Monday, January 15, is a federal holiday, MLKing Day. As I make this posting, it’s cold outside, with a light snow falling in our city, dusting the tops of cars and green spaces and putting a damper on public celebrations.

As has been mentioned before, I once heard King speak to a crowd in Washington, DC, in August 1963, when he was 34 and just becoming more widely known. He was killed when he was only 39. He was a very effective orator whose stature and reputation have only grown over time. His possible transgressions are all but forgotten. A commemorative statue erected within walking distance of my home now serves as a popular visitor destination.

Wash. Post, The sermon where MLK spoke candidly on the Arab-Israeli conflict Martin Luther King Jr. offered his most unfiltered thoughts on the conflict in a 1959 sermon titled “A Walk Through the Holy Land,” following a Middle East trip.

Wash. Post, Covid kills nearly 10,000 in a month as holidays fuel spread, WHO says

After my recent close call with Covid, with some days still lost in a blur, it looks like I will make it after all, though still recovering rather slowly. This new variant completely overrode all recent vaccinations. Daughter Stephanie, who came down with it first, has returned to Hawaii, so I am on my own once again. At age 85, my memory and strength are gradually returning, making me hopeful to get back to at least to where I was before.

Wash. Post, Should I take Paxlovid if I get covid? Here’s what to know.

Yes, I took it and it may have shortened my recovery. I’m glad to still be alive, daring to feel optimistic once again about my future. Son Jonathan calls daily to make sure I am still among the living.

I’ve just reached out by phone to my younger sister Betty living in Philadelphia, my only surviving sibling. She’d just learned from my daughter Stephanie that both of us had suffered and lived through a serious bout of Covid, vaccinations notwithstanding. Before getting sick, Steph had visited Betty in December together with 2 of our cousins. Betty and her family proudly and independently live entirely “off-the-grid” without any internet connections, though a printed newspaper is delivered daily to their front door.

Betty resides with her husband and son and their dog in a self-sufficient household with little connection to the outside world. I have not actually seen her in person since our brother’s death in 2019. Fortunately, my brother-in-law, now age 80, still has his driver’s license, so can use their car for errands. Their adult son in his 40s, despite having experienced some developmental delays, is an amazingly accomplished and versatile artist working in a variety of mediums, often selling his paintings and sculptures at solo shows. I am looking up right now at one of his colorful abstract paintings. So I’m very glad to know that Betty and her family are doing well these days and have escaped Covid so far.

NBC News, What to know about the winter Covid wave

I don’t care to know any more about the winter wave, since firsthand experience has been more than sufficient.

Covid is not the only threat to our lives. There have been 9 mass shootings in the US already since the start of the year.

CNN, 2 people killed and 4 injured in shooting at suspected speakeasy in Philadelphia

After my recent close call and continuing recovery from Covid, I’ve announced my resignation after more than 43 years as volunteer Amnesty International Caribbean Coordinator. Much had changed during that time span. Back in 1981, we used to meet in our own homes and send out hand-written letters via postal air-mail requesting a prisoner’s release. Twice, I traveled to Europe to meet with other activists and coordinate our strategy. Now most activity takes place online.

My Amnesty resignation decision has brought forth a heartwarming passel of appreciative emails and phone calls from all over the world. I’m grateful that folks still remember and value my more than 4 decades of volunteer service, but now I’m quite ready to pass on the torch

Among many messages arriving in various languages is this one: Chère

Barbara, Nous avons tracavaillé depuis fort longtemps avec vous et votre groupe sur Cuba, Haïti et SaintDomingue. Je vous souhaite tout de bon pour votre santé et "enjoy life,". Merci à vous pour tout ce travail accompli et si délicat et difficile avec les Castro.

Mes meilleurs vœux vous accompagnent. Bien à vous,

Marie Pierre Maystre, Groupe de Genève

Dear

Barbara, We have worked for a very long time with you and your group on Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. I wish you all the best for your health and to "enjoy life." Thanks for all the work you have accomplished, so difficult and delicate, with the Castros. My best wishes go with you. Good for you.

Marie-Pierre Maystre, Groupe de Genève

A particularly gratifying message came in from someone still working at the AI USA office here in DC: Dear Barbara, you were there when I first started at Amnesty and I relied on your leadership, kindness, diplomacy, experience, expertise to mentor/inspire me and so many other cogroup/local group members over the past few decades. Your activism and the relationships you built across the world have all led to real human rights impact. I will miss seeing you in the Dc office and getting to spend time with you at Amnesty events. I just wish you good health and all the best in life. Thank you for giving me the privilege to work with you and learn from you.

Over the years, we all learned from one another.

