#toll 15 million lives

[samafricanreporter]

Pastor Alph Lukau called upon all Africans to unite, raise voices, and work towards healing the land and bringing an end to the Genocide in Congo. I appeal all governments and call upon all Africans to unite, raise voices, and work towards healing the land and bringing an end to the Genocide in Congo immediately.” — Pastor Alph Lukau JOHANESSBURG , KELVIN VIEW, SOUTH AFRICA, February 11, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been ravaged by a devastating genocide, resulting in the loss of an estimated 15 million lives. In the face of such immense tragedy, it is imperative that humanity does not remain insensitive to the suffering of the Congolese people. Pastor Alph Lukau has emerged as a beacon of hope, offering prayers for healing and actively working towards putting an end to the genocide. This stand taken by Pastor Alph Lukau delves into the urgent need to heal our land, stop the genocide, and appeals the Governments the importance of addressing this humanitarian crisis with compassion and action. The genocide in the DRC has displace the lives of more than 7 million people, leaving behind a trail of unimaginable suffering. It is our collective responsibility as human beings to respond with compassion and action. Alph Lukau's prayers for healing our land and stopping the genocide serve as a powerful reminder that humanity cannot be insensitive to the plight of others. In his Sunday services the general overseer of AMI , Pastor Alph Lukau called upon all Africans to unite, raise voices, and work towards healing the land and bringing an end to the genocide, ensuring that such atrocities are never repeated. Pastor Alph Lukau, renowned for his spiritual guidance and powerful prayers, has dedicated himself to praying for the healing of countries, especially Ukraine, India, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. His prayers extend beyond physical healing, encompassing emotional and spiritual restoration for the Congolese people. Lukau's prayers provide solace and hope to those affected by the genocide, reminding them that they are not alone in their struggle. Through his ministry, Lukau aims to uplift the spirits of the Congolese people, helping them find strength and resilience amidst the unimaginable pain they have endured. His prayers serve as a catalyst for healing, inspiring individuals and communities to come together and support one another during these trying times. """Heal our land"" is a plea that resonates deeply with the African people and the International community. It is a call for compassion and empathy towards the suffering endured by the millions affected by the genocide. Healing the land requires a collective effort, involving governments, organizations, and individuals worldwide." To heal the land, it is crucial to address the root causes of the conflict. The genocide in the DRC demands immediate action from the international community. The staggering death toll of 15 million lives lost cannot be ignored. Alph Lukau's prayers serve as a reminder that humanity cannot remain indifferent to the suffering of others.

[gayvampyr]

CNN:

Hundreds of families gathered in the West Darfur capital of El Geneina on June 15, plotting their escape from what had become a hellscape of blown-out buildings scrawled with racist graffiti and streets strewn with corpses. The state governor had just been executed and mutilated by Arab militia groups, leaving civilians with no choice but to flee.

What followed was a gruesome massacre, eyewitnesses said, believed to be one of the most violent incidents in the genocide-scarred Sudanese region’s history. The powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and its allied militias hunted down non-Arab people in various parts of the city and surrounding desert region, leaving hundreds dead as they ran for their lives…

…residents set off en masse from southern El Geneina, many trying to reach the nearby Sudanese military headquarters where they thought they might find safety. But they said they were quickly thwarted by RSF attacks. Some were summarily executed in the streets, survivors said. Others died in a mass drowning incident, shot at as they attempted to cross a river. Many of those who managed to make it out were ambushed near the border with Chad, forced to sit in the sand before being told to run to safety as they were sprayed with bullets.

“More than 1,000 people were killed on June 15. I was collecting bodies on that day. I collected a huge number,” one local humanitarian worker, who asked not to be named for security reasons, told CNN. He said the dead were buried in five different mass graves in and around the city.

Conflict erupted between the RSF and the Sudanese army in April. Since then, more than one million people have fled to neighboring countries, according to estimates from the International Organization for Migration.

Now, a telecommunications blackout and the flight of international aid groups have all but cut off Darfur from the outside world. But news of the June 15 massacre began trickling out of the region from refugees who escaped to Chad. The evidence uncovered by CNN suggests that, behind a curtain of secrecy, the RSF and its allies are waging an indiscriminate campaign of widespread killings and sexual violence unlike anything the region has seen in decades.

The RSF’s official spokesperson told CNN that it “categorically” denied the allegations.

“To say you were Masalit was a death sentence,” said Jamal Khamiss, a human rights lawyer, referring to his non-Arab tribe, one of the biggest in Darfur. Khamiss was among those who said that they fled from El Geneina to Chad, surviving a series of RSF and allied militia positions by concealing his ethnicity.

The United Nations raised the alarm in June over ethnic targeting and killing of people from the Masalit community in El Geneina, after reports of summary executions and “persistent hate speech,” including calls to kill or expel them.

The vast majority of those who managed to make it out of El Geneina alive sought refuge in the Chadian border town of Adre, about 22 miles (35 kilometers) away from the city.

On June 15, the town received the highest number of migrants in a single day, along with the highest number of casualties — 261 — since the Sudan conflict broke out, according to Doctors Without Borders, widely known by its French name, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), which runs the only hospital in Adre. The number of wounded people that arrived at the hospital was even higher the next day: 387.

“The last time we recorded the death toll in Geneina it was 884,” one local humanitarian worker from El Geneina, who works for a Western non-profit organization, told CNN. “That was June 9. After June 9, it was a different story. The dead became uncountable.”

Action Against Hunger is accepting donations to provide health, sanitation and nutrition services to Sudanese refugees in Chad.

[adastra-sf]

Climate change-driven heatwaves threaten millions

Extreme record-breaking heat leads to severe crises across the world.

Already in 2024, from Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria in the West; to Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, China, and the Philippines in the East; large regions of Asia are experiencing temperatures well above 40°C (104°F) for days on end.

The heatwave has been particularly difficult for people living in refugee camps and informal housing, as well as for unhoused people and outdoor workers.

Using the Heat Index Calculator, at that temperature and a relative humidity of 50%, residents see a heat index of 55°C (131°F) - a temperature level humans cannot long survive:

In February, the southern coastal zone of West Africa also experienced abnormal early-season heat. A combination of high temperatures and humid air resulted in average heat index values of about 50°C (122°F) - the danger level, associated with a high risk of heat cramps and heat exhaustion.

Locally, temperatures entered the extreme danger level associated with high risk of heat stroke, with values up to 60°C (140°F):

Even here at Ad Astra's HQ in Kansas, last summer we saw several days with high temperatures of 102°F (39°C) at 57% humidity, resulting in a heat index of 133°F (56°C):

Of course, the major difference in survivability in Kansas versus some of the places suffering extreme heat right now is that air-conditioning abounds here. Those who live somewhere that faces extreme heat but can escape it indoors are a lot more likely to survive, but a person who lives somewhere without such life-saving gear faces not just discomfort, but heat stroke and even death.

This includes unhoused and poor people here in the wealthier parts of the world, who often do not have access to indoor refuge from the heat.

About 15% of US residents live below the poverty line. Many low-wage earners work outside in construction or landscaping, exposed to the ravages of heat. Many do not own an air conditioner, and those who do might need to budget their body's recovery from heat against cost to purchase and run cooling equipment. Because heat stress is cumulative, when they go to work the next day, they’re more likely to suffer from heat illness.

Bad as that is, for those living on the street, heatwaves are merciless killers. Around the country, heat contributes to some 1,500 deaths annually, and advocates estimate about half of those people are homeless. In general, unhoused people are 200 times more likely to die from heat-related causes than sheltered individuals.

For example, in 2022, a record 425 people died from heat in the greater Phoenix metro area. Of the 320 deaths for which the victim’s living situation is known, more than half (178) were homeless. In 2023, Texans experienced the hottest summer since 2011, with an average temperature of 85.3°F (30°C) degrees between June and the end of August. Some cities in Texas experienced more than 40 days of 100°F (38°C) or higher weather. This extreme heat led to 334 heat-related deaths, the highest number in Texas history and twice as many as in 2011.

The Pacific Northwest of Canada and the USA suffered an extreme heat event in June, 2021, during which 619 people died. Many locations broke all-time temperature records by more than 5°C, with a new record-high temperature of 49.6°C (121°F). This is a region ill-suited to such weather, and despite having relatively high wealth compared to much of the world, many homes and businesses there do not have air-conditioning due to a history of much lower temperatures.

Heatwaves are arguably the deadliest type of extreme weather event because of their wide impact. While heatwave death tolls are often underreported, hundreds of deaths from the February heatwave were reported in the affected countries, including Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, and the Philippines.

Extreme heat also has a powerful impact on agriculture, causing crop damage and reduced yields. It also impacts education, with holidays having to be extended and schools closing, affecting millions of students - in Delhi, India, schools shut early this week for summer when temperatures soared to 47°C (117°F) at dangerous humidity levels:

At 70°C (157°F !), humans simply cannot function and face imminent death, especially when humidity is high. This is the notion of "heat index," a derivative of "wet-bulb temperature."

Though now mostly calculated using heat and humidity readings, wet-bulb temperature was originally measured by putting a wet cloth over a thermometer and exposing it to the air.

This allowed it to measure how quickly the water evaporated off the cloth, representing sweat evaporating off skin.

