Friends, Flowers, Is Winter Really Over?

 

Cherry blossoms are at peak bloom. Spring has officially arrived. We’ve hardly felt winter at all this year in the DC area.

Friends who once lived here were visiting recently. Their whole family met me at Pete’s diner on 2^nd St. SE. 

Here was wife/mother Priscila with me as a magnolia tree bloomed in my front yard.

Let’s see if I can exercise more self-control now in this posting, making this space less about self-expression and more about topics of interest to readers. I’ll also try to be less repetitious, though each life follows a pattern. My readers are not numerous, but they do span the globe and represent many different places and cultures, so I’d like to reach out to them all. Also, I’m unsure just how to evaluate this, but I do hope that my long life and personal example, both as expressed here and just my very day-to-day existence, has had and continues to have a net-positive impact, however small, on my family, community, nation, and the world at large. 

No apologies this time for odd spacing and the use of all caps where they don't belong, as that is totally out of my control. Readers should know by now that I always try to fix the glitches, but it's fruitless, so just go with the flow. 

Most folks my age who remain among the living aren’t trying to get any richer, stronger, or smarter, just not to lose any further ground. Some of us have already passed our average life expectancy, now living on borrowed time, with each day a bonus. We also have witnessed and participated in so many changes regarding human behavior, either in what is either prohibited or allowed, that many of us, myself included, have largely become relativists, no longer supporting an absolutist version of the 10 commandments, national laws, or even so-called universal human rights.

The 1950s radio program Dragnet, rebroadcast on NPR on Sunday evenings, is from a period I can still recall, when sales were in cash, folks offered each other “smokes,” and the death penalty was carried out in California.

Wash. Post, NPR cancels 4 podcasts in biggest wave of layoffs in decades

NYTimes, NPR to Cut 10% of Its Staff As a regular NPR listener, I find this pretty scary What will start to go next?

Because communication, travel, trade, and finances now are so interconnected around the world, a blip anywhere sends ripples out beyond, like a stone tossed into a pond, now with bank failures in both the US and Europe. Our country will not always be on top, but I really don’t expect to live to see the day when it tumbles down from its current preeminent position among the pantheon of nations.

Insider, Trump's fans sent him $1.5 million in 3 days after he falsely predicted that he'd be arrested Tuesday

Wash. Post, Trump warns of ‘potential death & destruction’ if he is charged in hush-money case

AP, Fetterman expected back 'soon,' but no certain timeline yet

Ever since mid-Feb., not long after his swearing in, Senator John Fetterman, remains hospitalized at Walter Reed being treated for depression. After having a stroke and now dealing with a serious bout of depression, is the Senate really the best place for him? His term still has 6 more years to go.

     

Another Democratic Senator, 89-year-old Diane Feinstein, is apparently still out with shingles. Together with Fetterman, that leaves the Senate short 2 Democratic Senators.

                                    Russians began being quietly deported from the US. 

                                                   Xi and Putin met in Moscow.

AP, UN: Fresh gang violence in Haiti leaves 187 dead in 11 days

NYTimes, As Haiti’s Police Retreat, Gangs Take Over Much of the Capital Even wealthier areas in the capital, Port-au-Prince, are no longer immune to violence as gangs attack police officers and destroy police stations.

AP, Haiti PM turns to military for help in fighting gangs

Wash. Post, As the Cuban national baseball team visits Miami, emotions run deep

Wash. Post, Costa Rica, laid-back land of ‘pura vida,’ succumbing to drug violence I’ve asked the Costa Rican friend who visited me last summer to comment on this.

AFP, Vatican closes Nicaragua embassy amid escalating row

Wash. Post, At least 14 killed after 6.8-magnitude earthquake hits Ecuador and Peru 

After often traveling in both Ecuador and Peru and having experienced earthquakes while living in Latin America, right now, I’m feeling a lot of empathy for people there.

CNN, Macron faces no-confidence votes over hated pension reforms

 

Yahoo, Biden administration quietly resumes deportations to Russia Why is Biden deporting anyone unless they pose a danger? We need more people here as we aren’t producing enough ourselves.

