A friend returning from Puerto Vallarta in Mexico sent me this photo of an owl like those fashioned by Aztec ancestors long ago from amate paper made from bark.
In the
wake of the Jan. 6
anniversary, controversary has again arisen about what actually happened then—or
whether it even happened at all. Now the Justice Dept. will investigate further
and try to head off future threats.
AP, Justice
Dept. creating unit focused on domestic terrorism
At a rally that preceded the capitol siege, Donald Trump told his supporters, "If you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore."
Reuters, Factbox-Trump's false
claims debunked: the 2020 election and Jan. 6 riot Judges do not find Trump’s arguments compelling—there is no
“there” there.
Understandably,
Donald Trump really wanted to
win the 2020 election. But when he did not, he decided to win by hook or crook,
mostly by crook, as he’s been doing his whole life, hence his crude attempts on
Jan. 6 to try to have his followers stop the vote certification for Joe Biden. He had “won” in
2016 only by a freak accident (due to a loophole in the Constitution) despite a
3 million vote deficit, then after 4 years in office, in 2020, he actually lost
by an even greater and more definitive margin, not so much because voters were
enamored of Biden, but to prevent 4 more years of Trump. Most voters had had more
than enough of him. Since then, other than Mr. Trump’s own repeated cries of election fraud, there is nothing whatsoever
to back up his claim that he actually won the 2020 presidential election. Even his
highly publicized “election audits” have come up empty. But now, even more than
one year later, he has managed to keep most Republican voters still believing
that the election was “rigged” and “stolen” from him. Exactly how, pray tell?
By a secret cabal of “woke” forces surreptitiously seizing the levers of power,
even though he was president at the time and fully in charge? It requires a leap
of faith by his followers, their abject commitment to the man, whose charisma and
trustworthiness are not apparent to those of us outside his magic circle.
Rather, to us mere mortals, he comes off as a liar and a charlatan, much like patent
medicine salesmen hawking their wares on long-haul buses in Honduras, loudly
making false and exaggerated claims.
The Wrap, NPR
‘Morning Edition’ Host Teases First Donald Trump Interview in 6 Years –
Including ‘the Moment He Hung Up on Me’
Trump
is reportedly starting up his own social media platform unabashedly called “Truth.”
People, Fake
Documents Declaring Trump and Pence the 2020 Winners Sent to but Rejected by
National Archives: Report
Rolling
Stone, Swing State Trumpers Forged Electoral Letters in Harebrained
Scheme to Overturn Biden’s Win
Yahoo News, Following an attack by former President Donald Trump, Sen
Mitt Romney defended fellow Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota on
Monday for accurately stating that the 2020 election was fair and that Trump
“did not win.” Trump responded by calling Rounds
“a jerk.” He has also called McConnell “a loser.” Most Republicans dare not
attack Trump’s accusations of vote rigging for fear of alienating his followers.
Most members of the military and National Guard once displayed rigorous discipline and strict obedience to orders. But now, after Donald Trump’s persistent and increasingly strident allegations of vote rigging and “fake news” and his other unproven and outlandish claims, some in the military and guard feel free to ignore vaccination mandates along with other rules. Some military and guard members even eagerly participated in the Jan. 6 assault on the capitol. Does Trump’s conduct and that of his followers rise to the level of mental illness? If so, we have a really grave problem in our country. Already, Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene has suggested that the Second Amendment may be the only defense against Democrats.
In Atlanta, in
advance of MLK Day, Harris and Biden made a case for voting rights and against
voter suppression and subversion. Biden did not refer to Trump by name, only as
“the former president.”
The NYC
apartment fire that killed so many immigrants from The Gambia reminded me
of immigrant apartments I’ve visited as an interpreter in DC area, but with occupants
from Latin America. Often a smoke alarm was either dinging or silenced with its
battery left hanging out. Space heaters were also in common use.
The Telegraph, Scientists
believed Covid leaked from Wuhan lab - but feared debate could hurt
‘international harmony’
This article makes a very plausible case
for the lab leak theory. If this worldwide scourge actually
escaped from a Chinese lab, we will never know because no one would dare reveal
that under fear of death.
The Peace Corps has been cautiously starting up again, beginning now with Peace Corps Response, that is, with sending already experienced former volunteers on assignments of 6-12 months to countries with low Covid rates.
While the vast majority of Peace Corps volunteers, after being interviewed, fingerprinted, and thoroughly vetted, are upstanding individuals, a few bad apples do slip through the cracks. One man I served with in Honduras confided that he had been imprisoned in Mexico for drugs, but the Peace Corps’ record clearance only checked US sources. (He did learn Spanish in a Mexican prison, which was useful.)
The President of the National Peace Corps Association reported recently: “I also want to draw your attention to a very difficult story that made headlines in late December. USA Today published an account of the death of Rabia Issa, a mother of three in Tanzania, who was struck and killed by a car driven by a Peace Corps staff member in 2019. He had consumed alcohol, hired a sex worker, and tried to flee the scene. Please take the time to read more about Rabia Issa — and about what members of the Peace Corps community are doing to ensure that this tragedy is not the end of the story.” Here is the article referred to above. USA Today, A Peace Corps worker killed a woman in Africa. The US helped him escape prosecution.
