Democratic Debates, Carrot or Stick? Trump, the Great Decider, Migrant Bodies, Honduras, Venezuela, Granddaughter’s Visit, Peppers, Right to Life/to Choose (Again)

Because I don’t have TV (no patience to sit to watch it), I missed the Democratic presidential candidate debates, as I could not find them on radio. Perhaps it would have been too cumbersome to try to broadcast them on radio. Instead, I heard excerpts, including of Beto O’Rourke speaking accented, but intelligible Spanish. I’ve already said I would vote for any one of them, but maybe front-runner Joe Biden as a centrist has the best chance of appealing to disillusioned Trump supporters. I would love to see him with a female VP, if that can happen, and also to win in a landslide against Trump, despite the quirks of the Electoral College that cheated us so disastrously last time. This time voters cannot afford to be so quite picky, as some were about Hillary. For better or worse, it’s a binary contest, so never mind about 3^rd party choices this time. It’s either the Democrat or Trump.

President Obama offered more of a carrot than a stick to adversaries Iran and Cuba. Trump prefers threats and confrontation, inflicting economic pain and risking violence and war. There is no guaranteed method of influencing the actions of other nations and their leaders, who are simply other people, after all. Trump’s tactics are scary and have not proved successful so far, increasing not reducing tensions. If other leaders feel under attack, they will fight back and resist. Trump never gave Obama’s approach to making a deal a chance to increase mutual trust and reduce the likelihood of conflict with political adversaries, whether in other countries or here in the US.

The standoff with Iran is entirely of Trump’s making. He has goaded the Iran regime into resistance and self-defense. He came perilously close to starting a war there, perhaps pushed by his advisers, but reportedly pulling back at the last minute after perhaps realizing it would hurt his reelection chances, which it would. If it was an impulsive decision to go ahead and then equally impulsive to pull back, we dodged a bullet that time. Shooting down an unmanned drone, however costly the device, doesn’t merit all-out war. Meanwhile, Trump has reportedly lost interest in Venezuela, where the US could have some influence if it played its cards right, which is unlikely. 

Trump’s approach to trade is similarly heavy handed and mercurial. Don’t try talking first, just slap some tariffs on products from another country and then, as he likes to say, “Let’s see what happens.” The man has no imagination, no foresight, no ability to put himself in another person’s shoes. His taunts of other lawmakers are worthy of a third-grade playground bully, hence meaningless. When poll numbers from his own pollsters were leaked, showing him falling behind major Democratic presidential hopefuls, he fired the pollsters. Don’t give that guy any bad news! Of course, even if he falls far behind in the popular vote in 2020, we now know that may not be definitive. Depending on how Electoral College votes fall, he could still pull it off again. Can lightning strike twice in the same place?

If Trump loses reelection, which I fervently expect and hope he will, he and his supporters will certainly cry foul. Some of them have even expressed the wish that he might have a 3^rd term. Would the man even live that long? Will I survive that long? The fact that Trump is still in office now is certainly eroding my mental health. Or how about “President-for-Life” like former Haitian dictator Baby Doc? It’s hard to imagine why so many Republican lawmakers and fellow Americans continue to slavishly support the guy. Maybe it’s due to a cult-like psychology that drinks the Kool Aid even though it results in certain death. In traveling abroad, I’m pretty understanding and accepting of cultural differences and clashes, but seeing such a sharp divide within our own country and being part of it is proving very unnerving. 

As for the migrant crisis, it’s easy for Trump to try to demonize the so-called hordes of criminals trying to crash the border to invade our country. But, as always, an individual case is easier to understand and pulls more on the heart-strings. A little refugee boy’s body washed up in Greece caused more outrage than the sinking of a boatload of refugees. Likewise, there is less sympathy here for crowds waiting at the border gates and much more for the man and little girl whose bodies were found drowned on the shores of the Rio Grande. In both cases, the bodies being shown face-down seems to have increased their poignancy. A single human photographic example makes it easier for the viewer to identify with the victim than the sight of a crowd.