 

AFP, Israelis protest for 11th week against judicial reforms

One woman reportedly said, “We want to keep Israel democratic and liberal, Jewish of course, but liberal.” Is there a contradiction between a liberal democracy that also favors a certain religion or ethnicity? Israel, whose establishment was supported in the wake of the horrors of the Holocaust, has always grappled with that question. 

American held hostage in Africa is freed -NYT He is Jeff Woodke, an American aid worker.

NYTimes, Uganda Passes Strict Anti-Gay Bill That Imposes Death Penalty for Some The legislation also calls for life in prison for anyone engaging in gay sex. Policies to stifle gay rights have been on the rise in several African nations.

Telegraph, America’s trans insanity has reached a shocking new low Here’s a strong argument against providing “gender-affirming care” to those under age 18.

ABC News, Weekslong filibuster grinds state legislature to a halt over transgender youth care For the past three weeks, Nebraska State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh has been on an endless run, speaking on the Senate floor on just about every topic: legislation, fish fries, Girl Scout cookies and the movie "Madagascar." Speaking on the pro side of the trans issue, Cavanaugh, favors early trans medical treatment. Now her proposal is finally being debated in the Nebraska State Legislature.

ABC News, What is gender dysphoria and what does transgender youth care consist of? Here is more support for early transgender care.

 

Wash. Post, Most trans adults say transitioning made them more satisfied

 Wash. Post, For trans people, medical visits can be more traumatizing than healing Trans patients share their stories of subtle discrimination, outright hostility and ill-informed medical professionals.

 Wash. Post, World Athletics votes to ban transgender athletes from women’s events That seems sensible, as I have argued before.

 Des Moines Register, Opinion: I'm a plastic surgeon. I have concerns about prescribing puberty blockers for children. This physician author carefully explores the pros and cons of using puberty blockers with minors and also the conflicting societal influences regarding treatment of “gender dysphoria”. He notes that encouraging and facilitating early gender transition makes it more likely to become a fait accompli. Many parents want to support their young child’s decision. Once irrevocable steps are taken, the person involved may then adjust to and embrace the new reality.

Any legal, financial, or other support for and acceptance of behavior that had been discouraged or prevented before means that probably more people will seek it out now when they can. That’s true of divorce, contraception, abortion, suicide, and drug use, to name just a few examples. Individual human behavior is always influenced not only by laws, but by the example of others; that’s the nature of culture--people behaving together in the same way as members of a society or social group. None of us is an independent island, except maybe for a hermit living alone out in the woods (though born and raised within a family).

Gender self-identification has seen a few well-publicized glitches, such a male-to-female prisoner being housed with women who then engaged in rape, or a naked person with an erect penis appearing suddenly in a women’s locker room. Apparently, gender changes occur mainly on “top,” where breasts may emerge or be removed. Self-identified males born female have sometimes actually given birth. I also heard a recent radio interview with a female-identified husky-voiced person revealing prostate cancer treatment.

In our country, we have cultural pockets greatly divided by all sorts of social issues. Let’s look at a very common one, divorce, about which attitudes have evolved over my own lifetime. Decades ago, couples unhappy in marriage simply remained living together, some eventually finding a more mutually comfortable or tolerable balance, or otherwise just suffering through. That may still happen in places or situations where divorce is rare or not allowed, such as in some present-day Muslim countries. But probably the degree of subjective, personal distress experienced by such unhappy spouses, if and when they do actually split up, will be more severe in such restrictive places than somewhere else where divorce is more common and couples see other married friends breaking up. (When my husband left, I joined a group called “Parents Without Partners.”)

I could go on, using other examples, applying them to transgender treatment. But I will desist based on my pledge to become more concise. Suffice it to say that it’s perfectly logical for residents of nations, US states, or local communities to try to outlaw transgender treatment or anything else, even though that will further ostracize and harm those resolute few who will still proceed with the unaccepted behavior despite the social consequences.

