March comes in like a lion. Does that mean the weather starts out in March roaring like a lion, but ends the month more gently, like a lamb? The first day of spring does seems to be arriving ever earlier, year after year.
This turns out to be a rather long
posting, so put on your reading glasses! Parts of the posting may appear
slightly out of alignment, but stubbornly resist correction—sorry about that. Also, I don't know why some Washington Post headlines appear in ALL CAPS; it's simply the will of the inscrutable blog gods.
A quick reminder here that on the US east
coast and much of the rest of the country March 10 was the date to “fall
back, spring forward” by turning our clocks ahead one hour and getting up an
hour earlier. Mexico ditched the time change, something we here in the US should consider
doing as well.
Daylight saving time, also referred
to as daylight savings time, daylight time, or summer time, is the practice of
advancing clocks to make better use of the longer daylight available during
summer, so that darkness falls at a later clock time. Wikipedia
Also on Sunday March 10, Author
J.K. Rowling sparked
controversy with a tongue-in-cheek message on Mother’s Day, being celebrated on
that date in the UK. “Happy Birthing Parent Day to all whose large gametes were
fertilised resulting in small humans whose sex was assigned by doctors making
mostly lucky guesses,” Rowling posted on X.
I heard a recent radio interview with someone (with a distinctly
male-sounding voice) who’d “transitioned” from male to female at age 67 after being
married to a woman with whom he’d produced a son. He may have always secretly yearned
to be a member of the opposite sex. Now in the twilight of life, wearing feminine
clothing, taking female hormones, and perhaps having undergone surgery, has this
person finally become a woman? Author Rowling has run
into considerable flak for saying that a trans woman is not really a woman
after all.
Rather surprisingly, age 70 seems to be when happiness peaks for the average American. Ages 20-40 are also rather satisfying years for most people, while a slump then typically occurs between 40 and 50. Of course, special circumstances can also influence happiness and wellbeing. When I lost my son and foster son in successive years, my own age had little impact.
Why do we all keep
on getting spam calls from people speaking English with a foreign accent? No,
they’re not foreign born Americans, rather, lower-paid offshore English-speakers
spending every day on the phone dialing one US number after another. I’ve met
some of them in Honduras. It’s a living, after all.
Have you ever
noticed that folks appearing in commercials these days seem rather ordinary
looking, more like you and me, and not as glamorous as in days gone by?
Valentine’s Day has come and gone. Woe to us women over 85 who
are twice as numerous as our male agemates, thus much less likely to have a
partner of opposite sex. Most men our age already have female partners, often much
younger. Lucky ladies take good care of your men! The gender ratio only gets worse for women among many challenges
that we face over time, though we're still glad to be survivors.
After his speech, Biden stayed on to mingle with lawmakers.
Daily Beast, Biden Threatens ‘Come to Jesus Moment’ for Netanyahu on Hot Mic
Maybe Biden
knew it was a “hot mike”? (And, yes, Netanyahu definitely has to go; yesterday
would not be soon enough.)
Then the very next day, Biden hit the campaign
trail. Let’s see if he can keep on being upbeat and feisty until election day. In
a new on-line campaign ad, he ruefully admits, “I’m not a young guy.”
GMA, Americans split on who they trust to do a better job as president: POLL
According to this poll, 36% of Americans trust Trump to do a better job leading the country as president, while 33% trust Biden, and 30% trust neither. How can so many voters possibly trust Trump? What is the secret of Donald Trump’s appeal? Is he a counter-culture hero for all those unhappy with their current circumstances? Mike Pence just offered Republican voters unhappy with Trump permission not to vote for him. As for me, I’ll be forced to vote for Biden once again.
===============
TIME, George Santos Is Running for Congress Again, Just
Months After House Expelled Him
Santos announced
his plans to run against the very representative who led the charge to expel
him, GOP Rep. Nick LaLota. Santos
will certainly attract supporters and contributors.
=====================================
Wash. Post, Cherry blossoms are halfway to peak bloom and much sooner than normal
More flowers
have appeared outside my bedroom window.=========================================================
=======================================================
Juan
Orlando Hernández, Former President of Honduras Indicted
Department
of Justice (.gov)
https://www.justice.gov › opa › juan-orlando-hernández...
