Is the past prologue?

OK, folks, several readers have asked me to please continue with the blog, so here we go once again. I have very politely asked the wildly unpredictable blog deities to kindly leave us alone now-- to just stop with their meddling and interference. 

Dear gods and goddesses, how about letting us continue here without any more intrusions? Thanking you in advance. 

Let's see now whether they actually got the message. 

The main question being asked here is: Can anything be learned from the past? And the answer is rather ambiguous: yes and no. So where does that leave us?  It leaves us right now with uncertainty about making the right choice, because we never know what the right choice is or exactly what the outcome will be beforehand. There are expected and unexpected consequences, but we only find out which after they've already happened. So in a sense, we are always flying blind throughout life, trying to accomplish something or end up in a certain place, but not knowing beforehand if that will actually happen. Sometimes, what happens is not what we were aiming for, but sometimes we do reach our goal, and when we don't, we may still end up OK with that. Based on my own experience, the odds are often about 50-50 of achieving a certain goal. That leaves us with uncertainty. Is that any better than chance? Are odds and probabilities the same thing?

Here's what Google says and isn't Google the ultimate authority? 

Probability

• Definition: The ratio of favorable events to all possible events. 
• Range: A value between 0 and 1 (or 0% and 100%). 
Example: The probability of getting tails when flipping a coin is 1/2 or 50%, as there is one favorable outcome (tails) out of two total possible outcomes (heads or tails). 

Odds

Definition: The ratio of favorable outcomes to unfavorable outcomes. 
Range: Can be any positive value, with no upper limit. 
Example: The odds of getting tails on a coin flip are 1 to 1, meaning there is one favorable outcome (heads) for every one unfavorable outcome (tails). 

What are the odds or probabilities that Donald Trump will seek an unprecedented 3rd term? I'd like to think they are zero in either case. 

Wash. Post, Trump tries to wrest spending power from Congress as government shutdown looms.

The administration says it can cancel nearly $5 billion in international aid with or without approval from lawmakers under a little-tested theory called a “pocket rescission.”

DC flags are out on display as never before. 


The repatriation of Guatemalan children in US government custody was expected to begin Sunday

{Aug. 31), according to a notice sent to attorneys, prompting a scramble among lawyers who say kids were woken up in the middle of the night and will be at risk if returned to their home country. Initially, 

600 children will be returned to Guatemala, but more may follow. Many of these minors are teens or preteens who had been able to cross the border unaccompanied by an adult. 

Wash. Post, Israeli strike killed Houthi prime minister, rebel group says

NY Times, This Summer, a Hostile Reception for Many Israelis Abroad

,,

Israelis, once admired for their pluck and courage in establishing a new nation in a hostile environment, are now finding themselves becoming pariahs worldwide. 

Wash. Post, Editorial Board

Israel blocking outside journalists from Gaza doesn’t help its cause

Israel has suffered a precipitous loss of world support and national prestige over its conduct in the Gaza war. Yet Donald Trump is holding on tight to support the Israeli leadership. .

                            Why are Palestinians fleeing Gaza city? Where can they go now? 

                            This is the exodus story in reverse, Palestinians being exiled by Jews.


        

        

         An orange shark was discovered in Costa Rica. Apparently, its coloring is a rare form of albinism.

                          

     Nature is an artist without parallel. So what's in your garden? What do you see? 

            

 

                                  Butterflies, like flowers, come in many shapes and colors.  

OK dear readers, until next time.