UZHHOROD, Ukraine — First lady Jill Biden crossed the border into Ukraine on Sunday, traveling to an active war zone in a rare move for the spouse of a sitting president.
Biden entered the country from Slovakia on Mother’s Day and met Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska,who had not appeared in public since the Russian invasion began Feb. 24.
“I wanted to come on Mother’s Day,”Biden said before the start of a closed-door meeting between the two first ladies. “I thought it was important to show the Ukrainian people that this war has to stop, and this war has been brutal, and that the people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine.”
Zelenska praised Biden “for a very courageous act” in coming to Ukraine.
“We understand what it takes for the U.S. first lady to come here during a war when the military actions are taking place every day, where the air sirens are happening every day, even today,” she said in Ukrainian through an interpreter.
were placed outside the Lviv city council building
on March 18, 2022,
to highlight the number of children killed
in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Alexey Furman/Getty Images
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Moms in Poland leave strollers for Ukrainian moms crossing the border
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Saturday, 9 April @ Kramarczuk’s
– a day of moving stories of heartbreak, kindness, and connection…
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Saturday, 9 April @ Kramarczuk’s with my Johnson side cousin, Susie! Beautiful.
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OUR
SENATOR AMY KLOBUCHAR
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From: KRAMARCZUKS <info@kramarczuk.com> Date: Wed, Apr 13, 2022 at 12:54 PM Subject: Request from Senator Klobuchar To: Nelson, Erika (Klobuchar
On Wed, Apr 13, 2022 at 12:53 PM Nelson, Erika (Klobuchar)
Hello,
Thank you for taking my call earlier today. The Senator would like to stop by tomorrow (Thursday) and meet up with the artist Catherine L. Johnson to purchase one of her prints in support of Ukraine. She will not be in the metro on Saturday for the sale.
If you could reach out to the artist and see if she’s available I’d appreciate it.
collective collaboration with our Senator Amy Klobuchar
Left to right:
Mike Gordienko, co-owner with Nick Kramarczuk,
me – Catherine L. Johnson, artist and social activist
Mark Jones, master printer and owner of Arts District Imageworks
* Not available – the family whose first grandchild the paper cutout was created to celebrate her birth, and the baby girl is the namesake of her late great-grandmother, Ukrainian – Canadian. The family made our collective collaboration become an action of empathy and support for Ukraine.
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A beautiful reunion between Orest Kramarczuk and the Senator.
120-page ruling offers a brutal takedown of the White House’s beloved “absolute immunity” defense, which the judge describes as “baseless,” “a fiction that has been fastidiously maintained over time through the force of sheer repetition,” and as an idea that “simply has no basis in the law.” “To make the point as plain as possible, it is clear to this Court for the reasons explained above that, with respect to senior-level presidential aides, absolute immunity from compelled congressional process simply does not exist,” Jackson writes, claiming that the Justice Department’s insistence that it does exist “promotes a conception of separation-of-powers principles that gets these constitutional commands exactly backwards.” “In reality, it is a core tenet of this Nation’s founding that the powers of a monarch must be split between the branches of the government to prevent tyranny,” Jackson writes.
The ruling maintains that the Trump administration’s insistence that it’s shielded from oversight by the other two branches of government is antithetical to American democracy, as Jackson notes that the White House’s line of reasoning “is manifestly inconsistent with a governmental scheme that can only function properly if its institutions work together.” “The primary takeaway from the past 250 years of recorded American history is that Presidents are not kings,” Jackson adds in the ruling. “This means that they do not have subjects, bound by loyalty or blood, whose destiny they are entitled to control. Rather, in this land of liberty, it is indisputable that current and former employees of the White House work for the People of the United States, and that they take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the US Congress on 16 March 2022.
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Below is a translated transcript of
President Zelenskyy’s speech,
primarily delivered in Ukrainian,
and
taken from the C-Span network.
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Thank you very much, madam speaker, members of Congress, ladies and gentlemen.
Americans, friends. I am proud to greet you from Ukraine, from our capital city of Kyiv, the city under missile and airstrikes from Russians every day.
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It does not give up. We have not even thought about it for a second. Just like many other cities and communities in our beautiful country which found themselves in the worst war since World War II. I have been honored to greet you on behalf of the Ukrainian people and freedom-loving people who for years have been resisting Russian aggression. Those who give their best sons and daughters to stop this full-scale Russian invasion.
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Right now, the destiny of our country is being decided. The destiny of our people, whether Ukrainians will be free, whether they will be able to preserve their democracy. Russia has attacked not just us, not just our land, our cities. It went on a brutal offensive against our values. Basic human values. Against our freedom, our right to live freely, choosing our own future. Against our desire for happiness, against our national dreams.