However, I must observe, based on my own recent conversations in Honduras, that the rumor there is that getting into the US is easier with a child in tow, one reason so many adult migrants are traveling with children. Push factors include lack of work, crop failures, and rampant crime in their own countries, while pull factors are the demand for workers in the US, especially in agriculture, hospitality, and construction which depend most on foreign workers (even Trump properties have relied on undocumented workers).  

It is noteworthy that Trump has been traveling abroad, both to the UK and now to Japan, without Melania in tow. Nor has she been visible here in the US. Perhaps she’s just fed up and awaiting her welcome release in 2020.

Meanwhile, Honduras protests: Military deployed after violence

       21 June 2019 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-48712001       

Anger has been building in recent weeks over proposals to restructure the ministries of education and health. Opponents say that the changes are the first step towards the privatization of education and health services. Two people were killed recently.

On our Amnesty Int’l USA Facebook page for Latin America, a couple of guys posted there that Venezuelans are making up stories against the Maduro government just to gain asylum here and that the whole Venezuelan problem was made in Washington. I have helped some of those Venezuelan asylum applicants and assured them their stories were credible. I asked if the millions of Venezuelans fleeing to other South American countries have been merely trying to get asylum in the US? Really, some AI members are as boneheaded as Trump supporters, lots of conspiracy theories floating around, amplified by the internet.

Jared Kushner’s plan for the Palestinians (put together without their input) takes a page from communist China and Viet Nam, namely emphasizing economic development without parallel political development. Most people anywhere would accept that as a cup half full, as it allows them some freedom and agency in their daily life while giving them no role in choosing their leadership or governing laws. 

My granddaughter was up from Florida, visiting us and her 11-year-old son, who is staying here for the summer. She was also taking care of a local friend’s 8-month-old baby, a very precocious child, not only showing teeth in a broad smile, but who can stand and walk a few steps alone, pick up tiny snips of food to eat, and even bring a spoon to his mouth, in stark contrast to most children I’ve seen when working as an interpreter in home therapy. 

Riding with my daughter to go meet my granddaughter, we were involved in a fairly minor 5-car chain accident. The driver of a car ahead had apparently changed his/her mind about turning off, veering back onto the highway, then speeding off, causing 5 cars behind to slam on their brakes, crashing slightly into each other. The back of my daughter’s car was hit pretty hard and we were jolted, but not injured. The driver of the car ahead of us, who at first had been walking around, decided that a previous back injury had been aggravated and left in an ambulance. My daughter laments that her insurance will rise. The car that hit us from behind has the same insurance and faces the same fate. But the errant driver who had caused all this chaos had gone ahead scot-free.

While I am not fond of hot peppers myself, the potted plant grown from seeds by previous Bhutanese visitors, continues to bear fruit. I can only give them away. 

While many Catholics adhere to a seamless support of life from prenatal through natural death and in opposition to capital punishment, it is also true that some advocates for the unborn still support executions for those who have committed capital crimes. At the other end of the political spectrum, many vociferous opponents of capital punishment are equally adamant in supporting a woman’s “right to choose.” There is often little middle ground, at least among activists for both sides. Yet a growing number of people are voluntary vegetarians because they oppose killing animals for food. And a woman stomping on a turtle-egg nest was arrested, apparently for endangering unborn turtles. What does the “right to life” encompass? It seems to depend on the consensus of the tribe you consider that you belong to. I have no problem with voluntary euthanasia by someone with a terminal illness who is cognitively and emotionally sound. Where does that put me on the political spectrum if I am also not so supportive of 2nd trimester abortions? I do think the 2^nd and 3^rd trimesters are where “pro-life” folks should put their efforts and where the Supreme Court might rule to further parse the broad and somewhat vague outlines afforded by Roe. But the subject of abortion has grown so contentious and partisan that it is not an issue the politicians on either side should be willing to tackle in any depth or nuance right now.  

