OK, folks, put away your Google translator! I’m
only wishing you all happy holidays. We’ve been through a rather tumultuous year,
but a whole brand new year, with fresh challenges and its own joys and sorrows,
now awaits us.
Here in the
northern hemisphere, we have just experienced the shortest day of the year, Dec.
21. So from now on until June 21, daylight hours become longer and nighttime darkness
grows shorter until the whole cycle begins all over again, something totally predicable
in an uncertain world.
Granddaughter Natasha (above right) came from
Florida to see me and my daughter Stephanie who had arrived from Hawaii. They went out together to see the White House Christmas tree display.
After granddaughter Natasha had returned
to Florida, my visiting daughter Stephanie, made a solo trip to see her brother Jonathan living in W Va. Here they appear together at the CoolFont Resort where he
works.
Now
Chinese winter lantern festivals have returned to DC.
The
tables have turned on English economist Thomas Malthus who died in 1834 after
issuing a dire warning that population growth would always outrun food supply.
He could hardly have foreseen the development, less than century later, of
birth control measures now reducing population growth below even sustainable levels
in the US, his native Britain, and many other parts of the world. These days more incentives
are needed to encourage women and their partners to have and raise more kids,
even beyond the modest one or 2 that seem to have become a popular norm. Childless
folks should step up right now to help out with the offspring of friends and family as
a civic duty and cease touting their “child-free” lifestyle on social media. Having
babies and raising children is the only way actual humans, including the
childless, ever get produced. Same sex couples may be unable to become parents via
conventional means, but many have found other ways. We all rely on each other
all the time, including in old age, when even the childless will need assistance
from the offspring of others.
Along with her
holiday greetings, the wife of a good friend living in western Va. told me that,
sadly, her husband had died earlier this year. It was quite a shock, as he was
younger than me, such a funny, warm intelligent guy, so full of life, that I’d expected
him to always be there. He used a wheelchair, but never made anyone feel sorry
for him, appearing always upbeat and matter-of-fact, and usually communicating
with me in Spanish, his native language. Just before the end of his life, his
wife told me that his teenage sons had come to visit him after years of estrangement,
a very fitting goodbye for all concerned. I do feel his loss, but believe he
lived a good, productive, and complete life. None of us can ask for more than
that.
WREG, 4-year-old dies after self-inflicted shooting
This
little guy never got to experience a full life.
Fox, Baby swept away in Tennessee tornado found alive 'by
the grace of God' in unusual spot Miraculously, a 4-month-old infant was found uninjured,
just resting quietly atop a fallen tree.
Joe Biden has certainly now lost my support and also my
vote with his Gaza policy, unless and until Donald Trump turns
out to be his opponent, thus forcing me to caste a reluctant vote for Biden.
I am not alone, so in running for re-election, Biden would benefit most if Mr.
Trump turns out to be his main adversary. But I would still hope and pray that
Trump never has a chance to become president again, as he represents a clear
and present danger for our country and for the whole world.
If Haley can gain momentum as a presidential
candidate, I’d be tempted to vote for her myself, even though I’ve never voted
for a Republican in my life. Other women might do the same, but how first
to get rid of front-runner Donald Trump? Trump is trying to quickly consolidate
his nomination before Haley gains any more ground. I don’t know if Haley has a
different plan for the Israeli war, but we women voters might be able to
influence her.
From here on out, this posting will focus on news
items regarding the Israel-Hamas war now dominating international headlines, so you can skip toward the end if you prefer.
Over 20,000 people are estimated to have already
been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, the majority of them civilians, including babies and children. This toll has reportedly has already exceeded that from the
horrific bombing of Dresden during World War II taking place over a 2-year
period. Countless Gazan civilians not yet killed are suffering from serious injuries,
starvation, and illness, even thirst, as drinking water is in short supply. This
worsening humanitarian disaster is completely man-made—as most of these
calamities really are man-made, that is, directed and perpetrated by
men. As American taxpayers, we all remain complicit in this carnage by financing it and by allowing our government to send actual bombing components to
Israel to use not only against Hamas militants, but against the growing number of
Gazan civilians whose deaths and injuries are being dismissed as mere
“collateral damage.” What can we as ordinary Americans do to stop all this?
