NEAR THE UKRAINIAN BORDER, Poland – The safe house near the Ukrainian border served as a transit point for volunteers coming to Poland, heading into Ukraine, and those transiting out from Ukraine back to the U.S. and elsewhere.
All were volunteers working with a non-governmental organization (NGO), Aerial Recovery, which had one primary purpose – relocating as many orphan children as possible out of harm’s way due to the dangers created by the unprovoked Russian invasion.
That invasion was launched on February 24th. Aerial, established a few years earlier to provide recovery assistance whenever natural disasters struck, was now facing its first operation within a combat zone. Its task was made somewhat easier by the number of veterans who, having heard about the effort, volunteered to assist.
Volunteers, like ships passing in the night, transited in and out of the Polish safe house – some knowing each other from earlier humanitarian efforts, others new to the game. But due to a shared sense of purpose to help these orphans, it did not take long for all, whether the old guard leaving Ukraine or the new guard heading in, to share a common bond of all for one and one for all.
Walkway to the Ukrainian border from Poland lined with tents of volunteers providing food, water, coffee. (Courtesy James G. Zumwalt)
Walkway to the Ukrainian border from Poland lined with tents of volunteers providing food, water, coffee. (Courtesy James G. Zumwalt)
All were motivated to join for reasons personal to them. While most were veterans – experienced at venturing into harm’s way, risking life and limb – others who had not so served were motivated by recollections of their own childhood experiences. They included volunteers who had been orphans themselves or had siblings who had been orphans or had just grown up minus a parent and recognized what these orphans were going through.
One, a fitness trainer from Los Angeles, Vlad Finn, 29, had been a Ukrainian orphan himself.
James G. Zumwalt and Ukrainian-American volunteer worker Vlad Finn, April 2022. (Courtesy James G. Zumwalt)
Some, like me, despite punching the age clock at seven-plus decades, were motivated by a sense of frustration over the Russian invasion and sought to make some contribution, no matter how minor, on behalf of the Ukrainian people suffering the consequences of war. Spending most of April near the Ukrainian border, this ancient warrior and a fellow retired Marine, David Decker (the two of us had gone through basic training together 51 years earlier), due to the benefit of age, were relegated to a support role that kept us safely on the Polish side of the border. But it gave us a chance to observe with great pride more youthful volunteers transiting across the border to rescue Ukrainian kids awaiting the arrival of these superheroes relocating them to safety.
James G. Zumwalt and David Decker, Poland, April 2022 (Courtesy James G. Zumwalt)
Ranging in age from early 20s to late 40s, the volunteers were mostly men but included a few women. They had left their homes, wives or husbands, and children to fill a need in Ukraine that the government, responsible for operating the orphanages, was unable to fulfill. While these young volunteers called David and me “grandpa” – affectionately, we think – their participation renewed our faith in America’s younger generations. Among these superheroes was my own personal hero: my son, who had initially helped organize the relocation effort, returning for a second operational tour.
Author James G. Zumwalt and son James E. Zumwalt volunteering to aid Ukrainian orphans in Poland, April 2022. (Courtesy James G. Zumwalt)
Despite lacking many comforts of home, they were just as highly motivated when they left as when they arrived, having endured the cold and many sleepless nights. As many of their “snowflake” peers were making headlines complaining about frivolous things in life, these young people were making a difference, quietly saving lives, driven by a sense of compassion their pampered peers totally lacked.
Although some orphans had previously been brought across the border to Poland by other groups, this had created a two-fold problem. The orphans lacked documentation, making their later return to Ukraine difficult once hostilities ended. Additionally, sex traffickers lingered like wolves at the border to snap up isolated children who, with no place to go, were vulnerable to sinister advances. Thus, Aerial volunteers had to relocate the orphans to safe areas within Ukraine, ensuring a responsible caretaker remained with each group to provide for their safety and welfare.
