This Blog is created to stress the importance of Peace as an environmental directive. “I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it’s hell.” – Harry Truman (I receive no compensation from any entry on this blog.)
Saturday, June 04, 2022
Kiyoshi Kuromiya (1943-2000) was on Google epage. Fantastic film. Great man.
Turning to the USA.
Mauston, Wisconsin - Former Juneau County Judge John Roemer (click here) was shot and killed in his home in the Township of New Lisbon Friday morning.
Officials say when SWAT entered the home, they found Roemer zip-tied to a chair and fatally shot.
The Department of Justice says Douglas Uhde was found in the basement with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
A law enforcement official says a "hit list" was found in Uhde's vehicle which included Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell...
...Kaul said investigators are looking into whether this was related to court cases.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler released a statement on Roemer's death:
"The state's judicial family is shocked and saddened by this tragedy. Judge Roemer dedicated much of his career to public service in the law. Before taking the bench in 2004, he had served as an assistant district attorney and as an assistant state public defender. He was known by colleagues for his sharp legal mind and his willingness to share his time and knowledge with others. His work made a tremendous difference in the lives of many people in Juneau County and elsewhere in the state. Our deepest sympathy goes to Judge Roemer's family at this time."
The investigation is being handled as both a homicide and possible case of domestic terrorism....
I strongly disagree. There is no hawk or dove position to take with Ukraine. It is genocide.
By Ross Douthat
Sure, it works in practice, (click here) but does it work in theory? Over the years I’ve heard this parody of academic pomposity put in the lips of various targets, from French intellectuals to University of Chicago economists. Lately, though, I’ve begun thinking it myself — about the hawkish side in the debate over the Ukraine War, whose practical policies have so far achieved favorable results but whose deeper theories of the conflict still seem implausible, unworkable or dangerous.
I was not a Ukraine hawk before the war came. I felt the United States had overextended itself with its half-open door to NATO membership, and that eastern Ukraine, at least, wasn’t defensible against Russian aggression without a full-scale American military commitment. Sending arms to Kyiv probably made sense, but as a means of eventually bogging down a Russian incursion, not stopping it outright. And a Ukrainian collapse, of the kind we saw from our client government in Afghanistan, seemed within the realm of possibility....
Well. Everyone knows The West values their money more than freedom.
That is correct.
Kremlin will use economic weapons such as a blockage of Ukrainian grain exports to weaken Western support.
Putin has new petroleum contracts waiting for signatures by France and the rest of the alliance, just as soon as innocent people die of starvation.
June 4, 2022By Lateshia Beachum, Victoria Bisset, Andrew Jeong, Amy Cheng, Ellen Francis, Jonathan Edwards, Timothy Bella, Catherine Belton and Reis Thebault
...U.S. military officials (click here) have assessed that the coming weeks could bring a decisive phase in the war. Russian President Vladimir Putin believes time is on his side, according to members of Russia’s economic elite, who say the Kremlin will use economic weapons such as a blockage of Ukrainian grain exports to weaken Western support. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told The Washington Post on Thursday that Ukraine-supporting nations need to develop “sustainable” strategies for their aid...
...Kremlin will use economic weapons such as a blockage of Ukrainian grain exports to weaken Western support...
...Kremlin will use economic weapons such as a blockage of Ukrainian grain exports to weaken Western support...
...Kremlin will use economic weapons such as a blockage of Ukrainian grain exports to weaken Western support...
A global agreement to move forward.
Russia must never be allowed to once again engage such dangers on the world. This war is far beyond the hate of Ukrainians, it is a hate of the world in general. There is a driving desire to encourage suffering on people who have nothing to do with any differences that may exist with Ukraine and Russia. I say MAY EXIST, because, from where I sit Ukrainians have done nothing to receive such rage and human rights abuses.
The entire world has an interest in peace. It is important that pursuit begin, but, at the same time there is Russia and it's allies that are more than willing to disregard human life as important and unleash hell for absolutely no threat what so ever that they face.
The United Nations must truly be a uniting force in all this and end the suffering of so many. If the UN was ever needed in this world it is now.
The future is before us and it is either going to be the greatest humanitarian success in the history of the world or it will be a completely devastating scourge across Earth because human politics were so important that nothing else matters.
There is a right and wrong within these dynamics. If Russia insists the wrong path is the best path there will be no way forward except military. That is Russia's goal. So far it has been discouraged. I just don't know if people will survive this phase of movement toward peace. The question is what weighs in the balance and whether or not a brief vicious exercise of war is less costly than the long view of non-aggression?