Pioneer Press, St. Paul woman’s child torture conviction marks the first in Minnesota Their aunt, while caring for 2 small children, allowed her boyfriend to harm and torture them, perhaps also actively participating in such activities herself. Both she and the boyfriend have entered guilty pleas She has been sentenced to almost 5 years. He is awaiting sentencing. Where are the parents? Whether children’s care givers are parents or anyone else, they have a duty of care. Such situations of caregivers harming kids are sometimes used to justify abortions, but plenty of foster and adoptive parents are out there, willing and able to take over the childrearing task.

Wash. Post, Oklahoma must allow abortion if mother’s life is threatened, court rules Pro-lifers would support this ruling.

Because my own view of abortion goes against the grain of majority opinion in the DC area, I know how it feels to be an outlier on a social issue. Folks like me are labeled ”anti-abortion rights advocates” and “anti-reproductive rights extremists,” never just pro-life supporters. Is abortion really only routine health care, as abortion supporters often like to contend? Or, rather, is pregnancy actually a medical emergency, as they also describe it? To those who have declared abortion to be a human right, including Planned Parenthood staff and some of my friends at Amnesty International, I would counter that life itself is the most fundamental human right. Therefore, we should do everything as individuals and members of society to support and nurture each human life as the most basic human right of all, despite the Roe decision of decades ago. But I do accept that around here, I am considered to be old-fashioned and sadly mistaken.

Not every woman who gives birth is cut out to be a good mother. The following woman recently killed her 2 daughters after she and her husband separated. Wash. Post, Woman convicted of killing her two daughters in McLean, Va.

The “Most Read” article on the Washington Post is still this one from last year. This Texas teen wanted an abortion. She now has twins. Brooke Alexander found out she was pregnant in 2021, days before the Texas abortion ban took effect. Since then, she and the little girls’ father have gotten married.

After 24 years of my own marriage, my late ex-husband divorced me to marry his much younger office assistant, a not uncommon pattern. I have plenty of company, including Bill and Melinda Gates. My husband was blind, as was mentioned previously, and had never held a job before we married when I was only 21, without my parents’ approval or attendance at our wedding. We had 4 children together and seemed to be doing pretty well until he told me he was in love with his young office assistant, who was insisting that they marry. They tied the knot in Las Vegas. In 1984 after not speaking with me for a few years, resisting paying child support, and offering no child visitation, suddenly I got a phone call from him out of the blue regarding some of my articles about Cuban political prisoners appearing in the Washington Post and Washington Times. We then spoke cordially together on different topics for more than half an hour. I thought then that the ice had finally been broken, but when I called him back, his wife answered, saying that henceforth, any messages to him would go only through her. I never heard from him again and was not even mentioned in his obituary, but still attended his 1999 funeral, though uninvited.

In reviewing this entire matter again now, it’s still a puzzle. I will never know the inner thoughts or possibly unconscious motives of my ex-husband, who died more than 2 decades ago. I can only speculate about his complete silence for 15 years after that one friendly phone call. After his earlier refusal to speak to me and our many legal battles, was it possible that one warm phone conversation revived his earlier feelings for me, perhaps arousing some regret for the path he had taken? Could he have then become panicked by his own reaction, refusing to ever speak with me again? I’ll never really know.

When local pets go missing, as they often do, how does that happen, especially with dogs? I’ve had dogs and they never went missing over the years except for once, when my kids took our dog Claire out without a leash and she sprinted away, running into a man just around the corner who took her directly to an animal shelter. Of course then, though we walked around for hours, day and night, calling for her, she did not appear. We feared the worst. We found her only the next morning at the shelter. After that, the kids just let her out in the fenced backyard, otherwise never ever again without a leash, though sometimes we took her with us to the countryside, where she could run free.

 

                                                        Is this cat, found on Capitol Hill, possibly yours? 