Surprise Phone Call, D-Day, Local Events, Compassion Fatigue, July 4, Cuba Travel Ban, Sex Abuse in Baptists churches and elsewhere, Abortion/Miscarriage

A man who had been visiting me from Nigeria a couple of years ago called on Eid, quite a nice surprise I usually don’t answer unfamiliar numbers, but this time, glad I did.  

My late father, US Army Col. Leonard Currie, though born in Alberta, Canada, had become a US citizen and was in Normandy on D-Day.

         

     
                  My 11-year-old great-grandson De’Andre is 
                visiting the DC area 

                from Florida for the summer.  

My visitor from Bhutan and his colleague, who is staying with a friend nearby, participated in a Cultural Day at GAO, where they are taking a course. GAO fellows from various countries participated which showcased scenes, food, and artifacts from each home country. 

                         

Waiting in line at the Post Office, I talked with a young mother who looked Hispanic and admired her new baby girl. But like too many mothers in Honduras, her baby's hands were covered by mittens. I didn’t know such baby mittens were still being made and were available in the US, ostensibly used to keep newborns from scratching their faces. (It is sometimes hard to trim tiny fingernails.) I used to try to dissuade Honduran mothers from using them; they considered babies sucking on their fingers unsanitary and bad for their future teeth. Sucking fingers is normal and instinctive for babies! But I hesitated to offer advice there in PO as the poor child sucked on one of the mittens. 

Working recently as an interpreter at a DC public school that shall remain nameless, I saw a hall bulletin board featuring photos of prominent people, including the Obamas and Hillary Clinton, but not Donald J. Trump! At that same school, I learned that cursive writing is no longer taught. Why bother when communication is electronic and letters appear only in print? Some folks may remember, as I do, practicing writing each cursive letter, upper and lower case. And will our grandchildren be able to read letters, documents, and diaries that we and historical figures have written in cursive? Signatures are usually done in cursive, though many people now just scribble something unintelligible.

Previously on these pages, I questioned whether overwork was really responsible for the 2018 suicide, at age 65, of Amnesty International’s West Africa Researcher, Gaëtan Mootoo, as per his suicide note, prompting a large financial settlement for his family? I speculated that there may have been other factors, maybe health, relationship, or personal problems, since he could have simply resigned or retired, or insisted on getting more help. However, a Mexican lawyer involved in human rights work made a convincing case that compassion fatigue is real and can actually drive someone over the edge. Dealing with human problems and suffering day after day can become overwhelming and seriously depressing because of inability to make any major inroads. She considered the Mootoo suicide quite understandable in light of the pressures of human rights work and the settlement, fully justified.

There is a rather scathing article in The Economist (June 8, 2019), about AI’s toxic work environment.

https://www.economist.com/business/2019/06/06/charity-begins-at-work

I still think that staff suicides at AI are not fully attributable to the work culture, but am willing to acknowledge that the sheer pressure of human rights work and the constant exposure to human traumas and suffering could push a sensitive person over the edge. So now I must admit that the work could actually be a major factor in suicides, with that work being even more thankless for unpaid volunteers like me who get little acknowledgement.

I do appreciate The Economist’s frank discussion of compassion fatigue at AI, but must express my annoyance that an otherwise impeccable publication, insists on changing US book titles and formal institutional names to British spelling, as in the case in the reference in the AI article to a Harvard-published book, rendered as "The Fearless Organisation." I looked up that book on Amazon, and the title is shown with a z. I've even seen The Economist do that in letters-to-the-editor from the US. But American publications don't change the spelling of British book titles or institutions; we don’t write about the “Labor Party.” I wonder if each issue of the magazine is subjected to spell-check before it goes to print, which automatically converts American spellings? 

It looks like Mr. Trump is hell-bent on ruining the usual non-political, nationally unifying July 4^th celebration by changing its location and featuring himself as the main speaker, positioning himself at the Lincoln Memorial, perhaps hoping that Lincoln’s reputation will rub off on him. The optics may play well with Fox News and its viewers, but I predict that attendance will be smaller than normal and marred by demonstrations. The Trump Baby blimp is already being readied. I certainly do not plan to attend the fireworks this year. 