Ex-Honduras
President Found Guilty in Drug Trafficking Trial https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/08/nyregion/juan-orlando-hernandez-honduras-guilty-verdict.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
ABC News, Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez found
guilty in US drug trafficking case
The area that would become Haiti was first
discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492, still inhabited by indigenous
people. French colonizers then arrived and began cultivating sugar, coffee, and
cotton using imported African slave laborers. When the slaves finally revolted
in 1791, the French to withdrew. All remaining Europeans were then summarily killed by
the former slaves. Independence was declared in 1804 in the western part
of the island which became Haiti, whose inhabitants now speak French and a
French-based creole, while the eastern part of the island is the Spanish-speaking
Dominican Republic. The US occupied Haiti from 1915 to 1934.
Haiti has now descended into total anarchy, especially in the capital of Port-au-Prince. Times have changed since the years when, as an election observer and human rights monitor in Haiti, I traveled all alone everywhere, riding by myself on city and long-haul buses and once even attending a voodoo ceremony. My home is filled with Haitian tapestries and artifacts. Haiti and Haitians still remain dear to my heart.
CNN, US, Germany and EU embassies begin evacuating staff as violence spirals in gang-plagued Haiti
Miami Herald, U.S. military flies Marines into Haiti embassy, evacuating some staff in overnight airlift
Miami Herald, Haiti prime minister’s hold on power is ‘untenable,’ State Department says
Prime Minister Ariel Henry, a 74-year-old neurosurgeon, who had landed in Puerto Rico after returning from Kenya, has finally agreed to step down. He had gone to Kenya asking for help to oust the gangs taking over in his country (although Kenyans, while also black, don’t speak French or Haitian creole, Haiti’s main languages). Gangs now control Port-au-Prince’s airport, preventing Henry’s plane from even landing there. Demands that he step down have come not only from the gangs vying for political power but from ordinary citizens angry that elections have not been held for nearly a decade, while Henry himself was never actually elected to begin with.
Wash. Post, How the gang leader ‘Barbecue’ became one of Haiti’s most powerful men
=================================================
Getting tough on crime, following El Salvador’s lead.
AP, El Salvador extends anti-gang emergency decree for 24th
time. It's now been in effect for two years Bukele has used emergency powers to round up 78,175
suspected gang members in sweeps that rights groups say are often arbitrary,
based on a person’s appearance or where they live… El Salvador's homicide
totals haves dropped from 6,656 in 2015 — an average of about 18 per day — to
18 so far this year.
Salvadorans I’ve spoken with in the US totally applaud President Bukele’s
crackdown, saying it was about time, expressing little concern about possible
lack of due process for defendants.
=======================================================
Honduras wants to build
West's only island prison colony and lock gangsters inside
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Honduras plans to build
the only island prison colony in the Western Hemisphere and send its most feared
gangsters there.
------------------------------==============================--
And in
Nigeria:
CNN, At least 287 school children kidnapped by armed gunmen in northwest Nigeria
Reuters, Israel destroying Gaza's food system in 'starvation' tactic, UN expert says
Not only are many Gazan children still dying or being killed,
but some 17,000 children have been orphaned by Israeli attacks.
CNN, Newborns
die of hunger and mothers struggle to feed their children as Israel’s siege
condemns Gazans to starvation
Aljazeera, Six children die of malnutrition in Gaza hospitals
NBC News, As malnutrition deaths are reported and hunger grows, will 'famine' be declared in Gaza?
ABC News, Biden to announce 'emergency' US military mission to build pier off Gaza coast to deliver aid
Wash. Post, Biden’s plan for maritime aid deliveries to Gaza draws skepticism
ABC News, US airdrops meals, water into northern Gaza where aid has been limited
AP, Biden: Netanyahu 'hurting Israel' by not preventing more civilian deaths in Gaza
Huff Post, Bernie Sanders Calls On Biden To Block U.S. Funding For Netanyahu's 'War Machine' (Sanders is as least nominally Jewish.)
Wash. Post, Biden has huge leverage on Israel. He hasn’t really used it yet.
