From tornado deaths and now a school shooting.

Iowa is having a difficult week. My understanding is that the alert system for mobile phones was delayed in delivering messages to people facing a tornado warning. The sirens still work, but, the problem is people turn to their mobile phones more often than listening for alert sirens.

Iowa needs to run tornado siren drills to keep everyone listening. I have to wonder if the delay is a cyber attack.

March 5, 2022
By John Murphy

Officials said at least seven people (click here) were killed in Iowa over the weekend due to an outbreak of severe weather that unleashed more than two dozen tornadoes, including one EF3 twister. By Monday morning, the weather pattern had shifted to a wintry one and residents in several of the hard-hit areas were dealing with fresh snowfall....

Sincerest sympahies for all the people that face the loss of loved ones and friends in both these tragic episodes.

March 7, 2022

Authorities (click here) say one person has been killed and two others were critically wounded in a shooting outside an Iowa school....

...“It is a punch in the gut that we have three kids in the hospital," he said, “but we are hoping for the best for them.”

He said calls started pouring in around 2:50 p.m., shortly before classes were scheduled to dismiss for the day. The district said in a series of tweets that the school was initially locked down but later it announced that students were being allowed to go home.

Police said they do not believe there is a continued threat to the public.

“It is sad but we do train for this. We do have to be prepared for it and this is why."

The motive wasn't immediately released and he had no details on the potential suspects....

Oddly, Senator Grassley, proposed a bill to attempt to end school shootings. 

February 15, 2022

On the fourth anniversary of the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history, (click here) Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley pushed for passage of his bipartisan bill called the EAGLES Act.

Grassley, a Republican, says the bill would expand the role of the U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center to identify and manage threats from teenagers before they result in more tragedies.

Grassley says, “We would, by amending that assessment center, give it responsibility not only to do what the Secret Service already does there but to prevent school violence.”...

I appreciate the effort, but, it seems a little removed from local issues with gun violence. The Secret Service is supposed to understand that a teenager has access to weapons that kill and act on that information to prevent the tragedy ahead of it happening. 

It would be great if it worked, but, that seems like a tall order for the Secret Service. 

Senator Jodi Ernst has distanced herself from gun issues. She hasn't really discussed guns for nearly two years. She seems to have bowed to the gun lobby.

These are civilians slain in Ukraine.

...Kharkiv's schools and hospitals are destroyed in overnight blitz...(click here)

 

The United Nations' Security Council meets.

The leadership of the UN Humanitarian Mission states with all the problems in the world, the organizations that help through the UN didn't need this and there was no warning it was coming.

This "timing" has to be considered when deciding about crimes against humanity. Militaries often use adverse conditions to weigh in their favor. That along with the direct shelling of residential homes adds to the brevity of Russia's actions and crimes.

What is very clear is that the humanitarian efforts are starting from a standstill and will take time to set up supply chains. That means the people in Ukraine are compromised as the humanitarian efforts are crippled at this point to begin a sincere effort to supply food, clean water and medical care. That all has to be added to the understanding that Russia is committing human rights violations. 

There is a report children are being targeted by soldiers no matter how sheltered they appear. These are innocent people that are being killed and deprived of food, water and medical needs.

UN Security Council (click here)

7 March 2022
By Chris Pleasance

A captured Russian commander (click here) has begged for 'mercy' for Putin's forces attacking Ukraine, saying they were duped into invading in the false belief that the government had been overthrown by Nazis and needing liberating.

The man, who claimed he is a lieutenant-colonel in the Russian national guard's special rapid response unit, said his countrymen have been 'brainwashed' into supporting the war but - having seen the situation in Ukraine for himself - he now feels 'shame' in taking part in 'genocide' and says Ukrainians are 'right' to resist. 

Astakhov Dmitry Mikhailovich said his doubts solidified when he saw two of his favourite boxers - Oleksandr Usyk and Vasiliy Lomachenko - agreeing to fight for the resistance....

