Why did we not know of this before? Are Americans afraid of letting anyone else know? Or do we just call it this when some other "tinpot" county's business conspire to upend a presidency.
1930's Coup attempt by Businessmen against FDR
To me, this is astounding. Thank God for the General who stopped it.
Once upon a time I had the pleasure of meeting some people who had been displaced in the first diaspora from Ukraine, and they stole my heart. I was 13, helping to tear down a building in Pasedena that her uncle owned in order to build an apartment building on the property.
I met a 18 year old gal and she showed me how to make the most lovely little cherry dumplings for a supper than my Dad and I shared with her Uncle and with her. She had made Borscht, also.
I fell in love with Ukraine at that time. The culture and the friendliness of the people. I hope they never went back there when Ukraine got out from under Russian domination.
I want to apologize to the the New York Times for using this without permission from the top, but it's so timely and so troubling to me because I live in the area and have watched what has happened to other groups but thought that the Ukranians, fleeing for their lives, would have been treated better. I really am more shocked and dismayed that they have had this trauma.
Anyway, I do still want the New York Times writers and photographers to know I am sorry for not getting permission before hand.
I wanted more people to see the article immediately so we can express our unhappiness about The situation.
This sort of unnecessary bureaucratic overreach, no matter the excuses made for it at our border really make me angry. It all seems unnecessary and traumatizing, especially to children being taken out of the care of relatives and thrust into cages in a strange land. This has to STOP.
C/O of the New York Times.... the following is a Quote of Parts of the Article.
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| Credit...Mark Abramson for The New York Times. |
LOS ANGELES — After Iryna Merezhko persuaded her sister in Ukraine that her young nephew should join her in Los Angeles to wait out the war, she traveled halfway around the globe to pick him up. “I told him it would be a California vacation,” she recalled. “We would go to Disneyland, Universal Studios, the beach.”
The boy, Ivan Yereshov, 14, made it with her to Tijuana, Mexico, early this month, joining thousands of Ukrainians waiting at the border for permission to enter the United States.
To be on the safe side, Ms. Merezhko carried a notarized power of attorney attesting that Ivan had been handed over into his aunt’s care. But an officer informed them that Ivan could not enter with his aunt — because she was not his parent. “They told us we would be separated for one or two days,” recalled Ms. Merezhko, who said she embraced Ivan as his initial enthusiasm dissolved into dismay.
Ten days went by before she would learn his whereabouts.
Dozens of Ukrainian children have been separated from relatives, friends or older siblings with whom they have traveled to the southern border under a law designed to prevent migrant children from being trafficked. In effect since 2008, the law requires U.S. border authorities to place “unaccompanied minors” in government shelters, where they must remain until their guardians have been screened and approved.
The brunt of the law has been felt by Central American children, the largest group of minors to reach the border in recent years and who are often fleeing gang violence. But those children typically are aware of the policy and know that they will be taken into temporary custody. For Ukrainian children, the separation from their caretakers has been an unexpected, shocking twist in their escape from a war zone.
The separations are different from those in 2018, when the Trump administration intentionally removed children from migrant parents to discourage border crossings; the punitive measure also resulted in children being sent to government shelters.
Another Story about the "Process".
Imagine — some of these children’s parents died or are fighting; they’re traumatized from the war and the journey,” said Erika Pinheiro, a lawyer with Al Otro Lado, a migrant support group that works with asylum seekers in Tijuana, a border city that is opposite San Diego. “Then they get separated from family, without understanding why, and sent to a shelter where staff don’t speak their language.”
Ms. Pinheiro acknowledged that it was vital to protect children from potential traffickers, but she said that more careful screenings at the border could alleviate the need for traumatic separations. “There are people out there who don’t have the children’s best interest at heart,” she said. “There are also lots of extended family who should be legitimately processed.”
U.S. authorities have not released figures on how many Ukrainian children have been separated from caregivers, but volunteers working with the refugees said they have counted at least 50. Up to 20 children have lately been arriving daily in Tijuana with someone other than a parent, they said. Often these children have a father who could not leave the country because men must support the war effort and a mother who could not travel. Their parents entrusted someone else to ferry them to the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that the anti-trafficking law defines any child who is not with a parent or legal guardian as “unaccompanied,” and requires that the child be transferred to a government shelter for care and custody, and be screened for signs of human trafficking.