If Trump got 5% of the DC vote, that's an overestimate. He is totally reviled by DC citizens, so security for his July 4^th appearance, if goes ahead (plans have yet to be presented), will be a nightmare. Of course, Trump will say he got the biggest crowd ever to hear his speech, just like the crowd that attended his inauguration. He claims to be "your favorite president." When he loses in 2020 (we simply cannot have another fluke like 2016!), he can always say it's fraud, fake news, illegals voting, or whatever. "This too shall pass" does give some comfort, but is harder to invoke when our life horizon as seniors is somewhat limited. We'd like to survive long enough to see it actually happen! 

This is my reply to a friend favoring a Biden/Booker Democratic ticket: I'm not crazy about Biden. He was not helpful on our Amnesty Caribbean issues when he was veep and we’d asked him when he visited certain countries to put in a word--at least, he did not do so publicly and never got back to us. But I would certainly vote for him over Trump and he would probably have the best chance to appeal to moderate voters, so, yes, I’d vote for him, but would like him to have a female running mate. Booker is a very smart guy--if Biden gets the nomination and chooses him, that would fine. Of course, there are many like me who would vote for anyone over Trump, which is one reason so many people are running, hoping to be "the one." But Biden, for all his missteps, probably still has the best chance of both getting the nomination and winning the presidency, Electoral College or no. Several states are making sure all their Electoral College votes go the winning candidate--they have learned a lesson from 2016!

Trump’s travel ban affects Cubans trying to make it in the private sector and also is annoying to cruise ship passengers rerouted to other destinations: Cubans Pay for Trump’s Travel Ban, Wall St. Journal, June 7, 2019

https://www.wsj.com/articles/cubans-pay-for-trumps-travel-ban-11559943888

Would-be American visitors to Cuba should complain to Trump and to the White House, not that Trump would care, except maybe if they say they won't vote for him in 2020. It's a mistake to cut off American visitors to Cuba, because now, after the death of Fidel and the reduction in Venezuelan oil shipments, ordinary citizens’ support for the government is shakier than ever. Being able to meet and serve even non-Spanish speaking tourists would help undermine the regime, especially if such services are offered by folks in the small, struggling private sector.

It has become apparent that sex abuse is not confined to the Catholic church, as Baptists are now grappling with the same issue. And so are sports, colleges, Hollywood, government at all levels, international bodies, other countries, in short, it seems it be a worldwide problem. Why is it so widespread, universal really? It’s due, I believe, to a combination of culture, testosterone effects, power dynamics, physical strength and force, and economics—exacerbated by sheer inertia, shame, and fear on the part of victims. Women sexual predators are much rarer, often teachers of young male students or another woman in a position of authority. Now the Me-Too movement is confronting sex abuse and we’ll see where that leads.                                                                                                                                                                        

As for the abortion debate, especially regarding early abortions, which admittedly are the majority, I think pro-life folks should largely give up the fight, since medication abortions cannot be controlled as a practical matter. Instead, they would do well to focus instead on second and third trimester abortions, where Roe was more equivocal and where public opinion might favor their arguments. I’ve already mentioned having seen children born after 25 and 26 weeks gestation who are functioning and personable, perhaps with some delays. A baby born after 23 weeks just went home, admittedly after much special treatment. I do think abortions in the 2^nd and 3^rd trimesters should be quite limited and perhaps be called euthanasia if deemed necessary because of a serious fetal defect. They should not be performed then just because a woman had failed to notice she was pregnant and doesn’t want a child.  

It also must be acknowledged that there may be as many or more early miscarriages at the same stage of gestation as an early abortion, a loss certainly, but not regarded as such a terrible loss, especially if the woman gets pregnant again, although that will produce a new and completely different individual. (We are getting into philosophical weeds here.) Some women who have lost a pregnancy through either miscarriage or abortion, go on to have subsequent children who might not have been born if the earlier pregnancy had resulted in a birth. Each of us owes our existence to the unique and chance uniting of a particular sperm and ovum. It’s the same ovum (or sometimes ova) throughout a female cycle, but sperm comes in multiples and if a different sperm had united with the ovum, a different individual, maybe of the other gender, would have been produced, not me or thee. And feelings about miscarriage in early pregnancy do vary widely. A woman at a session of a bereavement support group I attended after my son had died lamented the death, by name, of her 4-month-old son. We all sympathized, as she was very outspoken about grieving the loss of her only child. Only later did I learn that her “son” was a 4-month fetus and she had had no other children. So, different strokes for different folks.