Spring Has Arrived, But Beyond That, There Is No Crystal Ball

 

This post’s title is incorrect, since Spring does not officially arrive until March 20. The title also contains a simple truism, since whatever happens locally, nationally, and internationally will always bring surprises. We can make all manner of careful predictions and preparations, but we and everyone else will always fall short. When things do turn out exactly according to plan, then everyone marvels, but inevitably, after that, enough quirks and surprises pop up to make life interesting and keep us all on alert, and also to give me fodder for this blog. So, stay calm folks, do your duty, let’s see what happens next. We cannot be sure of anything except for our own eventual and inevitable demise.

On this posting, I am not going to fuss about quirks, especially regarding the Washington Post, as that only makes them worse, so I ask my readers to just bear with me. 

 

A shoutout here to my daughter Stephanie, who lives too far away, but has always delighted me with her creativity, often based in nature, as she is a biologist, living and working in Hawaii.

 

Not only is Stephanie a biologist, but to my considerable relief, she also helps prepare my tax returns, coming due very soon. Thanks, Steph!

 

My son Jonathan calls me daily. Thanks, Jon!

 

Daughter Melanie mostly keeps in touch by email because she is so busy. Thanks, Mel!

 

Granddaughter Natasha sends email and also calls. Thanks, Tash!

 

I am very grateful to have such a wonderful and attentive family.

                   This house drawing by a local artist, Michelle Turner, caught my eye.

 

St. Patrick’s Day has already come and gone. 

In a Boston hospital, newborns there were outfitted for the day.

Patrick was born in Britain in the 4th century, then, at age 16, he was captured and sent to Ireland as a slave. After 6 years, he escaped, later devoting his life to introducing the Irish to Christianity. He is said to have possessed special powers, such as being able to drive snakes into the sea.

 Birds are chirping, trees are blooming now, flowers have sprung up, but nights remain chill. 

Still, after our clocks have sprung forward, we know that spring is here! The cherry blossoms on the Tidal Basin have appeared early this year, so the annual festival will be starting soon. 

 

 

-Amnesty International will launch its 2022/23 Annual Report on March 28.

 

Wash. Post, First Republic, SVB, Credit Suisse: The latest banks in trouble and why

In the wake of recent bank failures in the US, then in Europe, it would be surprising if interest rates here would be raised much next time around. Is it safer now to hide our money in the cookie jar or under the mattress? Let’s not make bank failures a self-fulfilling prophesy.

 

Are there actually more train derailments now in the US or have we just started paying more attention? Wash. Post, Diesel spill estimated at 2,500 gallons as train derails in Washington state

 LA has so many unhouse people not only because of a nonpunitive social environment, but because of its usually mild climate.

 

The Oklahoman,Two toddlers drown in backyard pool Thursday in northwest Oklahoma City  Once I knew a couple whose small daughter tragically drowned in their backyard pool. Why folks with small children also choose to have private swimming pools is always a mystery given the risks. They cannot watch their child every minute nor always remember to lock the door to the pool. If they like to swim, they should join a club or frequent a neighborhood pool with a lifeguard on duty.

President Biden, now at age 80, has already reached and passed the US average male life expectancy, yet he still travels everywhere and apparently wants to keep on doing the job for 4 more years. I do admire his stamina. But, as I am finding out, age is more than just a number.

 

Are those now asserting non-traditional gender identities really “born this way”? Yes, perhaps to some extent, but not entirely. Culture—the conduct and example of others--as well as individual inborn tendencies, have always guided human behavior. In that respect, conservatives may not be too far off the mark in trying to limit their children’s exposure to alternative sex roles and expressions, something increasingly hard to do with so much media and internet access.

 

Telegraph, Trans surgery ban for children is ‘close to sinful’, says Joe Biden

Biden has chosen the camp he wants to support. But I would have to disagree. Trans surgery may or may not be in a child’s best interest, even if he or she may seem to want it at an early age. Sexual identity, like any social construct, is strongly influenced by social factors, and is not necessarily inborn. One of the main problems with cultural issues like this, which for any given youngster may propel them toward undergoing major and irreversible surgery, is strong disagreement within the American public about the right path forward. If everyone, or almost everyone, were on the same page, either there would be or not be such a ban and most people would simply accept that as a fact of life. A child living in Saudi Arabia is not going to be seriously exploring sexual identity or trans surgery. But here in the US, where we remain sharply divided on the issue, a stark option, a binary choice, exists. Yet our laws on this, like all others, are not written in stone and gender change may or may not be advisable for a given individual. So, delay might be the wisest course.