Aerial Recovery helps distribute toys and supplies to Ukrainian refugee children in Poland, April 2022 (Courtesy James G. Zumwalt)
Courtesy James G. Zumwalt
Removed from the sound of exploding Russian artillery rounds, bombs, and missiles, as well as warning alarms of impending attacks, orphans – scared out of their wits – would quickly smile as temporary homes away from the fighting welcomed them. While they were finally able to get a good night of uninterrupted sleep, the superheroes who brought them there were left to catch a wink for an hour or two, curled up on a cold floor or in a vehicle before heading out on yet another relocation mission.
Aerial and an affiliate NGO, due to the long line of volunteers signing up to help, have been able to evacuate almost 1,000 orphans to date.
While the identity of the real author responsible for the quote is open to debate, its truth cannot be ignored: “People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” Today, we sleep soundly in our beds at night only because rough men – and women – stand ready to do right by children in Ukraine unable to save themselves. Thank God for those who have heard and responded to the “call of the child.”
Lt. Colonel James G. Zumwalt, USMC (Ret.), is a retired Marine infantry officer who served in the Vietnam war, the U.S. invasion of Panama, and the first Gulf war. He is the author of Bare Feet, Iron Will–Stories from the Other Side of Vietnam’s Battlefields, Living the Juche Lie: North Korea’s Kim Dynasty and Doomsday: Iran–The Clock is Ticking. He is a senior analyst for Ravenna Associates, a corporate strategic communications company, who frequently writes on foreign policy and defense issues.
The World Economic Forum has removed a document from its website, which revealed the attendance of the Mayor of the Chinese city of Wuhan – which hosts the lab believed to be responsible for COVID-19 – at one of its events.
Former Wuhan Mayor Tang Liangzhi is included on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) list of attendees to its 2013 “Meeting of the New Champions.” The event, hosted in China, is described by the WEF as the “premier gathering in Asia of leaders of multinational corporations [and] governments.” “The Meeting was held in close collaboration with the Government of the People’s Republic of China,” explains the WEF meeting summary.
A link containing a 42-page document, which revealed hundreds of attendees at the event, reroutes users to an error page reading “Apologies – this section of our website is currently unavailable.” An archived version of the webpage, however, reveals a document containing a list of the event’s participants, including the then-Mayor of the Wuhan Municipal Government Tang Liangzhi.
Deleted Webpage.
Tang, 61, served as Mayor of Wuhan from 2011 to 2014 before serving in the same role in other cities including Chengdu and Chongqing. He was later promoted in December 2021 to the Party Branch Secretary of the Anhui Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which has been identified as the “highest-ranking entity overseeing” China’s United Front by the U.S. government.
The effort aims to “to co-opt and neutralize sources of potential opposition to the policies and authority of its ruling Chinese Communist Party” and “influence overseas Chinese communities, foreign governments, and other actors to take actions or adopt positions supportive of Beijing’s preferred policies.” The U.S. State Department also compares the United Front to the Chinese regime’s “magic weapon” to compromise Western politicians and elites.
Tang’s ties to Wuhan follow controversy of the city and one of its premier laboratories, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, potentially being the source of COVID-19. The lab, which is under the control of the Chinese Communist Party, manipulated bat coronaviruses with striking genetic similarities to COVID-19 to become deadlier to humans.
The WEF has also been accused of exploiting COVID-19 to advance its transformational social, political, and business agenda through its push for the “Great Reset.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Monday said that gay and bisexual men have a “greater chance” of catching monkeypox, adding that they make up a “notable fraction of cases” in the latest global outbreak.
“In some cases, during the early stages of illness, the rash has been mostly in the genital and perianal area,” CDC HIV/AIDS Division Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Brooks said. “In some cases, it has produced anal or genital lesions that look like other diseases like herpes or chickenpox or syphilis.”
While monkeypox can infect anyone, experts say, the outbreak is more prevalent among the LGBTQ+ community. “Anyone, anyone, can develop [and] spread monkeypox infection, but … many of those affected in the current global outbreak identified as gay and bisexual men,” Brooks said.
With LGBTQ+ Pride Month kicking off after Memorial Day weekend, experts at the CDC are warning the community about the potential to catch monkeypox.
