Russia, Diving Nuclearshod Over Its Arctic Neighbours

"Russia is determined to control access, setting the terms for exploiting regional shipping and resources. It wants to extend command over stretches of Arctic water, with little justification under international law."

"If Canada wants stronger maritime security -- as the Canadian Coast Guard's transfer to the Department of National Defence last September suggests -- it must grasp Russia's Arctic plans and the long-term persistent threat they pose." 

Alexander Dalziel, Macdonald-Laurier Institute

Sergey Sukhankin Jamestown Foundation 

 

Canada has for too long neglected its share of the Arctic against the predatory plans of Moscow which has made no secret of its determination to extend its recognized territorial claims by rebuilding its old semi-abandoned bases, investing in nuclear-powered ice-breakers, strengthening its air capabilities in its long-range plans of controlling shipping lanes, and harvesting minerals and oil in their oceanic fastness. 

 

The provocative act of planting its titanium Russian flag on the Arctic seabed in 2007 was a signal of its entitled 'ownership' of an extended, contested area alerting placeholders, Canada, United States, Denmark and Norway that their own long-acknowledged territory at sea can no longer be taken for granted.

 

Securing and safeguarding the Arctic was a major topic for discussion, along with strengthening maritime security in the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans during the recent NATO summit in Turkey. Russian President Vladimir Putin's territorial ambitions focused the discussion on setting global terms for regional exploitation of the undersea resources, and the associated need to agree on how best to ensure maritime security in the face of a national leader unconcerned with international law. 

 

Ivan Papanin was laid down in 2017 and is expected to join Russia’s Northern Fleet by the end of 2024. Two additional vessels of the type are under construction for the naval units of the country’s border patrol. gCaptain

 

Russia makes no secret of its intention to resort to military means with its formidable nuclear submarines in play and its paramilitary Russian Coast Guard prepared to control access to the Northern Sea Route, north of Russia, bordering on U.S. territory in the east, Norway in the west. Russia's focus is the promotion of year-round shipping through the Arctic. Its investment in ice-class liquefied natural gas carriers illustrate its regional power assertion.

 

Norwegian and European authorities sanctioned Russian fishing industries on suspicion of espionage and infrastructure sabotage. The Russian proposed "Transarctic Transport Corridor" to connect southern industrial centres and Siberian resource projects to foreign markets through the Northern Sea Route is a marked concern, while offshore drilling and underwater mining are seen as insurance against dwindling land resources. 

 

While Russia polishes its credentials as the only serious player in the Arctic, entitling it to expand its boundaries and without consultation with the other Arctic nations set standards running loops around its Arctic neighbours, its state media invested in propaganda elevating Russian plans, express contempt for Canadian, American or Danish development plans in the North American Arctic, marking them with a hostile purpose, a potential "bridgehead" with which to threaten Russia; its own three-decade military presence aside. 

 

Three Russian nuclear icebreakers in the Arctic. (Source: Atomflot)

 

"The Arctic is central to Russia's deepening partnership with China and its broader authoritarian agenda. Moscow is courting Chinese investment while giving Beijing access denied by Arctic democracies."

"China  is using Arctic waters to diversify its export routes while gaining experience operating in the region."

"The Canadian Security Intelligence Service says that both countries are increasing their espionage activities."

Alexander Dalziel/Sergey Sukhankin 

The Practicality of Helsinki's Underground Bomb Bunkers

"[Russia's full-scale attack on Ukraine] changed a lot. In '22, there was a humongous increase in calls coming in: Where's my shelter? Where's my shelter'?"

"We build, and we let people know we build."

"We are also letting our opponents, possible enemy, know: 'We have the capability and means to protect'."

"Your terror will not succeed." 

Pasi Raatikainen, senior civil defense planner, Helsinki 

 

"We were thinking, with modern warfare security, you don't need to go into hiding anymore."

"But Russia showed us, they don't do modern warfare."

"It's old-fashioned bombing of civilians. Even with drones."

"It's useful to go to shelters."

Teemu Kurkela, founder JMM Architects, Helsinki 

Below the bustling streets of Helsinki, Temppeliaukio Church is one of several subterranean sites that attract locals and tourists alike. Subodh Agnihotri/Alamy

 

Finland's president Alexander Stubb does not mince words, nor concern himself that warning against Moscow's likely plans to extend a version of its 'Special Military Operation' elsewhere among Russia's near-abroad once it finishes with Ukraine, will have the effect of unduly alarming Finns, potentially causing widespread public panic. And that is due to the fact that Finland has been through this before, and Finns have the good sense to feel a certain level of apprehension, leavened by their trust in their own government to have the security of their nation uppermost in mind and under control.

 

Finland long ago built a network of "aestonsuoja" -- civil defense shelters for haven from bombs from its violently aggressive neighbour with which it shares an uneasy border of 830 miles. Unlike most other European countries that had built civilian shelters, and following the collapse of the Cold War, felt sufficiently reassured that the fangs had been drawn from the dragon that threatened their autonomy and way of life, to abandon them, Finland kept its intact.

