Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Now in the Merry Month of May

May is a popular commemorative month because of balmy days with everything all leafed-out and blooming. We can enjoy being outside in the fresh air now in the pandemic’s aftermath. I’ve been going outside more myself, on one recent afternoon just sitting out on the front steps greeting passers-by: a couple walking arm-in-arm, a woman pushing a baby carriage, or a few kids roller skating together after school.

Neighbor's flowers


Children at a birthday party

                                                     A yard display

Exhibit at local art gallery


                      
                           Below, the capitol, a few blocks from my house




                                    In 1919, sheep trimmed the grass in front of the White House.


                Ft. Dupont Park offers green space and hiking trails right in the middle of the city. 

                

Alex, the young friend who stayed with me last summer, is finishing his doctorate in Spain right now and is planning to stop here again in July before returning home to Costa Rica. In the photo below, he is standing in front of a cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, one of many historic cathedrals in Spain. Years ago, I hitchhiked all over Spain, but never visited that coastal city. 

                                            Alex in Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Alex asks that any communication with him be in English to increase his fluency.

Another Alex, just returned from travels around Latin America, asks that we speak only in Spanish to keep that language fresh in his mind. This second Alex is now doing some repairs at my house. While I try to always communicate with the Costa Rican Alex in English and with the American Alex only in Spanish, I do get mixed up at times.

A problem tackled by the American Alex has been sealing up an opening at the side of my house where rain entered and where wasps had built a nest inside. 

 









Jennifer, a friend first met when we worked together in a medical brigade in Honduras, lives in Canada. She has told me about Victoria Day, a celebration of the birth of Britain’s Queen Victoria, born in 1819, a holiday observed there since 1845, but not in Britain itself or in any other country. Victoria was Britain’s longest reigning monarch until Queen Elizabeth II came along. This year, Canadians are celebrating Queen Victoria’s birth and the arrival of spring today, on this very day, May 24. Jennifer says,” I seriously doubt that Canadians have an inkling why the holiday exists. A few cities hold parades and a few have firework displays. Other than that, it is generally noted that the winter season is over and the summer begins.


Jennifer also tells me that spring has finally arrived in her area of eastern Canada. Now, she welcomes the dandelions growing in her yard alongside other colorful blossoms. 












Flowers seen on my back porch over a month ago are still in bloom.



Among this month’s many special tributes, President John Kennedy back in 1963 designated May as “Older Americans month,” so it's a time to now celebrate the 17% of Americans over age 65, myself among them. Estimates are that one in 10 baby girls born in the US today will actually live to age 100.

After the recent tsunami in the southern Pacific, a friend living in Vanuatu reports that the storm came and went rather quickly and everyone is doing just fine now. I do very much appreciate the immediacy and convenience of the internet for exchanges with many far-flung friends.

Challenging Americans’ usual consumer habits, Buy Nothing groups have been springing up on Facebook or just appearing informally in local neighborhoods. Their members make a concerted effort to exchange needed items and goods rather than buying them new. They also exchange home garden produce. Of course, such informal non-monetary swaps have always existed, but now are becoming more organized in order to save money, reduce waste, and further foster community. But, so far, the movement has not made a noticeable dent in the rampant consumerism infusing most of the US economy.

Wash. Post The earliest recorded kiss goes back at least 4,500 years to Mesopotamia

Kissing between adults, kids kissing parents, mothers kissing babies, all that probably goes back more than 4,500 years. 

President Biden recently returned from the Asia summit held in Hiroshima, Japan, whose wholesale bombing in World War II forever tarnished Harry Truman’s legacy in my opinion.

 Moneywise, 'I was in a trance': A tech executive got scammed out of $450K in a cruel romance grift called 'pig butchering'

The internet has revolutionized commerce and communications worldwide, but also opened up new opportunities for crime. While the internet allows instant communication across vast distances from the comfort of one’s home, it also has downsides. And there is still something to be said for in-person encounters made face-to-face and for actually entering a physical bank or a place of commerce to engage there with live individuals, as cumbersome and old-fashioned as that may seem.

