The University of Virginia Threat Assessment Team needs to have a campus wide background check for everyone.

Currently, the University of Virginia requires background checks on their employees.

Who Is Covered by this Policy:Classified and University staff;

Faculty, including visiting scholars and visiting faculty;
Medical Center employees;
Professional research staff, including post-doctoral research associates;
Non-employee post-doctoral fellows;
Wage employees, including staff, faculty, and professional research staff;
UVA Temps; and...

There is an enormous gap in this policy. Why?

...UVA students whose employment/academic work, or internships/practica through the University will involve providing clinical services to, direct supervision of minors who are not enrolled as students at UVA, or will require access to Controlled Unclassified Information subject to NIST SP 800-171 safeguarding requirements.

I believe I ready that Lavel Davis Jr. was a medical student. He underwent a background check because a medical student will ultimately be licensed. Anyone with convictions may not be admitted for a licensing exam. The requirements for the professions such as medicine and law are fairly strict when it comes to a state license to practice in most states. There are ethical issues when dealing the a physician that is ultimately responsible for another person's life regardless of the specialty practiced.

Below is the background check required for the U of Va School of Medicine.

All admitted students (click here) must undergo an AMCAS facilitated criminal background check, in which searches will be conducted by social security number, by areas of prior residence (on county-wide, state-wide and national levels), and by sex offender databases. The check will seek conviction information for all criminal felonies and misdemeanors committed as an adult, as well as for all unresolved offenses and arrests.

The criminal background check will not encompass offenses committed as a juvenile, with the exception of those offenses for which the juvenile was deemed an adult.

Enrollment at the School of Medicine at the University of Virginia is conditional upon the results of the criminal background check. The School of Medicine reserves the right to revoke an offer of admission based upon information received through the criminal background check. An applicant with criminal convictions listed in Virginia Code Section 37.2-314 typically shall be barred from matriculating at the School of Medicine. However, for all criminal convictions, consideration will be given to the nature and seriousness of the offense; the age of the person when the offense was committed; whether the offense was an isolated incident or part of a habitual, repetitive pattern; and the length of time that has elapsed since the offense was committed. Serious deliberation will be conducted as to whether the offense(s) may indicate a future jeopardy to patient care and well-being....

The University of Virginia does not allow guns on campus. Period. Not even if a person has a permit for guns. It is the correct policy for a university campus. Without a doubt.

See, I have a concealed carry permit. I own a handgun. The reasons are not important. I can handle the gun competently, but, in all honesty I should practice more and maybe even compete in order to feel as though the gun has a purpose greater than killing in self-defense. 

I am not an expert, but, most Americans that own and conceal carry handguns are not experts either. Most Americans that own guns and have permits to carry them won't carry them or use them anyway. A gun is a hazard in anyone's life that carries. The gun can be turned on the owner, too. It isn't easy pulling that trigger when the target is an actual human being. The responsibility in doing so is enormous and many that have killed face charges regardless of the permit or the fact the killing was justified from the point of self-defense or defense of the owner's home with or without family inside.

Every gun association and/or club advocates for subscribing to it to ensure there are lawyers waiting to defend it's members. There is also some discussions about mandatory addition of a gun liability policy to home insurance policies. Some say the gun owns you and you don't own the gun. That seems like a true reality. An owner has to be aware of the gun and whether it is safely stowed or reasonably safe while carrying. There is no absolute safety with concealed carry, but, that is another discussion.

The fact the University of Virginia will receive complaints about their policy by the NRA and who knows who else, there is a reality that cannot be ignored, this incident could have been avoided if the school conducted it's background check for all students. The murderer was on the bus when he should not have been. 

Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. had failed a background check at a gun shop 

...On Wednesday, (click here) a gun shop owner said Jones had twice tried to buy a gun – once failing a background check – before buying a handgun and a rifle in separate purchases this year....

Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. was holding on to tightly and when the investigation began he didn't see his life taking the path a college education were to bring him. He never saw a different path or a way to mitigate the damages of a misdemeanor conviction. He only saw his life failing no matter what he tried and his anger manifested in vengeful actions to those members of the student body that did not face his hurdles to success.

It has nothing to do with popularity or grade point averages. Jones failed to see his life successful when the investigation found his misdemeanor.

The University needs to close the loophole of gun ownership and possession on campus. It also needs to first enroll a student in a counseling session before an investigation is begun to allow the student to see himself or herself as successful regardless of their status on campus. There have to be alternatives to a college education in any student's life, but, especially when there are issues of legal principles involved. Family involvement seems an answer, but, Jones is 22 years old and hardly a teenager as some college students are at 17, 18 or 19. 

I am so sorry to see this happen at U of Va. I do not know any of these people. What is written here is an opinion based on facts that I found. This is still yet another tragedy in the USA because of the free flow of weapons that is completely legal. The idea of owning a gun and then carrying it concealed is a huge responsibility that should not be taken lightly nor for political reasons. Weapons should never be politicized.

Stating there are other weapons, such as a hammer, that can be just as dangerous as a gun. That simply is not true. Other weapons besides guns cause injury and death, but, the statistics speak for themselves; gun deaths in the USA outnumber by 10 to 1 of stabbing deaths (click here).

We have to end gun violence. There are too many guns on the streets of the USA.

The deep corruption of the Flint Water Crisis must be prosecuted.

July 21, 2021
By Jordan Chariton and Jenn Dize

In October 2015, (click here) then-Michigan Governor Rick Snyder finally announced that Flint's water was contaminated with dangerous lead levels. That public admission had come after more than a year of pleading from the city's residents to examine the situation. The city, Snyder promised, would immediately stop using water from the Flint River, which residents had been drinking for 18 months.