 

At the Underground Formula Center beneath eastern Helsinki’s Myllypuro neighborhood, go-kart enthusiasts race around a course. Courtesy of City of Helsinki

 

As a result, there are about 5,500 civil defense shelters, a number more than sufficient to comfortably shelter Helsinki's 700,000 residents at a time of need. Some fifty of the sites are located in immense subterranean spaces where they serve as parking lots, metro stations, skateboard parks, go-kart tracks, archery ranges and the city's popular Itakeskus swimming hall. The Vapaan Taiteen Tila performance space is located in one of these spaces, offering stage productions and art exhibitions in a cave.

 

Each of these subterranean halls were designed to be able to withstand blast waves and building collapses, as well as radiation. They serve as fortified bunkers in the event of a military invasion -- even with the potential of a nuclear blast in mind. Play Caves are immensely popular with children  and their parents, viewed as safe and engaging places of fun and games. They are complete with rope ladders and trampolines, challenging the acrobatic derring-do of the young, accessible through well-known mazes.

 

A view of an underground hockey rink in Helsinki, Finland, a city with a secret "Underground City" underneath it.   ABC News

 

The city rents out the cave spaces on the condition that they can retain their security utility by conversion to shelter use within a 72-hour period. Shelters located in residential and commercial buildings share the same conversion requirements. A map and telephone hotline assists residents in locating nearby shelters. Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its expansionary threat to Russia's other neighbours, Finnish architects felt the shelter mandate to be out of date. Unfortunately, territorial aggression and the conflict that accompanies it is never out of date.  

 

The Itakeskus shelter accommodates an Olympic-size pool, water slides, high dives, a gym and saunas. Transformed into its original shelter purpose it can house 3,800 people during a time of conflict. "It's just part of who we are. Everybody here knows how to use a gun", commented 37-year-old real estate developer Isto Okonhovi for whom the space that readily doubles as a bunker recalls hearing war stories from his grandfather, twice injured by Russian bombs.

 

The Museum of Civil Defense operated by the Civil Defence Association of Helsinki is located in one such cave where volunteers are trained to serve as shelter operators. "We need to have them if war should break out, and demand is high. It feels important to be able to help", explained Jukka Lehtiranta, chairman of the association board. 

 

Swimmers relax in an underground pool in Helsinki, Finland. All buildings above a certain size in Finland are required by law to have their own bunkers.   ABC News

 

"If You Encounter Racism With Uber, Report It ... And Nothing Will be Done

"What happened isn't just an unpleasant moment. It's a reminder of why speaking up matters. And discrimination must be met with accountability, not silence."

"So I asked why [her Uber driver ordered her to vacate the vehicle] and the driver told me that they do not drive Jewish people."

"A serious incident involving hate should trigger immediate action within 24 hours. Anything less allows prejudice to just go unchecked. Basically, it took them [Uber] four days to get back to me. I want to be clear that what happened is about far more than an uncomfortable ride home or a refunded fare. The incident experienced was a direct act of antisemitism, and the reason I'm speaking about it is because moments like this must be confronted openly."

Miriam Matova, Toronto Jewish-Slovakian-Canadian former Miss Slovakia 

Miriam Mattova attends the Yorkville Jewish Center Appreciation Gala on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (Miriam Mattova) 

Citing the privacy rights of the driver, Uber refused to explain to the complainant what kind of 'appropriate' action would be taken in view of the seriousness of an open act of  contemptible antisemitism. "Discrimination is unacceptable, and we're deeply sorry for the experience this rider had. Everyone deserves to feel safe, welcome and respected when using Uber. We've contacted the rider directly and taken appropriate action on the driver", was their response when questioned.  

"The scourge of antisemitism has to be confronted by courageous individuals such as Miriam who are prepared to vigorously fight back."

"I am demanding of Uber that it terminate its relationship with this driver and ensures that all of its drivers commit and adhere to principles of non-discrimination."

"Unfortunately, as we permit demonstrations to take over our streets, often focused on Jewish neighbourhoods replete with criminal hate speech, terrorizing the Jewish community, antisemitism is increasingly normalized allowing residents, such as this driver, to believe that such conduct will be tolerated." 

Ms. Matova's legal representative Howard Levitt  

In Canada, governments at all levels, while repeating endlessly that antisemitism is despicable and will not be tolerated, in actual fact do tolerate it by an utter lack of response, allowing the proliferation of  continual public displays of hate speech, threats against the Jewish community in Canada, and ignoring even criminal acts of advocating for the destruction of Israel while flags of Palestinian terrorist groups, outlawed as terrorist groups in Canada are flown at 'pro-Palestinian' demonstrations, many of which are permitted to take place in specifically Jewish neighbourhoods in Toronto.

 

If Canadian citizens of Jewish descent are hounded, assaulted, vilified, recipients of death threats and no authority acts other than to mouth phrases of condemnation  -- while mouthing the same old positions that Canada deplores antisemitism and 'Islamophobia' (expressions from the Liberal government in very particular link the two, although it is the latter that denigrates and threatens the former) and law enforcement tends to protect the 'free speech' rights of Palestinian organizers while Jews are left to their own protective devices after being chided that their counter-presence at hateful organized protests is 'provocative' -- this represents complete abandonment.

 

Miriam Mattova visits a memorial at the Nova music festival site in November 2025. (Miriam Mattova) 

Synagogues, Jewish parochial schools, community centers and Jewish events must hire security guards and take steps to build protective barriers in a country they have called home for centuries. And a car service for the Jewish community, called Jew Ride, must come to the rescue of Jews seeking passage to various destinations in safety. Vadim Danilov founded Jew Ride. An immigrant from Israel several years ago, he worked as a driver for Uber and heard from his Jewish passengers how vulnerable they felt having to hide their Jewishness when seeking a ride. 

