Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Flooding: 1

Ukrainians trying to survive under Russian Bullets and Flood Waters - June 7, 2023.






Koda's Mission Helping

Koda’s Mission's Helping With Flooding



Koda's Mission is going to help the people and animals (cats, dogs, horses, etc.) affected by the Russians destroying the Dam in southern Ukraine.

Koda's Mission is run by a German Guy, Yannick Böge, who left his home in Hamburg when the Russians invaded in 2022 to help save Ukrainian animals.

He runs a shelter on the Ukrainian-Polish Border (on the Ukrainian Side.)

He goes around Ukraine to rescue animals as well as to bring food and medicines to the people that need them for their animals.

He was in Bucha, Ukraine seeing what the Russians did during the Bucha Massacre when he found a stray dog, whom, he rescued and named Koda (or Koda's Mission.)

Please take a look at his Website.

https://kodasmission.com/donate/

He also has a Facebook Page and gives updates on "Story" - in English.

Mitch Rossell

From Hollywood Life/MSN:

“Mitch Rossell: 5 Things To Know About The Country Singer Auditioning For ‘AGT’”


Mitch Rossell could very well be the next country superstar. Get to know the singer hitting the ‘AGT’ stage during the June 6 episode. Mitch is auditioning for AGT season 18. Mitch suffered a terrible tragedy at a young age. Mitch has toured with Garth Brooks. Mitch Rossell’s heartfelt audition will probably bring a tear to your eye. The country singer is taking the America’s Got Talent stage during the second round of auditions on June 6. After watching the early preview, Mitch has what it takes to go the distance in the competition. So, who is Mitch Rossell? The 35-year-old from east Tennessee is already making a name for himself in the world of country music. Here’s everything you need to know about Mitch.

Mitch performs an original song for his audition. Before he performs, Mitch tells the judges that this is a “true story about my life.” The judges are very impressed with his performance. “I love every part of that. I love your voice. I love the song,” Simon Cowell says. “It was sincere.” Mitch revealed to the judges that the “ultimate dream is just to reach my potential.”

Mitch’s father passed away when he was 10. His father died in a drunk driving accident, as well as his grandfather and grandmother-in-law. His grandfather was driving one way, and his dad was driving the other. A drunk driver hit his grandfather’s car, sending him into his father’s lane. Mitch was just 10 years old when his family members died. He admitted that the next few years were “really challenging” for him.

Mitch learned how to play guitar because of his dad. After high school, Mitch really wanted to connect with his dad. That was when he decided he wanted to learn how to play the guitar. “It was really the only thing he ever really asked me to do,” Mitch said in his introduction video. He began playing shows and making a career out of it.

Mitch joined Garth Brooks on tour. Mitch traveled with Garth Brooks on his 2022 stadium tour. He also wrote 4 of Garth’s singles, including “Ask Me How I Know,” according to his official website. Garth introduced Mitch during his Grand Ole Opry debut in 2022.

Mitch has released original music. Mitch has dropped a number of singles over the years, including the duet “Ran Into You” with Trisha Yearwood, Garth’s wife. His singles “All I Need To See” and “Then Again” have been streamed over 20 million and 15 million times on Spotify.

^ I’m not usually a fan of Country Music, but I saw him on AGT last night and he was really good.

You can see his audition clip here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6fVH_WquFo

^

https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/other/mitch-rossell-5-things-to-know-about-the-country-singer-auditioning-for-agt/ar-AA1cdhju

Sandra Laing

 Sandra Laing


Susanna Magrietha "Sandra" Laing (born on November 26, 1955 in Piet Retief, South Africa) is a South African Woman who when born was Officially Classified as “White” by the South African Apartheid System even though she looked Black.

Apartheid (meaning “separateness” in the Afrikaner Language) was the Official South African Discrimination System used from 1948-1994.

Every single South African was classified into a Race when born: White, Coloured (Mixed Black and White), Black and Indian.

Your Race then decided everything (who you could marry, who you could date, where you went to school, where you lived, where you worked, etc.)

Interracial Relationships (including Marriage) between Whites and Non-Whites were illegal under the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, of 1949. The Law didn’t criminalize Interracial Relationships between Coloureds, Blacks and Indians.