“Any potential guardian must, by law, be vetted prior to reunification to protect against trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable children.”
Migrant advocates concede there is a risk of children becoming vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation amid the chaos of war, but say U.S. authorities are enforcing the law inconsistently, sowing confusion and heartache. Sometimes a child traveling with an adult sibling has been removed to a shelter, but not always. Many children have been separated from aunts, grandparents or friends; others have been released to continue on with them.
Last month, Molly Surazhsky of Brooklyn, the daughter of Ukrainian immigrants, escorted Liza Krasulia, 17, whose mother is a close family friend, from where she had escaped the war in Poland to the southern border.
Ms. Surazhsky said she had consulted an immigration lawyer in New York who had said that she did not foresee any problems. They carried a notarized letter from the parent giving Ms. Surazhsky authority to care for Liza.
But on March 30 at the border, officials told them that they would have to hold the girl for up to two days. “They said, ‘She will be treated better than we are,’” Ms. Surazhksy recalled.
Liza was shocked and began to sob.
“I told her, ‘Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere without you.’”
After checking into a hotel in San Diego, Ms. Surazhsky got a call from Liza, who by then was even more distraught. Officers had confiscated her phone, baggage, book — and shoelaces. She was sharing a cell at the border with 25 women and children from Ukraine, Russia and other countries, all trying to sleep on the floor with only flimsy foil blankets to cover them.
She submitted 40 pages of paperwork and fingerprints, and waited for approval to officially sponsor her.
On Monday, she was informed that Liza would be released from the shelter the following day, three weeks after they had crossed the border.
“While I understand the necessity of vetting caretakers, there has to be a better way for the government to do this without inflicting more trauma on the children,” said Ms. Surazhsky, a textile artist. “They are making kids feel like prisoners.”
Casey Revkin, a co-founder of the nonprofit Each Step Home, which helps migrant families navigate the reunification process, said that for years Central American children have been unnecessarily removed at the border from grandparents, adopted parents and siblings.
“The government could send social workers to the border to verify the familial relationship and avoid the trauma of separating these children, who have gone through so much, from their caregivers,” Ms. Revkin said.
Ms. Pinheiro pointed out that during the Afghan evacuation, the U.S. government issued a directive that instructed authorities to allow children to remain with “nonparental caregivers” with whom they had entered the country, rather than be transferred to shelters.
The government shelters where the children are being taken are operated by a separate government agency, the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency said in a statement that its role was not to make “immigration determinations.”
“Our job is to provide them with care and protection while they’re in our temporary custody,” the statement said.
End Quote
HERE is their story as told on NPR, in case you missed it in all the bad to Terrible to HORRIBLE news lately.....
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| Washington Post .. cartoonist de Adder |
Brownie points for the first best answer...
"In March 2000, he won his first presidential election and proudly asserted: 'We have proved that Russia is becoming a modern democratic state.' ”
As the Nazi Storm Trooper, aka Arte Johnson, on that bygone TV show, "Laugh-in", would have said,
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| "Verrrrry Interesting, but Shhhtooopid" |
From THIS ARTICLE in The Guardian
Coming home that first day...
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| You are welcome to still come traveling with us.. |
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| And to sleep in your spot on the bed at home... |
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| Or Sit in our laps around the fire.. |
I am reading a book by Timothy Snyder
And there is this...
https://theintercept.com/2022/04/01/russia-ukraine-proxy-war-washington-diplomacy/
All of it makes me think America doesn't know enough about what is being done by our politicians or by our diplomats.
(I Got Spurs That) Jingle Jangle Jingle
Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love to answer the questions, however, and here is today's questions!
Saturday 9: (I Got Spurs That) Jingle Jangle Jingle (1942)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) This song is about a cowboy who is very happy about his single status. Is your closest friend married or single? Do you think he or she would be happier if their marital status changed? My closest friend is married and happily. I know she wouldn't be happy if her marital status changed.
2) Our cowboy is riding merrily along on horseback. Do you often ride? I can no longer ride horses but I know that I would be happier if I could. When my bicycle was given away, it was hard, too. That bike was like .....