New Citizen, Bambi, A Death, School Interpretation, Impeachment? Migrants, Latin America, Andrew Yang, Child Support, Abortion Again, Oxycodone, Bedbugs

                              A man who has done house repairs for me over the years                                 finally became a US citizen. (Sorry for odd spacing and  

for some places where larger type appears. Hard to remedy.)

My lone visitor now from Bhutan had visitors of his own who are living now in NY State. They drove to our place all the way from Rochester to pick him up and take him there. Their preschool boy did some minor damage in my house which is not organized for active kids, though I once had them myself. Bhutan, as I have mentioned before, is a tiny, mountainous Buddhist country with only 800,000 people, just a little more than in Washington, DC. It has a king, a queen, and a little prince.

Here’s something about the young dragon prince of Bhutan: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/bhutans-dragon-prince-growing-see-140751138.html

My visitor’s nephews, including boy playing the piano at my house. 

         Here is my visitor near Niagara Falls on his trip to Rochester. 

My son Jonathan discovered a tiny fawn when he was helping a            neighbor with landscaping. He found its mother in the roadway with          a broken leg after being hit by a car. After checking with wildlife                services, who said nothing could be done to help the mother and to          get out of the way so she could retrieve her offspring, he did                    just that and she limped off with the baby into the woods. (As I've            mentioned before, Jon had his left index finger amputated after an            erroneous diagnosis, hence his missing finger in one photo.) He sent          the photos to his kids still living in Hawaii, who are familiar with the          tale of Bambi. 

       

Just found out when I took an empty egg carton over for a farmer/vendor at Eastern Market that he had died suddenly of a heart attack, so won't be coming back, such a nice, friendly guy. But when any of us dies, as we all will, going quickly like that is preferable to suffering a long illness. From now on, in our household, we will have to put our empty egg cartons into the recycling bin. 

At a recent school interpretation taking place on a rare Saturday near the end of the semester, I was fortunate to be assigned to a group of mostly Spanish-speaking high school students, with a few English speakers included who needed interpretation. There were emotional discussions of fear of deportation, about what they could do as mainly under 18 non-citizens for self-protection, and how to get the most out of their educational experience. Washington, DC, is a sanctuary city, but also the current residence of Donald J. Trump, which has increased the fear level. Schools were thought to also be sanctuaries, like churches, where ICE could not detain them, but there was uncertainty about that. They discussed the status of a fellow student, who as soon as she turned 18 was, then targeted by ICE, but, so far, has not been arrested and deported. Is the Trump administration starting to realize that for reelection, Mr. Trump needs to appeal beyond his base and that not all Americans support his tough anti-immigrant policies? For now, at least, most of the ill-considered “wall” plan seems to have been abandoned, although Steve Bannon cleverly managed to have a mile-long token section built with donated funds. Now a local mayor is challenging the effort because the group lacked the proper permits and many  folks are opposed.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was wise to give Trump a royal welcome that flattered and catered to him like the one he had received in Saudi Arabia, unlike how he was received in London with protesters and a baby Trump blimp overhead. And apparently the White Housed asked that name of the docked Navy ship named for the late Senator John McCain be obscured, lest it upset the prickly Commander-in-Chief.

No such thing as climate change? Trump supporters in the heartland are feeling the brunt of it right now, as well as more tariffs, this time on Mexico. He thinks that by threatening and punishing other nations—Iran, China, Mexico—he will get his way. Doesn’t he know that may just harden their resistance?  