Any effort to instill a demilitarized zone without Russia's agreement will be brought about by a military outside of Ukraine and enforced by the same. It is a huge issue. One that cannot be overlooked or considered without all the rampifactions. If confrontation with Russia is the only path forward it won't be a long endurance, but, it may turn the land involved to worthless pieces of vastness and cost human lives.
The Russian - Ukraine Demilitarized Zone because of the genocide there is no turning away from it.
Imagine for a moment this being an unending war. Russia knocks down buildings that simply prevents the Ukrainian people to return to a major section of their country. Western Ukraine, if Russia can be contained in the east may very well be able to sustain populations again, however, what if after some reconstruction and return Russia once again decides to kill and destroy?
The two countries need a demilitarized zone with a clear understanding that if either of them cross that region of land it will be considered an assault on international stability and the ability of feed the world.
Regardless of North Korea's insistence on reunification of the people removing any agreement to peace, South Korea has been able to build a country that is successful with full engagement of the international community. South Korea is considered a great country.
There is no reason why Ukraine cannot succeed in the same way. If Russia insists on war and does not create a demilitarized zone, then the United Nations Security Council and the General Assembly must begin to build it's strongest sanctions and isolation of Russia. What also needs to occur are global plans to instill a demilitarized zone and movement toward that goal. That global agreement must at least try to include China.
This is a very deadly war. President Zelenskyy has to seek support by other countries.
By Rhoda Kwan
Speaking on Ukrainian television, Haidai said that Russian troops were blowing up bridges across the Siverskyi Donets River in a bid to prevent reinforcements from entering the city.
For both sides, the fighting in the east in recent weeks has been one of the deadliest phases of the war. Ukraine has said it is losing 60 to 100 soldiers every day....
I am grateful President Macron is in office, but, he has to realize being civilized is mostly a failure.
Paris - French President Emmanuel Macron (click here) said it is vital that Russia is not humiliated so that when the fighting stops in Ukraine a diplomatic solution can be found, adding that he believed Paris would play a mediating role to end the conflict.
Macron has sought to maintain a dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February. His stance has been repeatedly criticised by some eastern and Baltic partners in Europe, as they see it as undermining efforts to pressure Putin to the negotiating table....
The USA used to feed the world while still dumping grain every harvest.
The USA can do it again. It is important the decisions to increase agricultural production after decades of reducing it be made permanent to allow stable prices and commodities. That, of course, means more aggressive climate policy to end the droughts and floods.
Finger pointing at Russia only provides a greater platform for global misery rather than a new or returned paradigm to establish stable food supplies.
May 18, 2022...The World Bank Group’s global response (click here) will address four priorities:
Facilitate increased trade: Build international consensus (G7, G20, others) and commitment to avoid export restrictions that increase global food prices and import restrictions that discourage production in developing countries.
Support vulnerable households: Scale up targeted, nutrition-sensitive social protection programs and replenish early-response financing mechanisms.
Invest in sustainable food and nutrition security: Strengthen food systems to make them more resilient to rising risks (conflict, climate, pests, diseases), trade disruptions and economic shocks – balance immediate/short-term needs with long-term investments.
The World Bank gained extensive experience in response to the 2007-2008 global food price crisis through the temporary Global Food Crisis Response Program (GFRP) that received donor contributions and channeled funds to 49 affected countries through 100 projects. Since then, the Bank had built up new tools dedicated to responding to food security crises, including the IDA Crisis Response Window. The World Bank also hosts the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), which is an existing financial intermediary fund dedicated to improving food security in low-income countries and could be replenished to help fund the response to the current global food crisis.
Russia's hatred of Ukrainians is definitely the reason the world is facing a food crisis.
Geneva - United Nations officials warned (click here) on Friday that a protracted war in Ukraine threatened a hunger crisis in the country and around the world.
Marking 100 days since Russia invaded its neighbour, UN crisis coordinator Amin Awad said at least 15.7 million people in Ukraine were now in urgent need of assistance and protection, with the number rising by the day.
When winter comes, millions of people will be exposed given the destruction of power plants and fuel depots, Awad told an online media briefing....
Abbott is reopening the baby formula plant after working with the FDA to solve the problems of contamination.
There has been an increase in breast milk sharing. Everyone dug in and made it happen to support American moms. It is a community of concern now.