 

As a nation, are we moving in the direction of more harmony or greater division? Right now, it looks like toward more division, certainly regarding whether to allow early transgender surgery—and that’s not the only social issue under sharp disagreement. That divisiveness alone might make it advisable to defer irreversible gender treatment and surgery at least until age 18. By then, after having reached legal adulthood, someone might be more convinced than ever about wanting to change their gender expression, will have had ample time to consider it, and also may have assembled a support group for their choice. We don’t allow those under 18 to vote, get married without parental consent, or undergo independent surgery or medical treatment, so 18 marks legal adulthood, after which such a life-changing and irreversible decision can then be made by the now-adult individual directly involved. Someone can always quit college, leave their job, give a child up for adoption, get divorced, or move to another country, but a surgical sex change would prove irreversible.

 

Fox, Detransitioning rally turns violent when Antifa shows up, participants left 'afraid' to speak out: organizer In this rather complicated story, it’s unclear who is on what side.

 

AP, Sanders signs Arkansas trans care malpractice bill into law

 

Des Moines Register, Iowa Poll: Majorities support bans on gender-affirming care for kids, LGBTQ teaching limits

According to a 2021 report from the Williams Institute at UCLA, there are nearly 1.2 million nonbinary people between 18 to 60 living in the United States, three-quarters of them under 30, indicating that younger folks have explored changing their gender identity to an extent that older folks have not.

 

Similarly, a 2022 survey by the Pew Research Center showed that 3% of young U.S. adults (ages 18 to 30) identified as nonbinary, while 2% considered themselves transgender (around 10 to 15 million people in total). In contrast, trans and nonbinary adults aged 50 and older, both taken together, accounted for only 0.3% pf that age group, (around 900,000 people) Is this because of peer influence on both cohorts? That is what culture is. None of us is an island; our example always influences others and others also influence our own behavior and beliefs. In that respect, red-state residents are correct in trying to limit influences on their kids, though with social media impacting us all, that’s pretty hard to do.

 

USA Today, 'It's just common sense': Biden signs new executive action expanding gun background checks President Biden went as far as he could go without congressional approval.

 

NYTimes, At Wellesley College, a Fight Over Whether to Admit Trans Men Students will vote on a proposal to consider admitting all nonbinary and transgender applicants. Opponents say the school’s mission is to educate women. Students voted to admit transmen (those formerly identified as women), but the college administration overruled them.

NYTimes, Aggressive Medical Care Remains Common at Life’s End

Most older cancer patients received invasive care in the last month of their lives, a study found. That may not be what they wanted.

 

Wash. Post, Ex-intelligence officials challenge the Hunter Biden witch hunt Republicans lack a legitimate legislative purpose for their probe. Why as a private citizen, is he the subject of such close  

 Republican scrutiny? Simply to harass his father, it would seem.

 

 A Jewish friend had invited me to this local protest, but I was unable to attend. https://mondoweiss.net/2023/03/hundreds-protest-bezalel-smotrich-visit-in-dc/ [photo]

Mr. Smotrich was reportedly in DC to promote Israel Bonds.

According to Wikipedia, “Bezalel Yoel Smotrich (Hebrew: בְּצַלְאֵל יוֹאֵל סְמוֹטְרִיץ׳, born 27 February 1980) is an Israeli lawyer and far-right politician who has served as the Minister of Finance since 2022.” Jews both in Israel and the US have been protesting recently against the Netanyahu government. Ever since  

World War II, Israel has been the largest recipient of US foreign aid.

 

AFP, Israelis back on streets after Netanyahu rejects reforms compromise American Jews are not the only ones opposing Netanyahu.

NYTimes, House GOP quietly halts inquiry into Trump's finances

Republicans are declining to enforce a settlement agreement for Donald Trump's former accounting firm to turn over records to Congress.