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Just like the same things you have, you Americans. Just like anyone else in the United States. I remember the national memorial Mount Rushmore. the faces of your prominent presidents, those who laid the foundation of the United States of America. Democracy, independence, freedom.
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For every person who works diligently, who lives honestly, who respects the law, we in Ukraine want the same for our people. All that is a normal part of your own life.
Ladies and gentlemen, Americans, in your great history you would understand Ukrainians. Understand us now. We need you right now.
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Remember Pearl Harbor. The morning of December 7, 1941, when your sky was black from the planes attacking you. Remember. Remember September 11. A terrible day in 2001 when people tried to turn your cities into battlefields. When innocent people were attacked attacked from the air. No one expected it. You couldn’t stop it.
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Our country experiences the same every day. Right now, this moment, every night for three weeks, in various Ukrainian cities, Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people. Russian troops have fired 1000 missiles at Ukraine. They use drones to kill us with precision.
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This is a terror Europe has not seen for 80 years and we are asking for an answer to this terror from the world. Is that a lot to ask? To create a no-fly zone over Ukraine to save people. Is this too much to ask? A no-fly zone. Russia would not be able to terrorize our cities.
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If this is too much to ask, we offer an alternative. You know what kind of defense systems we need. You know how much depends on the ability to use aircraft to protect our people, our freedom. aircraft that can help Ukraine, help Europe. We know they exist and you have them. They are not in Ukrainian skies.
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I have a dream. I have a need. I need to protect our skies. I need your help, which means the same you feel when you hear the words I have a dream. Ladies and gentlemen, friends. Ukraine is grateful to the United States for its overwhelming support. Everything your government and your people have done for us, for weapons and training, for leadership to pressure the aggressor economically.
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I am grateful to president Biden for his sincere commitment to the defense of Ukraine and democracy all over the world. I am grateful to you for the resolution which recognizes all of those who commit crimes against Ukraine as war criminals. In the darkest times for our country I call on you to do more.
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New sanctions are needed constantly every week until the Russian military machine stops. Restrictions are needed for everyone on whom this unjust regime is based: all politicians in the Russian Federation who remain in their offices and do not cut ties with those who are responsible for the aggression against Ukraine from the state duma members upwards.
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All American companies must leave Russia from their market immediately because it is flooded with our blood. Ladies and gentlemen, members of Congress. If you have companies in your district who financed the Russian military machine, you should put pressure. I am asking to make sure the Russians do not receive a single penny they used to destroy people in Ukraine, the destruction of our country, the destruction of Europe. All American ports should be closed for Russian goods. Peace is more important than income, and we have to defend this principle in the whole world.
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We have to defend the world. We already became part of the antiwar coalition, the big antiwar coalition that unites many countries, dozens of countries, those who reacted to president Putin’s decision to invade our country. We need to move on and do more. We need to create more tools to respond quickly and stop the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24. It would be fair if it ended in 24 hours, that people would be punished, that evil would be punished.
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Today the people do not have such tools. Institutions should protect us from war but they unfortunately do not work. We need new alliances and we offer them. We propose to create an association, united for peace, a union of responsible countries to stop conflict immediately, provide all the necessary assistance in 24 hours, weapons if necessary, sanctions if necessary, humanitarian support, finances, everything you need to keep the peace and quickly to save the world, to save life.
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Such associations would provide assistance to those who are experiencing natural disasters, who fell victim to humanitarian crisis or epidemics. Remember how difficult it was for the world to do the simplest things just to get a vaccine against covid to save lives, to prevent new strains. The world spent months, years doing things like that much faster to make sure there are no victims.
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Ladies and gentlemen, if such an alliance would exist today we would be able to save thousands of lives in our country, in many countries around the world, those who need peace, those who suffer inhumane destruction. I ask you to watch one video. a video of what the Russian troops did in our country, in our land. We have to destroy every single aggressor who seeks to subjugate other nations. Please watch the video.
VIDEO PLAYS
The rest is spoken in English:
In the end, to be the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace. Peace in your country does not depend only on you and your people. It depends on those next to you, on those who are strong. Strong does not mean weak. Strong is brave and ready to fight for his citizens as citizens of the world. For human rights. For freedom. The right to live decently and die when your time comes and not when decided by somebody else.
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Today the Ukrainian people are defending not only Ukraine. We are fighting for Europe and the world and our lives in the name of the future. That is why today the American people are helping not just Ukraine, but Europe and the world to keep the planet alive. To keep justice in history.
