No longer will the raccoons, who used to push up
against 3rd floor windows, be able to access my house. They had moved
on after the mulberries were gone, sighted lately running across the street and
ending up about a block away. Now, if they come back to my place, they will
find the tree they’d climbed up and where they liked sit completely gone.
Well-off Hondurans with visas are traveling to Miami to get Covid vaccinations not readily available at home. I know several such families. Yet many here in the US deride masks and flout non-vaccination as a badge of courage. Meanwhile, vaccine sceptics are spreading the virus and also dying. Business Insider, A California man in his early 30s who derided vaccines on Twitter and Instagram died of COVID-19
Israelis apparently went crazy when Ben & Jerry’s ended sales in the occupied territories, resulting in the smashing of ice cream cones as if Israel were being attacked. Then Human Rights Watch called out Israel for serious human rights abuses in the West Bank. After that, I had strange dream that Israel was preventing me from obtaining wheelchairs for Honduras; that Israel had hoarded all available wheelchairs and wasn’t letting them go, showing how current events may influence our unconscious mind.
A San Diego Zoo snow leopard was coughing. A test showed he had covid-19
AP, Bhutan
fully vaccinates 90% of eligible adults within a week. So my friends in Bhutan have been vaccinated, thanks to a
donation from the US. Bhutan has a small population, only a little more than
that of Washington, DC. I sent them a congratulatory email. On Tues. July 27, I listened to
some of the very emotional congressional testimony from some of the
officers defending the capitol on Jan. 6. On that day, I was a witness to
the gatherings and commotion visible and audible from a safe distance on East
Capitol St., a block from my house. Trump supporters may be a minority, but
encouraged by Mr. Trump himself, they have been a very vocal and dangerous minority. Business Insider, Trump
threatened to primary GOP lawmakers who favor the bipartisan infrastructure
plan. 17 Republicans just voted to advance it, including Mitch McConnell. Unfortunately, it’s still true, as Sen.
Lindsey Graham says, that if Donald Trump wants to be the 2024
Republican presidential candidate, no one can challenge him. Right now, just
the possibility that he might run again has pushed aside all other candidates.
The Republican Party remains in Trump’s grasp because enough voters still
embrace him. And if Joe Biden runs again in
2024, Trump will surely make an issue of his age—only a few years older than
Trump himself. I don’t think Harris can win against Trump or even another
Republican. What a nightmare if Trump is elected once again! And if he gets
another term, being even older and with vengeance on his mind, he will be even
worse than the first time around. FACT SHEET: The
Biden Administration Blueprint for a Fair, Orderly and Humane Immigration System | The White House https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/07/27/fact-sheet-the-biden-administration-blueprint-for-a-fair-orderly-and-humane-immigration-system/
Recalling the days when my home mortgage carried an interest rate of over 8% (and rates went even higher later), I’m blown away now by current mortgage interest rates between 2 and 3%. Today’s home buyers should consider themselves lucky.
AP, US churches reckon with traumatic legacy of Native schools [Being raised in institutions not organized to promote family life often has left native people without the experience and skills needed to raise their own children, hence the high rates of alcoholism and familial abuse among some native people.]
Last time, I failed to identify the town where my friend spent part of her childhood. Here’s that photo again plus another in the same vicinity. Years ago, I traveled around Britain, Wales, and Scotland but don’t remember ever being in Shropshire. My friend says, Photo of the church is in Shrewsbury, the capital city of Shropshire. The River Severn runs through the county which eventually flow into Wales. One bridge is the English Bridge and the other side of town is the Welsh Bridge.
But more important is the fact that ordinary folks, not known dissidents like both of them, participated in the marches that took place all over the country. That’s what’s scaring the leadership. And the internet, even in its limited form, has been a mobilizing factor.
Miami Herald, ‘Communism is a failed system.’ In Florida, Democrats promote Biden’s stance on Cuba.
I
checked Western Union just now and found that money may be sent to Cuba,
within certain limits, to be distributed there in local currency.
Cuba: Release all peaceful protestors | Amnesty International
Havana Syndrome https://thehill.com/policy/technology/564428-cia-director-triples-size-of-medical-team-probing-cases-of-havana
AP, WH
announces new sanctions on Cuba officials
Politico, ‘There’s No Turning Back’: A Cuban Dissident on What’s Really Happening in Cuba Tania Bruguera [now under home detention] “The world has to stop seeing the Cuban government as a victim. The Cuban government is the aggressor.”
