Congratulations Keri!

I woke Tuesday morning briefly at around three in the morning, to gaze stupidly at my television set which was tuned to CNN, and sadly leaned of the death of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, age 88, of complications resulting from several strokes. She was of course the sister of President John F Kennedy, Senators Robert Kennedy, and Ted Kennedy, the wife of presidential candidate R. Sargent Shriver, and the mother of the First Lady of California, Maria Shriver, and mother and law to Arnold Schwarzenegger. She was also the co-founder of the Special Olympics, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the founder of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Center for Community of Caring, at the University of Utah, and was well known as an advocate for the mentally ill, of which her sister, Rosemary, was afflicted. Now the only remaining children of Joseph and Rose Kennedy are Teddy and Jean Kennedy Smith, the former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland.
May she rest in peace.
Speaking of Ireland, former President of that country, Mary Robinson, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom (along with the Congressional Gold Metal), our nation's highest award for civilians, for her work promoting equality and human rights during her term as President, and as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Our friend Professor Stephen Hawking, the theoretical physicist, was also honored for his lifetime of work. I am glad that he is feeling better (for a man who is totally paralyzed) and was able to attend the ceremony in Washington D.C.
Doctor Hawking has also taken up the health care issue in this country, defending the U.K.s system from attacks from conservative Americans. The geniuses at Investor's Business Daily, on July 31th wrote in an editorial entitled, "How House Bill Runs Over Grandma," wrote: "People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn't have a chance in the UK, where the National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless."
One problem, Dr. Hawking was born in Oxford, which kind of makes him British because Oxford is in England, he has always been British, and will probably be British for the rest of his life. He continues to live in England, and has taken full advantage of that countries universal heath care system. In rebuttal to the editorial, Hawking wrote: "I wouldn't be here today if it were not for the NHS. I have received a large amount of high-quality treatment without which I would not have survived."
Other honorees included the American politician Harvey Milk, Senator Ted Kennedy, retired civil rights leader Rev. Joseph Lowery, actors Chita Rivera and Sidney Poitier, geneticist Dr. Janet Rowley, economist and micro financier Mohammed Yunus, Dr. Pedro Jose Greer, Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Komen Foundation founder Nancy Brinker, former Tennis pro Billie Jean King.
And former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
President Obama has been criticized by homophobes for choosing Milk, and pro-Isreal factions for Robinson, but I take exception to the choice of O'Connor as she was one of the five justices who voted to put George W. Bush into office, and I hold her directly responsible (along with justices Kennedy, Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas) for the death and destruction in our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, those killed by hurricane Katrina and 9/11, and the ruination of this country, and it's reputation by the excesses of the Bush administration. For that I can never forgive her.
Other issues in the news include the right wings continued attempts to derail heath care reform by scaring the gullable and ignorant by falsely claiming that if President Obama's health care reform bill becomes the law of the land, bureaucrats will come and kill you when you get old. The likes of Sarah Palin, and Senator Grassley of Iowa, promoting the idea of Government Death Squads out to whack granny if it becomes too expensive to keep her alive.
Of course there is nothing like that in any proposed legislation. What is suggested is reimbursement for end of life counseling, for things like a living will, and hospice services.
Senator Grassley recently spoke in a town hall meeting in Iowa, that Jesus Christ should be consulted near the end of one's life, rather than the government, and that Washington has no place in how one dies.
Except in cases like that of Terri Schiavo, when the Republicans can attempt to score political points by taking advantage of the condition of a comatose woman. Hell, President Bush even cut short his vacation to come back to work to sign into law provisions that would have forced the continuation of that poor woman's life. Something he couldn't do when warned of an impending attack from Al Qaeda.
Now so much fuss has been made in the media on this issue that the Senate has taken it out of it's version of the health care bill. Thank you Senator Grassley. Now your constituents will have to pay for these services themselves, as well as the rest of us.
Finally, on a happier note, I am proud to announce that my lovely niece Keri Lynn (pictured above), is expecting her first child in March! She and my sister are very excited, as am I, although the thought of becoming a granduncle, or a grandanything, is a little disturbing. I'm obviously much too young and good looking for that. Anyway, we shall see, and I hope that the earnest work we do now to correct the problems this nation and planet faces leaves this a better, and worthwhile place for all future children to live.