The public announcement raised as many questions as it answered, and kick-started a years-long investigation into how the decision that delivered the toxic water to Flint had been made in the first place, how many people were sickened and killed as a result, and when senior government officials first learned of the deadly consequences....

The water supply to the residents of Flint, Michigan took place on April 2014. Almost immediately the people began to discover a problem with the water. Snyder didn't even recognize the problem until October 2015. What ensued when the water was switched was a cover-up to the deed and gross negligence of the government. 

The Former Governor Snyder did not care about the people of Flint, Michigan. He cared about his friends and/or donors and didn't want to change a thing about his Emergency Manager law passed by his legislature. He liked the idea of micromanaging democracy and changed the lives of the people of Flint forever and not for the better. 

The State of Michigan cannot look the other way. Governor Gretchen Whitmer was reelected for a second term. It is time she turn her attentions to investigate the gross negligence of the office of the Governor during Snyder's term, including not just, but, the entire of the administrations cover-ups and crony favoritism that parceled out land and created projects to grease the palms of their hands. 

The gross negligence of Flint and the loss of life is only the beginning and it is time for a committee to investigate the crimes of the Governor, including Flint. The media cannot be the only method of knowing the dangers of such an administration and it cannot be the only venue of justice.

Below is a report of continued government negligence. When is it going to change?

November 22, 2022
By Ron Fonger

Flint - Two state agencies haven’t fixed oversight of some Flint water crisis programs (click here) a year after problems were first reported by the Michigan Office of Auditor General.

A new report issued last week says the Michigan Department of Education hasn’t resolved all issues related to insufficient monitoring of state funding for the Flint Community Schools’ school social worker program, which resulted in more than $1 million in unsupported spending and $316,371 in improper expenditures....

Nord Stream

What type of explosives were found? It may not be Russia.

The pipelines were 80 to 110 meters or 250 to 400 feet down. That requires undersea drones. At 100 feet down divers only have 15 minutes before they begin their assent. Setting the explosives required sophisticated equipment. 

What does satellites say about ship movements before the explosions.

It easily could be Russia, but, there maybe other evidence.

September 27, 2022
By Madison Selcho

...The two main timeline stamps (click here) for the feud between Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and The Walt Disney Company

...State Rep. Carlos Guillermo-Smith, a Democrat who represents parts of Orange County, declared that DeSantis’ statements on this issue were “an alarming turn of events.”

“This is the DeSantis administration openly saying they plan to seize control of a local government for opposing his extreme agenda,” Guillermo-Smith said. “The gravity of what we’re seeing happening in front of us should be a warning sign to all Americans and to all Floridians.”

November 15, 2022
By Katie Rice

Disney World (click here) on Tuesday revealed increases in theme-park ticket prices and said for the first time it will charge extra for one-day tickets based on which park a customer reserves.

Starting Dec. 8, the minimum one-day price for the Magic Kingdom will rise nearly 14% from $109 to $124 and reach a maximum of $189 during the nine-day Christmas holidays. The one-day price for Epcot will range from $114 to $179....

November 15, 2022
By Mike Schuler

The U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet intercepted a fishing vessel (click here) attempting to smuggle a “massive amount” of explosive material from Iran to Yemen.

U.S. Coast Guard’s USCGC John Scheuerman (WPC 1146) and guided-missile destroyer USS The Sullivans (DDG 68) interdicted the vessel as it transited international waters in the Gulf of Oman on November 8.

A weeklong search of the vessel assisted by Navy explosive ordnance disposal technicians from the USS Hurricane (PC 3) uncovered more than 70 tons of ammonium perchlorate, a powerful oxidizer commonly used to make rocket and missile fuel as well as explosives. Th Navy said it’s the 5th Fleet’s first-ever interdiction of the material.

The search also found more than 100 tons of urea fertilizer, which is also known for use in explosives....

Ammonium perchorate (click here)

Ammonium perchlorate appears as a white, crystalline solid or powder. Classified as a division 1.1 explosive if powdered into particles smaller than 15 microns in diameter or if powdered into larger particles but thoroughly dried. Does not readily burn, but will burn if contaminated by combustible material. May explode under prolonged exposure to heat or fire. Used to make rocket propellants, explosives, pyrotechnics, as an etching and engraving agent, and in analytical chemistry.

November 15, 2022
By Marianna Parraga

Nov 14 (Reuters) – The international ship registries of Djibouti and the Cook Islands (click here) suspended the flags on five oil tankers, following sanctions by the United States this month for having facilitated oil trade for Hezbollah and Iran’s Quds Force, nongovernment organization United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) said on Monday.

The U.S. Treasury Department in early November imposed sanctions on a wide network of companies, people and vessels accused of concealing the Iranian origins of shipments and exporting them around the world.

Oil tankers Bueno, B Luminosa, Bluefins and Boceanica were suspended in recent days from the Djibouti International Ship Registry after the sanctions, while vessel Rain Drop was removed from the Maritime Cook Island’s registry, according to communications provided by UANI.

Washington maintains sweeping sanctions on Tehran and has looked for ways to increase pressure as attempts have stalled to resurrect the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

Ships that lack a country’s flag, seaworthy classification or insurance are restricted from moving among international ports.

Most of the tankers are in Venezuelan waters, where they are being used by state-run oil firm PDVSA to move oil and fuel between domestic ports, according to internal company documents seen by Reuters....

Hezbollah runs it's drug cartel from Venezuela.

October 7, 2020

Too often, (click here) Hezbollah in Venezuela is characterized as only a potential terrorist threat. In reality, the Lebanese terrorist group has helped to turn Venezuela into a hub for the convergence of transnational organized crime and international terrorism.