 In the 1980s the South African Government made the Japanese “Honorary Whites” – because their money was needed -  the same way the German Nazis had made them “Honorary Aryans.”

Non-Whites were made to carry Passbooks at all times and any White Man, Woman or Child could stop any Non-White Person and ask for their Passbook. The Passbook said which areas of the Country the Non-White Person was allowed to be in for both work and living.

Non-Whites were forbidden from living in the same area as Whites, but they were allowed to get permission to work in areas where Whites lived. Failure to have your Passbook on you or to be in a Neighborhood or area your Passbook didn’t give you permission to be in would result in immediate arrest and detention for several years.

Both of Sandra’s Parents, Susanna Margaretha "Sannie" (née Roux) (1920–2001) and Abraham Laing (1916–1988), were White Afrikaner Conservatives who supported Apartheid and were Members of the Racist Nationalist Party.

Her Parents, Grandparents, and Great-Grandparents were all White, but Sandra displayed the physiognomy of African Ancestors of earlier Generations, perhaps from the 18th Century or more recent.

At first her Family treated her as White, the same as their Sons Adriaan and Leon, and together they all attended the Dutch Reformed Church and went into all the “Whites Only” places.

At 10 years old she was expelled from her All-White School (the Deborah Retief Boarding School) because she looked Black or Coloured – even though her Documents said she was Officially White. She was escorted off the campus by 2 Policeman.

She was then officially labeled as Colorured meaning she could no longer live in the same house as her Parents and Brothers.

The Whites disowned her because she was “Black Looking” and rumors began that her Mother had had a forbidden affair with a Black Man. The Blacks disowned her because she was from a White Family.

Sandra’s Parents fought several legal battle to have her Re-Classified as White. Her Father underwent a Blood-Typing Test for Paternity in the 1960s (DNA Tests weren’t available yet) and the results did not disprove him being Sandra’s Biological Father (they didn’t prove it either.)

She was Re-Classified as White in 1967, when she was 11 years old, and could live at home with her Family. The Whites and the Blacks continued to stay away from her so she went to a Coloured Boarding School.

When she was 16 years old she eloped and went to Swaziland (today Eswatini) with, Petrus Zwane, a Coloured South African and was jailed for 3 months there for crossing the Border illegally.

Her Father threatened to kill her, for marrying a Black Man, and never saw Sandra again.

In the 1970s, not having any legal Documents, she had to ebb out a living underground doing whatever job she could to support her Children.

In 1980 the South African Police caught her without a Passbook (Whites didn’t have them.) Because she was legally still Classified as White by the South African Government she was threatened with jail and having her Children (who were Classified as Coloured) taken away from her if didn’t apply to have her Race changed from White to Coloured.


In 1981, when she was 26 years old, she was Re-Classified as Coloured and was able to keep her Children.

Sandra and her Husband separated due to all the pressure and attention they were getting from the Media and the Government. Years later she married again (to Johannes Motloung) and had 3 more Children.

In 2000 the “Johannesburg Times” tracked down Sandra to learn about her years since the end of Apartheid. The Newspaper helped Sandra find her Mother, who was in a Nursing Home by that time. Sandra and Sannie reconciled and shared time together before Sannie's death in 2001.

Sandra Laing was the subject of the 2008 Biographical dramatic film “Skin”, directed by Anthony Fabian, which won numerous awards. In addition, she is the subject of the documentaries In “Search of Sandra Laing” in 1977, directed by Anthony Thomas for the BBC, which was banned by the South African Apartheid Government of the time.


Susan Boyle Returns

From USA Today/Yahoo:

“Susan Boyle reveals she had a stroke: 'I have worked so hard to get my speech and singing back'”


"Britain's Got Talent" alum Susan Boyle's journey back on stage was a long trek after suffering a stroke last year. Boyle, 62, returned to the British singing competition on Sunday to sing for the show's Season 16 finale. There, she joined the West End cast of "Les Misérables" to perform "I Dreamed a Dream." The song skyrocketed her career when she sang it as a contestant on "BGT" in 2009. The Scottish singer shared that getting back on the "BGT" stage felt "great," adding, "It is extra special for me actually because last April there, I suffered a stroke." "I fought like crazy to get back on stage and I have done it," she continued.