Trump keeps ranting against the “fake news, corrupt press” without giving any specific examples. He lies so much if he actually told the truth, we wouldn’t believe him. Likewise, he likes to label political rivals “low IQ,” engaging in schoolboy-type name-calling. Look who’s talking! That White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders could support Trump’s allegations of Biden’s (or Bidan’s, as Trump misspelled his name) “low IQ” by saying that North Korean Chairman Kim agrees with him on that point is pretty ludicrous. (Kim’s a guy we should trust after he reportedly executed members of his summit staff after Trump walked out on their most recent talks?) How can Sanders and other Trump spokespeople keep a straight face? Is toadying up to Trump worth it just to keep their jobs? And Trump managed to work mention of Biden’s supposed low IQ into his press conference in Japan probably to his hosts’ surprise. This comedy of errors might be entertaining if its consequences weren’t so serious. Joe Biden is not a brilliant orator like Obama or even a thoughtful policy wonk like Hillary Clinton, and he is not politically correct (which might actually endear him to Trump supporters), but he’s several notches above Donald Trump on the IQ scale.

If Trump were not occupying such an influential office right now inflicting major damage around the world, we would want to show compassion toward someone so obviously mentally and emotionally challenged, someone who apparently struggled through higher education bolstered by his father’s influence and a fake draft deferment, a guy who now knows he’s in way over his head. If Republicans did not support him so mindlessly, he might be gone by now.

I agree with Nancy Pelosi (a much savvier politician than Donald Trump will ever be) that The Donald seems to be begging for impeachment. He’s not quite sure what it means, but he knows it’s something bad. Actually, impeachment doesn’t mean the end of a presidency, at least it didn’t for Bill Clinton. Does Trump think it would raise his profile as a tough guy and arouse his base and fellow Republicans in his defense? Or is he even thinking that far ahead? Trump has speculated about Pelosi’s mental fitness too when she is a way sharper and better politician than he will ever be. And she is right, why invoke impeachment? When Bill Clinton was impeached, it only increased his popularity. Trump supporters would rally in his defense—better to keep investigating and reveal his lies and coverups. Defeat him at the ballot box and then let him rant about election fraud.

With his usual lack of modesty, Trump did not credit Russia or even his faithful voters for helping him get elected.  “No, Russia did not get me elected,” Trump said. “You know who got me elected? You know who got me elected? I got me elected.” If he were a normal guy, a savvy politician and head of state, he would find a way to make a joke about the baby Trump blimp if it shows up again in London. But no, his hosts will have to try to shield him from it because of his very thin skin, just as efforts were made to prevent him from seeing John McCain’s name on a ship.

Rep. Lauren Underwood, a nurse and first-term Democratic congresswoman from Illinois, has accused the head of the Department of Homeland Security of implementing policies that have directly resulted in the deaths of five migrant children in U.S. Border Patrol custody. Another relatively new Congressperson, Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-Calif., agreed that the migrant deaths were "intentional" based on actions taken by the Trump administration to halt or limit Central American migrants from seeking asylum in the U.S. Specifically referred to were policies separating parents from children and keeping minors in detention in sometimes inadequate and overcrowded circumstances where contagion can spread. The deaths were probably not intentional, though the policies that may have contributed to those deaths were intentional and designed to inflict discomfort. On the other hand, the kids who died had probably originally come from very impoverished circumstances and had arrived at the border malnourished after an arduous and exhausting journey, so may have been especially vulnerable.

You probably know about the case of Scott Warren, an Arizona doctor who was arrested helping migrants. “Providing humanitarian aid is never a crime. “If Dr. Warren were convicted and imprisoned on these absurd charges, he would be a prisoner of conscience, detained for his volunteer activities motivated by humanitarian principles and his religious beliefs,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/05/usa-authorities-must-stop-criminalizing-humanitarian-aid/

In Mexico, which at first had welcomed migrants, most headed to the US, is finding patience now wearing thin and some migrants are being deported by Mexico. Mexican President Lopez Obrador seems to want to maintain good relations with the Cuban leadership by making a special effort to deport Cuban migrants (who have struggled mightily to get as far as Mexico), while Cubans who make it across the US border are not treated any better than any other migrants.  A Mexican priest helping all migrants and running a migrant shelter, Father Alejandro Solalinde, has called upon the Mexican president to treat all migrants equally and with compassion and not to selectively deport Cubans, implying that the consequences for a Cuban deportee are more dire than for a Guatemalan deportee.