NBC News, Sen. Dianne Feinstein suffered previously undisclosed complications from shingles

 Feinstein reportedly had been vaccinated against shingles, but still fell ill.

Republican Rep. Tim Scott of South Carolina’s entry into the presidential race the presidential race may take some votes away from Biden/Harris. 

El Paso Times, Mexico finds 49 migrants who had been kidnapped from bus

These frequent kidnappings aim to hold bus occupants for ransom from US relatives.

AP, Shootout at Baja California car rally leaves 10 dead, 10 wounded

The fact that this happened in neighboring Mexico is of little comfort and 3 of those killed were  actually US citizens,

CBS News, U.S. deported 11,000 migrants in the week after Title 42 ended

The southern US border has recently become a rather confusing place, with migrants not quite sure what to do next . Our immigration and asylum policies seem to be in constant flux. Crowds already gathered at the border have little choice but to stay there now to try to figure out how and when to cross over. But the massive border surge once anticipated has not materialized. In fact, border crossings have fallen below recent averages. Once people step over that magic line, what do they expect? They will soon find more challenges lie ahead.

 

                                    Women line up at the southern US border. 

NBC News, Shelter operators in Mexico say some migrants are rethinking how to cross the U.S. border  [M]igrants are now aware that they face a five-year ban from the U.S. if they are deported under an existing rule called Title 8, and many are waiting to get official U.S. asylum appointments via cellphone rather than trying to cross the border without authorization. 

While many would-be migrants to the US come from countries even more violent than our own, the same is not true of tourists and other visitors from the developed world, now apprehensive of the risks.

Yahoo News, What other countries say about the gun violence problem in the U.S. As mass shootings rise in the U.S., despite its relative safety, other nations are highlighting the dangers of gun violence for would-be travelers.


HuffPost, 'The Problem Is Not Guns': How Texas Gov. Abbott Responded To 7 Mass Shootings Then what is it?

Wash. Post, 18-year-old gunman kills at least 3 and injures 9 in New Mexico, police say An 18-year-old was killed by police, 2 of whom were injured. This is just one of several recent US mass shootings, now becoming almost routine here. News reports say little about the shooters to avoid giving them more notoriety. In the initial police report on the New Mexico shooting, the gunman’s name was not even mentioned.

A federal judge in Virginia recently ruled that 18-year-olds must be allowed to buy firearms, so we can expect more such shootings, as so many have been carried out by young hotheaded men. The Biden administration has now appealed that judge’s ruling to the Supreme Court.

News4, https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/3-deadly-shootings-within-9-hours-in-dc-police/3348901/ There have been 83 homicides in D.C. so far this year, again with young men  disproportionately responsible. Are some of these perhaps copycat crimes? If Washington, DC, wants to remain the capital of the world, we must do better with curbing gun violence.

Wash. Post, Multiple victims wounded, one killed, in shootings in Maryland, D.C.

 Wash. Post, 10-year-old shot in D.C. on Mother’s Day has died, police say

 Wash. Post, 17-year-old student fatally shot outside Roosevelt High School in D.C. 

Easy access to guns is not the only factor in recent firearms deaths in our city and elsewhere. “Gun culture” is also to blame. That’s where the Guardian Angels come in. In the last posting, given the recent rise in local crime, I reported that DC’s Guardian Angels are back on duty. 

Around the DC area, the Angels constitute a voluntary force of uniformed unarmed mostly men, ages 16 and over, who ride around on metro and walk the city’s streets, bearing witness in order to stop crimes before they happen. Living in the same neighborhoods as gang members, the Guardian Angels, just by their positive example and very presence, have proven useful in reducing property crimes and providing information to authorities. And by going out in uniform and serving as the eyes and ears of the community, these young folks from disadvantaged neighborhoods have become members of a brotherhood that ends up replacing the very gangs they otherwise might have joined.

Another method has been used in El Salvador to stop youthful gang activity, namely, mass incarceration.