"BGT" creator and judge Simon Cowell commended Boyle for making a comeback despite her medical scare. "Susan, we owe you so much and I knew you weren’t well, but if anyone was going to come back you were going to come back because it wouldn’t be the same without you," Cowell, 63, said. Boyle shared photos on Instagram of her return to "BGT" and opened up about how the stroke affected her ability to sing. "This evening was even more special for me as in April of 2022 I had a stroke," she wrote. The "Wild Horses" singer added: "For the past year I have worked so hard to get my speech and singing back, with the sole aim of being able to sing on stage again & tonight my hard work & perseverance paid off, singing the song that started it all, 'I Dreamed A Dream.'"

Boyle rose to popularity during Season 3 of "BGT." She made it to the finale, where she came in second behind dance group Diversity. Her debut album in 2009 paid tribute to her impactful "BGT" performance. The project was titled "I Dreamed a Dream" and included her rendition.

^ I didn’t know she had a Stroke. I’m glad she is able to sign again.

Here is a link to her singing:

https://youtu.be/Lczd08VLfWk

^

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/susan-boyle-reveals-she-had-123223915.html

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Real Struggle

 


79: Anne's D-Day



“My dearest Kitty, This is D Day,  the BBC announced at twelve. This is the day. The invasion has begun!

A huge commotion in the Annex! Is this really the beginning of the long-awaited liberation? The liberation we've all talked so much about, which still seems too good, too much of a fairy tale ever to come true? Will this year, 1944, bring us victory? We don't know yet. But where there's hope, there's life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again. We'll need to be brave to endure the many fears and hardships and the suffering yet to come.

Oh, Kitty, the best part about the invasion is that I have the feeling that friends are on the way. Those terrible Germans have oppressed and threatened us for so long that the thought of friends and salvation means everything to us! Now it's not just the Jews, but Holland and all of occupied Europe. Maybe, Margot says, I can even go back to school in October or September.

Yours,

Anne M. Frank

P.S. I'll keep you informed of the latest news!”

 

^ This was Anne Frank’s Diary Entry on June 6, 1944 when she heard about the Allied D-Day Landings in German-Occupied France while hiding in German-Occupied the Netherlands.

Anne wouldn’t live to see the end of World War 2.

She was arrested in August 1944.

 In September 1944 she was on the last Cattle Train sent from German-Occupied the Netherlands to the Auschwitz Death Camp in German-Occupied Poland.

In October 1944 she was sent to Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp in Germany where she died of Typhus in March 1944.

She was 15 years old.  ^

Flood Dogs

 


 The Russian Occupiers not only kill Innocent Civilians in Ukraine, but also Innocent Animals.

Due to the Explosion of the Kakhovska Dam today (June 6, 2023) these Dogs are fighting flood waters to survive.

History Repeating

 


Gert Fröbe

 




German Actor, Gert Fröbe, went from playing a Unteroffizier (A Regular Officer in the Wehrmacht) delivering Coffee to the Soldiers on the Normandy Beaches in the 1962 Film “The Longest Day” to General der Infanterie Dietrich von Choltitz, the German Military Governor of Paris in the 1966 Film “Is Paris Burning?”

All in just 4 years.

Dog Thoughts

 


79: Scotty

 


79 years ago now.

UN Vs Dam

 


Russia destroys part of a major Dam in Russian-Occupied Ukraine today and the United Nations is still celebrating Russian Language Day.

Flooding Pictures

Flooding and Evacuees in Kherson, Ukraine due to the Kakhovka Dam blast.






Smoke Map



It is so sunny and dry outside that if it wasn't for the smoke from the Canadian Wildfires I would be able to say today was a perfect weather day.

Dam Damaged


The Russian-Occupied Nova Kakhovska Dam, northeast of the Ukrainian City of Kherson, has been damaged or partially destroyed.

Water from the Dnipro River is flooding downstream in the direction of Kherson (the Capital of Kherson Region that was liberated from the Russians on November 11, 2022.)

Ukrainian Authorities have warned Residents in low lying parts of the city to evacuate as quickly as possible and seek shelter on higher ground.

Depending on the size of the breach, which looks very substantial, the flooding downstream could be substantial - even catastrophic. Modelling done late last year suggested that large areas on both right and left banks of the river could be inundated.