Pika Hut

Assiduous Pika



Benevolent Pika



Hungry Pika

Oh, who will stand up for the pika? If not us, who else?
Among the many problems this nation and the entire world currently faces; over fishing of the world's oceans, world economic recession, pollution of drinking water with pharmaceuticals, Paula Abdul leaving American Idol, the plight of the pika has to stand in parity.
Not to be confused with the Pooka (Puka, Old Irish), the mischievous shape shifting fairy spirit, appearing to rum pots, crackpots, and how are you dear readers?
No the pika is quite a different thing all together.
A pika (pictured above) although looking more like a mouse, or hamster, is closely related to rabbits, and are often heard exclaiming,"Eeeh, what's up doc!?" Just kidding. Only bunnies do that. Picas can be heard calling to each other with cries of, "Eeeennnccck!" which has no discernable meaning yet discovered. They just call out "Eeeennnccck!" to each other and move on looking for the next pika they may happen to meet to go "Eeeennnccck!" to. Perhaps they are looking for friends and don't have Facebook.
They are mammals, just like us, although I've never gone "Eeeennnccck!" to anybody, as far as I can remember. They are small (about 7.5 inches in length) and fury, which is a good thing as they like to live way up in the mountains right here in North America, Asia, and parts of Europe, where it is usually pretty cold. They like to live in crevices in rocky places, where they can make their little pika homes to store food and make their beds, because unlike bears and the U.S. Congress, they do not hibernate during the winter. Some species of the pika who live in steppe lands, burrow to make their homes, because there are no rocks around. In Eurasia, pikas sometimes share their burrows with snowfinches, which are birds, who build their nests there. They pay rent.
Pikas have shorts limbs, round ears, a small tail, and whiskers. They weigh anywhere between 2.5 ounces, to 10 ounces for the big fat ones.
Pikas are primarily diurnal or like me, crepuscular, when I get really crazy, and tend to be active during the day. They are herbivores, which mean they don't hunt other animals, and eat grasses and plant matter, which they gather together in haypiles to dry out before storage. Pikas seem to be amoral, as sometimes they steal grass and plant matter from their neighbors, the marmots, who get pretty mad about it, but what can you do?
"Freaking pikas!," marmots say.
Some pikas live in groups and work together to gather food and keep watch for predictors, because amazingly enough, some other animals, not herbivores, will eat a pika if they get the chance. Some pikas are territorial, and will run off other tress-passing pikas. And American pikas don't like anybody, and stay by themselves except to mate (oh yeah, then they'll come out!).
Sometimes referred to as rock rabbits or coneys, the mountain dwelling pikas will typically have small litters of less than 5, while their cousin borrowers will tend to have more probably due to more food being available.
How many types of pikas are there, you ask. Good question! Let's see. There are your northern pikas, such as the Alpine Pika, the Silver Pika, Turuchan Pika, Hoffman's Pika, American Pika, Collared Pika, Pallas Pika, and the old Northern Pika. Then you have your shrub-steppe pikas, such as the Gansu, or Gray Pika, the Daurian Pika, Tsing-Ling Pika, Nubra Pika, Steppe Pika, Afghan Pika, Moupin Pika, Thomas's Pika, and the infamous Plateau, or Black Lipped Pika. Last but certainly not least, we have the mountain pikas, such as Chinese Red Pika, Turkestan Red Pika, Forrest's Pika, Royle's Pika, Gaoligong Pika, Black Pika, Glover's Pika, Muli Pika, Himalayan Pika, Lli Pika, Kozlov's Pika, Ladak Pika, and the ever engaging Large-eared Pika, named because of its tremendous pika ears.
So, what is the plight of the pikas, specifically our citizen friend the American Pika?
Despite one faction opening a chain of Pika Hut restaurants in Denver, it appears that human activity and climate change is driving the poor little critter's natural habitat to higher and higher elevations, and thus possibly to extinction, because there is only so high you can go.
Now I don't know about you, dear readers, but I wouldn't want to be a member of the species responsible for causing the extinction of a branch of animals that are so, well... cute, despite their propensity for eating their own poop. I mean, I wish I had a pika to play with, and hold and squeeze until it's cute little lifeless body crumbled within my grasp.
How can humans as a species, the caretakers of this planet allow the the demise of these harmless animals? This animal may be the first North American mammalian species to fall victim to the effects of global warming, a stark warning of things to come.
The effects of global warming are real. The pika reminds us of this. Please support climate change legislation within our nation and without, and donate to the World Wildlife Fund, noting the struggling of the American Pika.
The fate of the pika rests in your hands!