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Regarding another connection very close to my heart:

The Peace Corps will be holding a virtual Career Fair Thursday, January 25th from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm ET. The Peace Corps is slowly trying to recover its previous capacity after shutting down completely during the pandemic.

Newsweek, Joe Biden Impeachment Escalates

On December 13, the House of Representatives voted to launch an impeachment inquiry into the president by 221 votes to 212, with members voting along party lines. Republicans allege that whilst serving as vice-president between 2009 and 2017 Biden used his influence to improperly support the business activities of his son, from which they suggest he gained financially. The president has said he had no involvement with Hunter Biden's business dealings and the White House has described the GOP's impeachment effort as "sad, pathetic, and a waste of everyone's time."

NBC News, GOP add new threats to impeach Lloyd Austin and Merrick Garland, along with Biden and Alejandro Mayorkas

While on an impeachment jag, some Republican lawmakers are casting a wide net, hoping to snag at least one or 2 Democrats in it.

Sec. of Defense Lloyd Austin had taken great pains to keep his prostate cancer surgery and ensuing complications private. But his secretive efforts rebounded in the opposite direction. General Austin has been released from the hospital, but is not yet back on duty. Gender-related cancers like prostate cancer in men, also like breast and ovarian cancer in women, usually develop at older ages. Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers among men. Several male friends have confided to me that they have prostate cancer and some eventually have died of it. Colin Powell had prostate surgery at Walter Reed in 2003 and made full disclosure at the time. He then died of Covid in 2021.

I can readily understand why Gen. Austin, former Harvard President Claudine Gray, and others once in the spotlight would now like to make a retreat, at least for the time being. Remaining in the public eye requires energy and often results in a distressing loss of privacy.

“Choice” and “childlessness” are terms that have grown in vogue in North America, western Europe, Japan, South Korea, and China, reducing population growth below sustainable levels. Even where women are still having children, many are having only one or 2, not making up for those having none. How can child-bearing and child-rearing become incentivized? Nordic countries have had modest success with programs that include generous subsidies and increased parental leave. It would also be helpful if those who are childless, whether by accident or design, would pitch-in to help raise the children of others rather than just retreating into a “child-free” bubble. After all, the continued survival of cultures and of humanity itself depends on the production and raising of infants and young children, so all of us obviously have a stake in that enterprise.

Wash. Post, Taiwan elects Lai Ching-te as president. China calls it a dangerous choice. Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party has been elected president of Taiwan, an outcome that will anger China, which views him as a separatist.

President Biden has said loudly and clearly that he does not support Taiwan independence and that Taiwan still remains a part of China. That is recognized around the world as measured, politically correct speech. Better now for Biden to declare that Taiwan is not independent than to go to war over mere words. De facto, Taiwan is independent, but dares not tout that blatantly to the wider world to avoid incentivizing a Chinese invasion, something that would seriously challenge both Taiwan and the US. Best now for Taiwan to maintain a verbally ambiguous status. It can only be hoped that emotions and views might actually soften over time among China’s ruling elite, who have very gradually allowed an evolution toward a more open system within China itself. Might mainland China one day move closer to Taiwan rather than vice versa?

Wash. Post, Guatemalan anti-graft leader Arévalo sworn in as president after 9-hour delay

His opponents had held up the transition, but finally allowed his inauguration to go forward.

Wash. Post, How drug traffickers made the Galápagos Islands their gas station The beloved UNESCO World Heritage site is being pulled into the booming cocaine trade that’s fueling Ecuador’s violence.

NPR, Ecuadorian president declares a state of emergency amid gang violence outbreak

An Ecuadoran-born friend said this about the current situation in her birth country:

Very sad and terrifying!

Hopefully the measures being taken by the government have positive results.

I’ve been away from Ecuador myself for some years now, but had always considered it to be safer than neighboring countries. I recall as a young teen arriving with my family by boat to the Ecuadoran port of Guayaquil, then traveling over rough roads to the capital in a vehicle that we had brought with us. In subsequent trips to Ecuador, I’ve never felt unsafe.

Reuters, WHY HAS ECUADOR'S SECURITY DETERIORATED? Security in Ecuador has worsened since the coronavirus pandemic, which also battered the Andean nation's economy. The number of violent deaths rose to 8,008 in 2023, the government has said, nearly double the 2022 figure. The violence crossed into the political arena last year when an anti-corruption presidential candidate was assassinated. The government blames the situation on the growing reach of cocaine trafficking gangs, who have destabilized swathes of South America.

Wash. Post, Settlers killed a Palestinian teen. Israeli forces didn’t stop it.

A review of videos from the deadliest settler attack in the West Bank since the war began shows how increasingly violent tactics have gone unpunished.

