Relief Push

From Military.com:

“White House Pushes for Afghan Refugee Relief After Visas Drop by 91%”

The Biden administration is pushing for a pathway to permanent U.S. residency for Afghan refugees as the number of visas granted to former interpreters and others who worked with the military dipped dramatically after the August withdrawal. The drop-off in Afghan visa approvals has left tens of thousands of former allies in limbo after the Taliban takeover, as Americans now focus on the plight of Ukrainians caught in a new European war.

The number of special immigrant visas, or SIVs, granted to those Afghans fell from 1,292 in July through September to just 117 over the following three months -- a 91% drop, according to the latest figures released last month. The large decrease came as the number of remaining visa applications that the State Department has to process stays steady at about 16,500, which is likely only a fraction of the Afghans still awaiting a visa. The White House sent a request to Congress on Friday for legislation giving Afghan refugees a path to legal permanent residence after being in the U.S. for a year, according to a White House spokesperson. Advocates say it could also ease the major backlog of visa applicants. "This sends a message to our Afghan friends that they have not been forgotten," Shawn VanDiver, a Navy veteran and president of the #AfghanEvac coalition, said in a statement, adding that he hopes to see a "quiet passage" of the legislation, which he and other advocates call the Afghan Adjustment Act. VanDiver told Military.com that he hopes to see Republicans and Democrats expand the proposal and negotiate final legislation that could "vastly improve the efficiency and effectiveness" of the current SIV system.

The new report on Afghan visa approvals covers the first quarter of fiscal 2022 after the country came under full control of the Taliban. Compared to the last quarter of 2021 -- the time period when the military was helping evacuate 124,000 from Afghanistan -- the new numbers show glacial progress. The report was jointly released by the State Department and Department of Homeland Security. Additionally, the agencies found that the SIV processing time between the two quarters went from 435 days to 743 days -- nearly doubling -- while actual approvals dropped off. Afghan special immigrant visas are issued to those who served the U.S. government for at least one year during the war. Many Afghans eligible for the benefit were interpreters assigned to military units and served alongside U.S. troops. The Association of Wartime Allies, a non-governmental organization, estimated that 78,000 SIV applicants "remain left behind" in Afghanistan in its February report. "We continue, as much as possible, to expedite processing of SIV applications at all other stages of the process that can be performed remotely," according to a State Department spokesperson. Many believe surging staff and resources for processing could be the solution. The State Department said it has hired an additional 58 National Visa Center officers for approvals. "There are a lot of people who are in different stages of their application, and they're kind of losing hope," said Khalil Arab, an Afghan who successfully navigated the SIV process and is now living in Houston. "It's been over seven months since the Taliban took over, and there's hardly any window of opportunity for those guys." Arab is working full-time as a program manager for Combined Arms SIVs and Allies, a nonprofit helping Afghans come to the U.S. Others, such as VanDiver, say improvements must come from Congress as the request from the White House makes its way through Capitol Hill. "Lawmakers all across this country need to hear from their constituents, and current and former members of the military," he said. "Speak really loudly. There's nothing wrong with an active-duty member or veteran or anybody that's reading this to pick up the phone, call their representative in their personal capacity and say, 'Hey, I believe in this, please do this.'"

Both the proposal to Congress and the SIV slog come as the Biden administration also announces plans to welcome another war-displaced population -- 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. The administration's new efforts to accommodate Ukrainian refugees have left many Afghans and their allies feeling frustrated and forgotten. "It seems like they are just delaying our cases," said Zee, an interpreter who agreed to speak with Military.com under a pseudonym. "All the people think over here is that they are left behind and that they are only taking Ukrainian refugees to the U.S." Advocates, veterans and service members now want to remind Congress that Americans have a moral responsibility to Afghans in addition to the rightful focus on Ukraine. Biden on Thursday asked Congress for $33 billion in aid to Ukraine. A brief section of the nearly 70-page request proposed allowing eligible Afghans a chance to apply for permanent residence. The White House provision requests a "pathway to permanent residence to Afghan evacuees who came here through Operation Allies Welcome," the name for the military evacuation effort, according to a White House spokesperson, who said the full package was sent to Congress on Friday. "What it does is it takes a group that is a little bit in limbo," said Jack McCain, a reserve naval aviator who flew alongside Afghan pilots in Afghanistan and son of the late Sen. John McCain, "and institutionalizes them as Americans." The provision specifically requests policy changes that affect Afghans who have already been evacuated to the U.S., leaving some advocates to hope it can be expanded to those left behind inside Afghanistan after the evacuation and total military withdrawal.

The visa application process is particularly dangerous and complicated for those still outside the U.S. The American embassy in Kabul closed eight months ago as the Taliban took over, and now Afghans must travel to an open embassy outside of Afghanistan to complete part of their visa application. Zee said that he is living in fear from the Taliban and uncertainty about his SIV case, for which he originally applied in 2018. He was originally denied a visa due to a human resources error by the U.S. contractor who employed him. "Things are getting strict here," he said. "[The Taliban] threaten reporters; all the coffee shops are closed, as well as other stuff like [preventing] barbers from shaving beards." Still, he said he wanted to stay in Afghanistan until getting a visa. Money to move a family out of the country and to safety from the Taliban, especially without a guarantee of a green card from the U.S., was not a risk he could afford. The State Department spokesperson acknowledged the "extremely difficult" circumstances for Afghans hoping to be granted an SIV, but had no ready solution for those who cannot make it to another country with a U.S. embassy. "It's not feasible for most Afghans," said Matt Zeller, an Army veteran and co-founder of No One Left Behind, an SIV support organization, citing outrageous costs the Taliban have allegedly implemented for so-called exit visas allowing Afghans to travel to other countries. "It's an insult to their circumstances to somehow tout this as a viable option," he said.