NBC News, Historic protests undoubtedly
left a mark on Cuba. What experts say may happen next.
From NED, “The Cuban Communist Party’s days
of unquestioned hegemony are over”, a normally sympathetic
commentator suggests...
“What these protests show is
that people are able to overcome their fear, and that’s why the government has
refused to reestablish the Internet service,” said Guillermo “El Coco”
Fariñas, a prominent Cuban dissident. “They’re
the ones who fear that people will take to the streets again after being able
to connect, inspire one another and lose their fear over social media. [A photo
I took of Fariñas appears near the end of my Confessions
book.]
Tampa Bay Times,
St. Petersburg man to lead Washington march over plight of
people in Cuba
Miami Herald, Don’t
fall for Republicans’ partisan bluster, Miami. Biden takes wise action on Cuba | Opinion [Fabiola Santiago]
Miami Herald, Decades ago, Fidel Castro promised all a better way of life: He lied to Cubans like my parents | Opinion [Jeanette Nuñez, Republican Lt. Gov. of Florida] In January 1959, Fidel Castro spoke in Havana and said: “We have a free country. We do not have censorship and the people can meet freely. We will never use force and the day the people do not want me, I will leave.”
Raleigh
News & Observer, I was an American in Cuba. Lift the embargo and let freedom
ring [The writer, who formerly worked for Habitat
for Humanity and stayed with ordinary Cuban families, as I did there myself,
says let’s lift the embargo and remove that excuse from the Cuban regime. Cuba
might not pay its bills to the US if offered credit, but would that be worth
the cost? The US would still be blamed. The Hill, US joins other nations in condemning arrests of protesters
in Cuba The U.S. along with a coalition of about 20 other
countries issued a statement on Monday condemning the arrest of protesters
in Cuba. The statement called on Cuba "to respect the universal rights and
freedoms of the Cuban people, including the free flow of information to all
Cubans." The statement was signed
by Austria, Brazil, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Ecuador,
Estonia, Guatemala, Greece, Honduras, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Kosovo,
Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, South Korea and Ukraine.CBS News, U.S. imposes sanctions on Cuban regime following violent
crackdown
https://nypost.com/2021/07/27/gop-seeks-meeting-with-biden-on-responding-to-cuba-crackdown/
Is Cuba’s Communist Party Finally Losing Its Hold on the Country? Historic protests across the
island cast doubt on the regime’s staying power. By Jon Lee Andersohttps://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/is-cubas-communist-party-finally-losing-its-hold-on-the-country?utm_source=onsite-share&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=onsite-share&utm_brand=the-new-yorker
I would agree with Anderson
that July 11 been a turning point and that it will be hard for Canel, who is
not a Castro, to keep control, especially as there is now inevitable internet
"leakage."
Miami Herald, Coast
Guard returns 27 people to Cuba after migration attempts off the Keys
BBC, Miguel
Díaz-Canel: The man succeeding the Castros
I'd like to think that our
campaign at Amnesty International on behalf of artist Luis Manuel
Otero, released from prison recently, and of the San Isidro Movement
played a role. Before these events now in Haiti and Cuba, I'd asked to cut back
on my Amnesty Int'l volunteer leadership duties, as I am cyber challenged and
the work is infinite, really. Also, one of my helpers, for the DR, is
resigning. I'd still like to pull back, though Amnesty has quite a long
bureaucratic process for choosing volunteers who are, after all, public
spokespersons. But ideally, I'd like to maintain some future tie and influence
after 40 years, maybe in a sort of emeritus role.
Miami Herald, Listen to the people. Their protests are about Cuba’s repression, not the U.S. embargo |Opinion
AP, WH
announces new sanctions on Cuba officials
NEWSWeek, Protesters Clash in Front of White House Over Cuba Crisis, Demand Biden Increase Pressure
FYI, I was in that building (Cuban Embassy) years ago regarding
Cuban political prisoners in my volunteer position with Amnesty Int'l.
https://nypost.com/2021/07/27/gop-seeks-meeting-with-biden-on-responding-to-cuba-crackdown/
Reuters, Hundreds supporting Cuba's
government rally in Madrid [Inevitably, supporters
of the Cuban regime would emerge. I have a few friends locally who still
consider Fidel a hero and a great humanitarian. I also know some supporters of
Donald Trump.]
New York Post, Five high-ranking Cuban generals dead in 10 days [All were in their 70s or 80s, so was
it the shock of the national anti-government march or Covid, perhaps?]