"freeeeeeedommmmmmm!"
3) John Ritter/Jack Tripper used to sing the refrain of this song as he got ready for dates on Three's Company. Were you a fan of the show? I did watch it and liked it. But then we stopped watching network TV completely at some point in the 60's I think.
We did watch one sit-com religiously during that time, though. "Major Dad" grabbed us. (more on this later...)
And I watched the Johnny Carson show. "Late Night"? Hubby worked nights. So I watched the Late Night Show.
We all loved "Major Dad". There was one scene where he came to Polly's house and interrupts a slumber party as they were watching TV. They had been giving each other "facials", and all had Green Gooo on their faces. When he said, "Night Com?" they all screamed and ran away in all directions. It still makes me laugh out loud.
I tried to find something from it to work in here but this is the only thing I could find that half works.
If you want to watch the Pilot, I made a hyper-link.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4hm7tg
4) This was a top hit for bandleader Kay Kyser, who was popular during the Big Band Era. In those days, orchestras played behind vocalists, bandleaders were stars, and dances like the jitterbug and lindy hop were popular. Can you do either of those dances?
I can do the jitterbug. I can sort of do the Lindy hop. My parents could do both. My mother loved to dance. She made the most of her life, in a good way, in the early part of their marriage.
5) Kyser's orchestra featured many vocalists over the years. Harry Babbitt and Julie Conway sing this week's song. Another vocalist who toured with Kyser was Mike Douglas, who went on to host a syndicated talk show from 1961 to 1981. Do you recall The Mike Douglas Show? I know OF it but not sure I ever watched it... if so, I never watched more than a few episodes.
6) Kyser suffered from arthritis and wanted to retire from touring in the mid-1940s but he couldn't because he was contractually committed to concert appearances. Is there anything on today's to-do list you don't really feel like doing? Yes, I really have to sort through my business stuff, and find somewhere sensible to donate anything I don't want to keep. It's like the chore that never gets done.
7) Kay was a popular radio personality who combined music with comedy and quizzes. Today's most popular quiz shows are Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. On which show would you be a more successful contestant: Jeopardy! or Wheel of Fortune? I've never seen a single episode of either of these shows.
Sorry, as I'm sort of stick in the mud for television questions because I haven't watched much network TV since the mid sixties.
We didn't even own a color TV until the mid 70's when my best friend gave us their old one when they got a bigger one. By then we were hooked on PBS and all the nature stuff on it.
8) In 1942, the year this record was popular, Aretha Franklin was born. What's your favorite Aretha Franklin song? "I Wish it Would Rain". But really, there are tons of songs she did that just get you hoppin' around and belting out the words....
This is my favorite one...
"R.E.S.P.E.C.T." I also love that one!
9) Random question: Do you sing in the shower? Not any more. Lol.. the very idea scares me! Someone would probably call the Paramedics!
Thank you Sam for this fun MEME every week and for the lot of us. I've always loved it.
Readers: If you would like to see the rest of the Saturday 9ers posts, go HERE
Human Stupidity coupled with arrogance and greed are really to blame for most of the trouble in the world. Not the age old problems of disease and famine which effects all of creation.
The Five Universal Laws of Human stupidity in ONE article....
You can find the article of Quartz, and also on Pocket.
Sorry, I can't seem to link it without a *gizmorod* which I do not- and never will- possess.
I don't know when I'll be back to regular posting except for Saturday9 ... I'm getting too old for Communistic BS, and I really need to just knit.
Tens of thousands of Ukrainians are reportedly being taken to locations in Russia that are being referred to as filtration camps, where their passports and cellphones are being taken away, and family members are being separated, Thomas-Greenfield said. “I do not need to spell out what these so-called filtration camps are reminiscent of,” she said. “It’s chilling, and we cannot look away.”
NYT
Lest we forget. This was first reported at least a week ago, perhaps two..
“ ‘They were purposely bombing schools,’ said Vera Kaydash, 67, a retired physician..... ‘ There were lines for bread and water and they fired on the people waiting.’
