Keeping Ukraine in our thoughts and prayers here

[pigletto]

This whole thing is heartbreaking. I’m having an anxious day today and feel like I need to stop watching and reading about it. However then I think of the Ukrainian people who are suffering and they can’t just stop watching and reading. They are being bombed and killed, and fleeing for their lives.

My daughter and I have this conversation often. For our mental health we have to find the line between being informed and being fixated. And we said the same thing ”what right do I have to just turn it off when those mothers are losing their children?” It can feel very selfish. But we aren’t doing anything good for the situation or our families by letting it consume us. Take some deep breaths, listen to some music, read a book, or go for a walk. I snuggle the dog and drink some tea. It‘s ok to take a break and be kind to yourself. I completely understand.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

This whole thing is heartbreaking. I’m having an anxious day today and feel like I need to stop watching and reading about it. However then I think of the Ukrainian people who are suffering and they can’t just stop watching and reading. They are being bombed and killed, and fleeing for their lives.

You can feel empathy for people and yet not been so up and up on all the nitty gritty details especially if you know that seeking out of information is going to cause you distress. People found themselves needing to do that with covid and it can be the case with other situations. You don't need to feel bad either for needing to turn it off for a bit. No one would ever equate that not caring about the situation

 

[Pea-n-Me]

That video ^^ of the little girl singing made me tear up.

Me too.

 

[JimMIA]

We got an update from our Ukrainian friend on her parents. They live in a town on the outskirts of Kviv, and their town has been bombarded a good bit. The building they live in has not been hit, but other buildings nearby have been.

They live on the 7th floor of a 16-story apartment building. The building has a large basement people are using for shelter, but our friend's father is disabled and they can't make it downstairs for shelter. They have no electricity, so the elevators are not working. The only thing they can do is shelter in the interior part of the apartment and hope for the best.

 

[dvcgirl67]

We got an update from our Ukrainian friend on her parents. They live in a town on the outskirts of Kviv, and their town has been bombarded a good bit. The building they live in has not been hit, but other buildings nearby have been.

They live on the 7th floor of a 16-story apartment building. The building has a large basement people are using for shelter, but our friend's father is disabled and they can't make it downstairs for shelter. They have no electricity, so the elevators are not working. The only thing they can do is shelter in the interior part of the apartment and hope for the best.

Oh man...that's so scary. I really hope your friend's parents are going to be ok.

 

[JimMIA]

Oh man...that's so scary. I really hope your friend's parents are going to be ok.

Yep. DD is home for Spring Break and going out for yogurt with her skate sister this evening. The family is in touch with them daily, and DD will have an update, I'm sure.

 

[Karin1984]

My county which has a population of 770,000 has a very large population of Ukrainians (40,000). My town has 2 Ukraine churches which are both thriving. The churches who have direct family/links in the Ukraine have set up donation sites for items needed by the shelters and the county has collected way more than they anticipated. People are now donating for shipping costs. The problem with any donation is that people wonder is the money really going to help people or is it going to administration? I research who I give my money to since I want it to do the most good for people it is supposed to help.

It helps with this organization that it's national, it exists for many years. Technically it's a whole bunch of organizations united during big disasters. Organizations like the Dutch Red Cross, Oxfam Novib, Unicef etc. and they work together during disasters like the tsunamis in 2004, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the drought in South Africa in 2011.

Usually on one day they try to gather as much money as possible, with marathon tv or radio shows. All kinds of communities, churches/hospitals/schools/sport clubs etc., who collect money by having a fair, yard sales or selling cookies. Matching campaigns are popular among companies. My own company said: "E-mail how much you have donated to the organization to HR, the total amount will be matched (doubled) by the company."

It is a well known organization, but of course people are skeptical if the money ends up in the right place. And for that, usually the national press helps by explaining how the organization works and how they make sure the help / goods / money end up in the right hands.

Today, with all the different collections, over 40 million euro was raised by the Dutch public (population 17.44 million people)

 

[Pea-n-Me]

 

[mrs. magoo]

It helps with this organization that it's national, it exists for many years. Technically it's a whole bunch of organizations united during big disasters. Organizations like the Dutch Red Cross, Oxfam Novib, Unicef etc. and they work together during disasters like the tsunamis in 2004, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the drought in South Africa in 2011.

Usually on one day they try to gather as much money as possible, with marathon tv or radio shows. All kinds of communities, churches/hospitals/schools/sport clubs etc., who collect money by having a fair, yard sales or selling cookies. Matching campaigns are popular among companies. My own company said: "E-mail how much you have donated to the organization to HR, the total amount will be matched (doubled) by the company."

It is a well known organization, but of course people are skeptical if the money ends up in the right place. And for that, usually the national press helps by explaining how the organization works and how they make sure the help / goods / money end up in the right hands.

Today, with all the different collections, over 40 million euro was raised by the Dutch public (population 17.44 million people)

That is awesome. In my county we have the United Way which oversees many different charities. It is a good organization and they have a fund raising drive during the month of April where people can donate at the grocery stores and through work (work usually matches donations as well). The money stays local so it is used by local charities, but there are overhead costs so while I do donate through the United Way, I also give directly to 3 local causes that are near and dear to my heart - a local hospice house ,our local food pantry, and a dog rescue because I know that 100% of the money is used by the organization to help others.