Mr. Trump apparently paid no income taxes in 2020, as he had reported zero income then.

  

Bank failures in the US, mass layoffs in tech, and now with the contagion seemingly spreading to Europe, Two bank failures in the US, mass layoffs in tech, and now with the contagion seemingly spreading to Europe, it’s all had a cascading effect, becoming a self-fulfilling prophesy. US stocks tumbled in a downward spiral. Is the economy already plunging inexorably or can the market recover? It will be surprising if the Fed will raise interest rates very much, if at all, next time. Ukraine and Turkey’s needs have now taken a big step backward.

NY Times, Markets Tumble as Bank Fears Go Global Global stock markets tumbled, as investors’ fears over the health of the banking industry resurfaced. On Wall Street, all of Tuesday’s gains were reversed.

Today, Newborn baby hospitalized after being abandoned in a California gas station trash can ,A 25-year-old woman has been arrested in California for attempted murder and felony child abuse. (She would not have been arrested for a late-term abortion.)

Early pill abortions, often regarded by their users as an extension of birth control, now constitute the majority of US abortions and would be almost impossible to stop. There was much controversy when the birth control pill was first introduced, now there is controversy over the abortion pill. Abortion is often not referred to directly by its supporters, rather characterized as “reproductive health care” to emphasize that it’s a private matter between a woman and her doctor. Some of us, myself included, would draw the line when a specific individual, already starting to develop and grow, is being stopped/killed, but when exactly is that point? In the US, legal protection is now only guaranteed after a live baby is born. If women’s rights are being celebrated during this month, what about protecting females at their earliest stages of development in the womb?

No longer do most Americans feel sorry for childless couples or single women. An increasing number of adults are choosing to avoid both marriage and kids. Childless folks often refer to pets as their “babies.” Parents’ commitment to their young children is often not valued and their own parents and other relatives may live too far away to help out or participate in their family’s daily life. There has also been an increased focus on parents expressing misgivings or even regret about having had kids. None of them would give up their actual children, mind you, and would certainly make any necessary sacrifices for them. But they are finding parenting to be less rewarding, less celebrated, and more difficult than expected. It does take a lot of time and personal commitment to be a good parent. That’s often the case with assuming any long-term responsibility, including marriage. Social support for marriage and raising children has certainly diminished—and having children is no longer a universal and expected part of adulthood, leaving many parents feeling they are going it alone—as they often are. But without parents and children, a society, a nation, quite obviously cannot continue to exist. Already, a reduction in births in north America, Europe, Japan, South Korea, and China is having a negative economic and social impact there, while higher birth rates in Latin America, Africa, and southeast Asia hold the main promise for the survival and future of humankind. Will there be a course correction in the more developed world, if not by producing more children, then by accepting more immigrants from the global south?

Both the US and Europe could actually use more immigrants right now, just not quite so many all at once. And opening the floodgates would surely create a torrent. What do new arrivals expect to find when they cross that magic border?

Wash. Post, Dominican Republic sending children, pregnant migrants back to Haiti

Telegraph, El Salvador super prison for gang members takes in another 2,000 suspects

Forget about due process, Salvadorans of my acquaintance all approve of this move, saying they are sick and tired of dealing with the gangs.

NYTimes, Britain Is Issuing a Call to Work, With More Child Care as an Incentive

Telegraph, Priests may not have to be celibate in future, Pope Francis suggests  Although the many gays who have entered the priesthood may not be producing any offspring, they have hardly been celibate. In contrast, most priests in the Eastern branch of the Catholic Church are married to women and have fathered children. Ten years into his papacy, before he leaves this mortal coil, Francis may be considering further extending permission for priests to marry. He had once suggested allowing married priests in the Amazon to confront a shortage there, but pulled back in the face of protests. It may time now to revive and expand that idea before his time is up. (And, also, how about some female priests, or is that bridge too far?).

After more than a year, Ukraine may be falling behind on the battlefield. And the US and other supporters are displaying compassion fatigue.