 

Vadim Danilov decided to start is own car service after hearing stories of passengers having to hide their Jewish identity while using ridesharing services. Photo by Vadim Danilov

 

Following a series of additional incidents when Jews were informed that the ride-hailing service was for the general public, with the exclusion of Jews, Mr. Danilov decided to take matters into his own hands with the establishment of a ride service that would guarantee security and peace of mind for Jews. One woman told him she had been ordered out of a vehicle and left on the street in the middle of the night to find her way home on her own.  

"This is what made me start this company in March. It's to help passengers from the community and provide them with the safe, private transportation service anywhere in the greater Toronto area."

"My passengers today say they feel safe when I pick them up and they also say ... antisemitism in Canada, it's getting worse and worse." 

Vadim Danilov, founder, Jew Ride 

 

  

Uber Web Page ... unimpressive ...

If you encountered racism during your experience with Uber, please report it to us. Your honest feedback helps ensure that everyone who uses our platform is accountable for their behavior. Thank you for choosing to help make Uber a safe and welcoming community.

• Reporting for riders

  1. Click on the Help menu.
  2. Select Help with a trip.
  3. Choose the trip that you wish to report.
  4. Select Report Safety Issue.
  5. Select I was discriminated against by my driver.
  6. Provide a detailed explanation of your experience and tap Submit when you’re ready to submit your report.
  7. You can also submit a report through help.uber.com and through the Safety Toolkit in your app.

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When Life Becomes Too Much to Bear

 

"Before I do my mission, I want you all to know that I am not a psychopath. I do not believe in bloodshed. I am not one of those monsters that hurt children, that hurt innocents."

"I'm just tired of seeing the tyranny and corruption taking over our society and our lives."

"Good, honest, God-fearing men and women [must become doctors, police, politicians and teachers, so that they can] rise up against this wokeism disease that is leading our generation into deception."

"We need good men and women in all workforces to promote a pro-human life."

"Inshallah, I will succeed with my mission. If I don't succeed, I know somebody else will succeed for me."

Bezhani Sarvar, 28, Edmonton, Alberta resident

Some of the damage sustained at Edmonton city hall on Tuesday, January 23, 2024. (Submitted by City of Edmonton)

This is a man who set out with a deliberate purpose; to startle local municipal officials by a violent act of intrusion into Edmonton's City Hall premises and to bring the public's attention to, and promote his version of how the social order should be altered for the good of the individual and collective humanity. He had posted a video to YouTube with the title "Rise up", now no longer on the social media site. The righteous man who rejected violence in all its forms, used violence to draw attention to his manifesto.

 

In his dissatisfaction with the world as it is, and approaching the ills of the world from a number of perspectives, he forced his way into the Edmonton City Hall premises where the security detail hired to prevent and manage just such events apprehended the man who was, in very fact, an employee of the very same security firm and positioned at the City Hall with his colleagues before he decided to stage the event that had him arrested.

 

From a security employee to a gunman. He now faces six charges for the attack where he had entered the civic edifice through the parkade. He fired a rifle, and threw a homemade Molotov cocktail which started a small fire. And then when confronted, he surrendered without further ado to an unarmed security guard. No injuries occurred, not to anyone within the City Hall, the security detail, or the non-violent, violent protester. A man who is married and has children.

Edmonton police officers were seen entering the home of a man accused in a Tuesday shooting incident at city hall. (Peter Evans/CBC)

 People, said Sarvar, need to "rise up" against inflation and housing. In the video he is seen as saying people need to "rise up" to put a stop to "this genocide that's going on in Gaza and throughout the world". "Anybody that is destabilizing other countries, hurting their community, should feel ashamed of themselves, and inshallah we will rise against you guys and we'll put you on trial", he warns. As for the immigration crisis ..."instead of hate and anger in our hearts, we must spread love". 

"We need to start filtering our water. We need to watch what we're eating. We got to start eating healthy. Our officials need to start promoting healthy choices, healthy diet, exercises. They need to unite us all as one and we all got to start doing something positive for our society." Life, in all its various aspects, obviously has been much too much for this man to bear. Himself a beacon of stability and concern for the welfare of the world. Decrying violence.

 

A screen grab from a YouTube video linked to the Jan. 23, 2024, attack on Edmonton city hall. Bezhani Sarvar, 28, was charged with six offences after a gunman fired shots and threw a Molotov cocktail in the building. Photo by Screenshot/YouTube

The physical damage he caused to the City Hall, to walls, floors, windows, doors, carpets, fire-scorch-marks on the marble floor will all require remediation. The shock caused to people who were witnesses and whose presence possibly stirred the man to greater excesses in a desperate effort to influence their reasoning to understand his own, will last awhile.

The attack was denounced by the National Council of Canadian Muslims claiming in a statement posted to X, that it was motivated by "an alt-right agenda", without making mention of the man's Gaza comments. Truth is, it's difficult these days to distinguish the difference between Lib-left and alt-right. Can a violent act of this nature inspired by a personal roster of critical social issues be considered terrorism? Is he to be considered mentally unhinged?