“She said she knew two people who were among those killed in an attack on a line outside a grocery store. ‘Water and electricity were out, only gas was working on one side of town, and telephone and internet services were, too.’ she said. In her former hospital, the damage had made the X-ray and dialysis departments unusable, she said. ‘They destroyed them in such a way that only after the war would we be able to replace them. I have not seen such cynical behavior in my life,’ she said.”
My note:China, if it swings around to defend Russian actions, is siding with the savagery of a 21st Century war criminal. China, India,
the lot of them. War crimes...
Article by Carlotta Gail, NYT
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| The Wall of the fallen in Ukraine By Matt Gallagher for Esquire Magazine. |
Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love to answer the questions, however, and here is today's questions!
Saturday 9: Fooled Around and Fell in Love (1976)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
Chosen because Friday was April Fool's Day.
1) As an April Fool's prank, Taco Bell once announced they had purchased The Liberty Bell and renamed it The Taco Liberty Bell. Describe your perfect taco.
Since over the span of 60 years I've made thousands of tacos, I'll tell you what I do, or rather did, when I still ate beef.
I fried the taco shell, and then put the cooked seasoned meat in it, the shredded jack cheese, chopped tomato, some fresh salsa, and lettuce on top. It's still my favorite taco but now I just get Chipotlé's bean and rice ones.
2) In 1989, a British policeman investigated a flying saucer that had landed in a field in Surrey. When a figure in a space suit emerged, the policeman ran away. Turns out it was a hot air balloon, designed by billionaire Richard Branson to look like a UFO as an April Fool's prank/publicity stunt. Have you ever seen a UFO? Yes, and in broad daylight. From our front yard at the time, and on a semi cloudy day, my husband and I stopped working on the yard, and looked up and saw a very bright set lights come up over the top of the clouds and hover. Then we heard the planes from North Island scramble. The lights came a little closer to us, and they stopped, paused for a half a second and shot like bullets out to the south east of us and disappeared in the distance. I've never seen anything in the sky move that fast, and never seen anything like that again. This is the last time I tell this because I think it's been asked before. lol
3) This week's song is about a man who collected girls' phone numbers in a little book. When he and she broke up, he'd tear out her page. Do you keep an pen-and-paper address book? Or do you use your cellphone to hold street addresses as well as phone numbers? I don't store anything on my phone that I can write anywhere more secure, like in my address book. I don't use my phone to donate to causes or to buy anything either. Call me old fashioned, but I like to have a hard copy of these things.
4) This was the biggest hit blues guitarist Elvin Bishop ever had, but that's not him singing it. While he's proud of his composing and guitar prowess, Bishop felt his voice was too gravelly for this song. Do you like your singing voice? Its a pretty song and too bad he didn't sing it.
As to my voice: Not anymore. I used to love to sing. I was in choir every year in grade school, Junior High and High School. And I sang all the time.. all the time.. as an adult until one day I made a pledge to God not to sing anymore until there was peace in Central America. Well, that pretty much never happened.
5) A brainy kid, Elvin Bishop won a full scholarship to the University of Chicago, where he majored in physics. Obviously, though, as a blues guitarist he doesn't lean on that physics degree very often. What's something you learned in school that you seldom used again? How to do Lay-ups in Basketball when you are only five foot five and your opponent is a certified giant. (Varsity)
6) Elvin was born in Iowa, grew up in Oklahoma, went to college in Illinois, recorded in Georgia and now lives in California. How many different states have you called home? Only one, though because of the war I was born at my Grandparent's Farmhouse in Ohio, to my California resident Mama and Papa.
7) In 1976, the Summer Olympics were held in Montreal. When did you most recently visit our neighbor to the north? I've never had the pleasure, though it still could happen.
8) Nadia Comaneci was the star of the 76 Olympics, scoring a perfect 10 in gymnastics. What have you enjoyed lately that you would rate "a perfect 10?" I have mastered Addi Flexie Flips, that not-so-new needle set for in-the-round knitting.
9) Random question: Do you ever talk to your TV? I always am talking to the people I see on TV. It'S one of the best ways to blow off some stream!
Thank you Sam for this fun MEME.
Readers, want to see other posters or join in? Go here..
UPDATED…It’s back up 🆙 and in the right place. Whew!! 😰 it’s a LOT BIGGER than it should be… but ….. what the heck? I just don’t think ...