“Some groups may have a greater chance of exposure right now, but by no means is the current risk of exposure to monkeypox exclusively to the gay and bisexual community in the U.S.,” he said.
The CDC added that monkeypox does not pose a great risk to the general community in America at this time.
“It is likely that there are going to be additional cases reported in the United States,” said Dr. Jennifer McQuiston, deputy director of the CDC’s Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology.
“What we’re trying to do by bringing attention to the fact that some of these cases have had a genital and perianal presentation is just to remind people that people may come in for an evaluation of what they think is an STD, but we’d like the provider to think ‘could it be monkeypox as well?’ if the circumstances fit the story,” Brooks added.
“Anyone can spread monkeypox [from]contact with body fluid or monkeypox sores or respiratory droplets when close to someone,” Brooks said.
Symptoms of monkeypox include “swollen lymph nodes, headache, fever, muscle aches and fatigue. The disease then progresses into a rash and lesions that blister and scab over. This can happen all over the body” for two to four weeks.
According to initial data, England, Spain, and Portugal have seen the most confirmed cases of monkeypox — a total of 134 with 60 more suspected — among other western countries including the Netherlands, Italy, France, Canada, Belgium, Israel, Australia, Sweden, Greece, Switzerland, and Austria.
Valiant News previously reported that UK health authorities are warning gay and bisexual men to be alert for monkeypox, a disease that they say has been spreading “in sexual networks” in the country.
Experts have since pinpointed a “leading theory” that original spread of the disease occurred through sexual transmission at raves held in Spain and Belgium.
In Germany, four confirmed cases have been linked to exposure at “party events … where sexual activity took place” in Spain’s Canary Islands and in Berlin.
Thus far in the U.S., there has been one confirmed case of monkeypox in Massachusetts.
Six more suspected cases of the disease have been identified in Florida, New York, Utah and Washington state –with four of those expected to be confirmed soon, according to reports.
Andrew White is a Northern Virginia native. His work has been previously featured on Alex Jones’ Infowars and Revolver News. White is a constitutionalist Patriot, who focuses on social issues, election integrity, globalism, US politics, as well as general corporate and government corruption.
Almost a dozen potential jurors were dismissed from the death penalty trial of Nikolas Cruz, after a teacher wore a t-shirt with a message dedicated to the victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Cruz, who was 19 at the time, killed 17 people and wounded 17 others in a school shooting at the school in Parkland, Florida, in February 2018. After pleading guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder, he is currently involved in his death penalty trial in Fort Lauderdale.
However, a t-shirt caused the dismissal of almost a dozen jurors on Monday. One potential juror, who identified herself as a teacher, wore a t-shirt during the selection of jurors for the Cruz trial that was emblazoned with the slogan, “Teachers Strong #neveragain #msdstrong.” The t-shirt was in burgundy, the colours of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Assistant Public Defender Melisa McNeill first drew attention to the t-shirt, with the juror saying that the teachers “all wore them after” the shooting in 2018. “Do you know if other jurors saw you with your shirt on or were you apart from people?” McNeill asked. “I was standing with them, so I’m sure they saw me,” the juror answered.
“I am also a teacher, and I don’t think that I would be really a good fit for this case,” the juror said. She also claimed that she suffers from a supposed medical condition that allegedly prevents her from sitting down “for long periods of time.”
After she was excused for her “medical hardship,” 10 other jurors were dismissed from the Cruz case over her t-shirt. “If it’s 10 jurors that we’re going to let go, that’s better than having an issue that causes this case to get reversed over something like this,” McNeill said. “I know it is an inconvenience Judge but it is either an inconvenience now, or it is going to be an inconvenience later.”
Assistant State Attorney Michael Satz agreed with the decision to remove not only the potential juror, but the whole group who had been with her, “out of an abundance of caution.”
Unsurprisingly, Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer was not pleased with the actions of the potential juror. “She obviously did that on purpose to get out of jury duty,” Judge Scherer said. “I’m just saying, I think it was irresponsible.”
The bailiff has been instructed to watch out for any clothing issues with further jurors, and pull them aside before they enter the rest of the potential juror pool.