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I am almost 45 years old. Today my age stopped when the hearts of more than 100 children stopped beating. I see no sense in life if it cannot stop the deaths. This is my mission as a leader of my people. and as a leader of my nation.
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I’m addressing President Biden. You are the leader of the nation, of your great nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.
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Thank you.
Glory to Ukraine.
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President Zelenskyy’s
speech
to
our
Congress
spoke out loud
a powerful line
that resonated like
an iteration / a refrain / a riff
of
Bob Dylan’s lyric
in his
‘Masters of War’.
Jazz legend,
Charles Lloyd,
lifted that same line in his statement
(see below):
‘…When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul”
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President Zelenskyy:
‘Peace
is more important
than income,
and
we
have to
defend
this principle
in the
whole
world.’
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GRACE love
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STATEMENT FROM CHARLES LLOYD:
Nations have been throwing rocks at each other for 1000s of years. We go through spells of light and darkness. In my lifetime I have witnessed periods of peace, protest, and uprising, only to be repeated by peace, protest and more uprising. The fact that Bob Dylan’s “Masters of War” was written in the early 1960s and not during the last decade, makes it timeless and timely. It breaks my heart to think that there are current generations of young people all over the world who are growing up without knowing of Peace in their lives. The words Dylan wrote are a laser beam on humanity. This line, in particular, has stuck with me for over 5 decades:
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“Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul”
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The world is a dog’s curly tail – no matter how many times we straighten it out, it keeps curling back. As artists we aspire to console, uplift and inspire. To unite us through sound across boundaries and borders and dissolve lines of demarcation that separate. The beautiful thing is that as human beings, even under the most adverse conditions, we are capable of kindness, compassion and love. Vision and hope. All life is one. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll succeed.
Come you masters of war You that build the big guns You that build the death planes You that build all the bombs You that hide behind walls You that hide behind desks I just want you to know I can see through your masks
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You that never done nothin’ But build to destroy You play with my world Like it’s your little toy You put a gun in my hand And you hide from my eyes And you turn and run farther When the fast bullets fly
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Like Judas of old You lie and deceive A world war can be won You want me to believe But I see through your eyes And I see through your brain Like I see through the water That runs down my drain
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You fasten all the triggers For the others to fire Then you sit back and watch When the death count gets higher You hide in your mansion While the young people’s blood Flows out of their bodies And is buried in the mud
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You’ve thrown the worst fear That can ever be hurled Fear to bring children Into the world For threatening my baby Unborn and unnamed You ain’t worth the blood That runs in your veins
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How much do I know To talk out of turn You might say that I’m young You might say I’m unlearned But there’s one thing I know Though I’m younger than you That even Jesus would never Forgive what you do
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Let me ask you one question Is your money that good? Will it buy you forgiveness Do you think that it could? I think you will find When your death takes its toll All the money you made Will never buy back your soul
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And I hope that you die And your death will come soon I’ll follow your casket By the pale afternoon And I’ll watch while you’re lowered Down to your deathbed And I’ll stand over your grave ‘Til I’m sure that you’re dead
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Isla Elizabeth: A LULLABY for the HEART of UKRAINE (detail) Catherine L. Johnson 2022
Isla Elizabeth: A LULLABY for the HEART of UKRAINE (detail) Catherine L. Johnson 2022
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Cœur
HEART
“To speak one’s mind by telling ALL one’s heart.”
MORAL COURAGE
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SLAVA UKRAINI
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President Volodymyr Zelensky
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‘I spread Kremlin propaganda’
Marina Ovsyannikova
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STATEMENT FROM CHARLES LLOYD:
Nations have been throwing rocks at each other for 1000s of years. We go through spells of light and darkness. In my lifetime I have witnessed periods of peace, protest, and uprising, only to be repeated by peace, protest and more uprising. The fact that Bob Dylan’s “Masters of War” was written in the early 1960s and not during the last decade, makes it timeless and timely. It breaks my heart to think that there are current generations of young people all over the world who are growing up without knowing of Peace in their lives. The words Dylan wrote are a laser beam on humanity. This line, in particular, has stuck with me for over 5 decades:
X
“Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul”
X
The world is a dog’s curly tail – no matter how many times we straighten it out, it keeps curling back. As artists we aspire to console, uplift and inspire. To unite us through sound across boundaries and borders and dissolve lines of demarcation that separate. The beautiful thing is that as human beings, even under the most adverse conditions, we are capable of kindness, compassion and love. Vision and hope. All life is one. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll succeed.
The 14″ W x 11″ H poster
OHCHR 
CATHERINE L. JOHNSON 