The Dam, 30 yards tall and 2 miles long and which holds water equal to the Great Salt Lake in the U.S. State of Utah, was built in 1956 on the Dnipro River as part of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant.

It also supplies water to the Russian-Occupied Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014, and to the Russian-Occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant.

It is believed that Russia blew up the Dam to shift focus away from attacking inside Russia as well as to hinder a Ukrainian Counter-Offensive expected soon.

You can link on the link to see the damage.

https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=yfp-t&ei=UTF-8&p=ukrainian+dam+video#id=6&vid=36281f6e5baa41a2019e16720173a26c&action=click

Modern Military

 


In 2022 Putin told the world that Russia had a Modern 21st Century Military and could easily take Ukraine and anywhere else it wanted.

In 2023 the Putin is searching Military Museums and Monuments across Russia and taking their weapon - especially tanks.

He is literally giving 1940s-1980s era weapons to Russians in their 60s-70s just to save face while at the same time trying to stop attacks throughout Russia.

D-Day

 


79 years ago today (June 6, 1944) 160,000 Allied Soldiers (Americans, Brits, Canadians, Free French, Free Dutch, Free Poles, etc.) landed in German-Occupied France. They were supported by 195,700 Allied Naval Sailors.

It was the largest Seaborne Invasion in World History.

Along with the Seaborne Troops 13,100 Americans parachuted behind Enemy Lines in German-Occupied France on June 6th.

4,414 Allied Soldiers died on D-Day alone (1,465 Americans; 335 Canadians; 1,449 British and the rest from the other different Allied Countries.)

Another 5,586 Allied Soldiers were wounded on June 6, 1944.

3,000 French Civilians were killed on D-Day.

June 6, 1944 started the Liberation of Western Europe from German Occupation.


Huntington's Awareness

 


Monday, June 5, 2023

Hanssen Dead

From the BBC:

“Robert Hanssen: Convicted US spy found dead in Colorado prison”


Robert Hanssen, 79, an FBI agent-turned-Russian mole who is notorious as one of the most damaging spies in US history, has been found dead in prison. He was discovered unresponsive at a maximum-security facility in Florence, Colorado, on Monday morning. Hanssen received more than $1.4m in cash, diamonds, and money paid into Russian accounts. Three hundred agents worked on his case. He was sentenced in 2002 to life in prison for espionage. Hanssen was living at the time in a modest four-bedroom house in suburban Virginia with his wife and six children. Because of his counterintelligence role, he had access to classified information and in 1985 he started his criminal activity, sending material to Russia and the former Soviet Union. Hanssen, who became an FBI officer on 12 January 1976, used the alias "Ramon Garcia" when corresponding with his handlers. According to the FBI's website, he "compromised numerous human sources, counterintelligence techniques, investigations, dozens of classified US government documents, and technical operations of extraordinary importance and value". While there was some suspicion around his unusual activities occasionally, he was not caught for years. After the spy Aldrich Hazen Ames was arrested by the FBI in 1994, the bureau realised classified information was still being leaked, which is what instigated the investigation into Hanssen. He had been due to retire so the FBI acted quickly in an effort to catch him "red handed". "What we wanted to do was get enough evidence to convict him, and the ultimate aim was to catch him in the act," said Debra Evans Smith, former deputy assistant director of the Counterintelligence Division. To lure him back to FBI headquarters for closer monitoring, he was given a fake assignment. Hanssen began working in his new office - complete with hidden cameras and microphones - at FBI headquarters in January 2001. A month later, investigators learned he was scheduled to make a dead drop at a park. A dead drop is when one person leaves material for another person to later pick up at a pre-determined location, according to the Central Intelligence Agency.

^ A good end to a bad man. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65816862

Veterans Visit Utah Beach

From AFT:

“World War II veterans return to Utah Beach to mark D-Day anniversary”


(U.S war veterans salute during a ceremony outside the Pegasus Bridge memorial in Benouville, Normandy, Monday, June 5, 2023.)