In any event, repairs are underway, though there is no word when the venue can be reopened to the general public. City Hill will be considering upgrading its current security system in view of the many social issues circulating in today's world that perturb people and spur them to questionable action in support of their ideological, religious, cult or political views.

Some of the damage sustained at Edmonton city hall on Tuesday, January 23, 2024. (Submitted by City of Edmonton)

Patient Harm from Medical Misadventure

"A 1999 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, found up to 98,000 people were dying in US hospitals each year from preventable medical errors."
"In 2016, a review from Johns Hopkins hit on an unimaginably high number. Looking at studies published since the IOM report, many of which were based only on insurance claims, these researchers concluded that 251,454 hospitalized patients died from medical errors each year."
"A recent and more rigorous study came up with a far more conservative number than either the IOM study or the Hopkins research."
"Rather than simply looking at 'medical errors', authors of this study examined all adverse events and their link to patient mortality, whether a mistake or not."
"Using data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors (GBD) between 1990 and 2016, instead of simply using insurance claims, the new study settles on a number 50 to nearly 80-fold smaller than the Hopkins review."
"Across the entire study period, the authors found 123,603 deaths in which adverse events were determined to be the underlying cause of death. And after controlling for population growth and ageing over those 26 years, they found that those rates had actually fallen by over 20 percent."
"Of all the deaths related to adverse events, the study found 8.5 percent could be attributed to misadventure, or medical errors such as accidental laceration or incorrect dosage, and 14 percent could be attributed to adverse events associated with medical management."
"This isn't to say that mistakes made by medical professionals are not a problem, or that they shouldn't be fixed. Merely that grossly exaggerating this number to the point of a crisis, where a huge number of people who are hospitalized could die from a medical mistake, is demonstrably false and dangerous."
Science Alert

"Canadians place great trust in health-care organizations and are generally satisfied with the health care they receive. In 2005, 85 per cent of Canadians who received health care were 'very' or 'somewhat satisfied' with the services they received.^" "Additionally, in a recent Canadian Institute for Health Information survey of patients accessing primary care, more than three-quarters (76 per cent) reported that the quality of the primary health care they received in the past 12 months was either 'excellent' or 'very good'."
"However, a growing body of evidence over the past decade has demonstrated that misadventures during surgical and other medical care are common around the world, and Canada is no exception." "These misadventures are tragic for individuals and costly for society, as they can result in disability, death, or prolonged hospital stays. A Canadian study estimated that about 7 per cent of adults seeking acute care in Canada experience a misadventure; from these cases, close to 60,000 are potentially preventable. The latest OECD figures show that about 150 deaths are caused by misadventures during medical care each year in Canada."
The Conference Board of Canada 

Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk released her annual report for 2019 on Wednesday, and called for immediate action to reduce the number of patients who are injured while receiving care in Ontario's hospitals each year. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)

"Each year, Ontario hospitals discharge one million people. Of those, about 67,000 people were harmed during their hospital stay."
"Many [long-term care home residents] require assistance eating and drinking and rely on long-term-care home staff help to maintain their health."
"Ontario has committed to spend $3.8 billion over ten years to 2026-2027 for mental  health and addictions services, so it's important that funding is allocated appropriately to meet the needs of Ontarians."
Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk, 2019 annual report

The audit found that hospitals are currently not required to report so-called "never-events" - a medical error that should never happen, such as leaving a foreign object inside a patient - to the Ministry of Health. File/Global News

Close to 70,000 patients receive injuries while in the process of receiving care in hospitals annually in Ontario, according to the province's auditor general who called for government action to help in reducing that number. The auditor general's team audit of acute-care centres resulted in the finding that six of every one hundred patients treated then discharged from hospitals in the province received harm during the process of health care provided to them.

Hospitals have no legal requirement to report to the Ministry of Health any medical error that should never happen, called "never-events". In that category would be leaving a foreign object inside a patient after surgery. The audit team visited six of thirteen hospitals that do track "never-events", finding that 214 incidents had occurred since 2015. Hospitals failed to comply with required safety practice standards on occasion, and what's more nurses repeatedly fired for reasons of incompetence often were re-hired by other hospitals.

Credit Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care

The audit recommended that hospitals and nursing agencies should be alert to and prepared to share information such as this with one another regarding poorly-performing nurses. Disciplining doctors was found to take years and in the process deleteriously impacted a hospital's budget; potentially making hospital administrations loathe to undertake needed disciplinary action. In one instance it cost a hospital $560,000, taking several years to finalize the discipline of a doctor with "practice issues".

Two other hospitals involved in disciplinary action against the very same physician laid out $1 million for their efforts to discipline the man. As legal costs for physicians in discipline matters are paid by taxpayers since government reimburses doctors for malpractice insurance fees, the auditor general felt the outcome is that doctors are willing to draw out disciplinary cases for years since there is little personal cost to themselves.

Food and nutrition in long-term care homes was another issue the auditors found is lacking to meet quality standards, when food is given patients that includes an excess of sugar and salt, and lacking sufficient fibre content. In three of five homes inspected by the audit team, patients were served food past their best-before date. Liquid whole eggs that were three months past best-before dating, was served in one of the homes, as an example.

iStock.com/Chinnapong

And as for addiction services, the audit team found wait times for treatment, opioid-related emergency department visits and death rates all rising, regardless of increased government funding. Adequate policies and procedures are lacking, to deliver timely addiction services, to monitor service providers, or to measure and report on effectiveness, according to the report's findings.