Reuters, US top diplomat urges Israel to make hard choices, work with Palestinians

Sec. Blinken has also urged Israel to reduce civilian casualties and to avoid ethnic cleansing. But are Israelis even listening? The estimated number of Palestinians killed has now exceeded 25,000, most of them women, children, and other noncombatants. Netanyahu has said publicly that his aim is to wipe Hamas off the map. The history of the Holocaust should make Israelis wary of adopting a perpetrator role in a reverse genocidal narrative. Many Israelis seem to be using the holocaust as justification for a revenge eradication of another ethnic group.

Wash. Post, The Israeli right undermines Biden’s Middle East agenda

Wash. Post, Israel’s talk of expanding war to Lebanon alarms U.S. A U.S. intelligence assessment found that it would be difficult for Israel to succeed in a war against Hezbollah amid ongoing fighting in Gaza.

US intelligence agents may have expressed alarm but seem unwilling or unable to influence Israel’s battlefield actions despite controlling the purse strings. President Biden’s evident reluctance to rebuke or in any way to publicly chastise Israel for its excesses is frankly distressing. There are so many problems in the world without having Israel and Hamas deliberately killing each other, with similar comments also applying to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. War seems to be a rather crude and anachronistic way to settle political disputes. Mr. Biden, speak up, tell Israel to just stop immediately, as you have the bully pulpit! (A sign in my front yard says, “Ceasefire now!”)

NY Times, Don’t Turn Away From the Charges of Genocide Against Israel

According to independent reports, Israeli media are controlling the narrative inside Israel itself, replaying the initial attack of Oct. 7 and emphasizing the heroic and victorious actions of the Israeli military. Bombed-out buildings in Gaza are shown, but not dead babies. Criticism coming from outside Israel is being dismissed as antisemitism.

NY Times, American Unions Long Backed Israel. Now, Some Are Protesting It.

Wash. Post, Here’s what to know about the pro-Gaza march in D.C. on Saturday

Wash. Post, March for Gaza rally draws thousands to D.C. on Saturday

(That march was held on Sat. January 13.)

My own sympathies for Palestinians are certainly influencing my judgment, but it does seem that public opinion, at least here in DC, definitely is leaning toward the pro-Palestinian side .

NY Times, Gaza Is Heading for Famine, U.N. Warns, as Specter of Wider War Looms

A U.N. official has warned of a “horrific” humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen have threatened to respond to U.S.-led airstrikes.

AP, South Africa tells the UN top court Israel is committing genocide in Gaza as a landmark case begins

Wash. Post, The U.S. nudges Israel toward an off-ramp from war

Opinion by David Ignatius

Israel and Netanyahu may need more than just a nudge.

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Now here below are several more photos of my last visit to Honduras in 2022, where I hope to be able to return in 2024, primero Dios, God willing. People there have been asking when I will be coming back. Not quite yet, as I must first totally recover from Covid and also recover more fully from the massive bank fraud, which, however, will never be completely compensated. Our bank accounts were far safer before the advent of the internet.
Photos from 2022 are now serving as my incentives for attempting another trip in 2024.

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Several people now contacting me in the wake of my resignation as an Amnesty Int’l volunteer leader have referred back to comments I made 5 years ago about the death of a very close friend, Jorge Valls, a poet, humanitarian, and former Cuban political prisoner appearing with me on the left of the first photo below. Other postings and photos from that time have begun resurfacing once again. Some friends have not responded to my recent outreach efforts, making me wonder if they are no longer with us.

HuffPost, MIAMIPHILOSOPHERHUMANITARIAN

Remembrance: The Death in Exile of Cuban Patriot Jorge Valls

Here’s what I said about Jorge on HuffPost 5 years ago:

On October 22, the death of my close friend Jorge Valls affected me deeply, reawakening a pain always close to my consciousness after the sudden death of my oldest son years ago. Even though Jorge was 82, his demise was unexpected. We had talked by phone only recently.

By Barbara E. Joe, Contributor

author, human rights activist, Spanish interpreter

Below, an even earlier photo from Oct 29, 2012

Was the past actually better? Or has nostalgia simply colored our memories? Certainly, we were younger then and more physically fit. Both Jorge, far left, and Silvia, the woman in white, in this 2012 photo, are no longer with us. For many of us senior citizens, the last 20+ years seem to have gone by in a flash with so many friends who were once part of our life now gone. I remember when my mother, who died at 92, was attending a funeral almost every week until it was her turn.

I want to go back even further now in time to when my granddaughter Natasha, now age 35, was small, seen here wearing a dress my mother had made and then at the beach. She is now the mother of a teenager and so I’m a great-grandmother.