When the Supreme Court cared about the people.

 

This is the original Affirmative Action decision.

...In a 5-4 opinion delivered by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (click here), the Court held that the Equal Protection Clause does not prohibit the Law School's narrowly tailored use of race in admissions decisions to further a compelling interest in obtaining the educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body. The Court reasoned that, because the Law School conducts highly individualized review of each applicant, no acceptance or rejection is based automatically on a variable such as race and that this process ensures that all factors that may contribute to diversity are meaningfully considered alongside race. Justice O'Connor wrote, "in the context of its individualized inquiry into the possible diversity contributions of all applicants, the Law School's race-conscious admissions program does not unduly harm nonminority applicants."

In the oral arguments on that page Clarence Thomas asks no questions. Justice Scalia chimes in a few times, but, never Thomas.

Besides Thomas none of the original Justices that rendered the opinion are on the court. Thomas is the only original judge. Thomas also brings a lot of religious bias to his decisions, but, in this article even the Catholics are questioning his decision about Affirmative Action.

...So it is not a surprise that Thomas, (click here) a celebrated member of the conservative Catholic community made the connection in his concurring opinion about the Indiana abortion law. He noted the origins of eugenics (click here) as a scientific and academic discipline, explaining that "leaders in the eugenics movement held prominent positions at Harvard, Stanford, and Yale, among other schools, and eugenics was taught at 376 universities and colleges."

Whatever the truth to the claims that abortion policy and jurisprudence are rooted in eugenic ideas, it is clear that eugenics itself is contrary to Catholic morals and social teaching. And it could be easily grasped why a Catholic justice would be concerned about the mischief that eugenic thinking in policy and medicine could do in a system that is not properly inoculated against it.

Which is why it was surprising to hear him take the opposite position to modest anti-racism policies in recent oral arguments for cases challenging affirmative action.

On Oct. 31, the Supreme Court heard two different cases challenging affirmative action. One case involves affirmative action in a public university, Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina, and the other in a private university, Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College.

During oral arguments in the North Carolina case, Thomas questioned the educational benefit of racially diverse schools: "...

Always waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I was beginning to wonder if the USA's huge venture into space flight again would ever get off the ground. It happened and we are on the way to Moon missions.

The world’s most powerful rocket (click here) will make a trip around the Moon in 2022 — a step towards landing people there in 2025, and part of the US Artemis programme.

16 November 2022
By Alexandra Witze

NASA’s huge new rocket (click here) blasted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1.47 a.m. Eastern time today, achieving a major milestone in the agency’s plans to send astronauts back to the Moon.

“We rise together, back to the Moon and beyond,” said NASA launch commentator Derrol Nail as the mighty rocket thundered into the night skies above Cape Canaveral.

The launch put an uncrewed astronaut capsule, called Orion, into Earth orbit and towards a planned course to fly past the Moon and back over the next 26 days. The flight, known as Artemis I, will test whether the rocket and capsule will be able to transport humans safely, while carrying a number of scientific experiments.

This is the first time in half a century that NASA has flown a rocket powerful enough to send humans beyond low Earth orbit.

The flight was delayed after two attempts in late August and early September, which were cut short owing to hardware problems, including leaks of liquid hydrogen fuel. NASA then passed on a launch opportunity in late September because of an approaching hurricane, before putting it back on the launch pad, where it experienced high winds and rain from a different storm last week. NASA managers say that storm caused only minor damage to the rocket, including peeling off a strip of caulking that they say will not endanger the launch....

Don't try to understand all the jargon, just sit back and watch.

Clarence Thomas has some serious issues as an Associate Justice.

The Roberts' Court is not high in the ranking of knowledgeable and competent. There is a great deal of hatred and anger within this court of the American people. The conservative majority is simply wrong about most of their decisions. They are Anti-American and lean into religious prejudice.

November 16, 2022

By Steven Lubet

The six conservative justice (click here) on the U.S. Supreme Court have seemingly come to think of themselves as historians, able to excavate the original meaning of the Constitution from archival sources revealed to them in the briefs of petitioners and respondents. The result has been bad history and worse law, culminating in last term’s New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, where the majority invalidated New York’s restrictions on carrying concealed handguns because it was deemed inconsistent with “this nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”

According to Justice Clarence Thomas’s opinion, a gun control statute can be upheld only if there is an “American tradition justifying” its specific provisions, meaning similar laws in force around 1791 (when the Second Amendment was adopted) or 1868 (when the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified, which made the Bill of Rights applicable to the states)....

That is a very confused set of values. There is a reason why he voted with the late Justice Scalia, because he had no clue.

October 24, 2022

Congress should investigate Ginni Thomas for her involvement in the January 6th attack (click here) on the Capitol and attempts to overthrow the 2020 election and Justice Clarence Thomas for his failure to recuse from related cases, according to a request sent by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington today to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.

Ginni Thomas, who holds a government position as a board member of the Library of Congress Trust Fund, messaged the Trump White House encouraging then-president Donald Trump to refuse to concede and join an attempt by Sidney Powell to have the Supreme Court overturn the election result. She also contacted multiple state officials in an attempt to have them set aside and alter the result of the election in their states. She told Trump’s chief of staff that an army was gathering to keep Trump in office and took part in the January 6th rallies that led to the attack on the Capitol.

“It is critical that those responsible for the attack on the Capitol be held accountable and that the integrity of the Supreme Court not be tainted by conflicts of interest,” CREW President Noah Bookbinder said. “The Judiciary Committees have responsibility for the oversight of our judiciary and law enforcement agencies, and investigating Ginni Thomas’s conduct and Justice Thomas’s failure to recuse is an essential exercise of that oversight responsibility.”

