Monday, July 04, 2022

Highland Park is an idyllic city, until today.

July 4, 2022
By Katherine Fung

...Highland Park, (click here) which is well known as the backdrop of several movies, including Home Alone and Ferris Beuller's Day Off, has a relatively low crime rate. The suburb has a population of about 30,000 people and is safer than 72 percent of U.S. cities, according to online database Neighborhood Scout....

There are too many guns on the street.

What do gunmen think when they are practicing with their weapons of war? This is a picture of a woman practicing with her AR-15. As a rule these gunmen are men and not women. They are frequently young men.

But, until an American has fired a gun do they understand what enables the people full of hate. Remember the Vegas gunman?

January 19, 2019
By Venessa Romo

More than a year (click here) after the FBI began its investigation, the agency has completed an analysis of the man behind the Oct. 1, 2017, mass shooting in Las Vegas, concluding there was "no single or clear motivating factor" driving Stephen Paddock's killing rampage and subsequent suicide.

The FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit shared key findings Tuesday from the report, which explored details of Paddock's developmental, interpersonal and clinical history as they related to his behavior before the attack, as well the 11-minute massacre, during which he killed 58 concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest festival and injured nearly 1,000 others....

How about the motive being an "itchy trigger finger?"

Unless a person has held a gun in their hands realizing the killing power of that gun does that person realize the attraction to guns by the FEELING of power. Just hold it. Don't do anything else with it, just hold it and think this is a gun I can shoot and kill many, many people. I might add, it isn't easy to kill a person.

These weapons are powerful and the reason they are powerful is because it is not easy to kill a person. It takes a powerful effort by the weapon and/or the power of physical size and strength. So, hold an AR-15 and understand the weapon. Now, once one understands the weapon, what is it for? It is for killing. There no other purpose. It is a weapon and it isn't a kitchen knife turned weapon. There is absolutely no reason to have these guns except to kill.

What if a person can bring themselves to walk into a shooting range and take a gun, any gun, walk to the firing lane, with an instructor or a spouse and hold the gun at a target. Don't fire it. Just hold the gun with the target in the sites on the gun, either an add on site or the one on the gun that might even have radioactive material to bring the site into an easy gaze.

If a person can then take aim, reasonably accurate for anyone, with ear protectors and eye protection and place the finger on the trigger. Don't fire it. Just put the finger on the trigger. One thing a gunman/woman needs to be able to understand is the resistence the trigger provides to pulling the gun into action. So, even holding a gun with reasonable accuracy, so the gun doesn't have a kick back so strong it will send the gun upward to an unknown target, feel that trigger. That trigger is a person's best friend or enemy. Hesitation in firing the gun in a real life situation or being unable to know the trigger, may be more of a danger than a help.

Now that a person is ready to fire the trigger, hence putting the gun into a method of killing, what is that person thinking? I think most women when they practice with their guns they are looking to be masterful enough to protect themselves and quite possibly their family. I do not believe women are thinking about killing people so much as defending oneself.

Now that a White Supremacist is ready to pull the trigger what is he thinking when he practices? He is thinking about his own defense from another man ready to kill him or his family? I doubt that is ever a reason in their thinking when they practice. I think White Supremacists see more than a zombie on that target at the end of the practice range. I think that White Supremacist sees a person he hates when he pulls that trigger.

Back to the Vegas gunman. What did he think when he practiced with his arsenal? He spent tens of thousands of dollars if not a hundred thousand dollars on guns, ammunition in preparation of that war that is promised to Americans that hate. The war is the important part. He, no different than other men in prison with similar crimes, believes he if was clever enough and pulled off a mass killing, other haters of his loyalty would follow. That argument could be reasonably made these days with frequent mass shootings.

But, as to the Vegas gunman. What the heck? Right? A man that had anything he wanted in life all of a sudden takes up a room in a multi-floor hotel, sets up surveillance of the halls to see any police response and then sets up his weapons so he can aim at unknown people gathered at an outdoor concert. The concert or performer wasn't the draw, it was the large number of targets in the open. He did research enough to know there was a hotel near a place in Vegas where large numbers of people would be gathering to listen to a concert. An outdoor concert. Perfect. It was all premeditated. There was nothing spontaneous about it. He hadn't lost his mind and took guns to a room by chance there would be targets. It was all premeditated.

I do not believe it is easy owning a gun. It comes with a great deal of expense, regardless the gun or it's intended use. Then there is the issue of mastering the gun so it doesn't become a danger to the owner. That means taking lessons. Plenty of lessons to know how to safely use the gun. If people are simply trusting their own ability to master a gun, that is dangerous. There is too much in holding the gun correctly, aiming it at a target with purpose, feeling the trigger and then successfully pull the trigger without danger to anyone in the area.

There should never be a gun sold without proper education BEFORE the purchase and required education and practice year to year to maintain concealed carry permits. There is plenty of reason for Americans to pass muster in order to purchase their own gun. Does anyone realize how many children are killed because the owner, usually a parent, neglected to handle the gun correctly and being sure it was locked or put away to a locked safe to the point where a child could never accidently fire it? How many guns are bought into friends homes to only realize that mom or dad was not a friend at all?

The point to this is whenever there is a mass shooting in the USA, the gunman has practiced either formally or casually and there is a particular thinking that occurs when that practicing goes on. 

What if it was impossible to get a gun? 

What if it were?

What would the hate-filled American think about instead?

This is written on a day when more Americans are dead, maimed and wounded; in honor of those that have perished in mass shootings in the USA since the Assault Weapon Ban was sundowned. My sincerest sympathy to those left behind.