Another point of contention is that $40 million of the province's $134 million opioid strategy is equally distributed throughout all Ontario regions, and not preferentially based on need.

Defending Earth

"This plan is an outline not only to enhance the hunt for hazardous asteroids, but also to better predict their chances of being an impact threat well into the future and the potential effects that it could have on Earth."
"[Protecting Earth from incoming asteroids will be a huge job, no astronauts would be involved.] That's something relegated to the movies — it makes a good movie, but we do not see in our studies any technique that would require the involvement of astronauts. [NASA's proposed asteroid-deflection techniques] would all be done by robotic spacecraft."
"[The agency's Double Asteroid Redirection Test [DART], to be launched in 2021, will be] our first technology demonstration of the kinetic impact technique to deflect an asteroid."
NASA's planetary defense officer, Lindley Johnson

"[One focus of the DART goal is to increase international cooperation to better prepare the rest of the world for the possibility of an asteroid strike — under the leadership of the United States.]"
"This kind of cooperation is really important  It's a global hazard that we all face together, and the best way to approach and address that hazard is cooperatively."
Aaron Miles, senior policy adviser, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

Artist's illustration of a large asteroid headed for Earth. Credit: ESA

A report from the National Science and Technology Council in the United States outlined a pressing need to improve vigilance by the international community dedicated to preserving Planet Earth's geological integrity and the safety of all living creatures, through international programs in coordination with the United States in detecting the presence of and danger posed by asteroids and other space objects speeding toward Earth, recognizing that a collision with a large rock-metal-ice object hurtling toward the planet could result in utter catastrophe.

During Earth's formative years tens of millions of years ago such collisions did occur when for example a 200-kilometre-wide crater was discovered, all that remained of the results of such an ancient collision that wiped out three-fourths of the vegetation and animal species then existing on the planet. The crater's remnants were recognized on the Yucatan Peninsula, and the Gulf of Mexico, a wide swathe of utter destruction.

The knowledge that Earth is vulnerable at any given time to other collisions which might occur have been fortified by some that have. As, for example in 2013's event when a 20-metre asteroid appeared suddenly over the sky in Chelyabinsk, Russia, exploding and damaging thousands of buildings in the thermal blast, causing widespread injuries. In 1908 a much larger asteroid exploded over Tunguska, Russia leaving 2,000 square kilometres of forest devastated.

The report, published in Science, pointed out that were such an asteroid to explode over a far more vulnerable, populated area such as New York City, the fallout would be enormous, the death toll unspeakably dramatic. NASA has catalogued no fewer than 18,310 space objects of sizes from minuscule to alarmingly huge. Just over 800 of those space objects are 140 metres or larger. Should a space rock happen to suddenly appear  and an estimate made of its strike time; anywhere from days to weeks in advance, current space technology offers no solutions for stopping or altering its trajectory.

The National Science and Technology Council report speaks of the urgent need to improve asteroid detection, its tracking and the potential for deflection. Its participating partners are NASA, federal emergency, the military, the White House and other similar U.S. national authorities. Scientists, according to NASA's planetary defence officer, have discovered 95 percent of near-Earth objects measuring one kilometre or larger, continuing to search for the remaining 5 percent and smaller objects still capable of inflicting damage on Earth.

The most difficult to detect are rocks that have passed the sun and are on their way out of the solar system, approaching from the day side, while ground telescopes are known to detect asteroids speeding into the inner solar system, approaching from the night side of Earth; the former is how the Chelyabinsk asteroid suddenly appeared. The nightmare scenario of a Tunguska-sized asteroid hitting New York City equates to millions of people dying.

Even with all resources put to work, headed by the American initiative and joined by international partners with every reason to be as concerned as the U.S., solutions will take years of planning, design, construction and implementation before it could be said an effective defence can be mounted. It would take years for any effort to turn away a threatening asteroid; a number of years to build a spacecraft, another few years for it to reach its target. A minimum ten years' advance notice of a feared approach of a killer asteroid is what Dr. Johnson envisions.

The mission could be comprised of a design to smash the asteroid or comet with a fast-moving robotic spacecraft to alter the path of the threat. Even to launch a nuclear device to superheat the surface of the asteroid, to remove sufficient material to make for a swerving diversion, thus bypassing its initial target Earth. It all sounds dramatically science-fiction-like, but then so does the prospect of our home, Earth, or parts thereof being blown to smithereens by some gigantic space object approaching and colliding  and destroying it and us.

This image of a vapor trail was captured about 125 miles (200 kilometers) from the Chelyabinsk meteor event, about one minute after the house-sized asteroid entered Earth’s atmosphere.