Justice Thomas has recused himself from 54 cases since joining the Supreme Court in order to avoid the perception of potential conflicts of interest, including 17 cases involving his son. He has never recused because of a potential conflict involving his wife, and was the sole vote to keep the White House’s communications around the attempt to reject the election results secret despite his wife’s communications with the White House on related issues.

“It is hard to imagine something more damaging to the public trust in the Supreme Court than a Justice ruling on cases that could relate to their spouses’ attempts to overturn American democracy,” Bookbinder said. “An immediate investigation is needed.”...

Ginny Thomas has practiced pure hate filled venom in her insider role with the Trump White House including that of Mark Meadows. Normally, this is nothing more than bad sportsmanship, but, not when it is linked to a deadly insurrection. She definitely seems to know of the movement that was to take place on January 6th. There are people dead from that insurrection. Her emails are not simply in bad taste, they direct the President's Chief of Staff. These are people that are allies and not friends. She isn't angry at a dinner party, she is angry to the Chief of Staff in the White House.

March 26, 2022
By Danny Hakim, Jo Becker and Alan Feuer

Two days after the 2020 election, (click here) Virginia Thomas, the wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, texted an old friend, Mark Meadows, the chief of staff to President Donald J. Trump.

She sent messages that had been making the rounds on pro-Trump sites, where anger over the election echoed her own raw feelings, including this passage: “Biden crime family & ballot fraud co-conspirators (elected officials, bureaucrats, social media censorship mongers, fake stream media reporters, etc) are being arrested & detained for ballot fraud right now & over coming days, & will be living in barges off GITMO to face military tribunals for sedition.”

Then she added of this fanciful, if chilling, set of conspiracy theories: “I hope this is true.”

She texted Mr. Meadows again the next day. “Do not concede,” she wrote. “It takes time for the army who is gathering for his back.”

The messages were among a flurry of text traffic between Ms. Thomas and Mr. Meadows that was revealed this past week, part of a trove of documents previously turned over to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. (Ms. Thomas has openly opposed the committee and called for Republicans who serve on it to be expelled from the House Republican conference.)...

It is time for Americans to get busy and bring back enforcement of civil rights in the USA.

There are legislators that need guidance in deciding some issues. The LGBT community is a minority community in the USA. They need other Americans to join them in affirming the right of marriage to their partners. This civil right no longer has to be debated because there is a significant history of couples wanting to be married for their security and well being.

Marriage elevates a partner in life to husband and/or wife. There is a great deal of security in that including being able to attend to an ill married partner. There are enormous legal reasons for marriage to have a broader definition as to whom is married and protected by law in the USA. 

The opposition of these civil rights only seek to cause harm to individual Americans by making marriage an exclusive club for heterosexuals engaging in having and supporting a family. That level of hatred of "the other" is dangerous and irresponsible of a democracy.

Every relationship that lasts and is full of love needs protecting under the law. The Senate bill is important and should be passed without debate or question. The fact the Republicans will demand 60 votes for passage is a form of hatred and political pandering to those that see marriage as an exclusive club defined by religious prejudice.

November 16, 2022
By Amy B Wang

The Senate on Wednesday (click here) advanced the Respect for Marriage Act, which would enshrine marriage equality into federal law, clearing the way for the bill’s final passage in the chamber this week.

In a 62-to-37 vote, senators agreed to end debate on the bill and advance it. Twelve Republicans joined all 50 members of the Democratic caucus to vote in support of the bill, surpassing the 60 votes needed to avoid a filibuster.

Democrats have warned since June that federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriages, as well as other rights, could be at risk after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which for nearly 50 years had guaranteed the right to an abortion in the United States.

“Today, the Senate is taking a truly bold step forward in the march towards greater justice, greater equality, by advancing the Respect for Marriage Act,” Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said before the vote Wednesday. “It’s a simple, narrowly tailored, but exceedingly important piece of legislation that will do so much good for so many Americans. It will make our country a better, fairer place to live.”...

Why the energy grid? Putin is losing the grip on these countries.

October 1, 2022

Chisinau Oct 1 (Reuters) - Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM) (click here) cut natural gas supplies to Moldova on Saturday by around 30%, the director of gas firm Moldovagaz, Vadim Ceban, said.

A day earlier, deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu said Gazprom had warned Moldova about the reduction in supplies. 

Spinu said on Saturday that technical problems were behind the reduction and the country would ask Gazprom to increase supplies....

Putin has three to four war fronts considering the larger economic affiliates. Russia wants control. Bombing Ukraine is a stalemate status until Putin can control the other smaller countries. Putin and his countrymen covet all these countries in a way that is supposed to lend control to Russia, but, the countries are not interested in being taken over by communists.

Putin is attacking all the measures these countries have formulated to maintain their independence. That is all they want. They want to be independent from Russia, but, was more than willing to participate in free trade agreements. Free trade is not on Russia's agenda.

The question is will Russia survive a multi-front war?

I think Putin is screaming nukes because he is losing his quest. He may feel the need to dominate with such a weapon, but, no one is attacking Russia nor Russian sovereign borders. It is difficult justifying using nukes when Russian sovereignty is intact and without threat.

September 27, 2022

By Madalin Necsutu

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mihailo Podolyak (click here) told Pro TV Chisinau on Monday evening that his country will deliver more electricity if supplies are halted from the Cuciurgan power plant in Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria, which operates on Russian gas.

“This [help with electricity] is indisputable. However, for us, it is a matter of principle. It is a matter of our humane attitude, absolutely benevolent towards our partners and neighbours,” said Pololyak.

Currently, EU aspirant state Moldova gets 67 per cent of its electricity from the Cuciurgan plant, while 33 per cent comes from Ukraine.