 

Wash. Post, Protests erupt in France as Macron bypasses Parliament to raise retirement age

Macron has raised the retirement to a modest 64, but many of his citizens are simply not having it. Retirement benefits in France are fairly generous and French workers look forward to living in comfort after retiring early to pursue leisure activities. So what to do now? Cutting benefits would evoke similar protests. Nor would those still working want to have to pay out more to retirees. 

 

Reuters, Polls show Erdogan lags opposition by more than 10 points ahead of May vote

Bloomberg, Erdogan Warns Turkish Voters of ‘Disaster’ If Opposition Wins (Disaster in Turkey has already occurred.)

 

Wash. Post, Turkey expected to back Finland for NATO membership, snub Sweden 

In Belarus, a 60-year-old government opponent and 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Ales Bialiatski, has been sentenced to 10 years. 

Tablet, Biden Is Delivering the Middle East to China

NY Times, New Data Links Pandemic’s Origins to Raccoon Dogs at Wuhan Market 

 

Wash. Post, With Russia visit, Xi pursues effort to upend U.S.-led global order 

 

Reuters, Can China broker peace between Russia and Ukraine?

If China can cement its peacemaker role, that will greatly boost its standing on the world stage and perhaps even facilitate its takeover of Taiwan. (But let’s not forget how Britain and the world were lulled into allowing China’s total control of Hong Kong?) Xi, at age 69, is a strategic, long-term thinker and a very careful planner. And unlike Western officials, he has an unlimited term in office.

Fox, China flexes muscles in Latin America in latest security challenge to US This happening right in our backyard and should be of concern to the US.

 Yet, neither Putin nor Xi, however vigilant, is immune from being ousted by someone either better or worse, both for their own citizens and for the rest of the world. So these leaders always need to be alert about protecting their own survival.

Critters like the one below, called a raccoon dog, are often sold in the market where Covid may have originated. 

In North Korea, according to observers, the only role for a woman is as a wife.

However, with female members of the North Korean “royal” family now being allowed to assume more expanded roles, their example may change the prospects for other North Korean women.

In contrast to women in North Korea, slightly more than half of American women are now unmarried. I count myself among them, though in my youth, most women were married or hoped to marry. I myself was married for 24 years and never wanted or expected to become divorced. Because my late former husband was blind, I thought he would always need me. Nonetheless, after I had helped him achieve success, always staying quietly in the background, he divorced me to marry a much younger woman (a common pattern). I was then freed to revive my Latin American side, neglected when I got married. And despite a subsequent serious marriage proposal, I refused to tie the knot again.

Unfortunate personal events, in my case, first a divorce, then, the untimely deaths of my son and Cuban foster son, only one year apart, impacted me greatly, especially immediately afterword. After my boys’ deaths, I was just going through the motions, reporting to my job but coming home to cry alone. Yet time does tend to soften even the worst losses, as new activities and connections start to command our attention. Joining the Peace Corps helped me greatly—a new environment, new challenges, a different language—just as I had hoped it would. A tragedy such as a divorce or a child’s premature death then becomes part of the fabric of our personal history, interwoven with other more welcome events, such as starting a new job, having a new grandchild, or reconnecting with an old friend. I have certainly not forgotten my lost boys, especially my dear son Andrew, whose gravestone rests in my backyard. But I’m no longer shedding tears daily. 

 

Other activities began to gradually fill my days. We humans always seek out goal-oriented endeavors and useful tasks, a trait we share with animals. Nothing would be sadder than mourning a terrible loss while facing too much empty time.

Telegraph, Watch: Hundreds of South Korean dogs rescued from meat farm Humane Society International arrived to rescue the dogs from this farm to transport them to new owners in the United States. The farm’s proprietor said that then he had decided to start growing vegetables instead.

PetHelpful, Dog Has Emotional Reunion with His Mom After Being Missing for 7 Years

In Va., a dog was returned to his original owner after a shelter found his embedded microchip

 

I love to pet cats with their soft fur, but allergies often prevent me from doing so. I’ve owned dogs before, but not lately. So, I will just post photos of local lost and found pets, enjoying them only vicariously now. 

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