Is anyone else feeling sick about what’s happening in the world?

[Tekate]

IDK if we are allowed to share this and if not please remove. But it is for a good cause. Here are charities that have been checked out and are valid where the money goes to the people in need.

we always give to doctors without borders because back in the day Intel always supported them and so that is where I shot over some money, but I'd rather give to the army there.

 

[missy]

I implore you to make a difference and do something to help the people of Ukraine.
How can you help? Please donate to charity organizations that directly help Ukraine and Ukrainians.

United Help Ukraine

United Help Ukraine supports the Ukrainian people by providing essential services and aid as they try to protect their homes and future.

unitedhelpukraine.org

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

"The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people."

"There comes a time when silence is betrayal."




Please donate to help. Please don't stand silent.

 

[TooPatient]

A couple of seed companies are giving 100% of proceeds to Ukraine. Ordered more seeds that I don't need. Glad to see other organizations getting in to help too. (Make sure to verify where you send that it actually goes to help and isn't one that 97% is used for "administration" expenses.)

 

[Bron357]

So sad and frightening.
Ordinary people with ordinary lives, just like you and I, now huddling terrified in underground car parks or train stations with a few critical possessions and their pets.
Praying, along with the rest of the world, that this horrendous situation resolves quickly with minimal loss to either side.

 

[Diamond Girl 21]

I implore you to make a difference and do something to help the people of Ukraine.
How can you help? Please donate to charity organizations that directly help Ukraine and Ukrainians.

United Help Ukraine

United Help Ukraine supports the Ukrainian people by providing essential services and aid as they try to protect their homes and future.

unitedhelpukraine.org

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

"The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people."

"There comes a time when silence is betrayal."




Please donate to help. Please don't stand silent.

As someone of Ukrainian decent, with some family still living there, I thank you for this post.

 

[canuk-gal]

As someone of Ukrainian decent, with some family still living there, I thank you for this post.

I also relate.

 

[Mayk]

I saw where Samaritan’s Purse is preparing to go help the refugees.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

IDK if we are allowed to share this and if not please remove. But it is for a good cause. Here are charities that have been checked out and are valid where the money goes to the people in need.

My close friend is at the border for the UNHCR he urged me to tell everyone I know to please donate. He was just on the national news in Germany in a live interview. He's devastated.
It is (as often in wars) mostly women and children who arrive after days of travelling in the winter cold.

I'm echoing Missy's post. UNHCR and UNICEF are worth your consideration as well.
Thank you

 

[canuk-gal]

My close friend is at the border for the UNHCR he urged me to tell everyone I know to please donate. He was just on the national news in Germany in a live interview. He's devastated.
It is (as often in wars) mostly women and children who arrive after days of travelling in the winter cold.

I'm echoing Missy's post. UNHCR and UNICEF are worth your consideration as well.
Thank you

+ a billion. (and I just said thank you to you in Ukrainian.).

 

[MollyMalone]

My close friend is at the border for the UNHCR he urged me to tell everyone I know to please donate. He was just on the national news in Germany in a live interview. He's devastated.
It is (as often in wars) mostly women and children who arrive after days of travelling in the winter cold.

I'm echoing Missy's post. UNHCR and UNICEF are worth your consideration as well.
Thank you

Oh, deepest admiration and prayers for your friend and everyone involved. It's all so gut-wrenching... unfathomable as to what it must be like for those bearing the impact first-hand.

A friend of the family who was in the US diplomatic corps also has highly recommended UNHCR, and the International Committee of the Red Cross:

Homepage - UNHCR Ukraine

UNHCR Ukraine

www.unhcr.org

Ukraine

The international armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine is fueling a devastating humanitarian crisis that is affecting the lives of millions of people. We have worked in Ukraine since 2014 and since 24 February 2022, we have massively scaled up our response to meet the rising needs.We have...

www.icrc.org

While groups-new-to-the-region like Samaritan's Purse are well-intentioned, they have not had "boots on the ground" there for years. So newcomers don't have the seasoned, local personnel & connections-access-logistics that UNHCR & ICRC have established that enable them to quickly-efficiently deliver goods and services in Ukraine and to Ukrainian refugees no longer within its borders. (He's suggesting ICRC instead of the Ukrainian Red Cross itself because he's concerned that the URC won't be able to access monetary donations as readily -- and the ICRC does work in partnership with the URC. The Ukrainian government has asked the ICRC to assume the additional responsibility of returning the bodies of Russian soldiers back home.)