Now, finally, a chance for hostilities to stop!
Wash. Post, Austin in Israel to discuss war’s next phase; WHO decries Gaza
hospital damage The US has been trying to persuade Netanyahu and Israeli forces
to pull back on their Gaza onslaught, but stronger measures now seem to be required. President
Biden’s ability to actually bring a halt to the conflict could even help boost
his reelection chances, as many American voters are getting weary of
this war.
Politico, Former US ambassador to Israel says Netanyahu is a
'clear and present danger' to Israel Martin
Indyk is the name of the former ambassador.
TIME, People Around the World Go on Global Strike for a
Ceasefire in Gaza
Reuters, Orphans of Gaza war left with no close relatives to
care for them
Yahoo News, ‘Disgusted and...shocked’: Jewish support group
denounces Trudeau government’s ‘hypocritical’ foreign policy as Canada calls
for ceasefire in Gaza
Trudeau’s support for a ceasefire was generally praised by
Canadians, including Muslims, but a Canadian Jewish organization protested that
he had failed to hold Hamas accountable.
ABC News, Israel-Gaza live updates: Israel pumping seawater into
some Gaza tunnels
Telegraph, Israeli troops filmed setting fire to food supplies in
Gaza
NBC News, In Lebanon, worries grow that Netanyahu won’t stop with
Gaza
Wash. Post, Unguided ‘dumb bombs’ used in almost half of Israeli
strikes on Gaza Israeli
troops kill 12 Palestinians, desecrate West Bank mosque.
Israel has been using advanced AI technology supplied by
the US to hit targets in Gaza (and also possibly in the West Bank), killing civilians of all ages remotely and imprecisely without risking its own
military. Is Israel aiming to definitively eliminate Hamas by carrying out a
Palestinian genocide? Will all the gains that Israel has made in world
acceptance over the decades simply now go up in smoke?
According to AP, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
is still hellbent on fighting “to the very end [what end?] even given the great
pain and the international pressure," adding that "nothing will stop
us.” What about a threat of, a reduction in, or even a complete cut-off of US
financial aid? That might bring Israel’s wanton killing and destruction to a
sudden halt.
ABC News, National security adviser Jake
Sullivan urges Israel to lower intensity of military campaign in Gaza Sullivan discussed it happening "during the
near future" during his face-to-face meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the
other members of Israel's war cabinet.
However, Israel has yet to
be given any public ultimatum by the US.
Reuters, Israeli troops kill 12 Palestinians, desecrate West
Bank mosque
Now Israel is also making
attacks on the West Bank. The US doesn’t seem to have any leverage over Israel whatsoever,
or else is deliberately holding back, trying to coax Mr. Netanyahu into
stopping instead of issuing an outright order to him to stop. Is that because of US
domestic considerations? As a result, Netanyahu seems to revel in his complete freedom
to issue orders and do whatever he pleases to protect his own skin without
worrying about any American constraints
Wash. Post, Israel used U.S.-supplied white phosphorus in Lebanon attack
NBC News, Nearly one-fifth of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza
died due to friendly fire and other accidents, IDF says
Reuters, Israeli hostages killed mistakenly in Gaza were holding
white flag, official says The Israeli military
reportedly has expressed “deep sorrow” for killing 3 hostages holding a white
flag. (Israeli’s military has become much too “trigger-happy.”) One victim was an American citizen.
AP, Israel faces new calls for truce after killing of
hostages raises alarm about its conduct in Gaza
Pope
Francis has been a
strong advocate for an Israeli ceasefire, at the same time also voicing support
for same-sex partnerships short of marriage. He has further softened
requirements for religious participation by divorced Catholics. Popes and other
clergy not only set forth rules of conduct, but also are influenced by the
actual conduct of their faithful followers. So who is following whom?
Wash. Post, Unguided ‘dumb bombs’ used in almost half of Israeli strikes on Gaza Rules of war (to the
extent that war even has rules) require the protection of children, civilians,
and all non-combatants. But Israeli forces don’t
seem to care about observing such well accepted constraints and apparently neither does
the Biden administration.