^ The US needs to do A LOT more to help the Afghans – especially those who worked and helped us over the decades. So far we have failed them. The ones who made it out of Afghanistan linger in a political “no-man’s land” and need to be able to be resettled in such a way that they won’t have to fear being deported to Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan or anywhere else. For those inside Afghanistan we need to do everything to make it hard for the Taliban to find out who they are (not publish lists or anything like that) and also try to get them out through the commercial airplanes – even if under fake names. 8 months of Taliban run and their lives are still in grave danger and we have a moral and political responsibility to help them. ^

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/05/02/white-house-pushes-afghan-refugee-relief-after-visas-drop-91.html

Z Bullets

From NYT/Yahoo:

“They Fell Deeply in Love in Bucha. One Russian Bullet Ended It All.”

(Iryna Abramova mourns at the grave of her husband Oleh, who was executed by Russian forces outside of their home, in Bucha, Ukraine, April 26, 2022.)

She called him Sunshine. He called her Kitty. They met nearly 20 years ago when she was working at a hospital and he sauntered through the door, young, muscular and beautiful, to fix the roof. Iryna Abramova said she made the first move and followed him to where he smoked cigarettes behind a wall. They started talking and fell in love, she said, “word by word.” But a few weeks ago, the special connection she had with Oleh, the love of her life, and everything they built together ended in a single cruel gunshot. What follows is difficult for Iryna to describe, she said, because it feels so raw and real but, at the same time, it is almost impossible to believe.

On the morning of March 5, Iryna said, Russian soldiers attacked her house. They threw a grenade through the window, which started an enormous fire, and marched her and Oleh outside at gunpoint. Then they took Oleh into the street. They ordered him to strip off his shirt. They made him kneel. The next thing Iryna remembers is running to Oleh’s side, plunging to the ground, grabbing his hands, seeing blood spurt from his ears and feeling a wild rage explode out of her. “Shoot me!” she screamed at the Russian soldiers standing coolly above her. She was wearing a bathrobe and slippers, her house burning down behind her, clutching one of her cats. “Shoot me! Come on! Come on! Shoot me and the cat!” A Russian commander leveled his gun at her chest not once, not twice but three times. To this day she regrets he didn’t pull the trigger. “Maybe my destiny is to die tomorrow,” Iryna said, admitting that she had thought of suicide. But she added, “It’s a big thing to take your own life and then I won’t be able to meet my husband in heaven.” Iryna Abramova’s story is Bucha’s story. It is about heartbreak, bloodshed and, most of all, loss.

This Ukrainian town, not far from the capital, Kyiv, is where the war’s worst atrocities have been discovered, and as the days pass the full scope of the terror and butchery only grows. The Russians slaughtered at least 400 civilians here in March, officials have said. Weeks later, mutilated bodies are still being found. Human rights groups and Ukrainian investigators, along with a phalanx of international war crimes experts, are trying to document each killing, and last week the Ukrainian government published the names and photos of 10 Russian soldiers who it said had committed war crimes in Bucha. The Russians pulled out a few weeks ago, leaving much of Bucha in ruins. Work crews have been trying to fix the utility poles knocked down by Russian armored personnel carriers and the transformers that the Russians blew up. In the meantime, many Bucha residents have been cast back into the 19th century, drawing water from wells, lighting candles at night and cooking outside on campfires, staring into the flames. “There’s a black mist over this town,” said Iryna Hres, a young woman who lives across the street from Iryna Abramova. “Something ominous will remain because so many people were killed here, so thoughtlessly, so senselessly, for no reason.” Iryna Abramova described the killing of her husband to The New York Times in several interviews last month. Her account was corroborated by neighbors and her father, who finally pulled her back toward the house as she screamed at the Russian soldiers. The Times viewed the autopsy report and spoke to the prosecutor investigating the death, who supported her account and said there were only Russian soldiers, not Ukrainian, in Bucha at the time.

‘Hello, My Sunshine’ Life for Iryna has become a lonely chore. She says it is difficult getting through the day, and especially the night, without being consumed by feelings of revenge or suicide or what she calls “bloody thoughts.” She has lost almost everything: her husband, her home, three of her four pets; her life savings, in cash, turned to ash. She doesn’t have a single piece of paper to prove her identity — “I keep asking for something that says me is me, but the people at the city council tell me, ‘How do we know you are you?’” She has spent her entire life in Bucha, which used to be known as one of the most desirable small towns in Ukraine — woodsy, with a rustic vibe and only 45 minutes from Kyiv. Now it’s a city of ghosts. But she can’t leave. “Oleh is still here,” she said. One of Iryna’s rituals is walking to the graveyard, passing through peeling birch trees in a daze. She brings Oleh’s favorite treats: Halls cherry cough drops, Maria cookies, toffee and chocolate. She lights a cigarette and puts it by the head of the grave. The ash grows long in the afternoon light. “Hello, my sunshine,” she said the other day, stroking the picture of his face that she put on his grave. At 40, he was eight years younger than Iryna, and she allows herself a faint smile about that. “I stole him,” she said. A few months after they met, he moved in. They got married, and unusually, he took her last name, becoming Oleh Oleksandrovych Abramov. He encouraged her to quit her job as a hospital clerk, saying he would support them. They never had children, but Iryna said they had the perfect family: the two of them. During the week, he worked hard as a welder and often returned late, when she was already in bed watching TV. On weekends, they’d grill in their backyard and occasionally catch a movie at the nearby Giraffe Mall in Irpin. A few weeks ago, the mall was shelled to smithereens.