World War II veterans shared vivid memories of D-Day and the fighting as dozens returned to Normandy beaches and key battle sites to mark the 79th anniversary of the decisive assault that led to the liberation of France and Western Europe from Nazi control. Looking at the vastness of Utah Beach, its sand blowing in strong wind and bright sunshine, 99-year-old Robert Gibson remembered: “it was tough.” Gibson landed there on June 6, 1944 alongside more than 150,000 other Allied troops. He said there were “lots of casualties. We had almost run over bodies to get in the beach. Never forget we were only 18, 19 years old. ... I’m glad I made it.” The first job of his battalion, he said, was “to guard an ammunition dump and the first night it got struck. You didn’t know where you were to go. Bullets were going all over the place. But we ducked it.”

On Monday, veterans have been greeted to the sound of bagpipes at the Pegasus Memorial, where they attended a ceremony commemorating a key operation in the first minutes of the D-Day operations, when troops had to take control of a strategic bridge. World War II veterans Jake Larson, a 100-year-old American, and Bill Gladden, a 99-year-old British national, met at the memorial where they had a close discussion. “I want to give you a hug, thank you. I got tears in my eyes. We were meant to meet,” Larson told Gladden, their hands clasped. Larson, who has more than 600,000 followers on TikTok, explained with enthusiasm: “I’m just a country boy. Now I’m a star on TikTok. You can see me all over: ‘Papa Jake.’ I’m a legend! I didn’t plan this, it came about. Larson landed on Omaha Beach, where he ran under machine-gun fire and made it to the cliffs without being wounded. “I’m 100 without an ache or a pain. You can’t fake that,” he said.


(Military officials lay a wreath of flowers at the Pegasus Bridge, one of the first sites liberated by Allied forces from Nazi Germany, in Benouville, Normandy, Monday, June 5, 2023.)

U.S. veteran Andrew Negra returned for the first time to Utah Beach this year. The last time he stood there was when he landed on July 18, 1944. He was “amazed” by the warm welcome from local French people: “Every place we went, people are cheering, clapping, and they’ve been doing this for I don’t know how many years.” At age 99, Negra is the only member of his battalion who is still alive. Braving the wind to walk on the beach for a few minutes, he said, “So many we lost. And here I am. Negra participated in combat operations until his division reached eastern Germany in April 1945. On Sunday, more than 40 American veterans of World War II formed a parade, using wheelchairs, along the streets of the small town of Sainte-Mere-Eglise, where thousands of paratroopers jumped not long after midnight on June 6, 1944. Cheerful crowds applauded, calling out “Merci” and “Thank you.” Children waved, and many families asked for a photo with the men.

Donnie Edwards, president of the Best Defense Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps World War II veterans visit former battlefields, said, “For us, every year is a big one.” Given the ages of the soldiers who fought nearly eight decades ago, Edwards observed, “Nothing is guaranteed. So we want to make sure that we do everything we can to get them an incredible and enjoyable experience.” The veterans then headed to Sainte-Marie-du-Mont for a brief ceremony at a monument honoring the U.S. Navy that overlooks Utah Beach. “The fallen will never be forgotten. The veteran will ever be honored,” an inscription in the stone reads. Some of the almost-centenarians asked volunteers to accompany them on the wide stretch of sand. Matthew Yacovino, 98, became emotional as he remembered what happened there to his older brother, who almost died after his jeep blew up during the landings. “The driver got killed and my brother fell on the beach unconscious,” Yacovino said with tears in the eyes. His brother eventually recovered. Yacovino himself served as a U.S. combat air crewman during the war. Like others who come to Normandy for historical reenactments of what transpired there, Valérie and Lionel Draucourt, visitors from the Paris region, dressed in khaki uniforms. They wanted to pay their respects to the veterans. “Frankly, I don’t think we can quite fathom what they lived through. We can’t understand it, it’s so big, it’s crazy,” Lionel Draucourt said.

Veterans were due to take part in official ceremonies of the 79th anniversary on Tuesday, including at the Normandy American Cemetery. On D-Day, Allied troops landed on the beaches code-named Omaha, Utah, Juno, Sword and Gold, carried by 7,000 boats. On that single day, 4,414 Allied soldiers lost their lives, 2,501 of them Americans. More than 5,000 were wounded. On the German side, several thousand were killed or wounded. U.S. Joint Chiefs chairman, Gen. Mark Milley, stressed that the significance of the commemorations “for memorializing the efforts that they did and what they did.” “They were fighting to make sure that fascism and Nazism didn’t stay in control of Europe. Ultimately, we all know that they were successful,” Milley said.