The theorized human survival limit has long been 35°C (95°F) wet-bulb temperature, based on 35°C dry heat at 100% humidity - or 46°C (115°F) at 50% humidity. To test this limit, researchers at Pennsylvania State University measured the core temperatures of young, healthy people inside a heat chamber.

They found that participants reached their "critical environmental limit" - when their body could not stop the core temperature from continuing to rise – at 30.6°C wet bulb temperature, well below what was previously theorized. That web-bulb temperature parallels a 47°C (117°F) heat index.

​The team estimates that it takes between 5-7 hours before such conditions reach "really, really dangerous core temperatures."

On March 5, 2024, Hong Kong saw temperatures of 27°C (80°F) with 100% humidity, which results in a heat index of 32.2°C (90°F) - seemingly not so bad until considering it's higher than the critical wet-bulb temperature. Also, if you watch the video, imagine the long-term effects of water accumulating in residences, such as dangerous mold.

We are witnessing the effects of climate change right now, all around the world, and rising temperatures are just the most-obvious (what we used to call "global warming"). Many, many other side-effects of climate change are beginning to plague us or headed our way soon, and will affect us all.

Unfortunately, those most affected - and those being hit the hardest right now - are people most vulnerable to heatwaves. With climate crises increasing in both intensity and frequency, and poverty at dangerous levels, we face a rapidly rising, worldwide crisis.

We must recognize the climate crisis as an international emergency and treat it as such. So much time, creative energy, resources, and life is wasted in war and the pursuit of profit or power - consider how much good could come from re-allocating those resources to ensuring a future for Earthlings, instead.

(Expect to see a "Science into Fiction" workshop on climate change coming soon - SF writers have a particular responsibility to address such important topics.)

[workersolidarity]

[ 📹 The martyred bodies of 8 civilians are bid farewell by their families at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, following an overnight bombing of a residential home in the city by the Israeli occupation forces. 📈 An infographic summarizes facts and figures on the ongoing Nakba on its 74th Anniversary. When, in 1948, nearly 134'000 Palestinian civilians were murdered by Zionists and around 1 million displaced out of a population at the time of approximately 1.4 million. The ethnic cleansing never really stopped, but took on new forms over the decades and continues to this day in the form of the current genocide in Gaza. More info found in #source1 . ]

🇮🇱⚔️🇵🇸 🚀🏘️💥🚑 🚨

DAY 221: 74TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NAKBA, UN VEHICLE TARGETED, OCCUPATION BOMBING MURDERS ENTIRE PALESTINIAN FAMILIES

On the 221st day of "Israel's" ongoing special genocide operation in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) committed 8 new massacres of Palestinian families, resulting in the deaths of 82 Palestinian civilians, mostly women and children, and wounding at least 234 others.

It should be noted that as a result of the constant Israeli bombardment of Gaza's healthcare system, infrastructure, residential and commercial buildings, local paramedic and civil defense crews are unable to recover countless hundreds, even thousands of victims who remain trapped under the rubble, or who's bodies remain strewn across the streets of Gaza.

This leaves the official death toll vastly undercounted, as Gaza's healthcare officials are unable to accurately tally those killed and maimed in this genocide, which must be kept in mind when considering the scale of the mass murder.

Today, on the 74th anniversary of the Nakba, the Catastrophe inflicted on the Palestinian people when the Zionist entity established itself through the genocide and ethnic cleansing of the native population of the occupied Palestinian territories.

Starting in 1948, and continuing to this day, the Palestinian National Council released a statement commemorating the horrors of the Nakba that began on this day 74 years ago.

The National Council states that the Nakba resulted in the forced displacement of 800'000 Palestinians, out of the 1.4 million citizens living on the land that was stolen from them at gunpoint, and which eventually came to create the modern-day occupied territories of the Israeli entity.

According to the National Council, the Israeli occupation "controlled 774 towns and villages, and destroyed 531 Palestinian towns and villages during the Nakba. The atrocities of the Zionist forces also included more than 70 massacres in which more than 15 thousand Palestinians were martyred."

Since then, a sort of slow-rolling Nakba has continued, despite the Palestinian population doubling more than 10 times since 1948, while more than 100'000 Palestinians have been murdered by the Israeli occupation since the Nakba, and more 1 million detentions of Palestinians have occured since that time.

The National Council also points to the expansion of Israeli settlements, sites and military outposts in the occupied West Bank, which totalled 471 by 2020, of which, 151 were Israeli colonial settlements, and 26 inhabited outposts.

The Israeli occupation continues to confiscate more Palestinian lands, using the classification system created by the Oslo Accords to justify the continued expansion of the Israeli entity, while settler attacks continue on a daily basis.

You can read more about the historical and ongoing Nakba by clicking #source1 at the bottom of this post.

Back in the Gaza Strip, today marks the 8th day of the Israeli occupation army's operations in the Rafah Governate, in the southern Gaza Strip, where Israeli Merkava tanks and other armored vehicles penetrated Salah al-Din Street, east of the Rafah Governate.

According to local reporting, occupation armored vehicles penetrated west of the Rafah Crossing, which remained closed for the 8th consecutive day, blocking any and all humanitarian or medical aid and supplies from reaching the Gaza Strip.

This forces starvation on the Palestinian population, while the sick and wounded are prevented from exiting the enclave to receive treatment outside Gaza's collapsing healthcare system.

According to the report, Zionist occupation tanks and armored vehicles entered West of the Rafah crossing in what appeared to be an attempted incursion across the border with Egypt.

In separate movements, Merkava tanks were seen entering George Street through the Al-Salam neighborhood, as occupation artillery shelling targeted the area.

Israeli artillery also targeted the Brazil neighborhood, as well as the Al-Tanour neighborhood surrounding the Al-Najjar Hospital and Khirbet al-Adas, where the Israeli occupation shelled the headquarters of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, resulting in a fire and destroying the building.

The same reporting states that Zionist tanks, armored vehicles and air forces expanded their bombing and artillery shelling campaign into central Rafah, targeting the Al-Awda roundabout, as well as the Al-Shaboura and Yabna Refugee Camps, the most densely populated areas in the city.

According to the United Nations, over 350'000 Palestinians have been displaced from the Rafah area, most of whom were displaced from other areas of Gaza after being forced to flee from Israeli military operations in various axis.

At the start of the Israeli entity's ground operations in Rafah, more than 1.4 million Palestinians had been crammed into the city of Rafah, which had a pre-war population of around 175'000 people.

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation's ongoing bombing and shelling targeted various sectors of the Gaza Strip; north, south, east and west, slaughtering entire families and destroying countless Palestinian homes and businesses.

In the middle of the night, occupation warplanes targeted a 3-story residential home belonging to the Karaja family, south of the Nuseirat Camp, in the central Gaza Strip, mass murdering 14 Palestinian civilians, including several children, and wounding a number of others. Updated reports say the death toll has since increased to 18.

According to the Central Committee in Rafah, as a result of the Israeli occupation's ongoing invasion and bombardment of the Rafah Governate, all healthcare centers in the east and central neighborhoods of Rafah City have been evacuated under threat of the occupation army's bombardment.

As a result of the occupation's continuous artillery shelling targeting the headquarters of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), in the Khirbet al-Adas neighborhood, north of Rafah, the building eventually caught fire and was destroyed.

The crimes of the Israeli occupation continued when Zionist fighter jets bombed a civilian's house in the Bakr Land area, west of Gaza City, while a separate bombing targeted Beit Lahia, in the northwest of the Palestinian enclave, and also continued pummeling the Jabalia Refugee Camp, in the northern Strip.

The war crimes of the Israeli occupation continued when an IOF air raid targeted the Tal al-Zaatar area, as well as the School square in the Jabalia Camp, while local paramedic crews were unable to reach the sites due to the continued bombardment of the area.

Following those crimes, the Zionist occupation army shelled several residential areas of the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City, after which, local civil defense and paramedic personnel were able to recover the bodies three martyred civilians and transported 9 wounded Palestinians to nearby hospitals.

Similarly, occupation air forces bombed a gathering of civilians in the vicinity of the Salah al-Din Gate, south of the city of Rafah, killing at least one civilian and wounding a number of others, while further Zionist jets bombarded the Al-Salam, Al-Geneina, Al-Tanour, and Brazil neighborhoods of the city.

Continued bombing of the Nuseirat and Al-Bureij Refugee Camps, in the central Gaza Strip, similarly resulted in the deaths of another 6 civilians.

Additionally, the Zionist army vastly escalated its ground operations in the Jabalia Camp, storming 6 displacement shelters housing homeless civilians, during which the occupation army arrested hundreds of Palestinians, executing dozens more and displacing thousands, forcing families to leave Jabalia for western Gaza while under continuous bombardment.

Further air raids by occupation aircraft resulted in the destruction of more than 100 homes in the Jabalia area.

IOF warplanes also bombed a residential home belonging to the Masoud family on Al-Nuzha Street in Jabalia al-Balad, north of Gaza, while another house belonging to the Abdel Rahman family was bombed in the Jabalia Refugee Camp, opposite the Al-Faluja School, killing a child and wounding several others.

At the same time, Zionist aircraft bombed another Palestinian home belonging to the Al-Safadi family on Old Gaza Street in Jabalia, killing and wounding a number of civilians, while yet another bombing of a home in Beit Lahiya killed three Palestinians and wounded several children.