‘Oleh Will Not Be Coming’ Russian troops rolled into Bucha soon after the war started. But they got stalled by fierce Ukrainian resistance. On Feb. 27, Ukrainian forces ambushed a long column of Russian armor parked along Iryna’s street, leaving at least 20 destroyed vehicles and an unknown number of Russian soldiers dead. Oleh became especially nervous after that, Iryna said. He could sense the Russians would be out for revenge. He insisted that he and Iryna stay indoors and they spent many hours in the kitchen, on the floor. As they lay side by side, fingers touching, she could feel him shaking. “I asked him: Are you afraid of death? He said, ‘No, I am afraid for you.’” On the night of March 4, they heard huge trucks passing in the road. The next morning, their house was rocked by a grenade, which set off a fire. Gunshots rang out. Their gate was blasted open. Four Russian paratroopers stormed in, she said. Three were young, maybe 20, and the commander was in his 30s. Iryna said the commander ordered them outside. She recounted what happened next in a flat, detached voice. “Where are the Nazis?” the commander said  “There are no Nazis here,” Iryna responded. “Where are they?” “There were never any Nazis here.” “Give me the exact address.” “We are simple people.” The commander got angrier, she said. “We have come here to die, and our wives are waiting for us and you started this war. You elected this Nazi government.” (“They love the word Nazi, for some reason,” she added.) “Did your husband ever hold a weapon in his arms?” “No.” “What is his profession?” “Welder.” The commander then stomped off.

Iryna’s father, Volodymyr Abramov, who lived in a house next door, said he and Oleh were held in the yard at gunpoint. The young soldiers ordered Oleh to strip off his shirt, sweater and jacket, to reveal any military tattoos. He didn’t have any. He had never served. They marched Oleh out of the gate. His last words were “Guys, what are you doing?” A minute passed. The fire grew. Black smoke raged out of the house, making it impossible to see anything. The commander reappeared. “Where is Oleh?” Iryna’s father asked in a panic. The commander looked out the gate and said, “Oleh will not be coming.” Iryna raced out. “I looked to the left. Nothing. I look to the right. I see my husband on the ground,” she said. “I see lots of blood. I see part of his head is gone. Later I see other dead people, in different poses.” She grabbed his hands, crying, “Oleh, Oleh.” “The Russians were sitting on the curb, drinking water from plastic bottles, just watching me,” she said. “They didn’t say anything, they didn’t show any emotion. They were like an audience at the theater.” That’s when she let out a “wild cry, like something I have never heard,” her father said. “Shoot me!” she screamed. “Shoot me and the cat!” She was looking at the soldiers, staring at their boots, but the commander eventually lowered his gun and said, “I do not kill women.” He gave Iryna and her father three minutes to leave.

Collecting Corpses Bucha’s population is normally around 40,000, but all but 3,000 to 4,000 residents had fled before the Russian occupation, city officials said. Around 400 civilians are thought to have been killed, meaning about 1 in 10 people who were here. Some were shot execution style with hands tied behind their backs. Others were horribly beaten. Many were like Oleh: no military experience, unarmed and posing no obvious threat. So many bodies were left on Bucha’s streets that city officials said they were worried about a plague. But they did not have enough workers to collect the dead. So they drafted volunteers. One of them was Vladyslav Minchenko, a tattoo artist. “The most blood I had ever seen was in a piercing,” he said wryly. But soon he was picking up dead people and body parts, zipping them into black bags and taking them to a communal grave outside Bucha’s main church. He retrieved Oleh’s body, with its shattered head, he said, which was verified by video evidence. Minchenko’s tattoo parlor remains closed. He’s not sure if he could work anyway. Like many other people in Bucha, he spoke of feeling physically different since the Russian occupation, unable to sleep, distracted, drinking too much. His hands keep shaking. “And I keep having these dreams,” he said. Behind his closed eyes, heavily armed men pour into the streets and Minchenko tries to join the army but is refused. He wakes up with a jolt. Oleh’s body was taken for an autopsy. The cause of death listed on the coroner’s report was skull fracture and gunshot wound to the head. Ukrainian prosecutors are now trying to determine who killed him. They have interviewed Iryna extensively and showed her pictures on their phones of Russian soldiers. “But they all look the same,” Iryna said. She said she doesn’t remember the faces of the men who shot Oleh, “just their guns and their boots.” Ruslan Kravchenko, one of the prosecutors, said different Russian units divided up control of Bucha and he believed members of Russia’s 76th Air Assault Brigade killed Oleh, based on video footage the Ukrainians obtained of Russian troop movements from that time. “It was a cruel killing,” he said. “But there were many more just as cruel.” The prosecutors say they will soon file papers in court to extradite suspects. Legal analysts and Iryna doubt that will ever happen. “Russians are good at coming dry out of water,” she said. Some people in Bucha are so badly haunted by what they suffered under the Russians that they are leaving. “I need to change the picture,” said Ivan Drahun, whose young wife died after having a heart attack during the occupation. He has three children. They had been trapped in a basement for a month, watching their mother die. “We can’t stay in Bucha.”

Nowhere to Go Iryna doesn’t have the option to leave, even if she wanted it. Without a passport or identity papers — they were all burned in the fire — she is not allowed through any of the area’s military checkpoints. Bucha officials said that they could not help her at the moment because their computer systems were still down and that the only way for her to get new documents was to go to Kyiv or another city, Boyarka. It is a Catch-22 since she needs the papers to travel.  So she does not go far. She has almost no money and even if she were able to buy things like food, many supermarkets in Bucha were ransacked or blown up. That has left many residents like her trudging through the drizzly streets wrapped in dark jackets, searching for humanitarian relief centers where they can get a loaf of bread, a jar of pickles, anything. Iryna said she was recently warned that without an identity document, she may soon be cut off from aid. Neighbors have been sharing food with her. “I used to say that I had the best family in the world,” she said. “One husband. Three cats. And one dog.

“It’s hard to process.” Standing in her yard, surrounded by burned beams, burned pots, her whole life basically burned — the bodies of her dog and two cats somewhere in that same ash — Iryna said, “It’s like I look at this but I keep seeing my old house.” She added: “It’s like I’ve made a wrong turn into a parallel reality and there is another reality where my house and my husband still exist. And here in this reality I am alone.” She allows herself to dream. There’s one scene she can’t get out of her head, a good scene that she keeps replaying. She wants to keep it there forever. “I’m in bed watching TV, and he’s walking through the door, taking off his cap,” she said. “And then I hear: ‘Kitty, I’m home. Where are you, Kitty?’”

