elisi's humble abode

Aljazeera: ‘Did you eat today?’: Voices of Gaza speak of starvation and survival
‘We are starved by the Israeli occupation,’ says Taqwa al-Wawi in Gaza, where all she thinks about is how hungry she is.

BBC: Top UN court says countries can sue each other over climate change

And I discovered this excellent journalist working in Ukraine:

Here is what I posted 3 years ago.

Petition for UK residents: Decriminalise Abortion
I am calling on the UK government to remove abortion from criminal law so that no pregnant person can be criminalised for procuring their own abortion.

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Fundraiser: Chocolate Gifts For Disadvantaged UK Kids - Xmas '24

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Lovely article: I wear a white poppy because Remembrance Day’s staged fervour does little to honour my grandad

(The website for white poppies is here. I have worn a white poppy for the past few years, I like the idea behind them.)

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Amid War in Ukraine, Nature Survives in Unexpected Ways
The war has brought suffering and devastation—and “war-wilding,” a surprising ray of hope.

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I'm rubbish at updating, sorry. Not much has happened, but we are watching 'Ellis' - new detective show starring Sharon D Clarke, and it's properly good. Channel 5, but like, BBC production levels of writing & production.

We are also watching the new season of 'Shetland' - Darcy always loved the show, and I got caught up in the new season. The new female lead also really helps - the two main characters are now women. <3

(I have to suspend disbelief of course, because I have been to Shetland, and nothing ever happens - a stolen bicycle is front page news - but the look of it draws on all the 'British crime drama' vocabulary, so I can let it go. *g*)

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ETA: Have a song by Zhou Shen. His voice is... out of this world.



I found an article. Have a snippet (lightly edited):

Zhou Shen sang the theme song "People Are _" for the movie "The Wandering Earth 2" in which human beings are not afraid of crisis, the spirit of facing fate, not being a trapped beast that is bound, not being a race that is easily defined, even if the light is faint, we still move forward.

ETA2: What the hell, have Big Fish as well. Because we all need beauty right now and this song is beauty that I wish to share with everyone.

Another song from the Virtuosos competition, this time featuring several singers, although the star is Amelia Anisovych - the little Ukrainian girl who sang 'Let it go' in a bombshelter. (I'm sure you remember her.) <3

'Heal the World' by Dimash Qudaibergen, P.Domingo Jr., E.Miklósa, E.Nechayeva, P.Čulič, A.Anisovych


And here is another video featuring her more prominently, including a short interview:

BBC: Updates through the day from around the world

Jay Kuno: The War in Ukraine: A Look Back and Ahead on This Somber Anniversary

Under attack
Artist Tetiana Kopytova was happily painting horses and illustrating children's books. And then Russia invaded.

New video by Margarita_life:

The most important video of my life is coming out today. This is 10 minutes of my reality shown by me through Doctor Who. I made it overnight after the horror that happened yesterday in the city of Dnipro.
(x)



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And a petition:

STOP EXECUTION OF IRANIAN PROTESTERS

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Sorry I have been so absent, but work has been crazy (as I knew it would be) and at the weekends I just crash. Will try to catch up soon. <3

From youtube description:

Combining the legendary rock song with the unique sound of Ukrainian folk, we created "In The Shadows of Ukraine"

Original lyrics: "They say that I must learn to kill before I can feel safe, but I'd rather kill myself than turn into their slave." - reflects the feelings of Ukrainians during the long war in their country.

Our mission is to let as many people as possible know about this war and the courage of the Ukrainian people. That's why we decided to shoot a video for this song.

We believe that "The sun will rise, and all enemies will disappear".

Glory to Ukraine!

As a general rule, it’s probably fair to say that if you expect to seize the key cities in 3 days but 6 months later they’re displaying your burned out tanks in the centre of the capital, you aren’t quite the military force you thought you were. https://t.co/b5t1Gx5TV9

— Ruth Deyermond (@ruth_deyermond) August 23, 2022

From this long thread on 'how things have turned out for Russia so far'.

Full story re. the tanks: Downtown Kyiv turned into open-air museum of burned-out and captured Russian tanks

A few things I've been meaning to share:

The guitarist who saved hundreds of people on a sinking cruise liner

The book that sank on the Titanic and burned in the Blitz

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Europe’s new Iron Lady: Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas
The Baltic leader has become the EU’s strongest advocate for an uncompromising response to Russia.

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Daily Dimash: Happy Birthday

Apparently it's exactly a year since I posted my first Dimash post, fittingly on his birthday. He's 28 today, and released a new song - О'кей (Okay). It's another Igor Krutoy composition/collaboration, and the original release day was 5th of March, when the premiere was supposed to have happened on the Russian TV channel NTV. There was a whole article on DimashNews, which included the fact that they had been shooting a video... which is also yet to be seen, since of course then the war began, and they cancelled their appearance (like many other artists) and delayed the release. I would share it, except so far it's only available to buy. When the video comes out, I'll post it. :)

Dimash has put a lovely video up on insta, showing all the flowers that the Dears have been sending him. And then I came across this adorable video from last year, of Dimash reacting to birthday messages from his Dears. Most wholesome star ever. <3 (It's so wonderful/necessary to have a place that is just full of positivity.)

ETA: From Dimash News: “Let charity become a tradition!” (On May 24, Dears from eight countries held a charity event to help mothers whose children are being treated at the National Scientific Center for Mothers and Children in Nur-Sultan.)

To add a song to this post also, I'll put a recent performance of SOS under the cut... However Dimash does a speech before singing. It's from the EMI GALA 2022 in Dubai, and he was being presented with an award - which he then dedicated to his grandmother, and did a speech before giving her the award. (Sidebar: he brought both his grandmothers with him to the gala, one on each arm as he walked up the red carpet. ♥)

( Read more... )

Went back to check out Ukraine's Eurovision winning song from 2016... There was controversy at the time, because although the title is '1944' people felt that the song might reference more current events (the annexation of Crimea) and now...

The song could be re-titled '2022'



Lyrics:

When strangers are coming
They come to your house
They kill you all
And say
We’re not guilty
Not guilty

Where is your mind?
Humanity cries
You think you are gods
But everyone dies
Don’t swallow my soul
Our souls

I couldn’t spend my youth there
Because you took away my peace
I couldn’t spend my youth there
Because you took away my peace

We could build a future
Where people are free
To live and love
The happiest time

Where is your heart?
Humanity rise
You think you are gods
But everyone dies
Don’t swallow my soul
Our souls

I couldn’t spend my youth there
Because you took away my peace
I couldn’t spend my youth there
Because you took away my peace

And here is the official video for 'Stefania' (war imagery, in case that wasn't obvious from the thumbnail):