided life saving funding for Odessa Cat Crew to help them
keep going with the many cats and dogs in their care in Ukraine. Your donations
have been hard at work and we are more grateful than you can imagine but as
expected we have seen a steep decline in donations for the animals of Ukraine,
we understand, the cost of living crisis is kicking butt all over the world but
we want you to know we will not give up, your support is making a difference
and we will ensure these dogs are cared for and we would ask that you continue
to share our fundraiser even if you cannot donate.
GIVE A
QUID, SAVE A LIFE CAMPAIGN
.jpg)
Can you spare
just £1 a month to help an animal in a war torn country? You may not think that
just £1 makes a difference but it really DOES make the world of difference to
an animal in need, especially when lots of people give just £1 each month. Most
of us will treat ourselves to a bar of chocolate, snack, a takeout coffee etc
at least once a month and often this comes in at more than £1. Imagine the
difference it would make if we could get 10,000 people to give £1 a month just
by giving up 1 cup of coffee or 1 bar of chocolate or other snack each month
and donating that money to War Paws instead.
£1 will feed 2
dogs for a day
£1 will pay
for 5 Needles and Syringes needed to administer life saving vaccines
£1 will pay
for 1 dog or cat to be treated for worms
£1 will pay
for a 1 week course of Amoxicillin for a sick dog or cat
£1 will pay
for a bandage for an injured dog or cat
The list of
things that £1 will pay for or help to pay for is endless so YES your £1 does
make a difference to an animal in need. Each month we are aiming to get at
least 1000 new donors who will give £1 a month, will you be one of those
amazing people who helps us to make the difference for the forgotten animals of
war? It only takes a minute to sign up, your donations are 100% secure and we
never sell your details to third parties. Please sign up now and save the life
of a forgotten animal of war.
^ War Paws helps
animals and pets that have been abandoned as well as animals and pets that have
Owners and need to eb reunited with them. These are their current Fundraisers. Please click on the link below to share, donate (in US Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Australian Dollars, Euros and British Pounds) or both. Thank you. ^
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