^ On May 9^th (Victory Day) the Russians will celebrate their victory over Nazi Germany. Hopefully, soon Ukraine will celebrate their victory over Nazi Russia. As more and more massacre sites and more and more war crimes are investigated it is clear that the Nazi Russians need to lose this War and have their country collapse (the Grace Period on the Russian Default ends May 4^th) so that peace and prosperity can return to the world. ^

https://www.yahoo.com/news/fell-deeply-love-bucha-one-181034061.html

Russian Nazis

NZ Finally Reopens

From Reuters:

“Tears and chocolate as New Zealand opens its borders to 60 more countries”

New Zealand welcomed thousands of travellers from around the globe on Monday as the country opened its borders to visitors from around 60 nations including the United States, Britain and Singapore for the first time since COVID-19 hit in early 2020. Maori cultural performers sang songs at the arrivals gate in Auckland and travellers were handed popular locally made chocolate bars as the first flights came in from Los Angeles and San Francisco. Friends and family hugged and cried as people were reunited for what was for some the first time in more than two years. Garth Halliday, who was waiting at the airport for his son, daughter-in-law and grandson to land from London, told local media it made him happy and emotional to see so many families reunited.

New Zealand had some of the toughest curbs in the world during the pandemic and only recently started to ease the increasingly unpopular measures, hoping to boost tourism and ease labour shortages now the Omicron variant is widespread domestically. Borders were opened to New Zealanders and Australians in February and March. Now visitors from around 60 visa-waiver countries can enter as long as they are vaccinated and test negative for COVID. There are no requirements for isolation. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told attendees at the U.S. Business Summit in Auckland that overseas visitors will really "bring back a piece that has been missing from New Zealand and New Zealanders."

^ This was long-over-due. ^

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/tears-chocolate-new-zealand-opens-its-borders-60-more-countries-2022-05-02/

Yaroslavl's Draft

 

(Here is a picture of the Russian Air Defense System during the Victory Day Parade on Soviet Square in Yaroslavl, Russia.)

On April 1, 2022 the Governor of Yaroslavl Oblast (Region) in Yaroslavl, Russia (along with every other Federal Subject in Russia) set up 22 Conscription Commissions, 21 Commissions of Municipalities and Urban Districts, as well as the Draft Commission of the Yaroslavl Region to Draft all Russian Men between 18 and 27 years old as part of the Spring Draft (there’s also the Fall Draft every year.)

Officially Conscripts serve only 12 months in the Military, but Conscripts are bullied (as are their Families) and all-but forced to sign “Volunteer” Contracts once their Mandatory Year is over with. Also Conscripts are officially forbidden from being deployed outside of Russia, but even the Russian Military admitted many Conscripts fighting in Ukraine as of 2022.

Dedovshchina (Дедовщина – Reign Of Grandfathers) is the practice where the older Conscripts (older by rank and not always age) haze and physically and mentally abuse the younger Conscripts. Dedovshchina doesn’t just mean younger Conscripts have to do extra push-ups, clean the floors with their toothbrushes or be called names.

It also almost always involves being sexual assaulted by 1 or several older Conscripts. That sexual assault can include shoving the end of a broom inside a Man’s buttocks to being gang-raped. If any Conscript reports this sexual assault to either their Superiors inside the Military or to the Authorities outside the Military (like the Police, Medical Staff, etc.) then that Conscript can be charged with “Diverging State Secrets” and “Spreading False Lies” and be sent to Forced Labor Penal Colonies as well as having it on their permanent record so if they ever try to get a Civilian Job their Employer would know exactly what happened and as Homosexuality is illegal in Putin’s Russia (whether it is consensual or through rape) that 18 year old Conscript will forever be branded by Russian Society and never able to have a decent or normal life again.

Even those that do not officially report their assaults and rapes go home and take out their revenge on their Families since they want to “feel like men again.” In 2017; 1,060 people officially died from Domestic Violence. The number is certainly much higher, but the Authorities often change the Cause of Death to keep the numbers down, but things must be bad because in 2017 the Russian Government decriminalized most Domestic Abuse (ie. the Russian Courts and Prisons were getting too crowded.)

Dedovshchina leads to many 18-27 year old Conscripts either being killed (during the attacks) or committing Suicide. In 2006, 292 Russian Soldiers were killed during the sexual assaults (Russia only admits that 16 Soldiers were killed because of Dedovschina.) There were also 2,798 official reports of abuse in 2005 and 3,500 in 2006. In 2019 the Russian Military Prosecutor Office announced (and then retracted after widespread protests) that Dedovshchina had led to 51,000 reported Human Rights Violations and 9,890 Sexual Assaults within the Russian Military. That doesn’t include the unreported violations and sexual assaults or those that happened outside the Military. In 2007, 341 Soldiers committed suicide during their Military Service. Although the Russian Military says that Dedovshchina is not a problem it is the reason that Conscription was lowered from 2 years to 1 in 2007 – because the main hazing and torture happened in the 2^nd year.

When I studied in Yaroslavl (one of 2 times) I had a Friend who went to the Yaroslavl Higher School for Anti-Aircraft and Missile Defense (Ярославское высшее военное училище противовоздушной обороны.) The YHSAAMD trains Air Defense specialists on: the operation of zenith missile systems, radar stations, the complexes of radio engineering, automatic the control systems of operational and tactical level and divisions of Air Defense.

My Friend was able to get me into the School and gave me a tour. From the outside their was fresh paint everywhere, but in the rooms and hallways everything was falling apart and looked and smelt bad. I have talked to other Friends who have their Children attending this School now and they say not much as changed over the years.

22,000 Russian Soldiers – including many Conscripts – have been killed fighting in Ukraine in the past 68 days and many more Conscripts, from this Spring Draft, will be sent to Ukraine to die as Cannon Fodder while other Russian Soldiers die as Rapists and Mass Murderers.