Telegraph, El Salvador claims zero murders committed for a year after gang crackdown In 2019 El Salvador recorded a murder rate of 38 per 100,000 inhabitants. By last year it claimed the figure had plummeted to just eight in 100,000 and according to opinion polls, the crackdown is supported by 92 per cent of voters. The fall in crime has come at some cost. Dystopian images of shaven-headed inmates crammed together like sardines have shocked global opinion. El Salvador has taken care of its gang problem by simply taking scores of young men off the streets. The US murder rate at over 20 per 100,000, is, by comparison, now considerably higher. So, El Salvador seems to be doing much better these days in preventing murders, though at a considerable cost to young incarcerated men. Salvadorans I’ve talked with here in the US definitely support the Salvadoran government’s crackdown in their home country, saying that it’s broken the grip of gangs who had been holding the whole population hostage. Jailed gang members are nearly all young males. Until recently, Salvadoran boys who’d reached a certain age were pressured to join the gangs via threats made against them and their families. So now people living in El Salvador reportedly feel much freer to go out in public, no longer facing constant peril. Nor are any menacing neighborhood youths still out recruiting new gang members. But the cost has been considerable for the many young men who have been jailed wholesale. They probably were not afforded any sort of “due process” and arguably are now being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment. Incarcerated young men, just like their former victims, are also members of Salvadoran families and communities.

 



Wash. Post, El Salvador stadium crush kills 12; officials vow to find those responsible

In Italy, a hardworking dog named Joel recently uncovered multiple packets of cocaine hidden in boxes of bananas stacked several meters-high. Thanks to Joel’s keen nose for cocaine, Italian police seized more than 3 tons of the drug hidden among 70 tons of boxed bananas shipped from Ecuador. 

 



BBC, Nigeria's Muhammadu Buhari leaves legacy of kidnapping, inflation and debt 
I’ve asked my Nigerian friends for comment.

AP, Nebraska governor signs 12-week abortion ban, limits on gender-affirming care for minors

In the Know, Teenager opens up about detransitioning process: ‘Do what makes you happy’

Not only are some young people “transitioning” to change the physical manifestations of their birth gender, but a few are now “detransitioning” to return back to their original gender. Some changes, such as breast removal, cannot be undone. Gender transition certainly has been enjoying a moment now, but like any new trend, interest in it may begin to fade.

The Economist, What America has got wrong about gender medicine. Too many doctors have suspended their professional judgment.

We all have watershed moments in our lives: college graduation, first job, marriage, parenthood, and, eventually, retirement. (For a migrant, finally crossing the US border is such a key moment.) There may also be losses, including divorce, the death or estrangement of a child, and health and financial problems, or even deportation in the case of an immigrant. Whatever happens, whether welcome or calamitous, we do adjust and our own personal wellbeing usually tends to return to the previous norm. I’m also speaking now for myself after celebrating several milestones and personal achievements, but also after being divorced against my preference, then losing both my son and foster son at youthful ages, and now finally giving up my interesting late life career in Spanish interpreting. My own experiences may be unique but are not atypical. We are all human, undergoing both welcome and more challenging life experiences, but usually returning to the status quo ante. I also suspect that when someone finally completes a desired gender transition, their subsequent identification becomes neither a source of great joy nor of particular regret, but just everyday life once more.

Transgender individuals have always existed. Some like the hijra in India, are traditional cross-dressing males who live together in special groups. Others are male-born eunuchs or castrati with a long history in China and who are found also in India. Born females have been historically been less inclined to make a gender transition, but now are doing so more often in the US, with some removing breasts and growing beards, but also retaining the ability to give birth. So the gender scenario has become rather complicated, as birth genitals may be retained while the outward appearance is of the other gender. Some individuals identify as “agender” or having no gender at all.

A board-member election ballot sent out by Amnesty International USA, where I’ve been a volunteer for 42 years, is more politically correct than I am ever likely to be. It’s a secret ballot, but asks us as anonymous voters to indicate whether we fall within the plain vanilla categories of either male or female, or instead identify as Gender-nonconforming, Genderqueer, Non-binary, or Transgender. 