Specific examples of Cuba’s export of medical services for direct payment to the Cuban government with only a small stipend to the doctors themselves is described in both my books. And the food shortage in Cuba and exemption of food from the US embargo is treated in my Confessions book. In both cases, I don’t cite statistics, but use the experiences of actual people to demonstrate.  

The hidden world of the doctors Cuba sends overseashttps://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48214513

Shortages plague Cuba as U.S. sanctions sharpen economic woes
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-economy/shortages-plague-cuba-as-us-sanctions-sharpen-economic-woes-idUSKCN1SX1P1

[Here’s an alternative view.]

The U.S. Bears No Blame as Cuba Starves on Its Policies Today, less than 25% of Cuba’s arable land is in cultivation. Wall St, Journal, May 20, 2019. Regarding “Cuba to Ration Sales of Basic Food Items” (World News, May 13), Cuba’s Commerce Minister Betsy Diaz asserts that the U.S. embargo forces the island to buy food from distant markets, which raises prices. The “distant markets” for about 75% of Cuba’s food imports are actually in the U.S. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-u-s-bears-no-blame-as-cuba-starves-on-its-policies-11558374532

Former Honduran President Porfirio Lobo (2010-2014) is being investigated by an OAS body on money laundering and drug charges.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/honduran-anti-graft-mission-investigates-ex-president-over-drug-money/ar-AABSvpB?ocid=spartandhp

According to folks in Honduras, the current president, Juan Orlando Hernandez, may be involved as well as the former president. President Hernandez’s brother is being investigated by US authorities for money laundering and drug trafficking.

Now, the US Embassy, a place I know well, was attacked in protests over decrees by Hernandez that his critics argue will lead to the privatization of public services. The demonstrators were pushed toward the embassy after being dispersed from a nearby commercial zone by police, though it was not immediately clear why they attacked the building. They set fire to embassy gate. https://www.yahoo.com/news/protesters-set-fire-u-embassy-224748763.html

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: OPEN LETTER TO CHRISTOPHER ROWLEY PRIME MINISTER OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/AMR4904482019ENGLISH.pdf

Amnesty International writes to the government of Trinidad and Tobago [within my responsibility as Amnesty International USA’s volunteer Caribbean coordinator] to welcome the recent announcement that a registration process will be opened for Venezuelan migrants and refugees in the country and to request further information on the proposal. https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/amr49/0448/2019/en/

TO KEITH CHRISTOPHER ROWLEY PRIME MINISTER OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Dear Prime Minister, I am writing on behalf of Amnesty International to welcome your government’s recent announcement that a registration process will be opened for Venezuelan migrants and refugees in Trinidad and Tobago and to request further information on the proposal. The human rights situation in Venezuela As you may have seen, just this month Amnesty International issued its most recent in a series of reports on Venezuela, Hunger for justice: Crimes against humanity in Venezuela.1 It details how selective extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions, and deaths and injuries caused by the excessive use of force by the Venezuelan authorities or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the Venezuelan authorities, may constitute crimes against humanity and require an urgent response from the international community. This situation, as well as the serious deterioration in living conditions and the systematic violation of economic, social and cultural rights, have forced more than 3.7 million people to flee Venezuela, and at least 3 million are in other Latin American or Caribbean countries and in need international protection. Venezuelans need international protection In September 2018, in our letter2 to Presidents across the Latin America and Caribbean region, in the face of mass human rights violations in Venezuela we called on regional states to provide unrestricted access to international systems of protection such as refugee status and other complementary mechanisms, to expedite access for Venezuelans to legal residency with appropriate safeguards, and to strictly adhere to and respect the principle of non-refoulement. (The whole document on line.)

