Diary of a Russian Soldier.

Feb. 26-28: Advancing on Kherson

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Filatyev’s convoy made its way to Kherson and surrounded the local airport, looting stores in villages along the way. On the third day, the convoy received the order to enter Kherson. Filatyev was told to stay behind and cover the front-line units with mortar fire if necessary. He recounted hearing distant fighting all day. The southern port city would become the first major Ukrainian city that Russia captured in its invasion.

Russian troops enter vital port city Kherson

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March 1: Acting like savages

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We marched to the city on foot … [around 5:30 p.m.] we arrived at the Kherson seaport. It was already dark, the units marching ahead of us had already occupied it. Everyone looked exhausted and ran wild. We searched the buildings for food, water, showers and a place to sleep, someone began to take out computers and anything else of value.

Walking through the building, I found an office with a TV. Several people sat there and watching the news, they found a bottle of champagne in the office. Seeing the cold champagne, I took a few sips from the bottle, sat down with them and began to watch the news intently. The channel was in Ukrainian, I didn’t understand half of it. All I understood there was that Russian troops were advancing from all directions, Odessa, Kharkov, Kyiv were occupied, they began to show footage of broken buildings and injured women and children.

We ate everything like savages, all that was there was, cereal, oatmeal, jam, honey, coffee. … Nobody cared about anything, we were already pushed to the limit.

 Diary of a Russian Soldier:

Into mid-April: Holding from front-line trenches

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From now on and for more than a month it was Groundhog Day. We were digging in, artillery was shelling us, our aviation was almost nowhere to be seen. We just held positions in the trenches on the front line, we could not shower, eat, or sleep properly. Everyone had overgrown beards and were covered in dirt, uniforms and shoes began to fray.

[Ukrainian forces] could clearly see us from the drones and kept shelling us so almost all of the equipment soon went out of order. We got a couple of boxes with the so-called humanitarian aid, containing cheap socks, T-shirts, shorts and soap.

Some soldiers began to shoot themselves … to get [the government money] and get out of this hell. Our prisoner had his fingers and genitals cut off. Dead Ukrainians at one of the posts were plopped on seats, given names and cigarettes.

Due to artillery shelling, some villages nearby practically ceased to exist. Everyone was getting angrier and angrier. Some grandmother poisoned our pies. Almost everyone got a fungus, someone’s teeth fell out, the skin was peeling off. Many discussed how, when they return, they will hold the command accountable for lack of provision and incompetent leadership. Some began to sleep on duty because of fatigue. Sometimes we managed to catch a wave of the Ukrainian radio, where they poured dirt on us and called us orcs, which only embittered us even more. My legs and back hurt terribly, but an order came not to evacuate anyone due to illness.

I kept saying, “God, I will do everything to change this if I survive.” … I decided that I would describe the last year of my life, so that as many people as possible would know what our army is now.

By mid-April, earth got into my eyes due to artillery shelling. After five days of torment, with the threat of losing an eye looming over me, they evacuated me.

Paratrooper Pavel Filatyev writes, “This is an army that bullies its own soldiers.” (Courtesy of Pavel Filatyev)

  HAPPENING NOW: Greenpeace demands stronger nature protections in Montreal.

Salomé Sané, Greenpeace Canada <greenpeace.canada@greenpeace.ca> Unsubscribe	3:40 PM (4 hours ago)
to me

      

Nelson,

How do you get a politician to listen to your demand for system change? You paint a giant mural right next to where they work. That’s what Greenpeace activists, volunteers and allies are doing right now at Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault’s office in Montreal. We’re taking to the streets to demand a strong Nature & Biodiversity Act in advance of the biggest nature protection event of the decade—the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

The best way you can support our activists on the ground is by sharing this Instagram post to your IG story and tagging @stevenguilbeault. We have proof that Steven Guilbeault checks his Instagram story mentions, so this is the very best way to draw his attention to our action.

Share our post to your story and tag @stevenguilbeault

Nelson, the decisions global leaders make at the CBD are existentially significant. We have just eight years to reduce emissions by 50% to prevent total climate chaos and the potential collapse of human civilization. [1, 2] Protecting vast swaths of ocean and natural ecosystems (which absorb carbon and stabilize the climate) will be absolutely critical to this effort. So why—when we have less than a decade to stabilize emissions—is Canada approving new oil projects in ecologically significant areas [3] and shoving pipelines through rivers during salmon runs? [4] Enough is enough. We need major system change that deeply respects the inherent value and limits of nature. A strong Nature & Biodiversity Act that shifts power from corporations to communities, creates permanent funding for Indigenous stewardship, and establishes an action plan to achieve nature protection targets is an important first step to creating this change. That’s why we’re taking to the streets of Montreal today.

You’ve already signed our petition advocating for a strong Nature & Biodiversity Act. Now, will you support our activists on the ground by sharing our Instagram post to your story and tagging @stevenguilbeault to ensure that our message is heard loud and clear? (Not on Instagram? You can also leave Steven Guilbeault a message at his House of Commons office: 613-992-6779)

Share our post to your IG story and tag @stevenguilbeault

Thank you for reading and thank you for caring.    Onwards,   Salomé Food & nature campaigner, Greenpeace Canada

Notes: [1] https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220602095102.htm   [2] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/01/climate-endgame-risk-human-extinction-scientists-global-heating-catastrophe   [3] https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/04/06/2418066/0/en/Bay-du-Nord-approval-shows-a-lack-of-regard-for-sensitive-marine-ecosystems-WWF-Canada.html   [4] https://b98ee3e43c.clvaw-cdnwnd.com/0ddab7883313337bddc394249446ba5f/200000758-559a1559a3/Salmon%20in%20Danger%20Press%20Release%20August%2011%2C%202022.pdf?ph=b98ee3e43c

Greenpeace doesn't accept any money from companies or governments so we can be independent and challenge anyone who threatens the planet or peace. To help us keep fighting climate change, defending our oceans and protecting ancient forests, please make a regular donation or start a fundraiser. Thank you!   You can grow the movement for a green and peaceful future. Forward this email and share the signup link for our regular email updates and ways to take action.   This email was sent to: human4usbillions@gmail.com Are we sending too many emails? Click here to receive fewer emails.