NYTimes, 1 in 5 Young Chinese Are Jobless, and Millions More Are About to Graduate The youth unemployment rate, which spiked during the pandemic, reached a record high this week, showing the perils of China’s uneven economic recovery.

Despite China’s need to produce and educate more young people, the initial job prospects for new graduates now seem rather dim once they’ve actually finished their studies.

BBC, China's population falls for first time since 1961

From 1959 to 1961, millions of Chinese died in Mao’s “Great leap forward,” a period when peasants and other rural residents usually dedicated to growing food were moved into communes to work in heavy industry jobs for which they were ill prepared. Then, because of insufficient food production out in the countryside, many Chinese simply starved to death.

Now in 2023, India has surpassed China in total population, with China’s population actually falling for the first time in more than 60 years. The former one-child policy is a major factor in China’s tepid population showing, as previously too many girls had been aborted before birth or sent into overseas adoptions. I’ve known some of those Chinse girl adoptees myself, including one adopted by a single woman friend. I also remember Chinese students staying with me at that time trying to figure out how to remain in this country, partly so as to have more than one child, especially when their one allotted child had been a girl. It wasn’t until 2016 that Chinese women were allowed to even have 2 children. Couples there are now permitted to have up to 3 kids, but will they? And even if they do, it will take 2 or more decades for today’s babies to become adults. Also, because of the previously lopsided production of boy babies, young single men now outnumber single women, so many men cannot find a woman to marry. Few foreign women are eager to emigrate to China to make up the shortfall. Chinese women, especially those living in cities, have recently become more interested in pursuing careers, which are difficult to combine with childrearing there, as mothers are expected to carry the entire childcare burden. So the Chinese government, with its history of forced abortions and sterilizations, is now finding it much harder to actually compel women to give birth than it was to stop them from doing so.

South Korea and Japan are offering cash incentives for having children, but without noticeable effect so far. Although ethnic purity is highly valued in both countries, their leaders have even been considering allowing more immigration, something never encouraged before. Nordic countries have had modest success in increasing birthrates by offering generous support and benefits to couples with children, though still not achieving complete replacement.

Social fashions, as well as fashions in clothes, do fluctuate over time. So though I may not live to see the day, it would not be surprising if future population losses in developed countries might be reduced as women and couples return to valuing children, not by producing large families ever again, but by having at least one or two kids to perpetuate their legacy after their own demise. 

Now US polls indicate that the position that abortion should be legal only under certain circumstances has the largest number of supporters, more than those for full legalization or an outright ban. The abortion pill, which can be taken in the privacy of one's home without medical intervention, will continue to constitute the majority of abortions. 

No one wants to return to the bad old days when people often had more children than they could adequately care for. Robert Malthus, an English economist born in 1766, believed that population would always outrun food supply unless war, famine, or “moral restraint” might actually end up controlling population growth. In 1968, Paul Ehrlich's book The Population Bomb likewise solemnly warned that world population was spiraling out of control. However, half a century later,  most developed countries are now having the opposite problem with too few babies being born, including here in the US, as many women start place greater value on their careers than on family life. 

While the population outlook for the US remains somewhat less dire than for Asia, American women are still not expected to start producing the average of  2.1 children per woman required to keep our own population steady. According projections, total fertility in the US will remain at 1.66 births per woman throughout 2023, then modestly rise among women ages 30 to 49. By 2030, the US fertility rate is projected to be 1.75 births per woman, where it is expected to remain for the foreseeable future. Only immigration can help the US make up the shortfall. Neighboring Canada, with an even lower birthrate, keeps its population rising moderately by being open to and supportive of immigration. (Canada enjoys the advantage of having the US as a buffer against an unwieldy avalanche of potential immigrants.) 

With the advent of largely reliable birth control and with abortion as a backup, a young American woman can now marry or enter a partnership with a man without planning on ever having children. For women especially, career success has become a key source of life meaning that often competes with family goals. And, as indicated in the last posting, couples who remain voluntarily childless have often been touting their lavish lifestyle and relative personal freedom on social media, eliciting comments both pro and con. One such Tik Toker, who labeled herself and her partner DINKWADs (dual income, no kids, with a dog) featured the couple going out shopping together, lounging in bed, and just relaxing outdoors. Her video generated over 10 million views. “Good luck dying alone at 60 to 70 with no kids or grandkids to take care of you," wrote one skeptical viewer.