Moldova’s Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development, Andrei Spinu, said on Monday evening that there has been no response from Gazprom about deliveries of Russian gas from October 1, when public heating is switched on for the winter season.

If there was a halt, Moldova has stored 35 million cubic metres of gas in Romania, which would last approximately ten days. The gas can be transported through the Iasi-Ungheni-Chisinau pipeline, which has been operating since 2021.

Spinu warned that if Russia halts supplies, the Moscow-backed Transnistria region would also be affected as it would have to buy gas at the market price and pay in advance.

Transnistria, a region on the left bank of the Dniester River with a de facto population of no more than 350,000 people, is dependent on Russian gas for the functioning of its economy. Russia has given passports to more than 220,000 of Transnistria’s residents and has peacekeeping troops based there....

People don't want communism as a governance authority. It is a hostile government. People don't want it.

23.09.2022
By Vladimir Solovyov

Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) (click here)

...In other areas where Russia also claims the role of a security guarantor, (click here) it’s not much better. Azerbaijan and Armenia have resumed their war: fighting that Moscow had supposedly stopped in 2020. More recently, another military conflict erupted between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, despite them both belonging to the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization. These factors cannot fail to take their toll on Russia’s authority and influence over its neighbors.

The tensions exist between the CISFTA member states and the EEU member states. EEU is a Russian alliance. I think what is going on here is obvious. Free Trade is not the real agenda for Russia. The picture for NATO involvement is larger than it appears. Russia is too stretched to maintain it's own sovereign military. Putin is stuck with decisions he cannot face. Dropping bombs is easy, maintaining order takes more than that.

Amid Moscow’s numerous diplomatic and military failings, Transnistria is becoming a tempting—and relatively easy—target for neighboring Ukraine. Kyiv’s claims that its armed forces could easily take control of the self-proclaimed republic are more than just talk.

Russian troops there serve side by side with local residents: Transnistrians who are Russian passport holders. For the latter, military service has more to do with earning a decent wage by local standards than it does with identity. This puts their willingness to fight in doubt, especially since it would be hard to send in reinforcements from Russia: given the Russian army’s failure to carve out a corridor through southern Ukraine, they could not make their way there overland, and flying them in would risk them being targeted by Ukraine’s air defenses....

Moldova has other problems that need to be addressed, such as longevity.

Moldovan citizens (click here) protest against some governmental measures in Great National Assembly Square, in front of the Arch of Triumph in Chisinau, Moldova, 26 August 2018.

They have too much stress. If their complaints were addressed and their quality of life higher, they won't want to emigrate. Extensive change needs to take place and the best place for that to occur is longevity, especially cardiac.

According to the latest WHO data published in 2020 Coronary Heart Disease Deaths in Moldova reached 14,292 or 37.00% of total deaths. The age adjusted Death Rate is 245.76 per 100,000 of population ranks Moldova #18 in the world.

The current life expectancy for Moldova in 2022 is 72.18 years, a 0.17% increase from 2021.

High salt intake (click here) is one of the main dietary risk factors for death and disability-adjusted life years globally, and one of the main risk factors for hypertension, cardiovascular disease, stroke, stomach cancer and renal disease. Reducing salt consumption and improving dietary habits requires comprehensive policies targeting multiple sectors of the food system and active collaboration among of a variety of stakeholders. The Ministry of Health, along with “Nicolae Testemitanu” State University of Medicine and Pharmacy and the WHO Country Office in the Republic of Moldova developed this EBP, supported by technical experts from WHO Regional Office for Europe, to be published under the guidance of the WHO European Evidence-informed Policy Network, to make available evidence-informed options for policy-makers to tackle the problem of reducing salt consumption in the Republic of Moldova. A working group convened by the Ministry of Health identified, selected, appraised and synthesized best available evidence on the problem; formulated the options for tackling it; and weighed up considerations in implementing each option. The seven options grouped across two approaches are: Approach 1 Structural population-level interventions, including (‎1.1)‎ Food product reformulation; (‎1.2)‎ Food labelling; (‎1.3)‎ Food procurement policy in specific settings; (‎1.4)‎ Restrictions on marketing to children; (‎1.5)‎ Pricing interventions; and Approach 2 Population-level behaviour change interventions, including (‎2.1)‎ Health education; and (‎2.2)‎ Information campaigns.

Moldovans complaints about Russia are exactly the same as Ukraine. Every place ya look countries in the region of Russia want air defense missiles. The former DOD Secretary Esper should have been a better salesman for the company he worked for, what was that? Oh, that's right, Raytheon. Where is everyone? There are sales for the Patriot System waiting in Eastern Europe.

October 19, 2022
By Jaroslaw Adamowski

Warsaw, Poland — Moldova’s Defence Minister Anatolie Nosatîi (click here) has said that the country aims to buy new air defense systems following recent airspace violations by the Russian military.

Nosatîi said that in the past days a number of Russian missiles were fired from the Black Sea and subsequently flew over Moldova’s territory to strike targets in Ukraine....

I like Moldova's style. Well done. Ask Mr. Non-grata if he actually wants to go back to Moscow. A lot of business people are dying there for some reason.

October 31, 2022

Chisinau - Moldova declared a Russian embassy employee (click here) in the capital Chisinau persona non grata on Monday, and Russian news agencies quoted Moscow as saying it would respond to the decision.

The Moldovan Foreign Ministry did not identify the employee in a statement issued after the Russian ambassador was summoned and informed that the employee must leave Moldova....

According to Al Jazeera, Russia is illegally using Moldovan air space for striking Ukraine.