Why is strong competition important in every consumer need? Because THE FEW are greedy and careless. Needing competition is becoming a national emergency in the American food supply.
When I shop in my Non-GMO grocery store, the prices are higher than the average store, but, they have not increased due to inflation. My grocery bill has not increased and other than fuel for the van, I would never know there is an inflation problem. I guess I shop in places that are there for the customer and not the stockholders.
Time for an electric car. Biden was due to be president at this time. He has the right priorities and always has. He was never a big draw for Wall Street.
June 1, 2022By Michael D. Shear and Julie Creswell
Washington - The nationwide shortage of baby formula (click here) is getting worse, with an increasing number of retailers and online sellers posting out-of-stock notices even as President Biden met on Wednesday with executives of five baby food companies, and announced new shipments of formula from Europe to help restock American shelves.
Baby formula has been in short supply across the United States for weeks, the result of the shutdown in February of the leading infant formula manufacturing plant, operated by Abbott Laboratories, because of contamination concerns. Last month, the president invoked the Defense Production Act to help other manufacturers, and promised to use the military to speed up imports of formula from around the world....
June 1, 2022By Tom Rader
Exeter Township, Pennsylvania - A newly-opened plant in Berks County (click here) wants to be the lead nationally in dealing with the baby formula shortage.
"What is Pennsylvania doing about the baby formula shortage? My answer?" Gov. Tom Wolf said, as he gestured behind him at the ByHeart baby formula facility in Exeter Township.
Wolf, U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, state Sen. Judy Schwank, and state Rep. Mark Gillen gathered outside the ByHeart baby formula plant Wednesday to tout state funding....
However, a recent news release from Canada Royal Milk clarifies that the company is not yet manufacturing infant formula and does not have the regulatory approval of Health Canada to begin production.
The shortage of baby formula reported in the United States, fuelled by major recalls and global supply chain issues, has raised concerns about what this means for Canadian parents, as Canada is reliant on American supplies for its own formula production....
I think it is prudent for African Americans to be cautious.
A 35-year-old woman was flown to Froedtert Hospital where she had surgery for her injuries. Police said Friday morning she was awake and alert.
A 19-year-old woman was treated at a Racine hospital and released....
..."How many gunshots did you hear?" WISN 12 News' Matt Smith asked a person nearby.
"Accurately, 20 to 30. I would say. It was a lot. The one initial one and then gunfire. It was terrifying," said Tre Brantley, who heard the shooting. "Within 30 seconds we were all running off the court. we didn't stop to grab any of our stuff. we didn't stop to talk about it."
"Honestly, it's sad. It really is," added Ernie Stickles, Racine resident. "The way Racine was when I was growing up, nobody caused any problems."
Police said Friday that multiple firearms were used in the shooting.
Ascension All Saints Hospital is near the cemetery....
Friday, June 03, 2022
Turkey is opposing the added members to NATO because of the Russian tourism.
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
PETER KENYON, BYLINE: The promotional campaign for the name change has been underway for some time, with videos like this one from Turkish Airlines featuring people saying the new name over and over.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: Hello, Turkiye.
(CHEERING)
KENYON: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government hopes the rebranding will give a boost to the economy as visitors start to return in large numbers after two pandemic-depressed tourist seasons. Some also wish to dissociate the country's name from the bird that traditionally appears on American dining tables at Thanksgiving and from the slang definition of a turkey as something that doesn't work or is foolish. It's not that much of a change for locals. The new name for Turkey is simply the way it's always been spelled and pronounced in Turkish. One observer noted it would be similar to calling Germany Deutschland. Turkish foreign policy analyst Yoruk Isik says this looks to him like a move to distract people from the long list of problems facing the country....
By Joe Murphy
Medical journals and news reports (click here) have stated that guns now kill more of America’s youth than do motor vehicles. President Joe Biden repeated that claim during his speech Thursday night. But a closer look at the data shows that while gun deaths are close in number to vehicular deaths, much depends on how the numbers are sliced.
While gun and motor vehicle deaths increased substantially in 2020, the latest year for which final numbers were available, claims that more children and teenagers die due to guns than motor vehicles only hold up when 18- to 19-year-olds are included, a group that accounts for nearly as many gun deaths as 1- to 17-year-olds combined do, according to an NBC News analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The gap between vehicular deaths and firearm deaths is narrowing among 1- to 17-year-olds, and may close entirely, according to the CDC’s provisional and incomplete 2021 data.....
There is no place for assault weapons in American society.