This is exactly the problem. The soldiers have feelings about an invasion wrongly carried out on the basis of lies. The Russian military should stop their assault and ask for asylum in Ukraine or return home to tell the Russian people the truth.

There is reason for hope.

Day One vs. Day Twelve (click here)

 

Prime MInister Johnson of the UK has opened two routes to refugees.

Every refugee coming to the UK will be background checked before being allowed to enter the country. The refugees with family or a sponsor will be allowed to enter the country. He states by removing the "cap" on these two routes of entery to the UK there could be tens of thousands coming for safety.

Sounds as though Russia is admitting it was a foolish venture into Ukraine. Dare I hope Russia has been stopped. Ukraine is ungovernable, unless it is the people themselves doing the governing. Putin has the wrong idea about Ukraine. It has already been accepted into the European Union. 

• Spokesman Dmitry Peskov (click here) today laid out Russia's demands to end Ukraine war 
• It was the most explicit Russian statement so far of the terms of its demands
• To end its brutal invasion, Russia is demanding Ukraine ceases its military action
• It is also demanding Ukraine enshrine neutrality in its constitution, acknowledge Crimea as Russian territory and Donetsk and Lugansk as independent territories
• Peskov's statement came as a third meeting is set to be held between the sides
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba are also due to meet at a forum in Turkey on Thursday, Ankara said 

Belarus and Russia have already committed human rights violations.

The evacation corridors must be into non-warring countries. The routes proposed by Russia are POW routes. All Russia and Belarus propose are untrustworthy.

Belarus and Russia are welcome to leave Ukraine through their own corridors as soon as possible.

March 7, 2022
By Yaron Steinbuch

Ukraine on Monday (click here) blasted Moscow’s announcement of “humanitarian corridors” to allow citizens to evacuate three cities as “completely immoral” – because their escape routes would lead into Russia or its ally Belarus.

Russia announced a limited ceasefire starting Monday morning to allow civilians to evacuate Kyiv, Mariupol, Kharkiv and Sumy.

But Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk later rejected the offer....

The Russian military needs to turn around and go home, unless they want asylum in Ukraine. They have  been decieved by Putin when war games turned into an invasion.

March 6, 2022

By Mark Nicol and Harriet Line

Vladimir Putin's 'decimated' forces (click here) could lose the war in Ukraine, the UK's top military commander has suggested.

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said Russia's troops were 'in a mess' and the invasion was 'not going well'.

His comments yesterday represent the most optimistic assessment yet of how the conflict may end – but came on another bleak day, with Russian forces firing on families as they fled the fighting....

The Russian military should put down their weapons and walk away. It is looking like a stalemate. The Ukrainians may have received a shipment of new weapons.

Map of Invasion (click here). With all the effort by Russia the advance is minimal. Take Crimea and Eastern Ukraine off the map and the invasion is not going well. Certainly, it is not going as Putin invisioned it.

The West needs to address the refugee crisis in at least NATO countries such as Poland. 

7 March 2022
By Chris Pleasance

Russia's invasion of Ukraine (click here) appears to have ground to a halt with no significant territory captured despite a weekend of heavy fighting, with Kyiv's men claiming to have taken out dozens of helicopters and recaptured a city this morning - sparking hopes that the unlikeliest of victories may be on the cards.

Putin's men renewed their bombardments on Mariupol, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv and Kharkiv this morning as his forces also tried to surround Kyiv in preparation for an assault, but have not significantly advanced their frontline since the city of Kherson and nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia were captured last week. 

Meanwhile the Ukrainian armed forces claimed to have destroyed up to 30 Russian helicopters that had been moved to Chornobaivka airport, near Kherson, overnight and to have retaken the city of Chuhuiv, near Kharkiv, killing two Russian commanders - Lt. Col. Dmitry Safronov, and Lt Col. Denis Glebov - in the process....