Speaking for myself as an oldster from another era who has always valued motherhood and grandmother-hood, I am very grateful now for my relationship with younger family members, who help me to feel young again. None of my kids and grandkids are actually living here in DC or assisting me day-to-day, as per the Tik Tok critic’s cryptic reply, though our connections still remain strong. Email, phone, and occasional in-person visits keep us all bonded. And if I really needed anyone to come here immediately, someone would soon arrive. My son and I do speak daily by phone. I only hope never to become a burden for my kids. 

Now as my own mortality approaches, personal fame and fortune have become less important than ever before. I’ve come to value my privacy and independence even more. I no longer give book talks, as my books now seem less relevant, though surprisingly, small online book sales still continue. Writing as a career has lost some luster now as works can be created using artificial intelligence. Writers must learn how to make AI a servant, not a master.

It would certainly be nice to have an intimate partner at this stage of life, but for women like me attracted only to men, the demographics are unfavorable and getting more so with every passing year. In our youth, we women found ourselves in considerable demand, but now the gender odds have been reversed. Just not enough men our age are left to go around, especially available heterosexual men. We women do outnumber them, but by not quite as much now as previously because men have started taking better care of themselves. Most men our age are still married, while most women our age are widowed or divorced. An older man who loses his wife rarely stays single for long. Several married women friends now find themselves caring for somewhat older husbands with dementia or other serious health problems. Of Americans age 100 and over, 83% are female.

Before ending now, here again are a few lost local and found pets. Some may have been featured before, but are still missing. 

 












Spanish most certainly has become a second language here in the US.

A Spanish-language benediction came in from a Facebook friend: “I shall bless you and you will be a blessing for others.” 


Leer en español (Read in Spanish) is an option offered for several articles in the NYTimes, particularly those on Latin America.

A McDonald’s recruitment ad in Spanish has just appeared on our neighborhood website.

 McDonald's

1 de cada 8 personas ha trabajado en McDonald’s. Eso es un montón de gente de Washington.

Eso es un montón de gente que han crecido con McD’s, o siguen creciendo allí.

 And below is an ad for internet services.

¡Solo por tiempo limitado! Obtén Internet confiable

Sunday, May 14, 2023

Mother’s Day and Beyond

 

Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 14, is when we all celebrate not only our mothers, but our own lives, since without mothers, none of us would actually exist. The same is true of fathers, but their contribution is more remote. Some fathers don’t even know they have offspring. On Mother’s Day, I am also celebrating my kids and grandkids, who all together have made me a mother. I'm glad to have heard from them today. 



Below is a greeting received today from a Spanish-speaking friend, who says: Bárbara que tengas un día súper especial junta a tu hermosa familia. Te queremos mucho. 


Since I took this Mother's Day photo of a local family shown here on the left, the father has died.

I’ve been single, married, divorced, a friend, a neighbor, an employee in various jobs, and a volunteer both in the US and abroad, but mother is the status that has brought me the greatest joy, and also the greatest sorrow from terrible loss. Without mothers, the human race would simply not exist. 

In Mexico, Mother’s Day comes a little earlier, on May 10. Below, greetings received from south of the border.

                A boy in Honduras attending a bilingual school displayed this greeting for his mom. 

A mother carrying a baby in a front or back carrier or just on one hip helps cement a physical bond between them. Nursing, in my experience, also helps increase that bond. The physical, almost erotic, pleasure of nursing is rarely mentioned, though is probably an evolutionary development to keep baby and mother close, with its value often overlooked in the modern age. Fathers don’t seem to have that same need for physical bonding with offspring, though maybe a father takes on that role in gay male couples? Among heterosexual couples, if the father is present in the home, he often engages in more playful roughhousing with the kids than the mother does. Is that nature or culture?

