Losing breath when speaking

They were children when the Russian soldiers came for them in the dead of winter 1940. The armed men who barged into their homes and gave them a half-hour to get dressed and pack a bag were called Soviets back then. And in the early days of World War II, they rousted Poles from their homes in what is now western Ukraine and shipped them off to the gulags in Siberia. For these survivors, reports that Ukrainians are now being deported to "filtration" camps deep inside Russia brought back painful memories of their own ordeals — mixed with deep sympathy for a new generation of victims. “I was just 3-and-a-half when the Russians came for us in the middle of the night, but I can still remember the sound of them banging on the door with rifles and bayonets and yelling 'Out! Out!” Marie Wypijewski, 85, told NBC News. "They made my father stand with his face to the wall while my mother packed and dressed us in the warmest clothes she could find." More than a million Poles were … [Read more...] about Reports of Russians deporting Ukrainians to camps trouble Stalin survivors

This weekend, the Catholic Church made the news yet again over its views on abortion – this time concerning US House speaker Nancy Pelosi ’s ability to receive the sacrament of communion due to her pro-choice stance. While it’s no secret that the Catholic Church, and other churches, have been long-term vocal opponents of abortion , this move to block a sacrament from a politician is absolutely over the top. Religious organisations that involve themselves in politics in this way should lose their tax exempt status. Religious organisations are already not required to comply with rules that secular spaces must follow. For example, the Catholic Church has been blessed by the government with tax exemptions , as much as $3.5bn in government Covid-19 aid and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) bypassing . The requirements for these benefits are given to them under the condition of their religious organisation status. This status has responsibilities attached to … [Read more...] about If the Catholic Church can’t stay out of politics, it should start paying taxes

On the day Russia invaded Ukraine , Vladimir Putin summoned 37 of his country’s most powerful business leaders to the Kremlin. The Russian president told them the incursion had been “a necessary measure” and asked them “to be understanding of what is going on.” Russia’s stock exchange had just closed at a 33 percent loss, wiping out an estimated $71 billion in wealth, with a raft of new sanctions from the United States and the European Union already in effect and more on the way. For many oligarchs in the room, it would be their first taste of international financial restrictions. But for others, like Suleiman Kerimov, sanctions were nothing new. The enigmatic, Ferrari-driving billionaire and his family have gone to great lengths to shield their assets, documents suggest, an effort that would have helped to insulate him when he and other Russian elites were sanctioned by the U.S. in 2018 for benefitting from the country’s “malign activity around the globe.” … [Read more...] about How a mysterious Putin ally, the ‘Russian Gatsby,’ moves his billions