AP, A Palestinian baby girl, born 17 days ago during Gaza
war, is killed with brother in Israeli strike
The answer now is a resounding yes!
Wash. Post, Biden can go over Netanyahu’s head It’s
way past time for Biden to bring a halt to this senseless and unequal carnage
while also increasing his presidential reelection chances, as public opinion
domestically and internationally has started turning against Israel’s conduct
of the Gaza war. Until this war, Israel had been gaining modest acceptance in
the world community but has now completely squandered that progress with its
merciless, disproportionate, and vindictive retaliation in Gaza. Because
Israeli authorities had been caught off-guard, Palestinian civilians of all
ages have become scapegoats for Israeli intelligence failures.
New
Republic, It’s Not Just the Killing. Why Must
Israel Dehumanize Palestinians
AA, International Criminal Court seems
determined not to prosecute Israel and its leaders must face accountability for their crimes
in Gaza, but the current prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC)
seems determined not to do that at the moment, according to a former UN special
rapporteur. “It’s important to stress that the Israeli leadership, Prime
Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, his war Cabinet, and many members of the Israeli
army are responsible for the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity
and, possibly, the crime of genocide,” [John] Dugard told Anadolu in an
interview.
“Not in
Our Name” say Jewish demonstrators in Los Angeles. Reuters, Los Angeles freeway blocked by Jewish protesters
against Gaza war The protesters wore black
shirts reading "Not in Our Name" and held up placards demanding
Israel halt military operations in Gaza
Many American Jews have turned against Israel. A Jewish friend, a
Holocaust survivor nearly my own age, has been out demonstrating now with
fellow Jews right here in Washington, DC, against Israeli actions in Gaza. Israel cannot
afford to lose the support of the Jewish diaspora.
My local Holocaust survivor friend, no friend of Netanyahu,
sent me a link to a speech by Vermont Senator Bernie
Sanders https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpmw4RSi4EA
I replied, Thanks, well said
by Sanders who is at least nominally Jewish. I listened to his whole
speech. The US should pull the plug on military aid to Israel and support an
immediate ceasefire in my opinion and stop vetoing UN resolutions.
Netanyahu is not listening to any US appeals for moderation, while at the same
time, we continue to supply Israel with lethal weapons. Quite apart from the
horrific damage, deaths, and injuries in Gaza, Israel's world reputation is
suffering, and also that of the US. Israel was just starting to gain more acceptance
in its own neighborhood but now has become a pariah state. The US shares
the blame for aiding and abetting this continuing humanitarian disaster. Israel
was established after the Holocaust when ordinary Jews had been rounded up and
killed. Memories of that terrible experience should encourage Israelis to show more
compassion for innocent civilians in Gaza.
Back
here in my own home of many years, my visiting daughter has now completely
reorganized my household, including replacing my computer keyboard with one displaying
large white letters on raised black squares. This new keyboard lights up and
changes color all the time, most visibly at night, very fancy. I’m just not
used to it nor to a new method of making text insertions or corrections using a
huge colored
I
rather than just a straight line. Since I’d really like to revert back to the former more familiar system, I’ve discovered where she put the old keyboard, planning to re-install
it after her departure. But now she tells me that she’s already ordered a whole
new computer system, so I may finally have been stymied. At the risk of sounding
ungrateful for her help, I really wish she had consulted me first. (She also claims
never to have time to read this blog.)
Well-meaning
offspring trying to bring us fuddy-duddy oldsters up-to-date should realize
that making radical changes in our daily habits are not so easy for us, as we feel most
comfortable with the old familiar ways.
Even
before these recent computer updates installed by my daughter, several strange
all-caps items and other anomalies had sprung up on my last blog posting. Corrections
proved impossible, as the odd quirks persisted even after the complete erasure
and rekeying of certain sections. Some of the same oddities have reappeared now. If only we could paste-in a posting just as we've formatted it online! But the inscrutable blog gods always have the
final say.
Granddaughter Natasha (above right) came from
Florida to see me and my daughter Stephanie who had arrived from Hawaii. They went out together to see the White House Christmas tree display.
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