10 October 2022

Russian cruise missiles (click here) targeting Ukraine crossed Moldovan airspace, Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu has said, adding Moscow’s envoy has been summoned for an explanation.

“Three cruise missiles launched on Ukraine this morning from Russian ships in the Black Sea crossed Moldova’s airspace,” Popescu said on Twitter on Monday....

12 October 2022

Mr Geoană (click here) thanked Moldova for its contributions to the NATO-led KFOR mission in Kosovo, and commended the generosity of the Moldovan people in hosting Ukrainian refugees, driven to flee by Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine.

The Deputy Secretary General further underlined that NATO is committed to deepening its partnership with Moldova, including to boost resilience and civil preparedness. He welcomed Moldova's EU membership candidate status, saying that NATO and the EU will continue to coordinate closely to ensure that the support provided by both organisations is complementary, in support of democratic reforms and the modernisation of Moldova’s security and defence sector.

Mr Geoană reiterated NATO’s full support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Moldova, and NATO’s full respect for Moldova’s constitutional neutrality.

10 October 2022

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Teresa Ribeiro during her meeting with Ambassador of Moldova Mihaela Mocanu (OSCE)

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), Teresa Ribeiro, (click here) met today, 18 October 2022, with Ambassador Mihaela Mocanu to discuss the areas in which the RFoM’s institution can provide assistance to Moldova.

Ribeiro and Mocanu discussed, among other things, the challenges posed by disinformation and “fake news” and their effects on media freedom, including the importance of maintaining the enabling media environment as one of the crucial elements to address the issues.

Ribeiro and Mocanu agreed to engage in further discussions about the prospects of co-operation and a possible visit of the RFoM to Moldova.

October 6, 2022

By Lally Weymouth

Maia Sandu is a woman on a democratic mission in a war-torn neighborhood (click here) — the first honest president that Moldova has elected since breaking away from Russia in 1991. After a series of pro-Russian oligarchs enriched themselves at the expense of this small former Soviet republic, Sandu, a 50-year-old former World Bank employee and education minister, formed her own political party in 2016 to fight corruption. She was appointed prime minister in 2019 and elected president in 2020. Now, instead of focusing fully on criminal justice reforms, she is navigating the shock waves of Russia’s war against neighboring Ukraine and the impact of Russian cutbacks on gas sales to Europe. The Post’s Lally Weymouth sat down with Sandu this week in the presidential offices in Chisinau. Edited excerpts of their conversation:

Weymouth: How do you see the war in Ukraine going?

Sandu: We have condemned the Russian aggression against Ukraine from the very first day. One year ago, none of us would have thought we would have a full-fledged war in Europe. Ukraine is fighting for the free world and is also defending us....

I think the Free World needs to put the brakes on speculation about a widening war.

October 23, 2022
By Catherine Belton

Smoke plumes rise from a suspected fuel depot in Odessa, Ukraine, that was hit by Russia early on April 3.

Chisinau, Moldova — When thousands of protesters (click here) first gathered in September outside Moldova’s presidential palace calling for the country’s pro-Western leader to step down, the man behind the demonstration — an opposition party leader in exile in Israel — soon received plaudits from Moscow.

One senior Russian politician praised the protest organizer, Ilan Shor, as “a worthy long-term partner” and even offered the Moldovan region led by Shor’s party a cheap Russian gas deal, according to Shor’s press service. Referred to as “the young one” by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the 35-year-old Shor is a leading figure in the Kremlin’s efforts to subvert this former Soviet republic, intelligence documents and interviews with Moldovan, Ukrainian and Western officials show.....

Putin's GRE and any other person with cyber competency is being used to push for an expanded war. The propaganda of hysteria and speculation plays to Putin's wish list and not the best outcomes for anyone, including Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin has absolutely no respect for life in any form.

October 26, 2022
By Michael Crowley

The Biden administration (click here) on Wednesday imposed sanctions on more than 20 Moldovan and Russian individuals and entities for assisting Russian efforts to manipulate Moldova’s political system.

Moldova, like its neighbor Ukraine, wants closer relations with the West but has long battled Russian political interference and intimidation. Russian-backed separatists have controlled a strip of the country since 1992, and Moldovan leaders worry that should Russia prevail in Ukraine, their country may be Moscow’s next target.

The new American sanctions are aimed at punishing Moldovans allied with Moscow who have worked to keep the country in Russia’s sphere of influence.

In a statement, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken singled out two Moldovan oligarchs, Vladimir Plahotniuc and Ilan Shor. He said that Mr. Plahotniuc’s “bribery of law enforcement officials reflects his longstanding efforts to capture and corrupt Moldova’s judicial and law enforcement institutions, while using his wealth and political influence to undermine political rivals and rule of law in the country.”

Mr. Shor, he added, “has worked with other corrupt oligarchs and Moscow-based entities to create political unrest in Moldova and sought to undermine Moldova’s bid for E.U. candidate status.”...

Russia is the terrorist and when bombs fall into Moldova and Poland it is Putin saying, "If you continue to resist us, you will end up no different than Ukraine."

This GRAIN PLANT is no mistake. Russia is stating it was not their munitions. They lie. Russia has no credibility.

November 15, 2022
By Monika Pronczuk

...Mr. Mueller, (click here) the Polish government spokesman, said special procedures had been put in place, including boosting combat readiness of certain military units. He said the Polish government was also examining the possibility of triggering Article 4 of the NATO charter, under which members can consult with one another when a nation feels its territorial integrity or security has been threatened....

Russia would like it very much if Article 4 of the NATO treaty was enacted. A single strike is not a reason, no matter the validity of belonging to Russia, is not a reason to engage a huge war effort. It makes no sense. It isn't as though NATO is not ready, it is a matter of practical application of defense assets. You don't ask a surgeon to remove a splinter in the finger.