Stamp Out Hunger

 

Save the date! The annual National Association of Letter Carriers' Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is back and taking place on Saturday, May 14!

To participate, all you need to do is leave a donation of non-perishable, non-glass food items next to their mailbox on the morning of May 14, before your letter carrier’s normal delivery time! Your letter carrier will make sure it gets to Food Bank!

Now in its 30th year, the Letter Carriers' food drive has collected more than 1.8 billion pounds of food to support those in need in communities through the US, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam.

To learn more about this food drive and its impact, check out the video below or visit:

https://www.nalc.org/community-service/food-drive

^ This is a great way to help those in your town that need some food. ^

60s Safety

 

Anglican Apology

From the CBC:

“After survivors speak, Anglican leader apologizes for church allowing 'terrible crime' at residential schools”

(Rev. Justin Welby visits the James Smith Cree Nation Saturday to listen to residential school survivors and learn about their experiences, while atoning and repenting for the actions of the Anglican Church in operating residential schools in Canada.)

The spiritual leader of the Anglican Church told survivors gathered at a Saskatchewan First Nation Saturday that he was sorry the church had allowed "terrible crime" to occur at residential schools. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby started his visit at James Smith Cree Nation, east of Prince Albert, around midday, when he met dignitaries from Indigenous governments from James Smith and the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, which represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan. "I want to recognize, for myself and my colleagues, the level of pain that you are willing to undergo, so that your story is heard," Welby said.  "I will say that I come in ignorance, needing to hear each and every shame, needing to signify that shame, and respect those on whom such terrible injustices were committed."

(Dennis Sanderson from James Smith Cree Nation shared his experiences at residential schools before the Archbishop of Canterbury visited the community on Saturday.)

Survivors from all over Saskatchewan shared their stories about how the residential school system ripped families apart, raised self-doubt and self-confidence issues and left them with traumas as a result of sexual and physical abuse. Many spoke about how they didn't blame the church, but those acting on behalf of the church.

After listening to their stories, Welby offered his apology.  "The grace that you have shown in saying it was not the church that did this — I suppose it is an extraordinary grace. I suppose I want to say that that's perhaps the only thing I question. That it was not the church that did it. But it was the church that permitted it. That allowed it. That turned a blind eye to it. And still does, sometimes," Welby said.  "And for that terrible crime, sin, evil of deliberating consciously stupidly — because evil is stupid. Building hell and putting children into it. And staffing it. I am more sorry than I could ever ever begin to express.... I am sorry. I am more sorry than I could say. I'm ashamed. I am horrified." Welby acknowledged it wouldn't be easy for survivors to speak at the event, and that recounting their experiences may be painful to share. He said understanding survivors' suffering would be impossible, but that he hoped to move himself from "unconscious ignorance" to being deeply aware of their experiences, and to move himself to humility before those gathered.

(Dennis Sanderson, left, was among those who greeted Welby when he arrived at James Smith Cree Nation's Bernard Constant Community School on Saturday.)

Survivors like Dennis Sanderson gathered in James Smith to share their stories with the archbishop. Sanderson attended Gordon's Indian Residential School, about 100 kilometres northeast of Regina, for three years before attending the All Saints Residential School in Prince Albert. Both were operated by the Anglican Church. "It's a good thing for them to come and say 'I'm sorry,' too, you know? It makes you feel good and hopefully it makes our community members feel good," Sanderson said Saturday morning. Sanderson said he was able to deal with the trauma 11 years of residential school left him with by exploring his culture, his ceremonies and his First Nations way of life.  The Anglican Church was part of his life growing up outside of residential schools; Sanderson said his dad was actively involved in Anglican Church activities in James Smith Cree Nation.

Underpromise, overdeliver

(The St. Stephen's Anglican Church on James Smith Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. On Saturday, Welby visited the community, located southeast of Prince Albert.)

The archbishop offered to follow through on some actions on Saturday after listening to survivors' stories about residential schools, the institution's lasting impacts and the traumas they have to live with.  "I want to avoid what happens too easily at times like this, which is to overpromise and underdeliver," Welby said.  "I want rather to underpromise and overdeliver, if by God's grace, I'm given the strength to do so." His promise, to those who gathered in the gymnasium, was to talk with Archbishop Linda Nicholls, who invited the archbishop to Saskatchewan, about what they can do to address the damage left in particular by the Doctrine of Discovery.  The Doctrine of Discovery was the framework that colonial countries, England, Spain, Portugal and others, used to justify claiming land in North America and other continents as their own.  Numerous survivors spoke about how it led to the creation of residential schools and in turn, the impacts they're having to deal with today.  Welby said he also hoped to ensure survivors' stories of suffering at residential schools are heard in order to prevent such terrible actions from happening to anyone else at the hands of the church. 

Between 1820 and 1969, the Anglican Church ran roughly three dozen residential schools in Canada, and also ran more than 150 Indian day schools, according to a list compiled for the Federal Indian Day School class action. The Anglican Church apologized for its role in residential schools in 1993 and in 2019. It has also paid $15.7 million in compensation.  The church was also refunded $2.8 million, which it said it invested into Indigenous ministry programs, after a different compensation formula was negotiated with the Roman Catholic Church. Earlier this week, survivors and advocates questioned the purpose of the visit, and whether it will result in meaningful action.

Further Canadian visits planned

(The Archbishop of Canterbury addressed people gathered in the James Smith Cree Nation's Bernard Constant Community School on Saturday afternoon.)

Welby, who as archbishop is the religious leader of the Church of England, though not the head of the church — a title that belongs to the British monarch — also plans to travel to Prince Albert on Sunday before heading to Toronto. His visit coincides with the 50th session of the Provincial Synod, which is being hosted by the Diocese of Saskatchewan in Prince Albert until Sunday. Delegates from Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba, as well as the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, will attend.  At 2 p.m. on Sunday, Welby will gather with Anglican and non-Anglican Indigenous leaders.  Support is available for anyone affected by the lingering effects of residential school and those who are triggered by the latest reports. A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for residential school survivors and others affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.