Credits: Alex Alishevskikh

A Tragedy for Which There is no Solace 

KidsAndCars

"I think possibly alcohol was a factor in some of his decisions that day, and maybe played a factor in this."
"[A man accompanying Asa North had been heavily drinking and] we believe the father had been drinking that day also."
"The neighbours heard some screaming -- I guess coming from the father -- and saw him running around back with the two children."
Carrollton police Capt. Chris Dobbs, Georgia

"I guess he forgot about the kids and left them in the car. He should have took care of them kids better than that, what he did."
"He should have never been in the house asleep He should have got the kids out of the car the time he got out of the car, you know."
Donnie Holland, uncle of Ariel and Alaynah North

"The biggest mistake people make is thinking that it can’t happen to them. Everyone should practice those safety measures [looking in the backseat each time you get out of the car and putting something you need in your backseat — your cell phone, handbag, employee ID or briefcase — to ensure that you will check], and do whatever they have to do to remind themselves to check the backseat."
"You can’t buy a car (today) that doesn’t turn your headlights off for you or remind you to turn off your headlights. And the question just begging to be answered is, who has decided it’s more important not to have a dead car battery than a dead baby? And I don’t say that to be harsh or sensational. It’s just a fact."
Janet Fennell, founder of KidsAndCars

KidsAndCars

According to Janet Fennell before this latest tragedy, in the United States 24 children have so far died in 2016 as a result of having been left in hot cars, a figure that is almost twice the number of young children who perished at this time last year. The average year sees 37 children die from heat stroke while locked in a vehicle. Children under age three represent 87% percent of those whose lives end so tragically, their presence in a car forgotten and left in the stifling oppression of heat that asphyxiates them.


And this is precisely the tragedy that overtook fifteen-month old twins, Ariel and Alaynah North in Carrollton, Georgia yesterday evening. Two children gone, in a space of a few hours of excruciating discomfort, pain and helplessness. Vulnerable because they were unable to speak for themselves, vulnerable because the parent tasked with their care and security was incapable of fulfilling that vital parental function.

Temperatures registered above 32C by the time police were alerted on Thursday at half-past six in the evening. The children's father, 24 year-old Asa, has been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of reckless conduct, according to Carroll County jail records. The children's mother was in Atlanta at the time, visiting her sister at Grady Memorial Hospital, a victim of a serious car crash the day previous.

Neighbours of the family were alerted to something gone horribly awry when they heard screams. The children's father had suddenly realized the situation, rushed to the front of his home to his parked sports utility vehicle where he found his children unresponsive. He carried them frantically toward a child's inflatable pool in the back of the house where he and neighbours attempted to revive the toddlers.

When police arrived they performed CPR to no avail. The twins were pronounced dead on arrival at hospital. Autopsies will be conducted at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime crime lab. These grieving parents have the unenviable distinction of a future of living their lives knowing their infants represented the 25th and 26th American children to have died in overheated vehicles in 2016.

Below is a summary of the information KidsAndCars.org has been gathering for over a decade.

• Child vehicular heat stroke deaths for 2016: 26
• Child vehicular heat stroke deaths for 2015: 25 
• Child vehicular heat stroke deaths for 2014:  32
• Child vehicular heat stroke deaths for 2013:  44
• Child vehicular heat stroke deaths for 2012:  35
• Child vehicular heat stroke deaths for 2011: 33
• Child vehicular heat stroke deaths for 2010:  49
• Child vehicular heat stroke deaths 1990- 2015: 755
  • Average #of deaths per year since 1998: 37 (one every 9 days)
  • Highest # of fatalities for a one-year time period - 2010: 49

Armed Dementia

"There's a lady with [a] gun. She's coming out of her house right now. Two people shot outside! Two people shot outside!"
"She's going inside, she's going inside the house now. Hopefully she's not getting more bullets, because it looks like she's going in for more bullets. She's coming back again -- apparently she has bullets now."
"Oh, she shot her again. She shot her again."
Neighbour's call to 911, Houston, Texas

"Two of the calls are from Taylor and Madison and are difficult to listen to."
"Sheriff [Troy] Nehls is meeting with Mr. Sheats to ensure he is aware we had no choice."
"We will not be posting the calls on our social media".
Fort Bend County Sheriff Office website

"Happy Daughter's Day to my two amazing, sweet, kind, beautiful, intelligent girls. I love and treasure  you both more than you could ever possibly know."
"Today I am thankful for my two perfect gifts! They are very best friends -- they make me so very proud to be their mother."
Christy Sheats, 42, Houston

Christy Sheats, a 42-year-old Texas mother, fatally shot her two daughters before she was gunned down by a responding police officer on Friday outside of the family's home in Katy, the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office says. Photo: Facebook

"Please! Forgive me! Please, don't shoot!"
"Please, I'm sorry. Please
" Don't point that gun at her!"
911 call

From left: Madison and Taylor Sheats  Facebook

Madison, 17 and her sister Taylor Sheats, 22, were indeed the best friends that made their mother Christy Sheats so proud. Both young women worked in child care. Taylor was a student at Lone Star College, a talented artist. While her younger sister Madison would have been a senior at Seven Lakes High School this coming fall. Both young women were exceedingly beautiful, the typical picture of blond, blue-eyed, slender privilege emerging into adulthood from an intact family, with a comfortable future awaiting them.

That future will never arrive. Both sisters, whose physical resemblance to their equally beautiful mother, have predeceased their mother and their father. And the mother who loved her two beautiful daughters to proud distraction was the direct cause of their death. Their mother Christy, was a devoted gun owner, and knew how to find a target. The target on that day last week was her daughters.

This is a woman whose use of social media outlined her Second Amendment support amidst fears government was set to restrict her gun-owning rights.