Occupation forces have also penetrated the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City for the 5th day, while occupation D9 armored bulldozers destroyed the southern wall of the Al-Sabra medical clinic and also destroyed the power network and several water tanks.

Zionist fighter jets further bombed a residential house in the Al-Daraj neighborhood of central Gaza City.

In yet another horrific war crime, the Israeli occupation army targeted a clearly marked United Nations vehicle carrying personnel belonging to the World Health Organization (WHO), killing the Palestinian driver and one WHO employee, and wounding two others, one critically.

Gaza faces further catastrophe as yet another Palestinian hospital, the European Gaza Hospital in this case, has lost electricity generation due to running out of fuel, a result of the continued closure of the Rafah and Kerem Shalom border crossings.

Meanwhile, IOF warplanes bombed a school in the Nuseirat Camp, in the central Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of four Palestinians who were transported to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, while occupation artillery shelling hammered neighborhoods north of the Camp, killing at least four others.

As a result of the Israeli occupation's ongoing special genocide operation in the Gaza Strip, the death toll among the local population has risen to exceed 35'173 Palestinians killed, including over 15'000 children and 10'000 women, while another 79'061 others have been wounded since the start of the current round of Zionist aggression, beginning with the events of October 7th, 2023.

May 13th, 2024

#source1

#source2

#source3

#source4

#source5

#source6

#source7

#source8

#videosource

#graphicsource

@WorkerSolidarityNews

[trendfilmsetter]

Godzilla Minus One Review:

You can tell by the amount of emotional storytelling and having us feel through the pain of Koichi Shikishima as he balances the struggle of defending his country and saving his life; that director Takashi Yamazaki has taken notes from his famed inspiration of the Star Wars franchise and truly made possibly one of the best Godzilla films in franchise history. This science fiction masterpiece clocks in at over 2 hours and every second of it was spent on the edge of my seat.

Kamikaze pilots became an addition for the Japanese military during the closing moments of the war in the Pacific. One thing that the film highlights is the beginning stigma of kamikaze pilots who decided to live either by choice or due to their planes mechanical failures. That is the historical context set up we get in the beginning elements of the movie as Koichi decides to land his plane on Odo Island despite his plane not suffering from any mechanical damage. We also see the first instances of Godzilla as the monster attacks and kills the majority of the mechanical workers on Odo Island sparing Koichi himself and Sosaku Tachibana.

Godzilla’s ruthlessness was felt throughout the entire film from the moment the monster attacked the crew on Odo Island to his absolute destruction of the Ginza neighborhood in Tokyo which was undergoing rapid development. The scene where Noriko hangs from the train pole for dear life as Godzilla rips the train in half was just wild.

One thing i really enjoyed about this film is the character development of Koichi. In the beginning of the movie, he decides not to fulfill his kamikaze duties but after realizing the immense sacrifices that many Japanese people (not only pilots) have endured during the war and the Godzilla attacks, he dedicates his life to his “impromptu family” and realizes that he is willing to sacrifice himself to create a “better world” for his “daughter” Akiko. Tachibana immediately sees that Koichi understands the immense toll that war has, how kamikaze pilots never had that choice to live and creates an eject mechanism so that Koichi can have that choice to live. You can see his facial expressions throughout the film start from being in fear to being determined to save Japan.

I also love that they gave Shiro Mizushima a moment of shine as he coordinates backup for Kenji Noda’s plan to sink Godzilla into the ocean floor. The theater was clapping! The movie was paced extremely well and used every part of its 2 hour runtime to tell its story. Did not feel like there were any fillers or unnecessary scenes. The ending also really does leave the viewers thinking about the many different ways and theories that the film may continue through a possible sequel. I know not all films need a sequel but Please give us a sequel!!

There are so many parts to this film that I can go into detail about that make this one of my favorite Godzilla films. This film only had a $15 million dollar budget and yet superseded many action movies made this year in the United States including the comic book movies in DC/Marvel well known for their $200 million dollar plus budgets. Studios should take note.

I highly recommend this film especially for those who may not be familiar with the Godzilla story who would like an introduction into the kaiju portrayal of monsters in Japanese films.

[blackswaneuroparedux]

The adults sat around their radios and cried. The children gathered outside in the dusty road and whispered their bewilderment. We were most surprised and disappointed that the emperor had spoken in a human voice.

- Kenzaburō Ōe, A Portrait of the Postwar Generation

On On 15 Aug. 1945, Hirohito announced the unconditional surrender to the United States. The future Nobel literature prize winner, Kenzaburō Ōe, was only ten years old when he heard the emperor of Japan on the radio.

Throughout Japanese history, the emperor had been viewed as a demi-god, remote from the populace. That tradition was shattered on this day (Tokyo time) in 1945 when Emperor Hirohito made a 673-word radio broadcast accepting the terms of the July 26th Potsdam Declaration. His announcement marked the first time commoners in Japan, with a few exceptions, had heard the emperor’s voice.

The declaration warned Japan that unless it accepted its terms of “unconditional surrender,” the nation would face “prompt and utter destruction.” The document was signed by President Harry S. Truman, British Prime Minister Churchill and Chiang Kai-shek, the Chinese Nationalist leader. It made no mention of Hirohito.


The Tokyo leadership, divided over how to proceed, dithered. One faction hoped the Soviet Union would broker a deal. (Instead, the Soviets declared war on Aug. 9, grabbing a share of the spoils.)

Truman responded by authorizing the dropping of an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6 and a second bomb on Nagasaki three days later. They devastated the two cities, killing an estimated 246,000 people in matters of seconds.

Hirohito (1901-89) began his broadcast by saying: “To our good and loyal subjects: After pondering deeply the general trends of the world and the actual conditions obtaining in our empire today, we have decided to effect a settlement of the present situation by resorting to an extraordinary measure. We have ordered our government to communicate to the governments of the United States, Great Britain, China and the Soviet Union that our empire accepts the provisions of their joint declaration.”

The emperor went on the say, falsely, that “we declared war on America and Britain out of our sincere desire to insure Japan’s self-preservation and the stabilisation of East Asia, it being far from our thought either to infringe upon the sovereignty of other nations or to embark upon territorial aggrandisement.

“But now the war has lasted for nearly four years. Despite the best that has been done by everyone - the gallant fighting of our military and naval forces, the diligence and assiduity of our servants of the state and the devoted service of our 100 million people - the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan’s advantage, while the general trends of the world have all turned against her interest.

“Moreover, the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives. Should we continue to fight, it would not only result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilisation.”

Hirohito’s broadcast culminated in the signing of surrender documents on the foredeck of the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on Sept. 2, 1945.

[naturalrights-retard]

By Dr. Sherri Tenpenny

The Buffalo Killers

In the 1800s, the US government definitely played a role in shaping the fate of Native Americans. How did they do it? The government allowed the decimation of the buffalo herds in the Great Plains. When the buffalo were gone, it was easier to force Native Americans onto reservations. Why? Because their primary food source was gone.

The Native Americans suffered a worse fate. US officials welcomed this devastating hunting as an end to their means. No buffalo meant no food and a way to force the natives to settle on reservations.

Deadly European diseases and wars with the white man certainly took a toll on Native American populations. The Civil War also made a dent, but the Indians were too resilient for the US government’s liking. The “scorched earth” Civil War generals like William Tecumseh Sherman and Philip Henry Sheridan came to be in charge of Indian engagement, their next assignment after the torching of Atlanta.

Long-standing Lies of the US Government

First, the Indians were promised that they could live freely on the Great Plains as long as the buffalo also freely roamed there. No Native American could fathom this not to be the case. Then, tens of millions of bison were slaughtered for sport rather than for food and clothing. There was a larger depopulation goal on the horizon. The end justified the means, right?

Completion of the Transcontinental Railroad gave easy access to large hunting parties. The buffalo were simply no match. A hunter once expressed remorse after shooting 30 bulls in one hunting trip, and US Army colonels told him to brush it off: “Kill every buffalo you can! Every buffalo dead is an Indian gone.”

[faerunsbest]

Rolans 1st love

okay i hurt my own feelings.

here you go.

on ao3

Requited but unlucky

Prior to the grove Rolans love life was sparse,thin and unfortunately shallow. His first introduction to attraction at all had gone sour, but he told himself he was fooled by a pretty face and hadn’t bothered to look deeper. Which was true and left him annoyed every time he thought of it. 

At this time he was half a year from 15 and struggling through both employment and his own education…none of it compared to all the work that needed doing at home. Everything it was everything and it was entirely the most important part of himself. Running out of work every day to hurry several blocks away so he would never be late to pick up his siblings from the school house. Every day they would tumble out the doors and know exactly where he would be waiting for them. Every day he would take their books and bags and carry them for them while they both rambled about their day, through the market where he would stop for a few basic items, flour grains maybe eggs depending on the weight of his wallet.

    No more time could be spent at the library, there just wasn’t time without his mother there, instead on his day off work he would pop over to a local bookstore and look about to see if he could afford anything. Sometimes at the register, the cashier would smile at him in a funny lopsided way. Someone who looked not much older than himself.

 A boy again, with white blonde hair tucked back into a low, short tail. A few loose strands always falling by his pointed ears, a  thin pink line over the right side of his mouth. The scar of cosmetic surgery to fix his cleft palate. Rolan tried not to pay attention to the shades of lavender his cheeks tended to turn when they talked for a while, though it was difficult not to notice.