^ This apology, like the other from the Pope, is long over-due. Every Church (Catholic and Protestant) and every Government (Territorial, Provincial, Federal) needs to do more than just apology. They all need to release their records as well as support the Survivors and the Victims’ Families. ^

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/archbishop-of-canterbury-james-smith-cree-nation-1.6435852

Hunting Zs

 

^ Instead of “We’re hunting wabbits.” It’s “We’re hunting Z Russian Nazis.” ^

Russian Nazi Rubles

From the BBC:

“Ukraine war: Resistance to Russian rouble in Kherson”

(Large Russian Trucks with white Z painted on them drive down a street in Kherson)

The Russian rouble will be used in Kherson from Sunday, according to Russia-backed forces that have taken control of the southern Ukrainian city. However, Kherson's Ukrainian mayor, Ihor Kolykhaiev, who has now been overthrown by Russian authorities, has said that he doesn't believe this will be possible while the only working banking system in the region is Ukrainian, not Russian. Despite being occupied for 60 days, many residents are trying to find small ways to defy the Russian forces - like exchanging any roubles they receive back into Ukraine's currency, the hryvnia. But there are very few ways to safely snub the Russian army when it occupies your streets. Z signs - a Russian pro-war symbol - have appeared around the city. Russian flags hang above Kherson's government buildings. Ukrainian TV has been mostly cut off, changed to Russian news. Russian soldiers drive armoured vehicles through the city centre, between a network of check points.

Now, changing the region's currency is yet another bid to erase Ukrainian identity from the city. "I think most people will leave here if the rouble is introduced," Olga, who didn't want to use her real name, told me from inside Kherson. "At the moment there are still currency exchanges operating in the city. If I am paid in roubles, I think I will just go and exchange it for hryvnia, I think others will too. It's just a small act of protest." Olga is not the only one with this plan. Ukrainian news reports have said that some pensions have been handed out in roubles around Kherson, but that people have already exchanged it back into Ukrainian hryvnia. Life in Kherson has become increasingly difficult. Many now feel nervous about even speaking to a journalist. When we reach Olga and ask how she is feeling, she sighs. "I'm alive and I have food," she says.

(The Ukrainian mayor of Kherson, Ihor Kolykhaiev, has now been replaced with a Russian administration)

Around 40% of the population have fled in the two months since this key, strategic city was taken by Russia, according to the mayor. Many residents tell us about their struggle to pay for what few goods there are, as supermarket shelves lie empty. They say that shops, restaurants and businesses have closed and parts of the economy have ground to a halt, cut off from much of the world. Earlier this week, Russian forces appointed a new administration in Kherson because Mr Kolykhaiev was "not cooperating" with the occupied forces, according to Russian state news agency Ria.

Speaking on video call from somewhere in the region, with piles of binders and a toy camouflage jeep sitting on shelves behind him, Mr Kolykhaiev says he has not stopped working. He is sceptical of whether Russia can successfully introduce the rouble. "I have no confirmation that it's been introduced," he says. "When can it appear? When the treasury and the banking system of Ukraine will stop working? Anything can happen under occupation, I can't get into Russia's head to find out what they are thinking. If they do try to introduce the rouble zone here, we would be plunged back into 1992 when Ukraine gained its independence."

Ukrainian authorities had suggested that Russia could try to hold a referendum in the region on 1 May, asking voters whether they want independence from Ukraine. Any attempt to do this would be seen as a way to legitimise Russia's intervention, suggesting that residents no longer want to be part of Ukraine and painting Russia as liberators. Russia held a referendum in Crimea after Moscow annexed it in 2014, and also in the Russian-backed separatist areas of Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia has denied plans to hold a vote in Kherson, and for now residents in the city say they've seen no sign of it. Rumours swirl on social media channels about what could happen. Some Ukrainians are worried that Russia will simply fake the result and use records of their identity documents - which they fear the Russians could gain access to in the administrative buildings they now occupy - to back it up. "I'm not sure they even need the population here to know that there is a referendum," says Olga. "I guess they can do it without us. Maybe I already voted."

Routes to safety shut off

(Many supermarket shelves in Kherson are empty)

Several people inside Kherson told us that the routes out to safer parts of Ukraine have now been shut altogether. The only road available is through Crimea which means travelling into Russian territory, something several Ukrainians told us they would not be prepared to do. Maxim felt this was his only route to safety. He didn't want his name to be used as his family are still inside the city. At the border he was subject to a long interrogation as a security guard inspected his body for tattoos. "It was like a film," he said. "You sit on a suitcase under the scorching sun to be interrogated. I would never have imagined I would have to go through this. I was really horrified, because it's scary - people with machine guns are walking past you." His favourite artist almost got him into difficulties. "They were asking me the same questions on repeat," he says. "I have a David Bowie lightning tattoo and they asked me 'Is that Azov?'" The Azov battalion are a controversial regiment that was originally a far-right group later incorporated into Ukraine's National Guard. Maxim says that many of the cars in the queue had Kherson number plates. He has since safely travelled through Georgia and on to Europe. "Reaching Georgia was like being released from jail," he says. "You feel like you've got your human rights back."

For those still in Kherson there are deep fears about the future. "I am afraid of a humanitarian catastrophe," says Mr Kolykhaiev. "I am worried for the people who are still in the city today. They are all hostages. "It's like we started with 100 litres of petrol in the car tank and we are driving until the gas runs out. I want to calculate how long we can keep driving. How long can we carry the city?"

^ Kherson has survived Nazis in the past – when the Germans occupied their territory and forced the Reichsmark and other German things onto the people there. Putin is just copying what the German Nazis did and allowing the Russian Nazis to impose the Ruble and other Russian things onto the people there. The people of Kherson, Ukraine not only survived the German Nazi Occupation, but also kept up Partisan attacks against the Occupiers and the people of Kherson continue to do the same with the Russian Nazi Occupiers. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61286505

American Support

From VOA:

“What's Behind American Support for Ukraine?”