The balance of power and peace's progress has been destroyed.

July 3, 2022
By David Cohen

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (click here) said Sunday that the Russian invasion of Ukraine ruptured illusions that had been in place since the end of the Cold War, creating a different dynamic in Europe than existed a few months ago.

Speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Scholz told host Margaret Brennan that the brutal invasion launched in February by Russian President Vladimir Putin had shaken the world out of its complacency.

“I think too many in the world were hoping that we are living in a different world that is different to the experiences of the last century and the centuries before,” Scholz said, adding that a part of that gentler world order was that “we have had an agreement that there should be no attempt to change territory, to change borders, to invade the neighbor.”

He told Brennan: “And this agreement is now canceled by Putin.”

Scholz said Putin was a throwback to those leaders who saw conquest as a demonstration of a nation’s greatness....

Assad must be reading Trump's media, because his reality is not within the understanding of most of the world. Assad and Putin are allied in the deaths of innocent people. Russia committed war crimes in Syria no differently than it is in Ukraine.

"Long live Czar Putin."

July 3, 2022

Damascus recently recognised the independent republics of Donetsk and Luhansk from Ukraine

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad (click here) has indicated that Russian victory in Ukraine is in the interests of both Syria and Iran.

His comments came during his reception of Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir al-Lihyan in Damascus on Saturday.

The Syrian president said that Russian dominance in Ukraine “serves the interest of Syria, Iran and all peoples and nations that seek to defend their rights, principles, freedoms and sovereignty.”

Western losses caused by the war, described by al-Assad in the interview as “the slipping of the mask”, represents a redistribution of global power away from America and the West, he said.

“The steadfast relationship that has strengthened over decades between Syria and Iran has become a coalition committing to overthrowing the hegemony of the west”, continued al-Assad in his speech.

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky had previously severed diplomatic relations with Syria, after Damascus recognised the independence of Luhansk and Donetsk from Ukraine at the end of June....

Russia states victory in Donbas

What that tells me is that Russia is unable to advance but only hold land that has already been destroyed by years of bombings and cruelty. It is interesting that Ukrainian forces were able to penetrate it at all. It appears Russia can only fight for so many square miles of land at a time leaving the territory taken open for invasion again.

Russians are currently in the process of building drones. Evidently, they are in mass production. Russia has been impressed by their effectiveness early in the war. The Ukrainian drones were owned and operated by private citizens who know what they were doing. I doubt seriously, the Russian drones will be as effective. Russia has to teach their military to operate them. I would not underestimate the drone capacity in the beginning, but, realistically, the Russians are simply mimicking the Ukrainians and hoping to have the same result. That should tell The West all they need to know about the future of Russian drones.

Ukrainian grain has come into focus. The grain is normally supplied to other countries. Turkey (click here) has intercepted a ship stated to have stolen grain from the stores in the country. The UK is monitoring grain shipments with destinations to the rest of the world. The UK is using aerial surveilance to protect those shipments.

Map (click here)

Basically, The West is doing everything it can to end genocide everywhere before it begins. Let's hope The West continues to be the advocate for the well being of all people. Russia or it's satellites such as Belarus cannot make that claim. 

July 4, 2022
By Bryan Pietsch, Victoria Bissef and Annabelle Timsit

Russia is setting its sights on the eastern Donetsk region (click here) after seizing Kyiv’s final major foothold in neighbouring Luhansk, a regional official said Monday.

Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai told Reuters he expects Russia to target Slovyansk and Bakhmut in particular, as the Kremlin seeks to take control of the larger Donbas area, which includes both Luhansk and Donetsk, in the latest phase of its invasion. While Haidai said that Ukrainian forces still controlled a “small part” of Luhansk, the loss of the city of Lysychansk means Moscow has seized virtually all of the region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky remained defiant after the loss of Lysychansk on Sunday and pledged to return, saying: “Ukraine does not give anything up.”

Elsewhere, attention will turn to Switzerland Monday as senior Ukrainian officials gather with European leaders in the city of Lugano for the Ukraine Recovery Conference. Zelensky is set to address the conference virtually....

Lavish Russian assets are making it to USA territory to be held for sale to fund Ukraine. I would expect any sale of Russian assets not to fall into the hands of Russians again.

There is every reason to believe Putin intends genocide at any cost. Besides depriving the world of Ukrainian grain, the people Putin has rounded up are not prisoners of war, but, civilians treated as prisoners of war.

12 April 2022
By Shweta Sharma

Vladimir Putin (click here) has sent almost 100,000 Ukrainian refugees thousands of miles away from their home, to resettle in remote corners of Russia, including Siberia and the Arctic Circle, according to Kremlin documents.

Moscow made the emergency order last month to move 95,739 people of the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Donetsk, and Lugansk away from the war zones to be resettled as far as 5,500 miles away from their homes, the Kremlin decree seen by The i stated.

It comes amid several reports that Russian forces have allegedly forcibly disappeared, held captive or interrogated people in Ukrainian towns since Mr Putin’s invasion of the country on 24 February....

These deliberately displaced Ukrainians will not do well by every estimation. When people are forced to evacuate an area there is a degree of disorientation that occurs. Most people have mind maps of their everyday movements. Those mind maps will be destroyed as soon as the Ukrainians are removed from their homeland and/or forced to leave to survive. Additionally, added to that disorientation is the harshness of their placement. This movement of Ukrainians by Russia is not benevolent despite claiming it is moving Russian speaking people to Russia as if bringing them to a homeland.

Putin's Russia has no interest in peace or protecting the lives of others.