Every time there is yet another iteration of mass killing by a shooter, be it an angry man feeling excluded from his own society, a schoolboy enraged at his lot in life as a social reject, a deranged malcontent, or an Islamist declaring !Allahu Akbar! the debate in America is renewed with passion, non-gun-lovers against gun aficionados, each declaring emotional concern for the healing of a society wedded to vigilante preparation should government become too officiously intolerable. That conversation spills across the border as a topic elsewhere in the world as well.

There had been a family consultation in the suburban Houston home of the Sheats family. Mother Sheats had been extremely upset over some perceived concerns, so her husband Jason and their daughters Madison and Taylor were all present to hear her out. At some juncture Christy Sheats drew her weapon and began using it on her daughters. As the three other family members attempted to escape her immediate proximity they ran outside.

Their mother followed, shooting one daughter in the street, though both young women had already been wounded, while still in the house. One of the daughters found destination death as she lay in the street while the second, taken to hospital, died there. After desperate 911 calls and police arrival, the mother had refused orders to surrender her weapon, and was shot dead herself.

"He felt Christy wanted him to suffer," said Sheriff Troy Nehls. "Christy knew how much he loved Taylor and Madison and how much they loved him."
The shooting reportedly happened on Jason Sheats' birthday.
Jason Sheats told police that he and his wife had been struggling with marital problems and had discussed divorce. The day of the shooting, he said his wife also got into a dispute with her eldest daughter, Taylor, reports KHOU. He said his wife wanted to ground Taylor and prevent her from seeing her fiance, whom she planned to marry Monday.
Jason Sheats told police he disagreed with his wife. He said she called a family meeting and the four had gathered in the living room. Jason Sheats told police he thought his wife would tell their daughters that the couple had decided to divorce. Instead, he said, she pulled out a gun from the couch cushions and opened fire, KHOU reports.
CBS News 

One of the countries where the issue of firearms availability and gun control is discussed is Canada, just across the border to the United States. Where a recent letter-writer to the editor explaining her position on the issue wrote from her home in British Columbia:

"I was befuddled when I read John E. Eisan's letter stating the thesis we 'share a common culture and ideology with the United States is so wrong ... Canadians do not want to own automatic rifles or ... Any kind of weapons'."
"He is wrong. I want to own both and I am a 60-year-old highly educated grandmother. This country is so vast, that should any attack on my person occur, again, I know the RCMP will get around to collecting my dead body and related evidence. They can't ensure my safety."
"Further, if or when North America is attacked again, people who are armed can defend themselves. (I was laughed at before 9/11 when I insisted on the value of a strong defence." Eisan obviously does not appreciate the right to bear arms in America. However, should an invasion occur, or a government resort to tyranny, the American people can form militias and fight back. Canadians are sitting ducks."
Linda Keays, Nanaimo, B.C.

Women's Lot In India

"Although gender-based discrimination of female children is pervasive in developing countries, India is one of the worst culprits. Female discrimination, which starts in the womb, continues throughout women's lives."
"A survey by the Thomas Reuters Foundation found that India is the fourth most dangerous place in the world for women."
Cesar Chelala, M.D., Ph.D., global public health consultant

Hurt: Sonia (pictured) was travelling home with her friend Prajuna when two truck drivers, who had befriended their families, offered them a lift home. But instead of taking them back, they raped the schoolgirls, leaving them to walk home half-naked and bleeding

Horrific gang rapes in India are common. Girls and women of the lower caste are generally the target and they are often left for dead or murdered, since particularly in more remote rural areas the law is soft on men who commit these atrocities, and women and girls who survive their assaults and attempt to lodge official complaints are often ignored. The women are viewed by their society as having been defiled, and though they are the victims they are seen as having brought dishonour to their families.

Family members often attempt to persuade survivors of rape and violence that it would be best not to say or do anything to bring further attention to their plight. Their future role in their society is all but obliterated; what they suffered will have made them indeed untouchable. But it is all women who are vulnerable to sexual assault in a country where too many men seem to feel it is their right to exploit and harm women as easy prey that few bother to question.

Criminal sexual assault has countless victims, and the plight of the unprotected is dreadful, but sexual assault happens anywhere in the country, it is not exclusive to those whom custom and culture linked to fundamentalist religious values are seen as game for the upper classes. Genera discrimination in India slams up hard against an emerging economy whose rapid technological development equates with more and better employment opportunities, at least for the educated.

But from groping on crowded public transit to shouted lewd suggestions, to being stalked, to facing an attacker who knows he will not face insurmountable punishment, women live daily lives of public torment and fear. 

Twelve-year-old Pinky had gone to see a wedding procession when a female neighbour invited her to her home. There, she gagged Pinky and handed her over to her brother-in-law, who raped the young girl. They then threatened Pinky to remain silent, but she found the courage to tell her parents, who reported it to police. Smita hopes telling stories like this one will encourage others to speak out

Researchers with the medical journal The Lancet have given an estimate of over a half-million females aborted as a result of sex selection since the introduction of ultrasound. Now that prenatal sex identification makes it easier for prospective parents to know what gender a woman is carrying, there are fewer incidents of post-birth deaths among girl babies, but it does still occur. Ultrasound makes feticide more convenient as a disposal method of an  unwanted girl child.