Among the lesser known Democratic presidential hopefuls is 44-year-old Andrew Yang, the only one of total Asian descent so far. On-line, Yang is described as a wealthy philanthropist and the founder of Venture for America. He apparently has never held public office. However, he has an intriguing idea, namely to give each American $1,000 a month as a basic income. He points that in red-state Alaska, the annual oil stipend for all residents helps lift up everyone there and bolsters the whole economy. Since jobs are being automated at a fast clip, such a provision would keep people and the economy going.  

If men are so concerned about women getting abortions, it might help if more men were willing to provide child support and if legal and societal pressure obligated them to do so.

Restrictive state laws on abortion have reignited the abortion debate decades after Roe, while in that same period, other mores have shifted rapidly and substantially, such as for couples living together out-of-wedlock, single motherhood, gay marriage and gay relationships, and even assisted suicide. All those involve consenting adults. But abortion may or may not involve another individual, that is the crucial question. Abortion is not so easy to support, despite prominent women who have worn the abortion label as a badge of honor and the “women’s rights” rhetoric used, along with efforts to categorize it as “medical care” and apply the tortuous label of “anti-abortion-rights advocates” to opponents. What about just calling them “anti-abortion”? Such opponents are simply against regarding abortion as a “right.” And some women have publicly bragged about achievements attributable to their abortion. But many mothers have accomplished as much or more. Abortion is not a sacrament; it deserves a more nuanced and reasonable discussion than that occurring right now, but most political issues are now suffering the same polarized treatment.

Pope Francis has come out forcefully against abortion, having been somewhat muted before and sympathetic to women who have sought one. I admit to having always been very invested in my kids, whether they came to me by birth, adoption, or foster care (Cuban foster son). And having tragically lost both my older son and foster son, I am still protective of my surviving kids, even now, when all are age 45 and older. So I may be more maternally oriented than some other women, but I can still sympathize with the panic felt by those who find themselves unexpectedly pregnant and be concerned about the harmful lengths they might try to go to avoid giving birth. But the whole discussion of the pre-Roe use of coat hangers and of maternal deaths, though some did occur, has been greatly exaggerated, especially now when safer and easier options like the morning-after pill exist and are unlikely to be outlawed. Some initially panicked women have gone on to give birth and to bond with their children, grateful to have them. The stigma against unwed motherhood has greatly diminished so now now about 40% of all US births are to single women. But the overall US birthrate is below replacement, which is concerning.   

In my opinion, use of the morning-after-pill and first-trimester abortions should not, and, as a practical matter, cannot be easily and legally prevented and most Americans would agree. But, after that, support for abortion falls off and I’ve expressed my own concern especially about abortions occurring later in the second trimester when some fetuses could survive outside the womb and when they can feel pain, so the method used, if considered necessary, must still be humane.

Of course, children become adults and adults come in all configurations. Some become Mother Teresa while others may end up as Donald Trump or even Joseph Stalin. And the so-called Universal Declaration of Human Rights, though I am a long-time member of Amnesty International, is hardly universal or unchanging. Families, groups, communities, and nations develop their own mores, which are not static. In the stone age, males may have killed each other with rocks and clubs and raped females after dragging them off by their hair. We are all descended from them.

As a frequent listener to NPR, I often hear ads for Raymond James, a financial advisory firm that my late son Andrew worked for at the reception desk in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, for several years. After that, he left to work for a company changing truck tires going flat out on the highway, a physically demanding job that resulted in a serious back injury which eventually led to his death. He was awaiting back surgery and taking oxycodone when he died in his sleep. Now, I am wondering if we should enter a class action lawsuit against the drug? Although he was not addicted as he had been taking it only a short time, his doctor may have been unaware then, 25 years ago, of its dangers. But the statute of limitations may have run out and who knows where his doctor might be now? I’m not sure I want to revisit the matter and money alone could never compensate for his death.

Some things never change, such as the lowly bedbug. Since even dinosaurs were plagued by bedbugs, it’s no wonder those darn critters are so hard to eliminate. They will probably even survive when humans are long gone.