 

[SparklieBug]

Excellent info, @MollyMalone. Thanks to @missy as well, and those who have shared real-life experiences. It's so important to donate to organizations who can deliver!

 

[LightBright]

Praying for Peace.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

Oh, deepest admiration and prayers for your friend and everyone involved. It's all so gut-wrenching... unfathomable as to what it must be like for those bearing the impact first-hand.

A friend of the family who was in the US diplomatic corps also has highly recommended UNHCR, and the International Committee of the Red Cross:

Homepage - UNHCR Ukraine

UNHCR Ukraine

www.unhcr.org

Ukraine

The international armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine is fueling a devastating humanitarian crisis that is affecting the lives of millions of people. We have worked in Ukraine since 2014 and since 24 February 2022, we have massively scaled up our response to meet the rising needs.We have...

www.icrc.org

While groups-new-to-the-region like Samaritan's Purse are well-intentioned, they have not had "boots on the ground" there for years. So newcomers don't have the seasoned, local personnel & connections-access-logistics that UNHCR & ICRC have established that enable them to quickly-efficiently deliver goods and services in Ukraine and to Ukrainian refugees no longer within its borders. (He's suggesting ICRC instead of the Ukrainian Red Cross itself because he's concerned that the URC won't be able to access monetary donations as readily -- and the ICRC does work in partnership with the URC. The Ukrainian government has asked the ICRC to assume the additional responsibility of returning the bodies of Russian soldiers back home.)

Thank you @MollyMalone

When I thanked him he answered: " don't thank me. I'll be home in a few weeks. I'm the only one with this perspective here"

 

[FL_runner]

Its incredibly upsetting. I donated directly to the Ukrainian military and also to World Central Kitchen. WCK is fantastic and responds quickly in all kinds of disasters https://wck.org/ they are currently in Poland and plan to move into Ukraine as soon as possible.

 

[Cerulean]

My extremely honest and very dark opinion is that the US and EU are complicit in treating Ukraine as a necessary sacrifice to prevent WWIII. I believe that their hands are tied and their only weapons are sanctions, otherwise, they will start an all-out war.

If Ukraine loses independence, I do not believe any nation will attempt to stop Putin with military force. I was also not surprised by the invasion. This has been coming for a long time. Putin has consistently denied Ukraine's sovereignty.

War is a numbers game. I will be curious to see what happens if Putin extends his reach to NATO countries. Will the US and EU stand by and watch then?

I know people by proxy in Ukraine and their stories are heartbreaking. Men are being drafted with no training, no gear...just guns. I hope that heart and spirit are on their side and help them compensate for the lack of resources.

I think we will look back on this time with a deep sense of shame. I am personally despondent.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

Currently with my Ukrainian friend. She's hardly slept and constantly checking her phone. Her community has already sent several busloads of stuff over to Poland where things aren being taken over by locals and driven right back into the country, as the shelves are empty everywhere. Here in Paris Ukrainian churches are collecting stuff they try to get directly into Ukraine via road.

The Polish community have set up a similar service to bring stuff to the border for the refugees. Humans often suck, but there are a lot of good people out there.

I've donated money, I'm giving blankets and warm clothes and medication for this very first humanitarian crisis situation. Regarding the rest: I do hope @Cerulean is wrong, but she does evidently have very valid points.

I'm so shaken by this I'm constantly on the verge of tears. Just one a**hole with a self esteem problem and BAM it feels 1939 all over again....

 

[Matata]

My extremely honest and very dark opinion is that the US and EU are complicit in treating Ukraine as a necessary sacrifice to prevent WWIII. I believe that their hands are tied and their only weapons are sanctions, otherwise, they will start an all-out war.

+1 Classic example of a rock and a hard spot. The prospect of nuclear war means the end of life as we know it for tens of thousands of years. That little meltdown at Chernobyl rendered the area uninhabitable for 20,000 years.