Miami Herald, Mexico
president says declare Cuba a World Heritage Site. No, declare it a disaster
area, instead | Opinion
Reuters, Cuba says Iran to start
producing one of its COVID-19 vaccines
Miami Herald, Coast
Guard returns 27 people to Cuba after migration attempts off the Keys
‘Terror’: Crackdown After Protests in Cuba Sends a Chilling
Message https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/28/world/americas/cuba-protests-crackdown-arrests.html?referringSource=articleShare
https://www.vice.com/en/article/7kvdny/ex-cop-jimmy-barbecue-is-the-gangster-king-of-haitis-chaos
AP, Haiti arrests top security official in
slain president probe
https://apnews.com/article/caribbean-haiti-fc38bec3b47f38c8e14d7ff3e5953e87
The Guardian, Haiti
minister says ‘big fish’ behind president’s killing still at large
Wall St. Journal, Assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moïse Clashed With Some
Business Magnates
NY Times, A New Day in Haiti? Many
Haitians Have Doubts.
Miami Herald, Shots,
tear gas, burning tires mar Moïse funeral in Haiti. U.S., U.N. delegations leave
[they left the funeral, not Haiti]
Here is Amnesty Int’ls recent statement
on Haiti Haiti: Investigation urged into
killing of Haitian President and grave human rights violations under his watch
AP, Haiti's new PM pledges to hold
elections soon after slaying
Miami Herald, Feds
serve Florida search warrants related to assassination of Haiti’s President
Moïse
[I was an election observer back in Nicaragua
in 1990 when Ortega was defeated, but never expected Nicaraguans to let him get
his foot in the door again. Do they have to wait now for his demise? Even some
former allies have abandoned him.] AP, Police in Nicaragua
arrest another opposition leader July 27, 2021,
MANAGUA,
Nicaragua— Police in Nicaragua arrested on Tuesday academic José Antonio
Peraza, the leader of the opposition alliance White and Blue National Unity. Peraza,
a political science professor, was the 22nd opposition leader arrested, in
addition to seven potential presidential candidates detained in a crackdown
that started two months ago. Almost all were detained under broad accusations
of treason.
On
Saturday, opposition leader Noel Vidaurre was placed under police custody at
his home, as was political commentator Jaime Arellano. Almost all of those who
could have challenged President Daniel Ortega in the Nov. 7 elections have now
been detained. Hours before his arrest, Peraza said Nicaragua faces “the worst
possible scenario for elections we could have imagined.”
Ortega
alleges the country’s April 2018 street protests were part of an organized coup
attempt with foreign backing. Ortega, 75, is seeking a fourth consecutive term
in Nov. 7 elections. Most of those arrested in a crackdown that began in late
May are being held incommunicado, at undisclosed locations and with no access
to lawyers or family visits.
AP, Nicaragua
arrests 7th presid
AP, With turmoil at home, more Nicaraguans
flee to the U.S.
On the last post, I mentioned celebrating the independence of South Sudan—here I am in 2011 at the outdoor celebration we held behind the White House.
USA Today, U.S. abortion policy
shouldn't emulate China or North Korea. We should be more like Europe.
This
fall, the Supreme Court will take up Dobbs v.
Jackson Women’s Health Organization, involving a Mississippi statute
adopted with the legislature’s bipartisan support in 2018 that limits
abortion on demand after 15 weeks.
A
comparative analysis between Mississippi and European abortion law finds an
overwhelming majority of European countries limit elective abortion prior to 15
weeks, and more often at 12 weeks.
Data revealed no European country allows elective
abortion through all nine months of pregnancy as is permitted in the United
States, where Supreme Court precedent only allows states to regulate after
viability.
My readers
already know that I consider the morning-after pill or any other abortifacient
that can be used by a woman at home to already be a done deal. Most abortions
are probably undertaken at that early stage and there is no point trying to
stop them because they will go forward anyway. However, like most other
Americans, I don’t support abortion throughout a pregnancy for any and all
reasons and would advocate that it be done humanely (for the fetus) if considered
necessary at later stages. So, if the Supreme Court ends up placing limits on
abortion after the first few weeks, I would not consider that a grave affront
to women’s rights. At the same time, it has to be acknowledged that not all
women, or men either, are adequate parents and that raising a child is no easy
task. I say that as a single mother of 4 kids and a foster son and as someone
who may be considered ultimately to have failed as a parent by losing both my
older son and foster son as adults. If I
had died first, that would have been another story. I always thought it was
fortunate that Jackie Kennedy had died before her son was killed in a suspected
plane crash.
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