(People join a rally in support of Ukraine in Los Angeles, March 19, 2022)

As the Russian invasion continues into its third month, Americans are displaying an outpouring of sympathy for Ukrainians and support for Washington's robust assistance to Kyiv. Polls show strong bipartisan support for the $33 billion in supplemental funding that U.S. President Joe Biden requested from Congress this week, in addition to a $13.6 billion package of military and humanitarian aid that lawmakers approved last month. Americans also support Biden's commitment to admitting Ukrainian refugees into United States and expediting their legal entry process. A Gallup poll conducted April 1-19 showed 78% of Americans approved of "allowing up to 100,000" Ukrainian refugees into the U.S. — the highest level of American public support for admitting refugees that Gallup has found in its polling on various refugee situations since 1939.

The support is widespread across party affiliation, gender, education, income and regions of the country, said Lydia Saad, director of U.S. Social Research at Gallup. "This is not a controversial issue," Saad told VOA. "In this very partisan environment, it's notable that the majority of Republicans agree with the majority [of] Democrats on anything." Meanwhile, a Reuters/Ipsos poll this week showed that 73% of Americans support the administration's efforts to supply Ukraine with weapons, the highest level of support since Russia invaded its neighbor in February. There is also widespread support for imposing economic sanctions on Russia. And according to a recent poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 54% of Americans, mostly Republicans and independents, want Biden to get even tougher with Moscow.

Contributing factors Some of the reasons for the high level of American sympathy are the rapid escalation of the conflict, the geopolitical implications of a nuclear power attacking a country that shares borders with NATO allies, and the displacement of millions of people in a span of mere months. Even before the invasion, Americans had a more favorable view toward Ukrainians than Russians in general, as shown in a Gallup poll conducted in February. Many Americans still remember Cold War-era drills in preparation for a Russian nuclear attack, said Michelle Kelso, assistant professor of sociology and international affairs at George Washington University. "I think it does tap into the historical fear of Russia and the capability of Russia of doing real harm to us," she told VOA. More recently, Moscow has been seen by Americans — particularly Democrats — as a hostile power that tried to meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election in favor of Donald Trump.

The lobbying clout of the more than 1 million Americans of Ukrainian descent across the country also translates to bipartisan support in Congress, resulting in the rapid flow of billions of dollars in military and humanitarian aid to Kyiv. And so might Americans' affinity for Ukraine as a European and Christian nation. "There is somewhat of an identity, or an identification, with the background there," Kelso said. "They're not black and brown people coming from Afghanistan and Haiti." With the exception of support for the Clinton administration's decision to bring in several hundred ethnic Albanian refugees from Kosovo in 1999, no other refugee appeal has been supported by such a large portion of Americans and so widely across the political spectrum. "Bringing in refugees from Syria and Honduras and Central America [was] much more partisan," Saad said. "Democrats [are] much more favorable to those migrants than Republicans. Independents are somewhere in between."

Other influences The disparity between support for Ukrainians and support for other groups may also be influenced by the circumstances the groups are fleeing. While Ukraine is under attack by a much larger outside power, Syria and Central American countries are seen as nations dealing with their own internal issues — whether it's a ruthless dictator or a corrupt government incapable in dealing with poverty and gang violence. The circumstances in those countries are much harder for Americans to digest than the situation in Ukraine, where the plot is simple, and the villain is clear. "There's not one person at the top of the pyramid, where you're saying, 'OK, if we just take this person out, everything else will fall into place,' " Kelso said. Thus, in the context of the Russian invasion, the principle of sovereignty is easier for Americans to understand and defend than it is in the more convoluted conflicts in the Middle East that have dragged on for decades. The image of a young and charismatic leader courageously leading his country in a time of war has also galvanized support, Kelso said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "is, for us, an underdog. We love the underdog in this country."

^ It’s great to see Americans of all ages, politics, etc. come together to support Ukraine. ^

https://www.voanews.com/a/what-s-behind-american-support-for-ukraine-/6551539.html

67 Days

 

^ 67 days since Putin and his Nazi Zs invaded Ukraine and while Russian Soldiers continue to die as Cannon Fodder, Rapists and War Criminals by the Thousands and Russian Citizens continue to praise the crimes being committed in their name as their country collapses around them there is one man who Ukraine, the US and the whole world admires and honors – this man holding the flowers. I wish he could be President of the US or even the World. ^

Cinco Thursday

This Thursday (May 5^th) is Cinco de Mayo.

Contrary to popular belief it has nothing to do with mayonnaise (ie 5 mayos) and is not Mexican Independence Day.

The Mexicans celebrate their Independence from Spain on September 16^th (1810.)

Cinco de Mayo is just when Mexico won the Battle of Puebla against the French in 1862 during the Second Franco-Mexican War (1861–1867.) This isn’t even a Battle that won that War – the War lasted 5 more years.

Besides, celebrating a Victory over the French is like celebrating that the sun set at night – it always happens-  and anyone can beat the French.

KSAR

From Kabul Small Animal Rescue’s Facebook:

It’s World Veterinary Day, and our team has been busy. We’ve been reconfiguring our facilities, including a surgical suite and upgraded isolation area, and are working hard at continuing training for our veterinarians, vet techs, and animal caretakers. We’ve got more news on our training plans coming up this week! 

We will start work soon on getting diagnostic equipment in country so that we can better serve our animals and those in our community. It’s a big project, but well worth the effort.