I don't characterize the EU/US action as complicit which implies illegal activity or wrongdoing. Rather, imo, it is the necessity of the good of the many outweighing the good of the few, with the many being the entire globe, including Ukraine.

Fiona Hill, whose expertise and opinion I find credible, says Putin will launch nuclear missiles. He is a madman and needs to be killed. I read an article in an Irish newspaper yesterday where a security specialist from West Cork predicted Putin will be assassinated in the next 7 days. I hope his prediction comes true.

Similar to you, I'm feeling shame, shame that some US politicians are praising Putin. I hope the worst befalls them in the most painful way possible.

 

[Matata]

Love this.

 

[Cerulean]

+1 Classic example of a rock and a hard spot. The prospect of nuclear war means the end of life as we know it for tens of thousands of years. That little meltdown at Chernobyl rendered the area uninhabitable for 20,000 years.

I don't characterize the EU/US action as complicit which implies illegal activity or wrongdoing. Rather, imo, it is the necessity of the good of the many outweighing the good of the few, with the many being the entire globe, including Ukraine.

Fiona Hill, whose expertise and opinion I find credible, says Putin will launch nuclear missiles. He is a madman and needs to be killed. I read an article in an Irish newspaper yesterday where a security specialist from West Cork predicted Putin will be assassinated in the next 7 days. I hope his prediction comes true.

Similar to you, I'm feeling shame, shame that some US politicians are praising Putin. I hope the worst befalls them in the most painful way possible.

I think you may have misunderstood me here, complicit doesn’t mean to imply wrongdoing. But it’s not an easy choice either. This is an event that is challenging what our notions of right and wrong/good and evil are. My point here is that the world has to watch as an innocent cities are violently occupied, with a sense of helplessness. Sanctions feel like oligarchal game-playing compared to the urgency of boots-on-the-ground bloodshed.

Hence the term complicit. We have to handle this with kid gloves, and accept the losses in doing so with deep sadness…because I agree that Putin will stop at nothing to get what he wants. We seem to be aligned

And I hope I am wrong too, truly @MaisOuiMadame - wishing you and your friend the best.

 

[Lookinagain]

Fiona Hill, whose expertise and opinion I find credible, says Putin will launch nuclear missiles. He is a madman and needs to be killed. I read an article in an Irish newspaper yesterday where a security specialist from West Cork predicted Putin will be assassinated in the next 7 days. I hope his prediction comes true.

Well, something needs to be done. Every time I turn on the news I tear up. And feel so helpless. All I can do is donate money, which I have done. I don't think he WILL stop. He needs to BE stopped. Whatever it takes. Ukraine is only the first on his agenda.

 

[TooPatient]

Update from one of the seed companies. What an awesome company!

Mansfield-Seymour seed company raises $1.6 million for Ukraine aid

The Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company with locations in Mansfield and Seymour, Mo. just raised $1.6 million in contributions to help the residents of Ukraine who are trying to survive amidst the Russian invasion.

www.ky3.com

 

[Calliecake]

CNN was interviewing a mother who was in a bomb shelter in Ukraine with her baby and 2 small children. She said when the bombing started she thought NATO, America and the rest of the world would come and rescue Ukraine after seeing such an obvious international crime. She thought they would act immediately. She said maybe she watches too many Hollywood movies where the cavalry comes. It broke my heart.

She brought her children back to their home that day to shower, feed their cats, and hopefully give them some time to play in their home. She was hoping to give her children a few hours of normalcy. The children didn’t want to stay and play at home. They wanted to hurry back to the shelter where they felt safer. These children looked to be between 5 and 8 years old.

 

[missy]

I think we have a moral obligation to stop Putin and help the people of Ukraine. I can’t get into politics but can say it’s the ethical thing to do. He’s a ruthless madman and must be stopped.

 

[SparklieBug]

I think we have a moral obligation to stop Putin and help the people of Ukraine. I can’t get into politics but can say it’s the ethical thing to do. He’s a ruthless madman and must be stopped.

One of my concerns is that Putin has a really twitchy trigger finger and is just looking for an excuse to deploy nukes...He seems unstable and although his threat(s) may be empty or just posturing, perhaps he would use them.