Present-day mothers in the Americas reveal much about the origin of earlier inhabitants. AFP, New study finds prehistoric migration from China to Americas 

Tracing of the mitochondrial DNA of current inhabitants of north and south America, inherited only from mothers, has revealed two main migrations from Asia. The first was between 19,500 and 26,000 years ago. The second occurred during the melting period, between 19,000 and 11,500 years ago. Many present-day inhabitants of the Americas owe their existence to those ancient mothers.

 

Anna Jarvis was never a mother herself but she hosted the first Mother’s Day celebration on May 10, 1908. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson declared Mother’s Day a national holiday. Later, Jarvis  came to lament the commercialization of the day.

 
            We do have some lovely and enduring buildings here in DC, most built in earlier times.


                    Flowers bloomed on a front yard cactus just in time for Mother's Day.

Radishes below were harvested from a local home garden.


A mural was painted on a DC wall near an intersection. 







At left, Anacostia at dusk. We do live in a beautiful, fascinating city. 





I was fortunate to have attended a recent celebration of life for a deceased neighbor, Robert Krughoff, founder and just retired editor of a local publication, Washington Consumer's Checkbook. I had not been in touch with Robert for years, but reconnected with him and his wife at Christmas, while they were visiting their daughter, her Nicaraguan husband, and her family living there. Years ago, Robert had gone to Colombia for me to pick up my son Jonathan, adopted from there, as I felt I could not go myself and leave our other 3 young children with my then husband, who was blind and not accustomed to caring for them. The Krughoffs went on to adopt 2 children from Colombia themselves, one the daughter they were visiting last Christmas. After my husband left in 1980 to marry his 2nd wife, the Krughoffs and I lost touch. I had hoped to renew ties. But after their first holiday message at Christmas, the news was not good. Robert had fallen and hit his head. Whether he fell from an unknown cause or the fall itself had seriously harmed him could never be determined. I did visit him in late Feb. when he was back in DC, bedridden, unresponsive, and near death. I then attended his memorial service and met his children for the first time as adults. Today, his widow and I exchanged Mother's Day greetings.


Amnesty International recently issued the following notice: Senior leadership of prominent national human, civil and immigrant rights leaders from 11 organizations will travel to the US-Mexico border on May 11 and 12 to bear witness to the end of the harmful immigration policy Title 42 and the anticipated start of  new, restrictive border policies.

 

But, in fact, US border policy has remained in disarray due to conflicting court decisions issued just as Title 42 was ending.

The Covid health emergency may be over, but Covid has not gone away. My granddaughter, who had been staying home from work due to Covid, just went back after testing negative. She’d had 2 Covid vaccinations, which helped her experience a fairly mild case, but still did not prevent her from becoming infected. The virus keeps on mutating. While Covid’s mysterious origins may never be discovered, we know the disease first started in China, soon spreading to all of humankind everywhere and in all age groups, hitting hardest at older ages. Covid has been blamed for causing a record number of premature deaths, almost 7 million worldwide. Over a million of those deaths have occurred in the US alone, giving our nation the unenviable record of having experienced the greatest number of Covid fatalities in the world. And the toll continues, though at slower rate. Part of that high US tally has been attributable to denialism about the very existence of the virus.

 Wash. Post, Is D.C. crime bad enough to bring the Guardian Angels back? They think so. Having neighborhood youths come out as a law-abiding counterforce may dampen the bravado and destructive activities of young petty criminals, who like all of us, act with social and peer support and now find some of their peers fighting against them.

 Meat prices have fallen in the US, as Americans have been consuming less meat. Maybe they can no longer afford it. That would be beneficial for human health as well as for the wellbeing of animals. I barely eat meat myself anymore, but do consume eggs and milk products. Lacking much empathy for fish or shellfish, I do also eat fish on occasion.

