March 2, 2022

Al Jazeera: Russia's invasion of Ukraine: List of key events from day seven

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/2/russias-invasion-of-ukraine-list-of-key-events-from-day-seven

>Russia’s military claims it has taken control of the strategically important city of Kherson in southern Ukraine, as the Ukrainian armed forces said Russian troops had landed in Ukraine’s second-biggest city of Kharkiv and triggered immediate clashes.

Kherson

Russia’s military claims to have taken full control of Kherson, a key Ukrainian port city on the Black Sea. Footage showed Russian forces and tanks in the city centre amid reports of erecting checkpoints surrounding the city.

Kharkiv fighting

Russian paratroopers land in Ukraine’s second city amid heavy fighting. Ukrainian officials say a hospital has been attacked and the barracks of a flight school is on fire after an air raid.

Navalny urges Russians to protest

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny urges Russians to protest daily against the invasion of Ukraine, saying they should not be a “nation of frightened cowards”.<

There's more text, photos and access to video at the link.

March 1, 2022

Reuters: Top Photos of the Day, March 1, 2022

https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/top-photos-of-the-day-idUSRTS5WUFB

Today's regular daily photo presentation is very heavy with informative views of
what's going on now with Ukraine and its people.

March 1, 2022

Happy 150th birthday to the nation's (and the world's) first National Park, Yellowstone!

from The Good News Network... This national park was created March 1,1872

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/events070301/

>Known by many names over the years, from “Mi tsi a-da-zi,” to “Colter’s Hell” to “Wonderland,” its collection of geysers, hot springs, and boiling mud pools, nestled among pine forests, river gullies, and wide plains, is totally unique in the world. Spilling over the northern border of Wyoming into Idaho and Montana, and reaching down across Jackson Hole, the Grand Tetons, and the surrounding foothills, Yellowstone lies at the heart of the “GYE” or Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the largest remaining nearly-intact ecosystem in the Earth’s northern Temperate Zone.

During expeditions across the west during the early 1800s, reports occasionally came back of a place where rivers boiled, the ground shifted and melted away, and trees turned to white rocks. They were dismissed as fairy tales— as John “Colter’s Hell” based on the man’s stories. Eventually mountain man Jim Bridger reported the same, but it wasn’t until Nathaniel P. Langford’s expedition following the Civil War that people began to consider it reality. His accounts, published as The Wonder’s of Yellowstone,” paired with the corresponding account of Truman C. Everts, who got completely lost for 37 days in what would become the park, and who fell into hot mud pools, was chased by wolves, and had to hide up a tree from a mountain lion, convinced the legislative branch a set aside an enormous chunk of that region as a “nation’s park”.

27 Native American Tribes have historic and modern connections to the land and its resources. For over 10,000 years before Yellowstone became a national park, it was a place where Native Americans lived, hunted, fished, gathered plants, quarried obsidian, and used thermal waters for religious and medicinal purposes. Today it’s one of the only places in North America one can find both wolves, and grizzly bears.<

There's a bit more text, access to a video and artwork/photos at the link. I've
enjoyed many trips to Yellowstone as boy and man and recommend it as a
destination for anyone who enjoys nature.

March 1, 2022

BBC: Ukraine crisis: 'This place will always remain Ukraine'

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-60561049

>As an artist, Mark Neville has dedicated a decade to documenting Ukrainians. As Russian forces massed on the border he rushed to capture their lives in the shadow of a growing threat. His experiences leave him convinced "10 million Russian troops" could not capture Ukraine.

The love affair began in a military hospital in Kyiv.

London-born photographer Mark Neville had been invited to Ukraine following the publication of his book Battle Against Stigma, which documented war trauma and the mental health struggles of veterans.

"I instantly fell in love with Ukraine - with [Ukrainians'] resilience, with their bravery, with the culture, with the food, with the architecture, with the design," he said.<

This photo essay presents text and photos celebrating Ukraine and its people.