And then there's this, to add to his paranoia:
https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-businessman-puts-1-million-bounty-on-putins-head-2022-3

Don't believe I've ever seen something like the above, before.

 

[missy]

One of my concerns is that Putin has a really twitchy trigger finger and is just looking for an excuse to deploy nukes...He seems unstable and although his threat(s) may be empty or just posturing, perhaps he would use them.

And then there's this, to add to his paranoia:
https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-businessman-puts-1-million-bounty-on-putins-head-2022-3

Don't believe I've ever seen something like the above, before.

I agree. He’s a loose cannon. But I still think we are morally obligated to help Ukraine. It’s the right thing to do. Nothing is without risk but standing by letting him murder innocent people is horrific.

 

[SparklieBug]

I agree. He’s a loose cannon. But I still think we are morally obligated to help Ukraine. It’s the right thing to do. Nothing is without risk but standing by letting him murder innocent people is horrific.

Absolutely agree, on all counts.

 

[Matata]

But I still think we are morally obligated to help Ukraine. It’s the right thing to do. Nothing is without risk but standing by letting him murder innocent people is horrific.

Morals and world government often times have a passing acquaintance. Our greater duty is to ensure we don't start WWIII unless there is no other option. The Ukrainian conflict is garnering the feels because it is benefitting from broad global media coverage. It has been dubbed the Tik Tok war because of the live updates taking place on that and other social media apps. Elsewhere there is plenty of genocide going on in the world for far longer than the war in Ukraine and for which more people have died and are dying and for which we all have a moral responsibility to lend assistance and for which we are doing as much as we can yet it amounts to little. Remember the Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic Muslims in China; Rohingya in Myanmar; Nuer and other ethic groups in South Sudan; Yazidis in Iraq and Syria; Darfuris in Sudan; more in Ethiopia and the Central African Republic.

 

[missy]

Morals and world government often times have a passing acquaintance. Our greater duty is to ensure we don't start WWIII unless there is no other option. The Ukrainian conflict is garnering the feels because it is benefitting from broad global media coverage. It has been dubbed the Tik Tok war because of the live updates taking place on that and other social media apps. Elsewhere there is plenty of genocide going on in the world for far longer than the war in Ukraine and for which more people have died and are dying and for which we all have a moral responsibility to lend assistance and for which we are doing as much as we can yet it amounts to little. Remember the Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic Muslims in China; Rohingya in Myanmar; Nuer and other ethic groups in South Sudan; Yazidis in Iraq and Syria; Darfuris in Sudan; more in Ethiopia and the Central African Republic.

I guess being Jewish gives me a different perspective. I don’t support standing by letting innocent people be murdered. No matter where it’s happening. I understand there’s no perfect solution but letting this happen is, imo, unconscionable. My perspective.

 

[missy]

A quote by Elie Weisel. Says it all for me.

“ Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must—at that moment—become the center of the universe.”


From his first moments in a concentration camp, seeing the burning bodies of his fellow Jews and realizing that no one in the world was willing to step forward to stop this total inhumanity he began to lose his faith.

We’ve lost our humanity.

 

[Matata]

I guess being Jewish gives me a different perspective. I don’t support standing by letting innocent people be murdered. No matter where it’s happening. I understand there’s no perfect solution but letting this happen is, imo, unconscionable. My perspective.

Problems with solutions that can only be a choice between bad and worse need to take into account many perspectives. If we put boots on the ground in Ukraine, shouldn't we also engage in war with all those countries committing genocide? Palestine and Israel have been killing each other for decades, which side should we choose there? What good would come from a war between China and Russia and the US and our allies?

These are heavy decisions being weighed among leaders of the free world who know more about the issues and potential ramifications than most ordinary citizens. I don't envy them the task ahead. They probably wish they could lead with their hearts and they understand why they cannot and they also know they will bear the consequences for their decisions. They are going to be criticized and demonized whatever the outcomes.

We won't rediscover our humanity among the rubble of nuclear waste.

Elie Weisel also said:

"There are times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest."

The free world is protesting; countries are skirting international law and agreements to aid Ukraine; the Swiss have revoked their neutrality, the first time since 1939, and are supplying weapons to Ukraine. These are not meaningless actions nor can they be portrayed as standing by and letting innocent people die.