Greenpeace, 33 Cecil Street, Toronto, Ontario M5T 1N1 Unsubscribe Manage preferences Time is not on the side of humanity.           We need government action. today!!           Greenpeace demands stronger nature protections in both Montreal and Laval where condo development is running out of control. By cramming thousands of people on a few acres of city land, Condo developers are asking for trouble! There will be traffic problems and sewage problems and without sufficient Green spaces for children, greedy developers are creating slums! Slums are breeding grounds for drug gangs and violence!  N.J.R.

I BELIEVE IN ALL MIGHTY  "T.E.E.O.T.U."
By N. J. Raglione.

  Black holes lead me to think of the religious concept of creation and also on the science based concept of "A Big Bang". Here is my take on the all mighty T.E.E.O.T.U. No, not a misspelling...read on dear reader!

  I enjoy reading expert theories on how our Universe began. According to both religious scholars and science experts there was something that began the Universe. It led me to an impossible conclusion! The concept of Eternity. There was zero beginning and there will not be an ending! 

Millions of people today continue to believe in the concept of  a God while Millions more believe in a science based concept of a Big Bang or whatever it was they believe began our Universe. If there was a Big Bang, who lit the fuse? Was it God? What existed in the first place to create a beginning for everything else? If there was no beginning than eternal energy is mind boggling to contemplate and so in my philosophical theory...Hey! If everybody else can theorize why not me!?...human imagination took over in an effort to explain what could not be explained by any other method. Black holes were predicted by Albert Einstein who believed strongly in the power of imagination to help him understand the universe. I believe that he also contemplated a beginning to the universe but I am positive that when he contemplated eternal energy, he discovered the joy of total ignorance. Nobody on Earth understands how the Universe began and that includes (though they may disagree) the best scientific minds on Earth. As a philosophic writer I certainly don't understand the immensity of the Universe and so I have created a Deity to join the ranks of all the Deities on Earth: T. E.E.O.T.U. the all mighty!
No, I am not crazy! TEEOTU is an acronym for: The Eternal Energy of the Universe and no priest or philosopher or scientist fully understands T.E.E.O.T.U. even those presently using the marvellous new James Web telescope to explore deep deep deep space.
Have a great day and may you fully enjoy our mighty T.E.E.O.T.U!

Signed: Nelson Joseph Raglione...the not so mighty N.J.R..

Fossil fuel is responsible for 8.7 millions deaths world wide.

Taking a page from the tobacco industry’s playbook, fossil fuel companies are running ads that lie about the known health and environmental hazards of their products. And it’s perfectly legal.

Case in point? Gas companies like FortisBC falsely advertising that ‘natural’ gas is a clean and safe fuel, while not being required to tell its customers that children living in homes with gas stoves have up to a 42% increased risk of asthma (that’s comparable to living with a smoker).

These days Canada regulates advertising for tobacco, but still allows fossil fuel companies to get away with similar misinformation and greenwashing. This has to stop.

That’s why we’re joining over 700,000 Canadian health professionals who are urging the federal government to stop fossil fuel advertising, and put the health of people and the planet before fossil fuel profits. Click here to sign the petition.  

SIGN NOWWe all know that burning fossil fuels is what’s driving climate change – but it’s also time to reckon with the health impacts that are already affecting people in their homes and everyday lives. Fossil fuel air pollution is responsible for 8.7 million deaths per year worldwide (that’s more than from tobacco use). A shocking 86% of Canadians live in areas where air pollution exceeds the guidelines issued by the World Health Organization, resulting in 34,000 premature deaths in Canada each year. We also know that air pollution caused by burning fossil fuels for transportation increases the risk of illness and death from COVID-19. That’s on top of the warming impacts of climate change itself, including last year’s heat dome during which nearly 600 people died in British Columbia in just one week.

This is information that Canadians deserve to know – and we could – if fossil fuel companies were made to disclose these risks in their advertising.

Canada already regulates advertising for tobacco, cannabis, alcohol, gambling, credit cards, therapeutic services, prescription drugs, natural health products, food, and promotional contests. Why not start regulating advertising for fossil fuels that are directly threatening public and planetary health? People in Canada deserve the whole truth.

If you agree with the over half a million health professionals campaigning on this issue, click here to add your voice and help pressure the Canadian government to stop fossil fuel advertising.

I know that banning fossil fuel advertising sounds like an ambitious ask – but controlling tobacco advertising once seemed out of reach too, until it wasn’t.

And it’s in moments like these when the Stand.earth community does its best work. Over the past 20+ years, we’ve worked to protect millions of acres of forests from extractive industries. We’ve gone up against multinational oil, gas, and coal companies worth billions of dollars and come out victorious, blocking dozens of their projects that would have poisoned local communities and accelerated the climate crisis. We’ve shifted billions of dollars of purchasing from corporate powerhouses like Starbucks, Staples, and Levi’s onto sustainable pathways.

So thank you, Nelson, for being the driver of so many important wins. Greenwashing through advertising is simply the latest strategy being employed by fossil fuel companies who can no longer get away with blatant climate denial, and I know we won’t let them get away with it.

Click here to take action and sign the petition to stop fossil fuel advertising.

Solaye Snider
Senior Digital Campaigner
Stand.earth