As always when the place was slow, Rolan stayed to chat a little longer than he should, he couldn’t help himself when he smiled back at the cashier whose name he still hadn’t asked for. Another niche joke and he was sure would fall flat and suddenly, Rolans heart skipped a beat when the cashier snorted in response, immediately putting his hand over his mouth and nose. Face flaring shades of pastel violets as he looked away. 

A cough was heard behind him,  Rolans grimaced realizing someone was now waiting to pay, he waved hurriedly and shuffled out of the store. All the way down to the market Rolan smiled, he smiled so much his cheeks hurt. The smile stayed in place as he shopped about, gathering this and that for dinner. Always a bigger event on his days off and his siblings knew it. They looked forward all week to his full dinners, with a million tiny plates and spoons to serve this and that.

Back at the apartment, small and cramped still but now his mothers old room was his. He lined an entire wall with every book he could get his claws on and still searched for more where it could be afforded. The living room was small and minimally furnished, a simple sofa facing the fireplace, a small wood end table on one side of the sofa. He took the broom through the place from end to end, paying close attention to corners. Gently he took todays book and sat it on the end table, knowing he would read it to Cal and Lia after dinner. For a moment he paused to look at it and could only think of how embarrassed the cashier had been to laugh like that in front of him.

Again he was grinning like an idiot while he plucked an apron off its hook in the kitchen, he found himself humming while he prepared dough. Leaving it off to the side to rise when he began chopping up the market finds, rolling cubed beef in a layer of spices before throwing them into a pot to sear. As he cooked he continually tilted his head counting bells that went off in the distance, now satisfied. He placed lids on pots and a towel over the bread he pulled from the fireplace.  

Another set of bells tolled just as he shut and locked the apartment door, hurrying to the apartment entrance he paused, surprised when he found the cashier pushing the door open. For a moment they just stared at each other, the cashier's soft face shifted in color before he hurried to open the door for Rolan. 

“Um, I’m sorry about earlier.. It was a gross sound…”

Rolan felt his own face turning warm, he shrugged his shoulder as he stepped out.

“No, it was… kind of cute actually.”

He didn’t stop to see how it was received before stepping out and hurting off to collect his siblings at the schools door.

Later on the cashier looked out his door at a familiar noisy rumble coming up the hall, blinking in surprise at Rolan with his sharp smile. He was listening intently as his sibling ran small circles behind while they nattered about the day’s happenings. The cashier watched him hold the door open to let them in and felt his own chest flood with warmth as he realized what was happening.

Rolan was always so rushed and hurried because he was busy taking care of those kids. The cashier couldn't help but grin to himself at the image they made before he closed his own door and thought how that's the man who thought his strange laugh was…cute.

Perfectly unaware of his admirer, Rolan  readied the small dinner table for his sibling. He nodded and cheered for them when Lia announced that she had passed a surprise vocabulary test. Cal shared his own accomplishment  for the day, grinning when he realized his brother didn’t forget. Rolan knew of the test that had been scheduled and planned to celebrate, with a small cake for them. 

With so little good left, Rolan celebrated their every win. 

He tossed them in the bath to wash up while he cleaned the kitchen and brushed their hair when they were out and dry. He didn’t have to , they knew how but it was nice. Even cal sat still and read a page out loud from the day’s newest book while Rolan made sure to dry and brush his hair, trying it into a small tail when done. After everything was finished there, Rolan kicked up his feet on the sofa sitting comfortably across it. As he picked up the book, Cal and Lia scrambled to pile on top of him while he read out loud. It was the same every night and every night made the day feel worth it.

—

The week droned on and despite the cashiers best efforts to catch him alone it seemed that Rolan never did anything alone. He would go out to collect water and wash clothes in a community space, with his siblings tumbling about behind him. They sword fought with sticks much to his dismay. They went with him shopping, they went with him to collect housewares and pay bills. They hung on his arm while he talked with the landlord as he dropped off rent.  

As much as it got in the way of any chance to talk to him, the cashier was also incredibly endeared by it.  By the middle of the week he gave up and hoped to see Rolan on his day off.

Unfortunately when he went in for work he found a sign on the door notifying all customers the place was closed for the day. He grumbled all the way back to the apartment when he stopped out front to find Rolan with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows as he saw by a washing pool.

For a moment he froze as he watched him hold up a small pair of trousers and grimace at them.

“Hi there.”

Rolan blinked in surprise before turning around to face him, the cashier!

“Oh, hello…” he made a face before adding “I never asked your name…”

He smiled and pushed back that loose strand of hair.

“Kai, I’m kai.. Nice to ‘meet’ you..?”

“Ah, I’m Rolan.”

He said while bunching the pants up into a ball and pressing out as much water as he could. Without thought Rolan simply continued to wash clothes.

“Ah, don’t you usually work today?”

“Mm the store is closed apparently. Do you need any help?”

Rolan blinked again, surprised.

“You have a day off and you're gonna do laundry with me?”

Kai shrugged at him, putting a hand out for the pants while he looked over to a taut clothesline. Rather amiably Kai found ways to fill what could have been a rather awkward silence, he grinned beside himself Rolan laughed, bright and warm about something or another. Kai smiled and blurted out

“Ah you have such a nice laugh…it’s pretty.”

The moment after, they stared rather bashfully at each other before glancing away. Rolan spotted the clothesline and laughed again 

“You don’t do this very much do you?”

“Huh!?” Kai stared in shock realizing … It was the laundry. He never did these things so he’d done it wrong. Rolan laughed bright and cheerful before going and fixing it all. Now it was easy, laughing like this. They waited for the clothes to dry even though there certainly were other things for Rolan to do. The day droned on, bells marking its segments.  

Soon enough Kai was watching Rolan bring Cal and Lia home again, and the day went on and ended though tonight his face hurt from smiling, his gut ached from laughing and sleep was filled with bliss.

Rolan found himself especially playful as he dumped Cal and Lia back in the tub, he took a bowl and dunked it down in to raise up and spill waves of warm water over their heads. Peels of laughter filled the small place, bounced off the walls and left Rolan giddy. The house like this always felt like he was doing something right, all said and done he plopped a towel on their heads and ruffled them dry. 

Dinner today was heavy and filling,letting them doze off quickly for the evening. While they slept peacefully Rolan lay in bed smiling with his arms folded over his head. He tried desperately to stop his heart from racing as he lay there thinking about someone loving his laugh.

A day went by and Rolan waved through the shop window as he passed on his way to work. A new part of his daily routine on his way to work, it made the day bright seeing kai wave back, with that lopsided smile. Every day for the week, until it was his day off and Kai got to see him again. 

Every day, then a week, then another week and a month had gone by. Today Rolan had Kai in his kitchen stirring something or another since he didn’t seem to know how to do much else. Rolan teased him all the way through it, smiling at the way Kai seemed to turn bright at his words. 

He loved it. 

About to say something else, Rolan found himself silenced. Before he could register what happened kai pulled back, shock and terror on his face.

“I’m sorry I shouldn’t have done that I-”

Feeling emboldened, Rolan leaned down to return the kiss he’d been so unexpectedly given. They parted to stare at each other breathless and bashful. In the distance a bell tolled, reminding him he had to leave. Another giddy night passed. 

Something new was added rather gleefully to Rolan's routine. Sneaking out at night for just a moment, long enough to be given a kiss goodnight and hurry back. 

A day and a week and month would pass, playfully, romantically and painfully quick.

News became dire, people more harsh and suddenly Kai was looking at him miserably.

“What’s going on? What’s wrong ?!”

Not knowing what else to do he reached out and pulled Kai close, pressing his chin to the top of kais head.

“We’re leaving.”

Rolans eyes went wide, he pulled back just far enough to look at him and see a dam suddenly burst, tears spilling down Kai’s face. He struggled to breathe and held tightly onto Rolan.

“What do you mean- where are you going?!”

“Mum had to quit her job because of what's going on and.. Ap’pa says we have family in the dales so that’s where we might be going. He told us as soon as I got home…they already packed. We’re leaving right now and I- don’t want to!”

Rolan felt his eyes sting before his vision blurred and thick wet tears rolled down him. He thought about it, clenched his eyes hard. So hard it hurt and when he opened them little baubles of color filled his line of sight. He hugged Kai hard, pressed kisses all over his face before setting their foreheads together.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.. You gotta go.”

Kai can hear Rolan’s voice cracking as he speaks, trying to stay calm through the waves of misery threatening to overwhelm him. 

“What?!”

“Kai, your parents see danger… They have a way to keep you safe. I would run if I could.. I can't, so you must go. Go and be safe okay.”

“Rolan I-”

A kiss pressed firmly to his lips, heavy and wet. There wasn’t time he needed to leave and Rolan would be damned if he was the reason Kai didn’t get to run away. Gently he pushed Kai backward, his knees threatened to give out under him. He looked away, instead just pointing with a shaking hand to the place where he knew Kai’s parents were waiting for him..

A day, a week and month and the ache remained as the city began to fall apart. 

All this and there were no more giddy nights.

The quiet of the apartment settle under his ribcage and Rolan looked around, feeling a failure as the saddened expressions on his siblings became so common.

No more giddy nights.