^ It is nice to see these Veterans go back to the places they once fought and to see it during peacetime. ^

https://www.airforcetimes.com/veterans/2023/06/05/world-war-ii-veterans-return-to-utah-beach-to-mark-d-day-anniversary/

After The Rain

 Kyiv, Ukraine after the rain – June 2023.







Soon hopefully we will be able to also say Kyiv, Ukraine after Russia’s Defeat.

Note: Kyiv was bombed 98% of May 2023 by the Russians.





Bob's Pride

 


Even Bob’s Burgers wants you to have a Happy Pride Month!

Sunday, June 4, 2023

DGA Deal

From Yahoo/Variety:

“Directors Guild of America Reaches Tentative Labor Settlement With Hollywood Studios”

The Directors Guild of America said Saturday night that it had reached a tentative three-year labor deal with the Hollywood studios and streamers after a bruising skirmish. The DGA negotiating committee described the deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers as “a historic new three-year collective bargaining agreement.” It will put the deal to its board on Tuesday.

A separate strike by Writers Guild of America members over the terms of their relationship with studios and streamers remains ongoing. “We have concluded a truly historic deal,” said Jon Avnet, chair of the DGA’s negotiations committee. “It provides significant improvements for every director, assistant director, unit production manager, associate director and stage manager in our guild. In these negotiations we made advances on wages, streaming residuals, safety, creative rights and diversity, as well as securing essential protections for our members on new key issues like artificial intelligence – ensuring DGA members will not be replaced by technological advances. “This deal recognizes the future of our industry is global and respects the unique and essential role of directors and their teams as we move into that future,” said Lesli Linka Glatter, president of the DGA.

Highlights of the new agreement include “historic breakthroughs” for directors and their teams in the following areas.  Wages and benefits: Gains in wages and benefits including a 5% increase in the first year of the contract, 4% in the second year and 3.5% in the third year. Additional 0.5% to fund a new parental leave benefit. Global streaming residuals: Substantial increase in the residuals for dramatic programs made for SVOD by securing a new residual structure to pay foreign residuals. The result is a 76% increase in foreign residuals for the largest platforms so that residuals for a one-hour episode will now be roughly $90,000 for the first three exhibition years. Artificial Intelligence: Agreement confirming that AI is not a person and that generative AI cannot replace the duties performed by members. Non-dramatic programs: Established the industry’s first-ever terms and conditions for directors and their teams on non-dramatic (variety and reality) programs made for SVOD. Improved residuals and for the first time, associate directors and stage managers will now share in the residuals. High–budget AVOD terms and conditions. The industry’s first terms, creative rights protections, working conditions and residuals for scripted dramatic projects made for free to the consumer streaming services such as Freevee, Tubi and Roku.  Unit production managers and assistant directors will share in the residuals.  Feature directors: First-time compensation for the months of “soft prep” feature directors currently perform for free prior to the start of the director’s official prep period. Episodic directors: For Pay TV and SVOD, episodic directors won expanded paid post-production creative rights; and gained an additional guaranteed shoot day for one-hour programs – the first additional day added in more than 40 years. Reduction in Hours: Reduction in the length of the assistant director’s day by one hour. Safety: Safety advancements including the first pilot program to require the employment of dedicated safety supervisors; expanded safety training programs for both directors and their teams, and the ban of live ammunition on set.

In addition to these historic breakthroughs – this agreement also achieved increased studio transparency in residuals reporting, improvements in diversity and inclusion, the addition of Juneteenth as a paid holiday and many other gains for all categories.

^ I guess this is good. I have to admit I forgot there was even a strike going on. ^

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/directors-guild-america-reaches-tentative-072624971.html

Loose Lips

From Reuters/Yahoo:

“Ukraine's military urges 'silence' ahead of expected counteroffensive”

The Ukrainian military on Sunday renewed its plea for operational silence around a long-awaited counteroffensive against Russian forces, the latest in a stream of messages by Kyiv as it prepares for the assault. Anticipation has mounted around what is expected to be a broad attack by Ukrainian forces to retake Russian-occupied territory in the east and south. But Ukrainian officials have repeatedly discouraged public speculation over the operation, saying it could help the enemy. Authorities in recent days have also cracked down on citizens sharing images or footage of air defence systems shooting down Russian missiles.