In Indian culture traditionally inheritance rights are with a male offspring. And traditionally it was male children who were expected to look after their aging parents. Girls, once they married, were absorbed into another family. Dowries, though now illegal are a condition of marriage whereby the bride's family must give to the groom goods and possessions that are to be his, not his new wife's, in the process enriching him and in no sense serving the interests of the bride's parents other than to reduce their resources while honouring custom.

Selective abortions may be illegal in India, just as discrimination against the Dalit, the lowest class (formerly known as 'untouchables') in the discriminatory caste system is illegal, but it carries on nevertheless. The ancient custom of a wife dying on the funeral pyre of her husband is also illegal and though no longer commonly practised, it does take place in remote areas still. Indian widows have no rights, and they are lost souls, consigned to live in poverty and isolation, cast from their families.

Thousands of widows have been making their way to one particular town in the north of India. Cast out by their families, or simply alone in the world, some travel hundreds of miles to get there, and nobody quite knows why

Acid-throwing is a particularly cruel and sinister punishment visited on girls and women of any class or religion. It is cruelly disfiguring if it doesn't kill the victim. She will live the rest of her life advertising by her appearance the dreadful punishment meted out to her for defying cultural normatives. Up to 70 percent of married women aged fifteen to 49 in India have been victims of beatings or coerced sex, according to the United Nations Population fund.

Domestic violence related to dowries can lead to desperation and suicide, and murder is not at all uncommon. When a girl or young woman enters the household of her husband she can also become no better than an indentured servant. Because of a shortage of marriageable Indian girls and women resulting from sex selection abortions, a trafficking of women has been on the increase. Women are sold as brides in areas of India where shortages are particularly acute.

Afghanistan
From an early age, life’s a struggle for Afghan girls, with 87 percent left illiterate and 70-80 percent forced into marriages (54% of girls aged between 15-19 are married, according to UNICEF).  Having a family can be an ordeal in itself: with a maternal mortality ratio of 400 in 100,000 (vs 8 for the UK), and cases of domestic violence high. Afghanistan’s courts make it notoriously difficult to prosecute the latter too, as family testimony is banned.
The Democratic Republic of Congo
Congo has one of the worst records of gender based violence (GBV), with the American Journal of Public Health estimating that 1,150 women are raped every day – equating to 420,000 a year. Health outcomes are inadequate for women too, with 57 percent of pregnant women reported to be anaemic.
Pakistan
Many of Pakistan’s cultural and religious practices pose a huge threat to women, particularly child and forced marriage, acid attacks and punishment by stoning. According to Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission, more than 1,000 girls and women are victims of ‘honour killings’ each year, and 90 percent face domestic violence.
India
Despite having the world’s largest democracy, famous examples of gang rape and hangings demonstrate what a perilous place India can be for women. Researchers estimate that there have been 50 million cases of female infanticide or foeticide over the last three decades. And even if you get to live, child marriage and high levels of trafficking still cast a shadow over the safety of females.
Somalia
High maternal mortality, rape, female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage are just every day concerns for a woman living in Somalia, a country typified by its lack of law and order. 95 percent of Somalia’s female inhabitants face FGM, usually around the ages of four to 11, and in their child-rearing years, only nine percent can expect to give birth in a health facility.
Colombia
GBV in Colombia is alarmingly high – in 2010, The National Institute for Legal Medicine and Forensic Science reported 45,000 cases of domestic violence against women. Still, few organised systems exist to help women and girls needing post-violence care, meaning that many do not receive appropriate medical treatment. To add insult to injury, it’s rare for GBV perpetrators to be brought to justice.
Egypt
The systematic sexual harassment of women and girls throughout Egypt is something that even casual visitors may have experienced. GBV and harassment increased in the wake of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. In January, Egyptian groups reported that there were 19 cases of mob sexual assaults, with one victim raped with a bladed weapon. One of Egypt’s main failings when it comes to supporting women is its judicial system, which does not criminalise domestic violence, and ignores their rights when it comes to marriage, divorce, child custody and inheritance.
Kenya
Despite carrying out the majority of the country’s agricultural work, Kenya’s female inhabitants only receive a small part of the income they generate. In fact, just 29 percent of those earning a formal wage throughout the country are women. Educational prospects for girls are dreadful, as they are taught at an inferior level to their counterparts. Even worse, HIV infection rates are more prevalent among the female populace – partly due to the lack of control women have over their sex lives.
Mexico
With 4,000 cases of women disappearing in 2011-2012, and 22.7 murders for every 100,000 in Chihuahua state in 2012, you’d think the Mexican government and police would do everything possible to protect their inhabitants. Sadly women are massively let down by Mexico’s legal system, which does not protect against domestic and sexual violence. There are certain punishments set out for perpetrators of sexual violence against women, however judiciary officials often weight up the latter’s chastity when it comes to deciding a sentence – contradicting international standards. The unfortunate outcome of all of this is that few women come forward to report sexual offences. And when they do, they are frequently met with suspicion, apathy and disregard.
Brazil
For a country with many things going for it, Brazil has some troubling statistics. Reports indicate that every 15 seconds a woman is assaulted, and every two hours a woman is murdered. Brazil also has a bad record when it comes to reproductive choice as its criminal code bans abortions – except in cases of rape, or where it is physically dangerous to have the baby. Women who do not meet these exceptions and have an abortion can face up to three years in jail.
The New Economy