[fictionwriter2015]

Daily death rate in Gaza higher than any other major 21st Century conflict - Oxfam

Published: 11th January 2024

Israeli military killing 250 Palestinians per day with many more lives at risk from hunger, disease and cold

Israel’s military is killing Palestinians at an average rate of 250 people a day which exceeds the daily death toll of any other major conflict of recent years, Oxfam said today, as the escalation of hostilities nears its 100th day.

In addition, over 1,200 people were killed in the horrific attacks by Hamas and other armed groups in Israel on 7 October and 330 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since then.

Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam’s Middle East Director, said: “The scale and atrocities that Israel is visiting upon Gaza are truly shocking. For 100 days the people of Gaza have endured a living hell. Nowhere is safe and the entire population is at risk of famine.

“It is unimaginable that the international community is watching the deadliest rate of conflict of the 21st century unfold, while continuously blocking calls for a ceasefire.”

15 January 2024 CLARIFICATION:  Using publicly available data, Oxfam calculated that the number of average deaths per day for Gaza is higher than any recent major armed conflict including Syria (96.5 deaths per day), Sudan (51.6), Iraq (50.8), Ukraine (43.9) Afghanistan (23.8) and Yemen (15.8). 

The aid agency is warning that people are being increasingly forced into smaller areas due to constant bombardment, as they are forced to flee from places they have previously been told are safe, but nowhere in Gaza is truly secure. Over one million people - more than half the population – have been forced to seek shelter in Rafah on the Egyptian border. Oxfam staff in Rafah report massive overcrowding, with very little food and water, and essential medicines having run out. This crisis is further compounded by Israel's restrictions on the entry of aid, closing borders, imposing a siege, and denying unfettered access. Currently, only 10 percent of the weekly food aid needed is getting in.

Oxfam is also warning of the massive threat to life, beyond direct casualties, from hunger and disease. The onset of cold and wet weather is making the situation even more critical, with a shortage of blankets, no fuel for heating devices and no hot water. One of Oxfam’s partner organizations, Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC), described the situation for those living in tents as “worse than anything you could imagine”, with makeshift shelters letting in rain, being blown away in the wind and people resorting to desperate measures like selling precious food or water supplies to get a blanket.

Mutaz, an engineer who has been displaced to Al-Mawasi with his family, said: “The rain was going down from all sides of the tent. We had to sleep lying over the bag of flour to protect it from the rain. My wife and three of my daughters use one blanket at night. There are only enough blankets for four people to share. We have nothing.”

Earlier this week, a camp in Jabaliya was flooded with sewage when pipelines and a pumping station were damaged by Israeli air strikes. The lack of clean drinking water and proper sanitation poses a huge health risk. Cases of diarrhoea are 40 times higher than this time last year, although in reality, the number of cases is likely to be significantly higher.

Sally Abi Khalil said: “While the mass atrocities continue, lives continue to be lost and critical supplies cannot get in. Israel’s total blockade of the Gaza Strip is restricting life-saving aid, including food, medical supplies, and water and sanitation facilities.

“On top of the already horrific death toll, many more people could die from hunger, preventable diseases, diarrhoea, and cold. The situation is particularly worrying for children, pregnant women and those with existing medical conditions.

“The only way to stop the bloodshed and prevent many more lives being lost is for an immediate ceasefire, for hostages to be released and for crucial aid supplies to be allowed in.”

The United Nations International Court of Justice is holding a hearing today on the legality of Israel’s prolonged assault on Gaza, and may issue an emergency order for the suspension of Israel’s military campaign. Oxfam supports all efforts to investigate and address all mass atrocity crimes and human rights violations, irrespective of the perpetrator.

[laresearchette]

Friday, March 08, 2024 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: THE RELUCTANT TRAVELER WITH EUGENE LEVY (Apple TV+) THE GOOD MOTHER (Paramount+ Canada) FIRST TIME FEMALE DIRECTOR (The Roku Channel) BOARDERS (Tubi)

WHAT IS NOT PREMIERING IN CANADA TONIGHT? GOLD RUSH: WHITE WATER (Premiering on March 12 on Discovery Canada at 9:00pm) THE TRAITORS (UK) (Premiering on March 15 on Crave at 11:00pm)

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

AMAZON PRIME CANADA AMERICAN FICTION ANATOMY OF A FALL DIFFERENT STROKES (EXCLUSIVE CONTENT) FLAWS

CBC GEM CBC MUSIC LIVE AT MASSEY HALL COCO CHANEL: UNBUTTONED GANGNAM PROJET THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW (Season 14) JUICE THE NEXT STEP (Season 7) 20TH CENTURY WOMEN WORKIN’ MOMS YOUNGER (Seasons 6 and 7, plus a one-hour special)

CRAVE TV BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE THE DEPARTED DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN HOLMES FAMILY RESCUE HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN PARADISE HIGHWAY PUSH SICK GIRL SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS WONKA

NETFLIX CANADA BLOWN AWAY (Season 4) (CA) DAMSEL

HOCKEY CENTRAL TRADE DEADLINE (SN) 10:00am

MLB SPRING TRAINING (SN1) 1:00pm: Yankees vs. Jays

TENNIS (TSN2) 2:00pm; Indian Wells - Early Round Coverage Day #3 (TSN2/TSN4) 6:00pm: Indian Wells - Early Round Coverage Day #3

CURLING (TSN3) 2:00pm: Montana's Brier: Page 1/2 Qualifier (TSN/TSN3) 8:00pm: Montana's Brier: Page 3/4 Qualifier

PWHL HOCKEY (SN) 7:00pm: Montreal vs. Toronto

NHL HOCKEY (SNEast/SNOntario) 7:00pm: Sabres vs. Blue Jackets (SN) 10:00pm: Stars vs. Ducks (TSN3) 10:00pm: Jets vs. Kraken

NBA BASKETBALL (SN1) 7:30pm: Timberwolves vs. Cavaliers (SN Now) 8:00pm: Heat vs. Thunder (SN1) 10:30pm: Bucks vs. Lakers

MARKETPLACE (CBC) 8:00pm

MILLION DOLLAR ISLAND (Discovery Canada) 8:00pm: Finals Week begins, and starvation continues taking a toll on the Log camp as the hunger games reach a dramatic climax.

THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF CHESHIRE (Slice) 8:00pm: Big ‘V’ Energy

BOLLYWED (documentary) 8:00pm: When Kuki invites the public to the second store Grand Opening on live radio, it gives the family less than 48 hours to be ready… for way more guests than they were anticipating.

ABOUT THAT (CBC) 8:30pm

THE FIFTH ESTATE (CBC) 9:00pm: Rotten Promises: A pitch to turn the Maritimes into an apple-growing capital, with influential supporters, was an easy sell to investors and would-be foreign workers; those who bought in say it was a scam.

OWN SPOTLIGHT: OPRAH & ANGELA BASSETT (OWN Canada) 9:00pm: Oprah hosts an intimate conversation with actress Angela Bassett in celebration of her recent honorary Academy Award; Angela shares her journey to success, her commitment to excellence and the dreams she has for her family.

HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE (Crave) 9:00pm: With the climate crisis at a point of no return, a group of environmental activists come up with a daring plan to make their voices heard and disrupt an oil pipeline.

THE SUMMIT AUSTRALIA (Discovery Canada) 9:30pm (FINALE): After 14 days, 200 kilometres of brutal terrain and death defying obstacles along the way, The Summit is finally in sight.

CRIME BEAT (Global) 10:00pm: Surrey Six: The Gang Hit

[mariacallous]

@ozkaterji's latest piece for Foreign Policy

We were standing outside the ammunition warehouse for a self-propelled artillery brigade on Ukraine’s eastern front. The door was locked, and the brigade commander didn’t have the key.

A soldier bolted round the corner, face puce from a mixture of exertion and embarrassment, keys jangling in his hands as he wheezed his way over to the warehouse door.

Valerii was a beekeeper before the war, and he was built better for apiculture than he was for distance-running.

“I’m checking in regularly on some abandoned hives near the front lines” he told me, via my translator. “It looks like it will be a big harvest this year,” he said with a smile as he prepared several mugs of tea for his colleagues.

But despite his jolliness, the situation that lay behind that locked door was far starker than any Western leader has been willing to admit on record. As I entered the ammunition warehouse, I was startled by how barren it was.

We were visiting a stretch of front in eastern Ukraine, where Foreign Policy was invited to embed with some of the troops tasked with holding the line against relentless Russian combined-arms offensives. For the safety of the men who spoke to us, names have been changed, and their operating locations are not being disclosed.

It was late March. Ukraine’s frozen steppe had thawed in the spring, and the sun was beating down on the front lines of Europe. It had been six weeks since the fall of Avdiivka, a town in the Donetsk region that had about 30,000 residents before the war, and while the Russian offensives had not let up, Ukraine’s defensive lines had stabilized since they withdrew from Avdiivka’s meat grinder.

Yet the ammunition shortages that began in 2023 are taking their toll on Ukraine’s war effort. U.S. aid to Ukraine remains blockaded in Congress by a far-right Republican Party caucus, and Europe has failed to meet Ukraine’s demand for artillery shells.

News that a Czech artillery scheme has managed to source up to a million rounds of artillery for Ukraine was greeted with a sigh of relief in Kyiv, but there on the forward operating line, there was still little sign of a resupply. The Czech plan is not expected to begin deliveries until June, and a similar Estonian offer will likely follow soon after.