"Plans love silence. There will be no announcement of the start," the ministry said in a video posted to official Telegram channels, apparently referring to the counteroffensive. The sleekly-produced footage featured masked and well-armed front-line troops holding their fingers against their lips, gesturing for silence amid the distant rumble of artillery and gunfire. It ended with images of soaring F-16 fighter jets - long coveted by Kyiv as it seeks to boost its air defence against Russian missiles and drones. Kyiv's Western allies in recent months have provided weapons, armour and ammunition for the counteroffensive, which military experts have said could prove difficult against dug-in Russian forces.

In an interview published on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv was prepared for the operation but avoided making any predictions. "To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different," he told the Wall Street Journal. "But we are going to do it, and we are ready." Other senior officials, including Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov, have similarly sought to tamp down expectations. In some cases, however, the military has also fed the anticipation. Social media outreach by Kyiv has often been intended to intimidate the Kremlin. Last week, it posted a flashy video depicting troops preparing for battle and reciting a rousing blessing, which was later aired as a recruiting clip.

^ Loose lips sink ships. I will do my best not to help the Russians in all of this. ^

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ukraines-military-urges-silence-ahead-131249229.html

Propaganda Presenters

Moscow Marina is the nickname of several Russian Z Online Propagandists who spread Putin’s Lies to Ukrainians in both Russian-Occupied Ukraine and in Non-Russian Occupied Ukraine.

This collective group of Women speak Russian with a Muscovite Accent and Ukrainian with the Accent of someone who doesn’t fluently know the Ukrainian Language.

They call Ukrainian Telephone Numbers inside Ukraine and try to convince that what they are experiencing during Russia’s War in Ukraine is not really happening (the Bucha Massacre, the bombing of the Mariupol Hospital, etc.)

They also post videos on Telegram and other Social Media praising Putin and the Russians as “Liberators of Ukraine.”

I have personally heard several of their broadcast lies and no free-thinking, Non-Brainwashed person could ever believe them.

Putin and his Russian Z’s are using a Propaganda Tool that had been used many times before in different Wars.

 

Here are some more examples of War Propagandists (focusing on Americans or those directed towards Americans.)

Axis Sally (European Theater during World War 2):


Mildred Gillars (1900-1988) was an American Born of German Descent who broadcast Propaganda against the Allies for Nazis Germany. She was "the first Woman in US History to be convicted of treason" by the United States and "on March 8, 1949 was sentenced to ten to thirty years' imprisonment.” She was released from prison in 1961.


Rita Zucca (1912–1998) was an American-Born of Italian Descent for broadcast Propaganda against the Allies for Mussolini’s Fascists Italy. She gave up her American Citizenship in 1941 and became and Italian Citizen. After the War the US didn’t imprison her because she was no longer an American Citizen, but they did bar her from ever entering the US again. Italy put her on Trial in 1946 and she was sentenced to 4 ½ years in Prison, but was released after 9 months.



Ezra Pound (1885-1972) was an American who broadcast Propaganda against the Allies for Mussolini’s Fascist Italy. He was arrested by the Americans in 1945 and deemed unfit to stand Trial and spent 12 years in a Psychiatric Hospital.

 

Tokyo Rose (Pacific Theater of World War 2):



Iva Toguri D'Aquino (1916-2006) was an American-Born of Japanese Descent who broadcast Propaganda against the Allies for Japan. She was put on Trial in 1949 and was sentenced to 10 years in jail. She was released after 6 years. President Gerald Ford pardoned her in 1977.

 

Tokyo Mose (Pacific Theater of World War 2):


Walter Kaner (1920-2005) was an American who broadcast on American Armed Forces Radio during World War 2 to counter the Japanese Propaganda of Tokyo Rose.

 

Mitsu Yashima (Pacific Theater of World War 2):



Tomoe Sasako (1908-1988) was a Japanese-Born Peace Activist who moved to the US in 1939 and who helped counter the Japanese Propaganda of Tokyo Rose.

 

Seoul City Sue (Korean War):



Anna Wallis Suh (1900-1969) was an American Missionary who spread North Korean Propaganda to US Forces. She went to Korea (under Japanese Occupation) in 1930. In 1939 she then went to China and married a Japanese Man there and lost her American Citizenship when she became a Japanese Citizen (until 1945.) The Japanese interned her in a Camp during World War 2. She returned to Korea (now independent) in 1946. She became a North Korean Citizen in 1950 (until 1969.) She died in North Korea.