Wash. Post Israel acknowledges strike on U.N. facility, says it targeted Hamas commander
Joe Biden has gradually changed his tune on the Gaza war, months after worldwide sympathy for Israel first surged right after the Hamas attack. As Israeli retaliation has continued and has become excessive, killing so many Palestinian civilians of all ages, world opinion has shifted. Biden’s views may have also shifted, but so far, with little real action on his part, just talk. Young Americans and university students have kept on demonstrating in support of Palestinians but seem to have failed to influence Mr. Biden.
It's way past time for our president to actually pull the plug on financial and moral assistance to Israel so that food aid can actually reach Gaza and other West Bank territories. Belatedly, as civilians of all ages are now finally starving to death, the US is scrambling to feed Gazans, seeking a roundabout sea route and not reigning in Israeli aggression, still trying to play both sides. The International Rescue Committee issued a blunt statement: “Palestinians in Gaza need a sustained ceasefire and they need it now. A temporary pier that could take weeks to construct or airdrops are not a solution.” Israeli officials, in turn, cast opposition to their attacks on Gaza as a resurgence of historical antisemitism.
Most Jews living in Israel today may indeed still fully support war-hawk Netanyahu, who aims to save his own skin as well to defend his country after the Hamas attack, now trying to compensate for his own failure to foresee or prepare for the attack. But his belatedly defensive and aggressive moves to redeem himself should not govern US policy. Jews living here in the US are definitely divided, as are most Americans, with some Jewish friends now actively participating in public demonstrations against Israel’s war conduct.
Wash. Post, How Oct. 7 is forcing Jews to reckon with Israel Many progressive Jews outside Israel may turn toward a Jewishness that is more personal, familial and spiritual and less national-political
ABC News, 5 Palestinians killed after shelling at UN aid distribution center in Rafah, Gaza
NY Times, At Least 20 Killed in Attack While Waiting for Aid, Gazan Officials Say
ABC News, 5 Palestinians killed after shelling at UN aid distribution center in Rafah, Gaza
NY Times, At Least 20 Killed in Attack While Waiting for Aid, Gazan Officials Say
BBC News, Israel Gaza war: EU says starvation being used as a weapon
Wash. Post, U.S. floods arms into Israel despite mounting alarm over war’s conduct [Is Biden playing both sides?]
Reuters, Aid ship reaches Gaza coast; Israel rejects Hamas truce offer
Wash. Post, Israel faces crisis of its own making as chaos and hunger engulf Gaza
The Hill, Netanyahu hits back at Biden’s criticism: Policies are supported by ‘overwhelming majority’ of Israelis
USA Today, Israel should hold elections and oust Netanyahu, Schumer says in harsh speech. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer [who is Jewish] called Thursday for Israelis to hold elections and choose a new government that can better handle the threat of Hamas. “As a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me: The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after Oct. 7,” the New York Democrat said in a floor speech Thursday morning. “Nobody expects Prime Minister Netanyahu to do the things that must be done to break the cycle of violence, preserve Israel’s credibility on the world stage, and work towards a two-state solution.”
Politico, Senate Dem says blocking weapons shipments ‘on the table’ if Israel invades Rafah Congressional action to block U.S. arms sales to Israel is "certainly something that’s on the table" if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launches a large-scale invasion of Rafah, according to Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).
Reuters, Netanyahu says Israel will push on with Gaza offensive, including in Rafah
Telegraph, Biden trying to overthrow Netanyahu, Israeli government claims
If true, let’s hope that Biden actually succeeds. Biden needs to work with a more reasonable, less hard-headed Israeli leader.
It’s way past time now to demand a complete ceasefire and for the US to stop giving any more money, arms, or moral support whatsoever to Israel!! More Americans like me are turning against Israel to demand a full ceasefire, as per the sign in my own front yard ever since last November.
President Biden, whatever are you waiting for? Biden’s forbearance toward Israel may have tried to retain leverage over war hawk Netanyahu via control of the purse. But if that leverage remains only a bluff, can it remain credible after all? Biden has already called the threatened Israeli invasion of Rafah a “red line.”
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