There is nothing to fear except the guns themselves. There is proof.
By Rachael Bunyan
A 68-year-old man has been shot and killed (click here) at the home of a former judge in rural Wisconsin by a militia member with a hit list, according to local news.
The man was killed in New Lisbon, 70 miles northwest of the state capital, Madison, said local media.
Police were called to the property at 6:30am after a person fled the home, and reported hearing two gunshots.
Negotiators then attempted to talk to a person inside, but entered the property at 10:17am and found one man people dead - the 68-year-old.
A 56-year-old was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and was treated at the house before being taken to hospital, where he remains in a critical condition.
'There were two individuals found inside the property, one was deceased, and one had a self-inflicted gunshot wound,' said Attorney General Josh Kaul.
He said there was a list of targets, and those on the list had been warned.
The dead man was on the list, and local journalist John Mercure reported that Governor Tony Evers was also on the list.
Kaul said a caller said there was 'an armed person, and two shots fired'....
No more quality control hearings, NOTHING works. End the sale of Assault Weapons NOW.
Pete Arredondo, (click here) chief of the Uvalde school district police department who oversaw the law enforcement response to a shooting that killed 19 students and two teachers, arrived at the scene without his radio and other equipment, two law enforcement sources told the Austin American-Statesman of the USA TODAY Network.
The two officials were briefed on the matter but not authorized to speak publicly. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, told KABB-TV he was informed Friday by law enforcement officials that Arredondo "did not have his radio or comms on him during the incident."
The revelation also comes after Gutierrez said Thursday that the 911 calls from terrified children inside Robb Elementary School were not relayed to the chief, raising questions about when and what information Arredondo knew during the attack....
This method of Trump's has been in play for a long time.
"It is unfair." Aw, so very unfair. Poor man.
They scream unfairness while breaking the law. Denial works. Frequently. The question is has the American people had enough of the denial?
Michael Cohen predicted all of it in his testimony to Congress.
June 3, 2022The indictment, handed up in Federal District Court in Washington, marked the first time that an official who served in Mr. Trump’s White House during the events of Jan. 6, 2021, has been charged in connection with the investigation into the attack.
Prosecutors charged Mr. Navarro, 72, with what amounted to a misdemeanor process crime for having failed to appear for a deposition or provide documents to congressional investigators in response to a subpoena issued by the House committee on Feb. 9. The indictment charges him with two counts of criminal contempt that each carry a maximum sentence of a year in prison, as well as a fine of up to $100,000.
Mr. Navarro, who was arrested and taken into federal custody, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He appeared in court on Friday afternoon, speaking on his own behalf and telling a federal magistrate judge that the congressional subpoena he was served with was “illegal” and “unenforceable.”
A shooting incident commander...every number they knew...and an underfunded mental heatlh program.
Texas State Sen. Roland Gutierrez (click here) raised questions in a news conference on Thursday about whether information on 911 calls from inside Robb Elementary School was relayed properly to responders at the scene of the shooting.
Gutierrez said he spoke with the agency that regulates the 911 calls, the Commission on State Emergency Communications, and was told the 911 calls were handled by and relayed to the city's police force on the scene. However, what is unclear, is if that information was relayed to the school district police chief who was the incident commander on the scene.
"They were being communicated to a Uvalde police officer and the state agency that I have spoken to has not told me who that is," Gutierrez said....
...One warrant, signed Wednesday by Uvalde County District Court Judge Camille DuBose, allows law enforcement to perform a forensic download of Ramos' iPhone 13 Pro Max, which was found next to his body after he was fatally shot by police.
During the bloodbath, (click here) a negotiator tried to call the shooter, but he didn't respond, Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin told reporters Wednesday.
"They tried every number they could find that he was associated with," McLaughlin said.
Now, this city engulfed in grief is also tormented by shifting police narratives, unanswered questions and the horror of knowing 21 victims were trapped with a gunman for more than an hour -- despite repeated 911 calls for help from inside the classrooms....
“We as a state - we as a society - (click here) need to do a better job with mental health. Anybody who shoots somebody else has a mental health challenge. Period. We as a government need to find a way to target that mental health challenge and do something about it.”
Those are the words of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott just days after an 18-year-old high school student massacred 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.
Abbott has doubled down on his stance that mass shootings are an issue of mental health and not gun access following the Uvalde massacre.
However, in April, Abbott slashed nearly $211 million from the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), which oversees mental health services in Texas....