 

Hanoi Hannah (Vietnam War):



Trịnh Thị Ngọ (1931-2016) was a Vietnamese Citizen who spread North Vietnamese Propaganda to US Citizens.

 

Why Post?

Why do I Post about issues and problems even if they don't directly affect me (like Women's Rights, Homosexual Rights, Jewish Hate Attacks, Russia's War Crimes in Ukraine, etc.)?

Because if you stand by and allow these crimes to happen you are just as guilty as those that physically commit them.

I'm not a Woman. I'm not Gay. I'm not Jewish. I'm not Ukrainian.

I am an American and I am a Human so they do affect me.

Sunday

 


Królewiec

 


Road Signs in Poland are being updated.

Kaliningrad, Russia is disappearing. Królewiec is coming back.

The City was known as Królewiec in Polish from 1454 to 1455 and then Fief of Poland from 1456–1657.

It then became part of Germany (the Kaiser Empire, the Weimer Republic and then Nazi Germany) from 1657 to 1945 when it was known as Königsberg and was in East Prussia.

The Soviets annexed East Prussia after World War 2 in 1945, expelled all the Ethnic Germans from there and renamed the City and the Oblast to Kaliningrad (Калининград) named after the Soviet Head of State from 1938-1948, Mikhail Kalinin.

I don’t see the Russians using the name Królewiec (Russian: Короле́вец), but it is part of Lustration (Decommunization) and an affront to Putin and Russia for its War Crimes in Ukraine.

Saturday, June 3, 2023

Lots Of Rain

 


Biden Signs Bill

From News Nation:

“Biden signs debt ceiling bill with just days to spare”

With just two days to spare, President Joe Biden signed legislation on Saturday that lifts the nation’s debt ceiling, averting an unprecedented default on the federal government’s debt. The White House announced the signing, done in private at the White House, in an emailed statement in which Biden thanked congressional leaders for their partnership. “I just signed into law a bipartisan budget agreement that prevents a first-ever default while reducing the deficit, safeguarding Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and fulfilling our scared obligation to our veterans,” Biden said in a statement posted on social media. “Now, we continue the work of building the strongest economy in the world.” Biden on Friday celebrated a “crisis averted” in his first address since the deal’s passage, saying, “No one got everything they wanted, but the American people got what they needed.”

The deal will suspend the debt limit for two years, while also putting in new work requirements for older Americans receiving food assistance. It also boosts funding for veterans and defense and approves a natural gas pipeline going from West Virginia to Virginia. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the plan cuts the deficit by $1.5 trillion over the next decade.  Biden highlighted the “compromise and consensus” in the deal. “We averted an economic crisis and an economic collapse,” he said. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Friday that Biden was using the occasion to deliver his first address to the nation from behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office because “he just wanted to make sure that the American people understood how important it was to get this done, how important it was to do this in a bipartisan way.” The House passed the debt ceiling bill with more than 300 supporting votes, most of which came from Democrats. “We’re cutting spending and bringing deficits down at the same time,” Biden said. “We’re protecting important priorities, from Social Security to Medicare to Medicaid to veterans to our transformational investments in infrastructure and clean energy.” But some progressive Democrats and independents are not celebrating. In a tweet, U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., asserted that “The debt deal only serves to hurt poor and working people who will bear the brunt of cruel extreme cuts to programs that help families make ends meet.” In the Senate, Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said the bill would make it easier for fossil fuel companies to “pollute and destroy the planet by fast-tracking the disastrous Mountain Valley Pipeline.” Biden has argued that his main legislative accomplishments are largely intact, and some have championed the bipartisan nature of the deal. Biden praised McCarthy and his negotiators for operating in good faith, and all congressional leaders for ensuring swift passage of the legislation. “They acted responsibly, and put the good of the country ahead of politics,” he said. Biden got another boost on Friday as the Labor Department reported that the economy had added 339,000 jobs in May. The unemployment rate, however, did tick up to 3.7%, though that is still trending near historic lows.

Finally, it’s official! ^

https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/biden-expected-to-address-bipartisan-debt-ceiling-deal/