Author: Guest

Zakhida Adylova: A mother’s diary from Kyiv shares an eyewitness account of life as Putin’s invasion unfolds

Zakhida Adylova is a 35-year-old language teacher and producer for a political talk show who lives in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. She is a Crimean Tatar, a Muslim ethnic minority that was forcibly deported from their homeland, the Crimean Peninsula, to Uzbekistan in 1944 under orders from Joseph Stalin. In 1993, Zakhida returned from exile with her family to Crimea, Ukraine. Then in 2014, she and her daughter were forced to leave their home in Crimea for Kyiv after Russia annexed the peninsula. Zakhida’s mother joined them a year later. Today, the three are again facing a Russian...

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Jennifer Vosters: A visit to Kyiv that offered insight, awareness, and an inspiration for solidarity

A lot of people can speak more knowledgeably and eloquently than I can about what the Ukrainian people are facing right now in the midst of an invasion by Russia. I only add my Milwaukee perspective for the sake of solidarity and awareness. I spent a week in Ukraine in 2018, during which I visited my friend Nellie in Kyiv. Nellie was a fellow Saint Mary’s College graduate serving in the Peace Corps in central Ukraine. One of the first things she had me do when I arrived was watch a documentary on the Revolution of Dignity of 2013-14,...

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An Immortal Dream: Acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson reflects on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a mortal man with an immortal dream. During his lifetime, Reverend King sought to create common ground where people from all walks of life could join together to resolve issues and free themselves of heavy burdens. Working alongside people of all ages, races, and backgrounds, Dr. King encouraged everyone in America to work together to strengthen communities, reduce poverty, and acknowledge dignity and respect for all. Dr. King’s response to major issues was to speak the truth, share his dreams, and march toward freedom. He shined that bright light of truth on the...

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Virgil Abloh: Wisconsin alum and visionary fashion designer dies from cancer at 41

Top fashion designer Virgil Abloh, the artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear collection, died on November 28 at the age of 41 from cancer. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he completed a master’s degree in architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology. Abloh, the American-born son of Ghanaian immigrants who became fashion’s highest-profile Black designer, also worked as a DJ and visual artist and had been at Vuitton since March 2018. He also founded the Italian luxury streetwear label Off-White, in which LVMH took a 60 percent stake earlier this year, and was a former collaborator with...

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Vaccine Inequalities: How a one-size-fits-all approach to eradicating the pandemic opens a door to variants

We are entering into a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many of the countries that have been worst affected by the virus having vaccinated enough of their vulnerable patients and health staff to avoid the worst of the pressure on their health systems, even though the virus continues to widely circulate. With more than a billion vaccines made a month, there should theoretically be enough for everyone. There is, however, a problem with the distribution of the vaccines – some people who need them urgently, such as healthcare workers or people at risk of developing a serious...

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Milwaukee critical care doctor details the atmosphere of anguish unvaccinated patients create at hospital

Eric Siegal, a critical care physician in Milwaukee, published his thoughts on social media related to experiences from the ongoing surge of COVID-19 infections. The post was made on September 19, and rather quickly went viral from the public reaction to his insight, sincerity, and helplessness in watching the unvaccinated of Milwaukee perish so needlessly. After a brief summer respite, our 24-bed COVID ICU is once again full. Unlike previous waves, which largely affected the elderly and infirm, most “delta” ICU patients are young and generally healthy. Nearly all of them are unvaccinated. The vast majority of those who...

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