Yahoo News, Jury finds Trump sexually abused and defamed E. Jean Carroll: 5 key moments from the trial The jury of 6 men and 3 women took less than three hours to reach a unanimous verdict, awarding Carroll a total of $5 million in damages. Now can we expect Donald Trump to actually pay up? Probably not, as he is already appealing the verdict. And his faithful base will still support his complete denial of all charges, though he did not make a convincing case in court and, in fact, never even appeared there in person. On CNN, he called the interviewer questioning him about the case a “a nasty person.” Name calling is part of Trump’s modus operandi. 

                                               Trump was recently golfing in Scotland.

                                               Make me great again, Trump seems to say.

NBC Universal, Por primera vez en la historia un expresidente de EE.UU. es hallado responsable de abuso sexual This Spanish-language posting says that for the first time, a US ex-president has been found responsible for sexual abuse. 

The long arm of the law has also finally caught up with brazen serial swindler, George Santos, who may have thought that being a member of Congress would give him a get-out-of-jail-free card. His capers have been breathtakingly audacious, bold beyond normal expectations, throwing off observers unable to imagine anyone fabricating such an extensive and continuing web of lies. Close examination of his record reveals a long trail of fraud left behind in both the US and Brazil. Is he even capable of telling the truth? After his arrest, Santos came out swinging, vowing to fight and, borrowing from language used by another politician, he called the charges against him a “witch hunt.” He apparently had no trouble posting the $500,000 bond. AP, Rep. George Santos charged in web of fraud, including stealing from campaign to buy designer clothes

 

AFP, US lawmaker Santos faces court hearing in Brazil But he said he’s now taken care of that problem, see next.

Wash. Post, George Santos confesses to theft in Brazil to avoid prosecution

 LA Times, Sen. Dianne Feinstein is en route back to D.C. after extended absence She was due to arrive back in DC on Tuesday evening, May 9, after an almost 3-month absence, and did finally make it onto the Senate floor the next day in a wheelchair. Feinstein looks frail and tentative in recent photos, but as someone not so far behind her in age myself, I'd like to give her the benefit of the doubt. We both may be getting on in years, but we’re not dead yet!

Yet, apparently Feinstein has demonstrated problems with memory and speaking going back at least 4 years, with her staff trying to manage her without being too obvious. Next month, Feinstein will be 90, though, as the saying goes, “age is just a number.”

The minimum legal age for gun purchases is more than just a number, but a matter of maturity. It might be advisable, in addition to having a minimum age of 21, to also have an upper age limit for firearms possession, or at least require testing like that for an elder driving license. Since proper gun possession and use is at least as important as driving a car, all gun owners should be tested for their gun use competency and safe storage plans. That would not violate any 2nd Amendment rights.

USA Today, ‘Raise the age’ gun bill passes Texas committee after months of advocacy by Uvalde families This is a very modest interim victory, which would raise the minimum age to purchase a semiautomatic rifle (which rightfully no civilian of any age should be allowed to legally possess) from 18 to 21. Already pronouncing the proposed minimum age change “unconstitutional,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott has warned of a veto if it ever gets to his desk.

AP, Banning gun sales to young American adults under 21 is unconstitutional, judge rules In a big setback for gun safety, a Virginia judge has ruled that banning young people from buying firearms does violate their 2nd Amendment rights.

Since the 2nd amendment has caused so much death and grief because of gun misuse, why can’t we finally lay it to rest now in the modern age? Other countries have taken swift action to reduce the number of firearms in circulation after mass shootings, thereby immediately lowering the risk for everyone. But here in the US, gun manufacturers have kept gun sales going after mass shootings and even as hunting has declined by touting a need for "home protection," which simply becomes an invitation for gun accidents, as well as suicides and murders. Very rarely does a gun prove useful for self-defense, rather, an astounding number of gun accidents and deaths regularly involve gun owners and their immediate families. Even Breonna Taylor would not have been killed if her boyfriend had not shot first at police, thus hitting one of the officers, one of whom returned fire, killing Taylor. Abolish the 2nd amendment!

The Week, Why are mass shootings rare in other countries despite high levels of gun ownership? Widespread gun ownership is still allowed in some other countries, but there are many more controls and no belligerent culture of gun ownership.