Rather
amazing is the unwavering loyalty of dogs toward their humans, a connection
forged when young wolves first became domesticated by being fed meat around an ancient
prehistoric campfire.
For the first time in 16 years, golden-headed lion tamarins, small primates native to Brazil, gave birth to twins at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
Early
on Sat. mornings, I sometimes tune to a radio program called Latino USA hosted
by María Hinojosa, a Mexican-born
journalist, conducted primarily in English, but scattered with Spanish words. I’ve
noticed that Hinojosa avoids using the gender inclusive term Latinx, preferring
the more drawn-out Latinos and Latinas. Very few folks of Latino
heritage actually use the hard-to-pronounce term Latinx, invented in
2018 to encompass both genders, but which most native Spanish-speakers of
English reject (and some abhor); the plural is even harder to pronounce, Latinxs.
Here’s a discussion
of Latinx, as well as of another invented term in English, Latine. https://tulanehullabaloo.com/57213/intersections/opinion-latinx-vs-latine/
Pew Research Center, About One-in-Four U.S. Hispanics Have Heard of Latinx, but Just 3% Use It
|
|
Daily Beast, ‘It’s
So Unimaginable the Pain and Hurt’: 8-Year-Old Georgia Girl Shot in Head While
Petting Horses Outside
She was
killed by drive-by shooters. Finding them would not restore her life or lessen
her family’s pain. There are simply way too many guns in circulation in this
country, as I’ve said before, allowing far too many people to be wantonly shot
to death as she was. Why is the gun-death rate in Britain so infinitesimally
small compared to the US? Because of so very few guns there. Guns are not
protective for Americans, but rather very risky for us all, risky even as props
on a movie set. If my own wish list could become reality, there would be a
national buy-out of all gun manufacturers and owners, thus saving countless lives
while restoring the second amendment’s original meaning regarding its
application only to “well-regulated militias.” (Militias were authorized only because
there was no actual army back then.) Rare instances where guns have proved protective
have been far outweighed by countless gun accidents, murders, and suicides daily
in our country.
Quartz, An
economist has put a price tag on getting China’s birth rate up: $300 billion
The Beijing government
could spend its way out of its current demographic collapse, according to
a top Chinese economist, Ren Zeping, by simply printing money to offer couples birth incentives.
China is not the only
country now producing too few babies, as the same is happening in the US and
Europe. As a countermeasure to our own baby bust, President Biden is trying to
offer families help with childcare and special subsidies. (He has also
encouraged wage hikes, which has led to an inflationary spiral.)
However, Democratic W. Va.
Senator Joe Manchin has been blocking Biden’s efforts. The
stonewalling by Manchin on Build Back Better is affecting Biden’s
popularity along with the well-being of most ordinary Americans. Manchin is
apparently torn between the interests of coal mine owners who have donated to
him and those of now mostly out-of-work coal miners who probably voted for him.
The mine owners don’t want BBB, while coal workers and former workers do
support it. NY Times, Manchin's Choice on Build Back Better: Mine Workers
or Mine Owners
The
Guardian, West Virginians scramble to get by after Manchin kills child tax
credits
The Hill, W.Va.
governor 'extremely unwell' after positive COVID-19 test [Jim Justice is vaccinated and boosted and said to now be feeling
better.]
Democrats are
being sternly warned by Sen. Mitch McConnell not to jettison the filibuster to try to advance their
agenda.
The Hill, Republicans threaten floor takeover if Democrats weaken filibuster
The virus resurgence has also proved a major setback to Biden’s
plans. Unfortunately, Covid has not gone
away, but simply shifted its shape. Omicron now seems to
be the dominant variant, more contagious but perhaps less virulent than
previous strains. Will Covid always be with us like
the seasonal flu?
Daily Beast,
Conservative Activist Dies of COVID Complications After Attending Anti-Vax
‘Symposium’
Daily Beast, QAnon
Star Who Said Only ‘Idiots’ Get Vax Dies of COVID
Daily Beast, Anti-Vax
Dad ‘on the Run’ With 7-Year-Old Daughter to Keep Her From COVID Jab This happened
in Saskatchewan.
MarketWatch, Will
this COVID-19 wave lead to herd immunity? Are you less likely to get sick again
if you had omicron? Why this ‘milder’ variant is a double-edged sword
New York sees highest number of daily COVID
deaths since vaccination drive began as 130 are killed by virus...still far
lower than the spring 2020 peak of 816, and hospitalizations remain flat too.
AP, Pope
on COVID vaccines says health care a 'moral obligation'
Yahoo
Finance, Omicron: Natural immunity idea ‘not really panning out,’ doctor
explains
Yahoo News, U.S.
sets new COVID hospitalization record, signaling Omicron surge could be less
mild than experts hoped
Reuters, U.S. issues 'Do Not Travel' warning for Canada
Covid has so many mutations and keeps on evolving new
ones (especially among the unvaccinated), making it hard to develop vaccines or
for victims to acquire natural immunity.