On the front lines, though, the situation is already critical as Ukrainian forces struggle to hold their positions without the ammunition required to defend them.

In the ammunition warehouse, I stood with my translator, along with a Ukrainian military press officer, Valerii the front-line beekeeper, and Vladislav, the broad and graying commander of this brigade. He bears an uncanny resemblance to former British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.

Around us were two dozen or so wooden boxes of artillery ammunition, holding a total of 30 NATO-standard 122 mm shells, obtained from Pakistani stocks, and 60 Soviet 122 mm rounds from what little remains of Ukraine’s dwindling stockpile.

The brigade that I was embedded with held a stretch of front 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) long, and when I visited this axis, they had nine functioning artillery pieces, each with a maximum range of 15 kilometers (about 9 miles). That effectively amounted to 10 rounds per howitzer for every 2 kilometers of front line, with no resupplies expected soon.

Startled by the numbers, I asked Vladislav how the Ukrainian soldiers had managed to stabilize the front after Avdiivka, given that they had such little ammunition to work with.

“Because of the lack of shells, we have to pay with lives,” he said, making it clear that the price paid for Western inaction on artillery is being paid for in Ukrainian blood.

I asked what the ratio of fire between them and the Russians currently was, and Vladislav delivered another grim assessment.

“On the good days, between 10- and 20-to-1” he said, “and on the bad days, it almost feels like they have an unlimited supply.”

This part of the front has not seen as many Russian offensives as other parts of the eastern forward line, but the ammunition shortages are impacting the entirety of Ukraine’s war effort.

Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the commander of the U.S. European Command, told the House Armed Services Committee on April 10th that Russia would be outgunning Ukraine by 10 to one “within a matter of weeks.” For some units at least, this point has already been reached.

Ukraine has been hungry for shells for months. According to Vladislav, his brigade began to run low on shells in February 2023, and the shortage has been getting progressively worse since then. He said that Ukraine’s 2023 counteroffensive, generally considered a failure, began even though its troops lacked the artillery firepower required to sustain offensive operations.

They have not received a resupply in months, and his brigade has been forced to ration shells, firing only when absolutely necessary to hold their positions. The only reason that Vladislav’s troops have not been forced into further retreat, he told me, has been solely the “professionalism and sacrifice of Ukrainian men.”

“Without the ammunition, we have to rely on our reserves,” he said, adding that this reality has come with “heavy cost in life.”

Ukrainians are still the more motivated troops, he told me, as they are the ones defending their land. But the Russians have greatly improved their tactics since their early failures in the war.

“They build defenses, then they advance, then they build defenses, then they advance again,” Vladislav said.

In the meantime, Ukrainians have been much slower to fortify their positions, providing further openings for Russian gains while ammunition supply remains critical.

But despite his harsh words about the offensive, Vladislav had no harsh words for his superiors on this salient, and he praised new commander in chief Oleksandr Syrskyi’s organized retreat from Avdiivka as the “correct decision.”

But based on Kyiv’s talk about the potential for a new counteroffensive later this year, an offensive seems unlikely. “Offensive?” Vladislav asked. “We cannot even hold our current positions.”

Without a significant increase in their ammunition supplies, Vladislav told me that his men will be forced to abandon this line and retreat farther into Ukrainian territory. He said that they need at least a 3-to-1 shell advantage over the enemy to be able to adequately counter them.

Across an entire front line, that is far more ammunition than even the Czech and Estonian initiatives can provide. According to former Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine needs at least 356,400 shells a month to remain operational. The Czech supply would provide just three months of this.

I asked Vladislav if there was anything besides shells that he needed, and he stressed that the issue was not just about ammunition, but also equipment.

“I need new artillery,” he said. With most of their howitzers built in the 1980s, his troops’ equipment is under increasing strain and in need of constant maintenance. But Vladislav insisted that his men do not need additional training to use newer, NATO-standard armored vehicles.

“If I drive an old Lada, it’s easy for me to then drive a Mercedes,” he said with a smile.

It is not, at least, all bad news for this particular unit, though.

“We have 100 percent of our personnel needs met,” said Vladislav. “I have too many men and not enough artillery pieces for them.” He told me that he has enough spare crew to man three more cannons, but he lacks the cannons to man.

The men also remained in high spirits. Those that I spoke to said that their morale and will to fight was still strong, but the situation had clearly been taking its toll on them.

Oleh, the driver of his unit’s worse-for-wear looking 2S1 Gvozdika—a Soviet-made, self-propelled Howitzer—told me that the recent weeks had been unbearably tense, but that he and the unit remained strong. “If we were provided with shells, we would be prepared for offensives, but we don’t have them,” he said. “The only thing we are thinking about is saving shells.”

“Our main target is enemy infantry,” said Serhii, another soldier.  Without ammunition, the Ukrainian soldiers no longer have any ability to operate counter-battery fire in this part of the front line, leaving their positions totally at the mercy of Russian artillery. “We shell their infantry only to prevent them from advancing—we have no shells for anything else,” he added.

The worst thing, they told me, aside from Russian shelling and  drone attacks, was listening to their comrades being killed over the radio. “We listen to their suffering, and we feel useless,” said Oleh, a tank driver.

The men clearly have a Western audience in mind as they talk to me. Taras, the oldest of the men, told me that if he could speak to the U.S. politicians currently blocking military aid packages to Ukraine, he would ask them to come and see how critical the situation is.

“These politicians should come and fight alongside me” he said. “Then they will see for themselves.”

“If we don’t get the shells to push them back, they will come after you next” Serhii said.

Oleh followed up: “If we don’t fight them back, then NATO will be left to fight Russia.”

I visited several locations in late March, and all the men who spoke to me relayed similar stories as the situation on Ukraine’s vast front line with an increasingly emboldened Russia continued to deteriorate.

Kyiv has begun to change its approach from the strategy that yielded little territorial gain in 2023, starting to build trenches, other fortifications, and defensive lines. The fresh defenses that I saw in the Sumy region, an area in northeast Ukraine that borders Russia and was one of the first regions invaded in 2022, showed that Ukraine was actively preparing for a worst-case scenario, even in areas completely liberated from Russian presence, to thwart the potential for another Russian invasion from the north of the country.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published photographs of an official visit to those same defenses in Sumy just four days later. Kyiv is keen to let the Russians know about the fortifications, presumably hoping to deter future offensives.

Yet the situation in the neighborhoods of these border regions is bleak, and the authorities have no option but to evacuate entire villages and towns, as Russia routinely shells them from across the border. One of the towns that we visited had been almost completely emptied, save for a small band of police officers sheltering in an underground bunker from the relentless shelling aboveground.

The images that will stay with me the longest were taken in one of the morgues of Sloviansk, a city in the Donetsk region. On the day we visited, four bodies had been brought back from the front line, and all but one had been killed within the past 48 hours. Three of them had been killed by bullet wounds to the chest, a brutal reminder that this war is not only being fought at artillery range. One of the soldiers died from a leg wound; Ukrainian troops were simply not able to evacuate him in time to provide medical attention, and he was left to slowly bleed out in the arms of his comrades.

This was just one morgue of several in this area, on one day, in one city bordering Ukraine’s eastern front.

This is the price being paid by the people defending Ukraine. Much of the Ukrainian blood being spilled here is on the hands of the Western politicians who block military aid in the service of domestic political games. Ukrainians are paying with their lives for every day that ammunition is left gathering dust in Western stockpiles.

Before I left, I asked Vladislav if he had a message for Ukraine’s allies.

He said, simply, “We can stop this disease here, but only if you provide us with the shells.”

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Hartshorn salt and 'baking' may solve a serious environmental problem, scientists believe

Polyester is the second most used textile in the world and an environmental menace, especially because most of it never gets recycled. The fabric, a blend of plastic and cotton, has been difficult for the industry to separate and therefore recycle. Now, a group of chemists from the University of Copenhagen has invented a green and surprisingly simple solution using a single household ingredient. The study is published in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. From clothes to sofas to curtains, polyester dominates our everyday lives, with a staggering 60 million metric tons of this popular fabric produced annually. However, polyester production takes a toll on the climate and the environment, as only a mere 15% of it is recycled, while the rest ends up in landfills or incinerated, being responsible of more carbon emission.

Read more.

[argyrocratie]

(...)

"On January 2nd, the WHO announced that there are currently 424,639 cases of infectious diseases in Gaza. Since such official counts only represent those who were able to make it to a clinic or hospital, experts assume that the true rates are much higher. A half million infectious disease cases would still have overwhelmed Gaza’s healthcare system before October 7th, though many would have been treatable with food, water, and medical care. But today, amid an ongoing assault that has destroyed 27 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals, as well as the very foundations of the enclave’s public health—in the form of food, water, and shelter—epidemics are likely to mean mass death. “You don’t need overt bloodshed to cause significant violence that ends people’s lives,” Asi told Jewish Currents. “Many people will die unnecessary deaths due to deprivation.”

This concern has a firm historical basis: In most wars, including in Iraq, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Yemen, and Darfur, far more people die of disease and starvation than through direct military assault. Indeed, according to public health scholar Barry Levy, indirect health-related deaths—which are seldom discussed when reporting the death toll of a war—can outnumber direct deaths by more than 15 to 1. In Gaza, such deaths are likely to keep increasing even if there is a ceasefire. Public health scholar Devi Sridhar recently estimated that, barring a dramatic shift which includes a resuscitation of the health system, half a million people—a quarter of Gaza’s population—could die from preventable health causes in the coming year.