When the Pentagon is not forthcoming with more information than the press corp. has, this is the result. Hysteria and guessing. A dangerous emotional mix that could play to Putin's hopes.

Why do I get the feeling we will be seeing a lot more of these briefings?

Ukraine is a country with populations of people. The propaganda that perpetrates violence and genocide must stop now.

Murdoch's propaganda Wall Street Journal lacks profound moral leadership.

You talk about irresponsible. This is grossly malpractice of the profession of journalism. 

On page 17A of the Wall Street Journal entitled "The Lancet's "Heat Death" Deception by Bjorn Lomborg is a multiparagraph fantasy to serve the right political wing.

I believe this is the study being referred to by Lomborg.

08 July 2021

More than five million extra deaths a year (click here) can be attributed to abnormal hot and cold temperatures, according to a world first international study led by Monash University.

The study found deaths related to hot temperatures increased in all regions from 2000 to 2019, indicating that global warming due to climate change will make this mortality figure worse in the future.

The international research team, led by Monash University’s Professor Yuming Guo, Dr Shanshan Li, and Dr Qi Zhao from Shandong University in China – and published today in The Lancet Planetary Health – looked at mortality and temperature data across the world from 2000 to 2019, a period when global temperatures rose by 0.26C per decade.

The study, the first to definitively link above and below optimal temperatures (corresponding to minimum mortality temperatures) to annual increases in mortality, found 9.43 per cent of global deaths could be attributed to cold and hot temperatures. This equates to 74 excess deaths for every 100,000 people, with most deaths caused by cold exposure.

The data reveals geographic differences in the impact of non-optimal temperatures on mortality, with Eastern Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa having the highest heat and cold-related excess death rates....

Lomborg states no facts. He writes creatively that since there are more people in the world there are more heat deaths. When a study measures deaths in numbers there is always a comparison to the increase as being a natural occurrence because of recent increases in population. The one sure way to eliminate that level of inaccuracy is to report the increase in deaths by PERCENTAGES.

The study above does exactly what is supposed to do, it reports increases in deaths in percentages. The study clearly reports the information in percentages and allows for a mathematical equivalent in what it equates to.

Lomborg not only goes on and on about heat deaths but then states there are more cold deaths that are not reported. He is lying. The report CLEARLY states the increase in deaths related to temperature occurs when temperatures drop and not rise. 

"The Wall Street Journal" is just another Murdoch rag that ENTERTAINS the reader and never addresses any opposition intelligently or with facts.

In previous meetings of COP (Conference of the Parties) (click here) the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has stated there was eleven years before catastrophic climate consequences. That was a full two if not approaching three years ago. Recently, the Washington Post reported nine years until catastrophic climate consequences. Those years do not mean Wall Street can keep polluting greenhouse gases, then stop in 2030 and everything will be okay. Eleven years and nine years are supposed to instill a sense of emergency to act NOW!

If a physician tells a patient they have nine years to live without treatment, does a patient wait for those nine years before starting treatment?

Please this is a humiliation to the countries of the world that have governance that can and have invoked justice in changing methods to energy that DO NOT POLLUTE GREENHOUSE GASES. This method of denial by the Wall Street Journal by propagating lies is an insult to the people of the world that know better than to believe this ideology of greed.

Let me put it differently so it is very, very clear.

We, as a global community, have ONLY NINE YEARS LEFT before there is catastrophic climate changes. 

ONLY NINE YEARS BEFORE THIS PLANET BECOMES MORE AND MORE UNFORGIVING FOR THE ABUSES OF GREED.

Moray East (click here)

...Scotland’s renewable electricity generation in 2022 (click here) in quarter 2 was 7,358 GWh – a 36.2% increase from the 5,402 GWh generated in the same quarter in 2021. This is more than 25% greater than any quarter 2 reported previously and is likely due to increased wind and East Moray offshore windfarm coming online at the end of quarter 1.

In the first half of 2022, Scotland generated 18,568 GWh of renewable electricity, up 29.2% on the same point in 2021. This increase is likely explained by higher wind speeds, increased rainfall and East Moray offshore wind farm coming online affecting wind and hydro generation.

Renewable electricity capacity increased by 10.5% from June 2021 to 13.3 GW in June 2022. This is more than four times the increase in capacity seen between June 2020 and June 2021 where renewable electricity capacity increased by just 2.2%....

The wind farm (click here) exported its first power to the national grid via its new substation south of New Deer in Aberdeenshire, Scotland on Saturday, 5 June, the developer said.

The world's populations need to demand MEASURABLE CHANGE IN EMISSIONS OF GREENHOUSE GASES now!

The Wall Street Journal is an enemy of the people of the world.

No country in the Free World is immune from the ravages of the climate crisis.

The Ukraine war by Russia is all about Russian politics. It is why they are hanging on so desperately to their claims.

It is a holy war now against Satan. Medvedev has also stated Russia will again invade Kherson.

The point is their politics need to change now otherwise this faux ambition will be around for another generation.

They have a Russian service similar to Twitter and the politics of this invasion is everywhere on his page (click here). They need to stop playing with fire and begin to deal with the reality before them. There are no forces anywhere that want to invade Russia. There is no evil in Ukraine ready to vanquish every soul in Moscow. These are all false stories about an invasion written into a five year plan. This has to stop.

The ideology (click here) has Russia taking half of Ukraine while Poland absorbs the other half and Ukraine is nothing more than a city on a map. That is nothing but lies. Poland doesn't have to invade Ukraine, half the population are there as refugees.

4 November 2022

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (click here) on Friday described Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine as a sacred conflict with Satan and warned that his country was capable of sending “all our enemies to fiery Gehenna.”

Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, appeared to be using a version of the Hebrew word for hell in his speech to mark Russia’s Day of National Unity.

The former president said Russia’s task in the invasion was to “stop the supreme ruler of hell, whatever name he uses — Satan, Lucifer or Iblis,” according to quotes run by the Reuters news agency....

More and more countries around the world are finding relations with Russia is not what it appeared to be less than a year ago. They are abandoning the genocide by Russia of Ukrainians. Why is this still an issue?

November 10, 2022
By David Ignatius

As Russia’s military troubles mount in Ukraine, (click here) it’s also becoming more isolated internationally as organizations affiliated with the United Nations purge Moscow’s representatives from leadership positions.

This rollback of Russian power and prestige at the United Nations has accelerated in recent months. It’s another example of the way the Ukraine war is realigning the international system into a small bloc supporting the Kremlin and a larger group backing the United States and its broad coalition of allies.

The General Assembly, the closest thing to a global parliament, has condemned Russia’s assault on Ukraine twice by overwhelming margins. In March, it demanded Russia’s unconditional withdrawal, 141-5. Last month, it rejected Russia’s attempted annexation plan, 143-5. The only countries that backed Russia were Belarus, Eritrea, Nicaragua, North Korea and Syria....

It is all politics with Donald John Trump lending his Americanism as inspiration to these right wing dictators. There are also communist backed regimes in Venezuela and Brazil as Balsonaro "Pulling a Trump" (click here) in not conceding but providing a transfer of power to the newly elected president. Balsonaro wants what Trump wants, a regime of their own to take over the countries government with violence at a later date.

All this is politics and it needs to end. The people of all these countries should be demanding a better quality of life and not a lifetime of lies and poverty.

August 29, 2022

On June 9, 2022, (click here) Nicaragua’s Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) government renewed the authorization of Russian military forces to operate in the country. In doing so, it reminded the United States and the hemisphere that the dictatorial regime of Daniel Ortega not only continues to abrogate the rights of its own people for democratic choice, free expression, and other fundamental human rights, but also serves as an entry point for the projection of threats into the region by extra-hemispheric rivals of the United States, such as Russia, Iran, and the People’s Republic of China (PRC)....

August 13, 2022

The intension behind this vote and the Eritrean regime’s support for Russia (click here) are part and parcel of Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki’s decades-long anti-American policy—a key pillar of his dictatorship....

The people's voices must be heard and alternative governments that are of and by the people need to address the United Nation's General Assembly to understand the suffering that exists because of the politics of the country.

This is from 2009, but, more recent estimates state poverty is down to 53 percent since more women are working to support their families.

Poverty, (click here) one of the world's most serious problems, is particularly severe in Africa. Eritrea is a 16-year-old nation that gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1993. The country's economy was doing relatively well between 1993 and 1997. Eritrea was then exposed to numerous challenges such as drought, famines and recurrent war. As a result, poverty has become more rampant in a country where over 66 per cent of people live below the poverty line. Some families live on remittances. The government has taken some poverty alleviation measures. However, it has not mitigated poverty due to a lack of resources and a poorly implemented poverty alleviation programme. This article attempts to explore the incidence of poverty. It also provides details of poverty surveys that have been conducted since independence. It discusses various poverty challenges and provides some policy implications for development....

Hillary Clinton doesn't take credit for the empowerment of women around the world, but, her visits had resonance, "Women's rights are human rights and human rights are women's rights." She has empowered women and girls and it shows internationally. This is one small example of how her words drive change. The USA does not have to be directly involved, but, women around the world listen to other strong women and begin to take on the challenge of improving their lives and the lives of their families. It is women like this that move a country out of impoverishment, not war of any kind, but, women seeking a better life.

Empowerment movements like this are Hillary Clinton's legacy.

The National Union of Eritrean Women (click here) branch in the Anseba region organized a seminar on 24 and 25 June in Keren aimed at empowering women....

All the propaganda wars need to stop. There is absolutely no reason for such hate anywhere in the world, especially coming out of Russia.

THERE IS NO NEW WORLD ORDER. A NEW WORLD ORDER REQUIRES MORE THAN RUSSIA ALONE AND A FIVE ALLIES.

THE WORLD IS NOT INTERESTED IN BEING COMMUNISTS!

November 12, 2022
By Seth J. Frantzman

Russia has suffered a serious setback (click here) in having to abandon Kherson, a city that it had occupied during its war on Ukraine this year. However, Moscow wants the world to know that it is not down for the count.

“Today, Russia is building an equal world order for the future and is fighting alone against the West, while protecting its citizens and returning its lands, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on Saturday,” Moscow’s state media TASS news reported

Moscow’s leadership, particularly Vladimir Putin, has often said that Russia is leading a new world order....

This is a mess.

There are similarities.

Neither Donald John Trump nor Vladimir Putin know when to quit. It is not a joke, it is a fact.

Neither have a conscience. All they know is power. Putin is less absorbed with money, but, he doesn’t need to buy the presidency.

It is troubling to realize Russia hasn’t surrendered the Ukrainian land it occupies.  Ukraine is not a toy that wears out only to be used again and again as if a political volleyball.

It is time Russia recognize it is not a superpower simply based on a poorly understood nuclear capacity.

Trump just needs to stop being stupid and return to his Florida residence as soon as sea level rise has receded enough until the next supercell arrives. The American people are tired of the threat to their democracy. I would think that would be obvious.

Has he apologized to Speaker Pelosi for his hate speech that lead to violence against her and her husband?

What do you do with men that look in the mirror and don’t see the truth?

Good night.

 Is the Second Amendment to the USA Constitution moral as it is used today?