March 1, 2022

I'm enjoying watching the old Burns and Allen TV show this morning on the CW

channel on my cable. They used to just have it on during weekends but it's become
a regular daily thing. Some of the shows they put up are the newer ones where George
sees what's going on with the family by watching closed-circuit TV. My Step-Dad used
to get a big kick outta that and so did I. Still do, for that matter.

February 28, 2022

CBC*: Udderly beautiful views in this week's photo album, February 28, 2022

*Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/udderly-beautiful-views-in-this-week-s-photo-album-1.6366272

I always enjoy seeing photos of natural beauty and wildlife and this weeks' gallery
doesn't disappoint me.

February 27, 2022

Guardian: Photos of Mulletfest 2022: Australians let their hair down for the mane event.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gallery/2022/feb/27/mulletfest-2022-australians-let-their-hair-down-for-the-mane-event

This is certainly different and distracting and we can all use some distraction right now.
I do have to take these Aussies to task since I don't see anyone wearing a mask.

February 27, 2022

Guardian: OxyContin victims fight for their share in Purdue bankruptcy case

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/feb/27/oxycontin-victims-sacklers-perdue-pharma-bankruptcy-opioid-crisis

>Stephanie and Troy Lubinski met when they were teenagers, and they were married for three decades. Troy was big-hearted, kind, the best fisherman around, a devoted father who cared for the kids during the day after long night shifts as a firefighter.

But he had back pain that began when he worked in construction and then grew worse over the years. His doctor prescribed OxyContin, and that was the beginning of the end.

“Everything just went downhill,” Stephanie said.

Troy suffered a decades-long battle with opioid use disorder. The family lost everything – their home, their belongings, even one son’s football championship rings – as Troy’s condition spun out of control.<

There's much more text and some photos at the link. The greed associated with the
opioid epidemic that has resulted from the Sackler/Purdue/OxyContin and other
opioids (synthetic opiates) like Fentanyl must be corrected by lawmakers. Victims
must be compensated or in the case of overdose death, families must be compensated.

February 27, 2022

CBC*: 'This community paper connects and empowers Black Montrealers.

For 30 years, The Contact has been there for Montreal's Black community.'

*Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/black-changemakers-community-contact-1.6336536

>Gemma Raeburn-Baynes says if you only pay attention to what is in the mainstream media, you would be hard-pressed to believe anything good ever happens in Montreal's Black community.

"It's always negative!" says Raeburn-Baynes, who is originally from Grenada. "We have so many positive stories in our community that [are] not told."

Raeburn-Baynes, a community activist who spearheads the annual Spice Island Cultural Festival and many other events in Montreal's fashion and food scene, has been writing part-time for The Montreal Community Contact for 25 years.

The Contact, a biweekly newspaper and online resource, is a place where Black Montrealers can go to read positive, uplifting stories about what is happening in their community, Raeburn-Baynes said.<

There's much more text, photos and access the The CBC series Black Changemakers
plus Being Black In Canada. I've been pleased to see The CBC presenting these
articles here during Black History Month and there's only one more day of this month
to go. I expect these articles to continue, however, since I've been seeing them for a
long time now. I don't post any of this type of articles from U.S. media for the simple
reason that I don't read any U.S. media other than what I see on DU.

February 27, 2022

Al Jazeera: 'Russia's invasion of Ukraine: List of key moments from Day 4

As the Russian offensive enters its fourth day, we take a look at the key events during the day.'

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/27/russias-invasion-of-ukraine-list-of-key-moments-from-day-4

>Russian forces enter Kharkiv

Russian troops have entered Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv in the east of the country, with Ukraine saying its forces are “eliminating the enemy” in street fighting after some Russian light vehicles slip through defences.

Kyiv holds out

Ukraine says it is holding the line around Kyiv but was fighting Russian “sabotage groups” that had infiltrated the city.

Two cities besieged

Moscow says its forces have “entirely” besieged the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson and Berdyansk in the southeast on the Sea of Azov.

Attack on oil and gas facilities

Russia attacked Ukrainian oil and gas facilities, sparking huge explosions. A blast was heard after an air raid siren in the capital Kyiv.<

There's more text and photos at the link. This is a quick read of events today and what has occurred previously, with access to videos and more detailed reports.