Yesterday on the news the people who are collecting resources said they have enough to fill the plane. The organizers are packing up a donated plane and flying to a city to distribute through churches. I can't remember the name of the city. Upon hearing that the organizers were doing this I was impressed - I mean it is one thing to collect stuff and ship it someone it a completely different thing to fly to a war zone and deliver materials.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

Since we were talking about celebrities before, it’s being reported that Leonardo DiCaprio has donated $10 million. He is another one who uses his fame & wealth for good quite often.

https://www.news18.com/news/movies/...grandmothers-native-land-ukraine-4849184.html

 

[punkin]

The repression of opposition in Russia is getting worse. They are arresting children and grandmothers.

 

[ronandannette]

The repression of opposition in Russia is getting worse. They are arresting children and grandmothers.

In addition to the countless refugees fleeing the Ukraine, I imagine there will also be a flood of Russian dissidents trying to get out. Tough with many countries no longer allowing flights from Russia. Interestingly, while vacationing in Cuba a week ago, we observed lots and lots of Russians arriving. Some of them had waaaay too much luggage for your average week-long AI holiday.

 

[punkin]

In addition to the countless refugees fleeing the Ukraine, I imagine there will also be a flood of Russian dissidents trying to get out. Tough with many countries no longer allowing flights from Russia. Interestingly, while vacationing in Cuba a week ago, we observed lots and lots of Russians arriving. Some of them had waaaay too much luggage for your average week-long AI holiday.

There are reports of Russians streaming into Georgia.

 

[JimMIA]

Supposedly, the US government is going to announce an end to importing Russian oil today.

That, by itself, won't accomplish much of anything -- it's more of a symbolic step. In response, Russia says that if European countries stop buying their oil, they will stop shipping natural gas -- which I believe Europe is much more dependent on than oil.

Obviously this war has proven that Europe needs to develop a much more stable and reliable energy partner than Russia. I know France is moving toward more nuclear power, but I don't know what other countries options are.

 

[JimMIA]

Now the EU is saying they will reduce their dependence on Russian petroleum by 2/3 before next winter... https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/08/eu-...imports-by-two-thirds-before-next-winter.html

 

[RamblingMad]

Since we were talking about celebrities before, it’s being reported that Leonardo DiCaprio has donated $10 million. He is another one who uses his fame & wealth for good quite often.

https://www.news18.com/news/movies/...grandmothers-native-land-ukraine-4849184.html

Sean Penn had to flee the country.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sean-penn-leaves-ukraine_n_621e9970e4b0783a8f07acd4

 

[punkin]

Supposedly, the US government is going to announce an end to importing Russian oil today.

That, by itself, won't accomplish much of anything -- it's more of a symbolic step. In response, Russia says that if European countries stop buying their oil, they will stop shipping natural gas -- which I believe Europe is much more dependent on than oil.

Obviously this war has proven that Europe needs to develop a much more stable and reliable energy partner than Russia. I know France is moving toward more nuclear power, but I don't know what other countries options are.

Germany used to have more nuclear power plants. They've been reducing them due to environmentalist activists. Should they choose, they could reactivate quite a few, but it will take time. If they could do it before next winter (and that's a stretch) Russian threats would be close to meaningless. Germany is currently the country most dependant on Russian gas in Europe.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I don't get advocating for Nuclear power considering the the Chernobyl plant appears to be being manipulated into a weapon, as are all the other sites being seized. Is this being left out of the news in some places? Seems these sites can be quickly coaxed into WMDs with basic neglect & that should really give us all pause, nevermind the obvious assault the nuclear waste inflicts on the environment, the waterways etc. The heated water the emerges after cooling a reactor kills off uncountable aquatic life and makes the area uninhabitable, not to mention risk of leaks and then the toxic waste lingers for ages...

Sell me on wind or solar, even water power but this is a no go

 

[punkin]

I don't get advocating for Nuclear power considering the the Chernobyl plant appears to be being manipulated into a weapon, as are all the other sites being seized. Is this being left out of the news in some places? Seems these sites can be quickly coaxed into WMDs with basic neglect & that should really give us all pause, nevermind the obvious assault the nuclear waste inflicts on the environment, the waterways etc.

I'm not sure what your point is. Russia doesn't need to manipulate chernobl. They have real nuclear weapons.

 

[amylevan]

I don't get advocating for Nuclear power considering the the Chernobyl plant appears to be being manipulated into a weapon, as are all the other sites being seized. Is this being left out of the news in some places? Seems these sites can be quickly coaxed into WMDs with basic neglect & that should really give us all pause, nevermind the obvious assault the nuclear waste inflicts on the environment, the waterways etc. The heated water the emerges after cooling a reactor kills off uncountable aquatic life and makes the area uninhabitable, not to mention risk of leaks and then the toxic waste lingers for ages...

Sell me on wind or solar, even water power but this is a no go

Nuclear plants are clean energy that don’t require near the amount of land space that wind or solar require. At this point in time, you would need A LOT of wind/solar to replace fossil fuel energy for an entire country. That’s not to say that a combination wouldn’t be a bad idea, but to dismiss nuclear energy totally is a mistake if you want to eliminate fossil fuel energy any time soon.

Besides, even with Chernobyl, 3 Mile island and Fukushima, fossil fuel plants have killed FAR more people.