(...)

The current health emergency in Gaza builds on the ruinous effects of years of Israeli restrictions on the Strip’s health system. As Asi told the Foundation for Middle East Peace on November 14th, “we’ve heard increasingly . . . that Gaza’s health system has collapsed. But in reality, Gaza’s health system has been on the verge of collapse essentially for 16 years.” Over that time, Israel has kept Gaza under a tightly controlled blockade, restricting access not only to medical equipment and medications, but also to food and water. Documents show that at one point, Israel even calculated the minimum caloric intake needed for survival; these restrictions have rendered 63% of Gaza’s population food insecure and left 30,000 children under the age of five severely malnourished. Similarly, 96% of Gaza’s water was already unsuitable for drinking before October 7th, causing a quarter of the enclave’s illnesses. As of 2018, waterborne illnesses were the leading cause of death for children in Gaza.

Israel’s newly intensified siege is exacerbating these vulnerabilities. In recent weeks, between 100 and 120 aid trucks have been entering Gaza each day, an 80% decrease from the pre-October 7th number. This chokehold on humanitarian supplies has led to calamitous shortages of basic necessities. For instance, according to the independent Famine Review Committee, 80% of the Palestinians in Gaza have reached the two most extreme levels of its food insecurity classification system—“emergency” and “catastrophe”—with half of the population at risk of starvation. Water shortages are also rampant in Gaza, and with the lack of fuel severely curtailing wastewater treatment and solid waste management, clean drinking water is impossible to find. As a result, people are drinking and cooking with unclean water, some digging wells to access water contaminated by sewage and solid waste build up, and others resorting to drinking seawater, where over 100,000 cubic meters of waste is discharged daily.

This growing sanitation crisis is compounded by constant Israeli bombardment, which has released toxic substances into the air and resulted in high numbers of unburied dead bodies in the streets and under rubble. Bombings and forced evacuations have also caused massive overcrowding. Since October 7th, Israel has displaced 90% of Gazans from their homes, pushing them into smaller and smaller areas and creating breeding grounds for disease.

(...)

Public health experts, including in Israel, say Gaza’s health disaster could also reverberate back in Israel. In 2018, Shira Efron, a co-author of a report on the enclave’s water and sewage crisis, warned that waterborne diseases will not “stay on the other side of the fence.” Israeli officials themselves have noted the danger of water pollution from Gaza; indeed, sewage from the Strip has already spread illness and polluted beaches in Israel, in addition to forcing the closure of a desalination plant in Ashkelon.

Such concerns have come to the fore again since the start of the recent war on Gaza. Already, Israeli soldiers are facing drug-resistant infections from bacteria in Gaza. An Israeli soldier recently died from a fungal infection, likely contracted due to sewage; the army also reported an outbreak of gastrointestinal illnesses, with some cases involving shigella—a bacteria that causes dysentery. Experts say soldiers are likely to bring such diseases into Israel in the coming weeks. As Nadav Davidovitch told Mako, “at the end of the day, we endanger ourselves when we don’t take into account the humanitarian side of civilians in Gaza.” Israeli public health experts have become particularly vocal in response to Eiland’s advocacy for the spread of disease, writing in a Haaretz op-ed that pandemics “do not know borders” and that diseases in Gaza will “spread without disruption and lead to sustained outbreaks among the civilian population” in Israel as well.

But not even the possibility of negative health consequences for Israelis has changed Israel’s instrumental approach to health in Gaza. Instead, the Israeli government has continued to treat disease merely as a tactical problem—one that needs to be managed to keep the war going. Indeed, on November 17th, an unnamed government source explained Israel’s decision to let limited amounts of fuel into Gaza as “minimal support for sewage, sanitation and water systems in order to prevent the outbreak of epidemics,” which could harm the war effort. Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s current war cabinet, was likewise quick to note that letting in fuel “is not a question of changing strategy, but of providing a specific response that serves the continued fighting of the IDF.” Historically, disease has sometimes proven militarily decisive: Hitler’s army lost to British forces in North Africa in part because of sickness; smallpox led to the defeat of George Washington’s army in the Battle of Quebec; Napoleon’s army was defeated in Russia because of typhus. It is these military outcomes Israel seems most keen to prevent, with Netanyahu even explaining that preventing soldiers from getting sick was important because “any breakdown, from disease to water contamination, could halt the fighting.”

These statements, the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem noted, are “astounding in their honesty: The Prime Minister and the Defense Minister admit, in front of cameras, that Israel is deliberately manufacturing a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. If Israel wills it, the crisis will be solved. If it does not, it will continue.”

(...)

Public health experts have noted that Israel’s decision to create unlivable conditions in Gaza falls under the definition of genocide, which includes not just direct military violence but also “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction.”

Every public health expert with whom I spoke agreed that a ceasefire is the first step towards addressing the health crisis in Gaza, “so that the hospitals will go back to functioning, so that aid—food, water, sanitary items, medicine—can reach everyone,” as Aseel Aburass from Physicians for Human Rights-Israel told Jewish Currents. But, as Asi noted, a ceasefire would only address the most explicit forms of violence, and the indirect toll of the war is likely to keep growing even if the bombs stop falling. “We have now reached the point where a ceasefire in one minute would not end the suffering of many for weeks, if not months,” Asi said. Fighting infectious disease, public health experts agree, requires allowing in food, medicine, and vaccines; building houses to shelter Gaza’s nearly two million displaced people; and investing in infrastructure—water treatment, sewage systems, and power grids.

But all this requires the political will to save lives in Gaza—something Israel and its international allies sorely lack. “If the world is able to tolerate this amount of Palestinian death by direct bombardment, it will be much more able to tolerate future reports of how many Palestians died from diseases,” Omar told Jewish Currents. “If you can burn people with phosphorus bombs, then of course you can crowd them together and let diseases do the rest. Who will cry now? What is a red line?”

[dwellordream]

“Suburban developments sprang up all over the country in the wake of World War II. As developers rushed to meet the postwar demand for housing, banks, government subsidies, and private investors poured funds into new, single-family homes. In 1946, for the first time, a majority of the nation’s families lived in homes they owned. Over the next 15 years, 12 million more families became homeowners. These new houses in expanding suburban areas were built with young nuclear families in mind. Builders and architects assumed that men would be away at work during the day and houses would be occupied by mothers and children. Most houses were designed with open floor plans where children could wander freely and safely.

Kitchens usually opened into family rooms, with windows facing backyards, so that women could do household chores while watching their children. Living rooms featured picture windows, also to make it easy to keep an eye on children. The one-story design gave the home an informal look and was practical for families with small children, since there were no stairs, which could be dangerous. Houses were built with plenty of closet space to hold numerous consumer goods that went along with suburban living. Families did not have to be wealthy to buy houses in suburbs. But they did have to be white. Racial minorities were not allowed to purchase homes in the suburbs, even if they could afford them.

…The home was also the center of family leisure. Postwar Americans spent a good deal of their incomes on items that would make the home comfortable and enjoyable: appliances, automobiles, backyard barbecue sets, and of course, televisions. By the 1950s, televisions were selling at a rate of more than 5 million a year. In their living rooms, ordinary families watched idealized families in enormously popular shows such as “Ozzie and Harriet,” “Leave It To Beaver,” and “Father Knows Best.” These television families all had certain features in common: they were white, they lived in comfortable suburban homes, full-time homemakers had down-home wisdom and patience, and fathers always knew best.

Curiously, although the fathers in these programs were the breadwinners of the family, we rarely if ever saw them at work. They were home, presiding with kindly, fatherly authority, clearly the head of the household. Nevertheless, mothers were the ones in charge of the daily routines, the running of the home, and the supervision of the children. Television shows that featured working-class families were often continuations of radio comedy shows from the pre-TV era. Shows like “The Honeymooners,” starring Jackie Gleason, depicted working-class men with real jobs (usually undesirable ones like bus drivers or sewer workers), wives who tolerated their husbands’ explosive tempers and rolled their eyes at men’s foolishness, and neighbors who shared their struggles.

…The suburban ideal often promised more than it delivered. Obviously, appliances alone would not make a housewife happy. Women in Levittown often complained about feeling trapped and isolated, facing endless chores and tending to children. For them, suburban life was not a life of fun and leisure but exhausting work and loneliness. Time-consuming commuting reduced the amount of time men could spend with their families, and for the suburban women who held jobs outside the home, the burden was even heavier. They faced work on the job, a long commute home, and then all the chores considered to be “woman’s work” in the home.

The struggle to achieve the ideal suburban life took its toll on men as well as women. Since the primary goal of the “breadwinner” was to provide for his family, it was expected that he would work for the best steady pay, regardless of whether he enjoyed the job. The reward was in the quality of life that the man’s income could buy--not the intrinsic satisfactions of the job itself. The woman’s part of the bargain was to keep the home cheerful and clean, and to be content with the homemaker role. If either partner believed that the other was not keeping the bargain, trouble brewed.