Wash. Post, Louisiana man shoots girl playing hide-and-seek on his property, police say A 58-year-old man shot at kids playing hide and seek on his property, hitting a girl on the back of the head, hospitalizing her with fortunately non-life-threatening injuries. Did he need to be so anal about protecting his precious property? As long as the kids were not unduly disturbing his rest or leaving trash behind, why not simply extend them a friendly welcome? Does he not have children himself? Being neighborly with local kids might actually end up being fun, making him feel young again.

Wash. Post, GOP candidate wants to raise voting age to 25. Some young Republicans fume. 

Age 25 is close to full adult maturity and would also be a good minimum lower age for gun purchases, as well as voting.

A bill before the DC Council would allow damage suits against the gun industry for failure to implement reasonable controls. That would not encroach on the so-called "right to bear arms."

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth, Jamaica and Belize have hinted that they may soon leave the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth, just like the British monarchy itself, may now have run its course. King Charles seems to recognize this, though he went through all the proper motions, riding through London in a golden carriage and allowing an unwieldy crown to be placed on his head. The coronation was an entertaining spectacle with little impact on ordinary modern life.

NY Times, Why So Many Nations in the King’s Realm Want to Say Goodbye

Reuters, Haiti conflict puts over 100,000 kids at risk of starving to death, UN says


Wash. Post, Ecuadoran lawmakers put President Lasso on impeachment’s path 

I asked an Ecuadorian-born friend who recently visited her birth country about this. Her reply was: ”Very unfortunate. The country is in a sad state.”

Telegraph, Pope cross with woman who wanted blessing for her dog Pope Francis admitted that he lost patience when he was asked to bless a pet dog, complaining to a conference on Italy’s sharply falling birth rates that pets are replacing children.

Every Saturday, week after week, huge protest demonstrations have taken place in Tel Aviv against Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies and plans, especially regarding his controversial judicial overhaul. Protesters have repeatedly displayed massive strength in numbers. So many thousands of Jewish citizens cannot be arrested all at once, especially as police and the army are not particularly supportive of Netanyahu either. Most Arab Israelis have judiciously stayed out of the fight. Netanyahu’s main tactic has been to keep on delaying implementation of his announced judicial overhaul, simply treading water and buying time while also avoiding antagonizing his rightwing supporters. How long can he continue to stall? Who is going to call his bluff? In an effort to bolster his own standing and distract from the judicial overhaul, Netanyahu also authorized air strikes on Gaza. He is fighting for his political life and possibly for freedom from incarceration. Most of the Israeli public seem now to have turned against him. 

Wash. Post, Israel strikes Gaza, killing 13 people, including 3 Islamic Jihad leaders

AFP, 25 dead as Israel, Gaza militants trade fire for third day

Reuters, UN chief condemns civilian deaths in Gaza, urges restraint by all

While there seems to be widespread support for “abortion rights” in the US, still, at the very moment  a baby is born alive, that life enjoys full legal protection. A jury convicted Alexis Avila, now 19, of attempted first-degree murder and abuse of a child after she threw her newborn into a New Mexico gas station dumpster. The baby was found and survived, but Avila was reportedly given an 18-year sentence for attempted murder.

A friend brightened up my photo taken in south Sudan in 2006. Here it is along with the version first sent to him. What do you think?

 



Ladies, it’s not just our imagination; the older we get, the fewer men there are in our age bracket and most of those—in my experience—are married. At ages 75-84, there are almost 2 million more American women (8+ million) than men (6+ million). In the over 85 group (my own bracket) there are almost twice as many females (4+ million) as men (2+ million). And among the 90-and-older set, women outnumber men by a ratio of nearly 3 to 1. More than 80 percent of those women 90 and older are widowed, while more than 40 percent of men that age are still married. Is it any surprise that men are no longer asking out single 85-year-old women like me anymore? The very few single men our own age still alive seem not to be particularly interested in women.

No posting would be complete without a display of lost local pets. Pets are often referred to by owners’ as their "children" in photos posted on our neighborhood website.





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 Las incógnitas

La pelota se manchó: los derechos humanos antes, durante y después del mundial 2022 en Qatar