Here’s a mask sign at a local neighborhood store.
While most
Americans have now moved on from Afghanistan, repercussions from our hasty withdrawal continue to
reverberate there. Fortunately, help will be forthcoming, provided through
international humanitarian organizations still working on the ground.
AP, US announces $308 million in aid for Afghans as crisis grows
If Afghanistan is no longer a priority for most Americans, Ethiopia commands even less attention. ABC News, Ethiopian drone strike kills 17 on day of Biden-Abiy call
Here’s a map now of my Caribbean Regional Action
Network area, my volunteer responsibility for Amnesty International USA.
Reuters, Central American bank funds Cuban COVID-19 vaccine drive [Central American Bank for Economic Integration]
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/588652-us-bans-eight-cuban-officials-over-roles-in-july-crackdown
AP, Dozens
of Cuba protesters face trial this week: relatives
Relatives of Cubans arrested during the largest demonstrations
in decades across the island said that at least 57 protesters are scheduled to
go on trial this week, some facing sentences of up to 30 years in prison.
AFP, In
Cuba, queueing for hours 'just to be able to eat'
Cuba recorded an official inflation rate of 70 percent in 2021 [Sounds like when I was visiting Cuba in the 1990s.]
Reuters, U.S.
sends 119 Cuban migrants home as growing number take to sea
AP, Coast
Guard rescues 176 Haitians from sailboat off Florida Coast Guard crews have already rescued
557 Haitians three months into the current fiscal year. That's up sharply from
last year, when 1,527 Haitians had been rescued by year's end.
Miami Herald, Coast
Guard sends 29 Haitians home after pulling them off boat near Puerto Rico
NY Times, Haiti’s prime minister had close links with a prime suspect in the
assassination of its president, interviews and records suggest. [Felix Badio is the suspect.]
Miami
Herald, Dominican authorities capture another suspect in Haitian
President Moïse’s assassination
AP,
Police: 2 Haitian journalists killed by gang near capital
Reuters, Record
number of Nicaraguans sought asylum in Costa Rica in 2021
Costa Rica received 53,000 refugee applications from Nicaraguans in 2021, a record number. Not only does Costa Rica share a border with Nicaragua, but asylum would be easier to obtain there than in the US. Costa Ricans are keenly aware of Daniel’s Ortega’s dictatorial repression.
A “Rally for Life” is scheduled to take place around the country on Jan. 23. [Turnout may be hampered this time by Covid concerns.]
Fox News, New Mexico teen mom throws newborn in dumpster in shocking video [Quite obviously, not all babies actually born are welcome. But there seems to be a legal and moral disconnect between allowing extermination of a fetus still in the womb and decrying treatment of same after emergence moments later. How far does “my body, my choice” extend?]
ABC News, Breastfeeding linked
with lower rates of heart disease in women
A study in the Journal of the American Heart Association found women who have breastfed had lower rates of cardiovascular events including strokes and heart attacks. [Glad to hear it, now if I can only stay away from Covid.]
As said before, though I’m sympathetic to folks who feel born into the wrong gender, it does seem that a male athlete in weightlifting, swimming, track, or another sport, who “transitions” mid-career from male to female and continues in that same sport, may have an unfair advantage over competitors born female. In these pages, I once commented on a male weightlifter who then came out as a female weightlifter at about age 35. The athlete who transitions as an adult already has extra advantages in terms of height and bone-density. This issue has arisen anew with a trans swimmer, once a male but now a female competitor, someone still looking very tall and masculine in photos, though failing to win first place in at a recent swim meet.
If this blog would simply post visually the way I actually create it, that would be fantastic, but it invariably deviates from its arrangement on the page. Because of evident problems and frustrations indicated last time, a reader has suggested switching to a more user-friendly platform. There are many complications with changing blog addresses, as I encountered with even a modest switch from honduraspeacecorps.blogspot.com to honduraspeacecorps2.blogspot.com when the former suddenly stopped. I lost quite a few readers then. One who later found me said she thought I had died. (Readers almost always contact me by email, at the address shown above, not on the blog.) I do plan to stick with blogspot for now, unless and until this version actually goes down.
Just a reminder that the final Spanish-language items posted each time have been received from advertisers seemingly aware that I know Spanish. The country with largest number of Spanish speakers is Mexico, with 125 million. Next are Colombia with 51 million, Argentina with 45 million, and Spain, the mother country, with 44 million. The US follows with 42 million, but if the 3 million Spanish speakers in Puerto Rico are added to the US total, that comes out to 45 million, more even than Spain.
My bilingual friend writes an on-line column on the idiosyncrasies of Spanish used in advertising and commentary in these United States called Nuestro idioma de cada día, so if you know Spanish, do check it out. Literal translations from English are not uncommon in such advertising, providing humorous results.
Descuentos Seriedad Garantías
Moscas Que Asco
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