…By 1950, 41 percent of all employed black women worked in private homes. Another 19 percent worked in office buildings, restaurants, and hotels as scrubwomen, maids, and housekeepers. Of the remaining 40 percent, many worked in farm labor. In spite of the migration to the North, as late as 1950, 68 percent of African Americans still lived in the South. The lives of southern black women largely resembled that of their female ancestors during slavery: living in shacks, working sun up to sun down, forced to obey local white people or risk severe consequences.

In the North, as whites continued to move to the suburbs, blacks became more concentrated in the cities. By 1960 blacks were more urbanized than whites. North as well as South, black men earned less than half of what white men earned, and black women received less than half the amount that white women earned. Black women continued to face the most dismal prospects for paid employment, but they continued to take whatever jobs they could get. In the postwar years, white women faced pressure to become full-time homemakers, and were often stigmatized if they held jobs. But black women faced no such stigma.

…Suburbs fostered tightly knit nuclear families in loosely knit communities and extended family networks. People moved often, and ties to neighbors were often weak, since the nuclear family was expected to be self-sufficient and self-enclosed. People did come together in a number of associations, most notably in the churches and synagogues that sprang up across the country. The suburban landscape was dotted with religious institutions, as Americans joined congregations in record numbers. People also came together in local civic institutions. Women joined local PTAs, women’s clubs, and charities, and they organized scout troops and other enrichment programs for their children.

These efforts provided women with community ties, and gave them the opportunity to shape social, religious, and educational institutions in their neighborhoods. These were important tasks. But deep sources of mutual support and tight networks based on kinship and friendship were difficult to achieve in the suburbs. People moved in and out too quickly, and many left their relatives and ethnic communities when they moved to the suburbs. The isolation of the nuclear family also inhibited the casual visiting that took place on the stoops of urban apartments or the streets of the cities. Those outside the suburbs were more likely to develop strong ties of support with relatives and friends. It was both more possible, and more necessary, to do so.”

- Elaine Tyler May, “Suburbia: The Homemaker’s Work Place.” in Pushing the Limits: American Women, 1940-1961

[kp777]

By Jessica Corbett

Common Dreams

Sept. 15, 2023

"Climate catastrophe is already devastating the lives and livelihoods of people across the world and primarily those in the Global South, who are least responsible for causing it," said one campaigner.

Hundreds of demonstrations around the world demanding "a rapid, just, and equitable phaseout from fossil fuels in favor of sustainable renewables" began Friday ahead of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres' Climate Ambition Summit in New York City next week.

"From Pacific nations, heavily affected by sea-level rise and storms, through Mumbai to Manila, London to Nairobi, over 650 actions are planned in 60 countries, culminating in a march in New York City on September 17," according to protest organizers.

The Global Fight to End Fossil Fuels "opposes the fossil fuel industry, which has made obscene profits at the expense of the world's people, biodiversity, and a safe and livable climate," added organizers, who expect millions to join the protests over the coming days. "It calls on governments and companies to immediately end fossil fuel expansion and subsidies."

Demonstrators, journalists, and supporters shared footage from Friday's actions on social media with the hashtag #EndFossilFuels.

The actions come amid the hottest summer on record and as experts continue to sound the alarm over unwavering environmental destruction, especially by the fossil fuel industry and its political and financial backers.

International scientists revealed this week that six of nine barriers that ensure Earth is a "safe operating space for humanity" have been breached, which followed recent findings that greenhouse gas concentrations, global sea level, and ocean heat content hit record highs last year.

Climate chaos—fueled by oil and gas giants that have spend decades lying about their planet-heating pollution along with rich governments and institutions that continue to break their promises and pump billions of dollars into the fossil fuel industry—is already killing people. The death toll from flooding in Libya this week has climbed to 11,300.

"The world is at a tipping point," said Tyrone Scott of the War on Want and the Climate Justice Coalition in the United Kingdom ahead of protests this weekend. "Climate catastrophe is already devastating the lives and livelihoods of people across the world and primarily those in the Global South, who are least responsible for causing it."

"We must uproot the systems of exploitation and oppression which keep the majority of the world's population in poverty while lining the pockets of corporates and rich shareholders. This is a watershed moment. How we respond will determine how the world is shaped for generations," Scott stressed. "We demand an end to fossil fuels. We demand a fast and fair transition. We demand climate justice."

Tens of thousands of activists from across the United States are expected to join the March to End Fossil Fuels in New York City on Sunday. Marchers—backed by hundreds of organizations and scientists—have four key demands for President Joe Biden:

Stop federal approval for new fossil fuel projects and repeal permits for climate bombs like the Willow project and the Mountain Valley Pipeline;

Phase out fossil drilling on our public lands and waters;

Declare a climate emergency to halt fossil fuel exports and investments abroad, and turbocharge the buildout of more just, resilient distributed energy (like rooftop and community solar); and

Provide a just transition to a renewable energy future that generates millions of jobs while supporting workers' and community rights, job security, and employment equity.

"Despite his numerous and explicit pledges to the contrary, President Biden has turned out to be a strong supporter of fossil fuels," Food & Water Watch Northeast region director Alex Beauchamp, an organizer of the NYC march, said in a statement Friday.

"With each passing day, Biden's failure to lead on clean energy drives the planet deeper into the abyss of irrevocable climate chaos," he added. "We're marching to send a message that true climate leadership means halting new oil and gas drilling and fracking, and rejecting new fossil fuel infrastructure like pipelines and export terminals—beginning now."

Betamia Coronel, senior national organizer for climate justice at the Center for Popular Democracy, highlighted in a Friday opinion piece for Common Dreams that "BIPOC communities have always lived at the intersection of wealth disparity and the climate crisis," and "it is Black, Indigenous, immigrant, working-class people of color who have been leading the efforts in the lead up to this historic march in NYC."

Dozens of actors, activists, and climate leaders—including Bill McKibben, Blair Imani, Cornel West, Jameela Jamil, Jane Fonda, Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Naomi Klein, Rosario Dawson, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Rebecca Solnit, and Vanessa Nakate—joined more than 700 groups on Friday in sending a pre-march letter to the U.S. president.

"The U.S. is the top global oil and gas producer and the largest historic greenhouse gas emitter. It is imperative that the U.S. change course and become a true global climate leader by ending the extraction and use of fossil fuels," they wrote, urging Biden to commit to phasing out fossil fuels at the U.N. summit on September 20. "The world is watching."

Biden has also faced mounting pressure to declare a climate emergency this year, as the United States has endured a record-setting number of billion-dollar disasters, from a deadly fire in Hawaii to Hurricane Idalia. Since last week, eight campaigners have been arrested outside the White House for a series of protests demanding a climate emergency declaration and other executive action to end the era of fossil fuels.

Organizers planned to continue the nonviolent civil disobedience campaign in Washington, D.C. on Friday, and warned that "each day Biden delays in taking this step is precious time lost to save lives and secure a livable future for humankind and countless other species."

[sautiyahoja25]

Just stole this from another page. Absolute wisdom... 1. Have a firm handshake.

2. Look people in the eye.

3. Sing in the shower.

4. Own a great stereo system.

5. If in a fight, hit first and hit hard.

6. Keep secrets.

7. Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen everyday.

8. Always accept an outstretched hand.

9. Be brave. Even if you’re not, pretend to be. No one can tell the difference.

10. Whistle.

11. Avoid sarcastic remarks.

12. Choose your life’s mate carefully. From this one decision will come 90 per cent of all your happiness or misery.

13. Make it a habit to do nice things for people who will never find out.

14. Lend only those books you never care to see again.

15. Never deprive someone of hope; it might be all that they have.

16. When playing games with children, let them win.

17. Give people a second chance, but not a third.

18. Be romantic.

19. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.

20. Loosen up. Relax. Except for rare life-and-death matters, nothing is as important as it first seems.

21. Don’t allow the phone to interrupt important moments. It’s there for our convenience, not the caller’s.

22. Be a good loser.

23. Be a good winner.

24. Think twice before burdening a friend with a secret.

25. When someone hugs you, let them be the first to let go.

26. Be modest. A lot was accomplished before you were born.

27. Keep it simple.

28. Beware of the person who has nothing to lose.

29. Don’t burn bridges. You’ll be surprised how many times you have to cross the same river.

30. Live your life so that your epitaph could read, No Regrets

31. Be bold and courageous. When you look back on life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the ones you did.

32. Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.

33. Remember no one makes it alone. Have a grateful heart and be quick to acknowledge those who helped you.

34. Take charge of your attitude. Don’t let someone else choose it for you.

35. Visit friends and relatives when they are in hospital; you need only stay a few minutes.

36. Begin each day with some of your favourite music.

37. Once in a while, take the scenic route.

38. Send a lot of Valentine cards. Sign them, ‘Someone who thinks you’re terrific.’

39. Answer the phone with enthusiasm and energy in your voice.

40. Keep a note pad and pencil on your bed-side table. Million-dollar ideas sometimes strike at 3 a.m.

41. Show respect for everyone who works for a living, regardless of how trivial their job.

42. Send your loved ones flowers. Think of a reason later.

43. Make someone’s day by paying the toll for the person in the car behind you.

44. Become someone’s hero.

45. Marry only for love.

46. Count your blessings.

47. Compliment the meal when you’re a guest in someone’s home.

48. Wave at the children on a school bus.

49. Remember that 80 per cent of the success in any job is based on your ability to deal with people.

50. Don’t expect life to be fair