^ Kabul Small Animal Rescue helps hundreds of abandoned and sick animals in Kabul and Canada.  Please donate, share, etc. the links to help

KSAR in Kabul:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-ksar-ongoing-operations?fbclid=IwAR3-ArZlwDB9vEWnn2qkc7DK-PB_jft3x8WssKuNsSNN19NakUeYJOIaXXc

KSAR in Canada:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/emergency-vet-costs-for-rescued-animals?fbclid=IwAR3blwyUyghcDqMfJFjrLc5LWt2DCRRryb-4oA9alRHfGL4GxR1WCDAJ6UE

^

May Day

 Labor Day (in the US) and Labour Day/Fête du Travail (in Canada) - first Monday of September = Peaceful

Labor Day (around the world) - May 1st = Violence and Destruction.

May Day or M’aidez? (Help me in French.) Both are pronounced the same.

Uncle Sam

 

I’ve been asked who the Uncle Sam is that I visited their grave today in New York.

I visited “THE” Uncle Sam’s grave. Here are 2 pictures I took of his gravesite today and 1 poster that everyone has seen since the 1800s.  

Not Good

 

War Paws

From War Paws’ Facebook:

Today is World Veterinarian Day and we would like to introduce the latest member of the War Paws Vet Team in Iraq, Dr Raouf joined us a few months ago in his position as Assistant Vet at the shelter in Iraq.  Dr Majd and Dr Raouf make an amazing team who truly put 100% into every single animal they see, we could not be more proud of the commitment these outstanding young vets give every single day.

As well as recognising the hard work of our vet team in Iraq we would like to send a huge thanks to the vet team from Kabul Small Animal Rescue.  I ( Louise) have spent the last 2 weeks in Kabul training with the KSAR vets alongside Dr Susan Chadima and Dr Caroline Musarandoga.  It has been a whirlwind 2 weeks and despite a daily onslaught of emergency cases this team has worked their fingers to the bone for the good of the animals in their care and it has been a true honour to be part of the team that will help to grow these young vets and expand their knowledge.

We would also like to thank Dr Ashleigh Eltze, Dr Louise Harvey, and Dr Ross Neethling for all of their support of our mission and advice given at all hours of the day and night when something isn’t going our way!

War Paws could not continue to produce the standard of care for the animals we encounter if it were not for all of the fantastic Vets that give 100% every step of the way!

^ War Paws continues to work hard in some of the most difficult and dangerous locations around the world to help animals.

Please donate, share, etc. the link to help them:

 https://warpaws.org/fundraising/

^

Military Appreciation

 

May Holidays

2022 May Holidays - Daily Calendar National, World, Bizarre Days

 

Month:

Asian American Month

Date Your Mate Month

Foster Care Month

Gifts from the Garden Month

Lupus Awareness Month

Mystery Month

National Barbecue Month

National Bike Month

National Blood Pressure Month

National Hamburger Month

National Photograph Month

National Recommitment Month

National Salad Month

Older Americans Month

Pacific Islander Heritage Month

 

Weekly Celebrations:

Be Kind to Animals Week -First full week of month

Nurse's Week - first full week of month

Wildflower Week - week two

National Bike Week - third week

National Police Week - third week of month

Emergency Medical Services Week - fourth week of month

 

May, 2022 Daily Holidays, Special and Wacky Days:

 May 1

Hawaiian Lei Day

Loyalty Day

May Day

Mother Goose Day

Save the Rhino Day

May 2

Baby Day

Brothers and Sisters Day 

May 3

Garden Meditation Day

Lumpy Rug Day

National Teacher's Day

World Press Freedom Day

May 4

Bike to School Day

Bird Day

National Candied Orange Peel Day

Renewal Day

Star Wars Day

May 5

Cartoonist Day

Cinco de Mayo

National Hoagie Day

Oyster Day

May 6

Beverage Day

Child Care Provider Day or Daycare Provider Day

International Tuba Day

Military Spouses Day

National Tourist Appreciation Day

National Nurses Day

No Diet Day

Space Day

May 7

Birth Mother's Day

Free Comic Book Day

Herb  Day

Kentucky Derby Day

National Babysitters Day

National Day of Prayer

National Fitness Day

National Tourism Day

National Train Day-

May 8

 Iris  Day

 Lilac Sunday

 Mother's Day

National Outdoor Intercourse Day

No Socks Day

V-E Day

World Red Cross Day / World Red Crescent Day

May 9  Lost Sock Memorial Day

May 10 Clean up Your Room Day 

May 11

Eat What You Want Day

National Receptionist Day

School Nurses Day

Twilight Zone Day

May 12

Fatigue Syndrome Day

International Nurses Day

Limerick Day

May 13

Blame Someone Else Day

Friday the 13th

Frog Jumping Day

International Hummus Day

Leprechaun Day

May 14

Dance Like a Chicken Day

International Migratory Bird Day

National Windmill Day

May 15

National Chocolate Chip Day

National Slider Day

Police Officer's Memorial Day

May 16

Love a Tree Day

National Sea Monkey Day

Wear Purple for Peace Day

May 17 Pack Rat Day

May 18

International Museum Day

No Dirty Dishes Day

Visit Your Relatives Day

May 19

Boy's Club Day

World Plant a Vegetable Garden Day

May 20

Be a Millionaire Day

National Bike to Work Day

National Endangered Species Day

Pick Strawberries Day

May 21

Armed Forces Day

National Memo Day

National Waiters and Waitresses Day

 May 22

Buy a Musical Instrument Day

National Maritime Day

World Goth Day

May 23

Lucky Penny Day

Victoria Day (Canada)

World Turtle Day

 May 24

International Tiara Day

National Escargot Day

May 25

National Missing Children's Day

National Brown Bag It Day

National Towel Day

National Wine Day

Tap Dance Day

World Otter Day -

May 26 Sally Ride Day

 May 27

Don't Fry Friday

Sun Screen Day

May 28

Amnesty International Day

International Jazz Day

National Hamburger Day

May 29

Learn About Composting Day

May 30

Memorial Day

Mint Julep Day

Water a Flower Day

May 31

National Macaroon Day

Save Your Hearing Day

World No Tobacco Day

https://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/may.htm

May