Addendum: 9-6-17: Pikas disappearing from California

Addendum: 6-20-18:   Ili pika 

Eating Healthy

My lovely case manager, Erin, was not feeling well today and stayed home. Accordingly, case manager Paul, Hardy and I thought it would be a good time to have the Annual Garden Club Barbecue and Dodger outing. We roasted 12 chickens, 2 pigs, and a half of an entire cow on the old barbie, then had to take a field trip up north as the Dodgers were playing the Giants tonight in San Francisco (by the by, I once spoke to long time Los Angeles announcer for the Dodgers, Vince Scully (no relation to Dana) while working as a long distance operator for AT&T. He was making either a collect, or person to person call and asked for my assistance. I'm almost positive that he would have accepted the assistance of any one of the other able operators who were working near me, but he got me. He was very nice. That was in the late eighties, and he's still doing it! Sixty years now. I just heard him on the Internet live!).
Just kidding Erin. We would never have our Annual Garden Club Barbecue and Dodger fest without you. Besides, Paul wouldn't drive us to Frisco! (By the by, Paul got a brand new car last week, a brand new Honda Civic he received under President Obama's "Cash for Clunkers," program. The Republicans don't like the "Cash for Clunkers," program because it works. It's good for the car buyers as they get new vehicles that get better gas milage than the gas guzzlers they had been driving (Paul says he's saving $20 a tank full now), the car dealers and manufacturers sell their products quickly, and it's good for the economy. The Republicans call the program a bad public policy. They don't like things that work while Obama is in office because it makes them look bad (don't worry, Republicans, you look bad all on your own). Why do they hate America so?) He did give us a nice ride in his new car though, to Home Depot, where we purchased some more garden dirt (and a brand spanking new "All Purpose" 5 gallon bucket! You can do absolutely anything you want with this bucket as it's "All Purpose!"). His car is very nice, and has good suspension.
Erin is considering using the program to get a new car as well. I hope she does.
Because last week we made the very same trip to purchase the same thing. A whole bunch of garden dirt. And some pumpkin seeds. I asked her how much it cost to fill up her tank, and she told me it was very expensive, so I hope she can make use of the program while it still exists. Besides again, birds have been pooping on her car.
Anyway, last week, returning from Home Depot and waiting for Hardy to conclude some business at his bank, I told Erin we should go to IHOP (International House of Pancakes).
"Rick!" she exclaimed, "That's not eating healthy."
"Yes it is."
"Pancakes!? Lovely chocolate chip pancakes. That certainly is not healthy."
"You don't have to order pancakes, Erin. You could get an omelet."
"IHOP is not healthy, Rick."
"Okay, okay."
After waiting a couple of more minutes I said, "I think we should go to IHOP."
"Richard Ruprecht Joyce! IHOP is not healthy!"
"Okay, okay."
Despite what IHOP may have to say about Erin's claim, I relented, and we ate healthy that day, or healthier, I should say.
You see we've both recently been very concerned about our respective complexions, and skin in general, and have concluded that good skin starts with a healthy diet.
Erin has curtailed her habit of picking up a breakfast sandwich each morning on her way to work from McDonalds, who might also dispute the nutritional value of their fine products, and we have taken it upon ourselves to make each other healthy breakfasts. It is the favorite meal of the day for us both, and if I may say, a lovely way to start the day.
So far we have experimented with our own healthy breakfast sandwiches (which Erin seems to enjoy very much, as one time I had given her what looked like to me a perfectly viable low sodium cheese a pepper omelet, with English muffins on the side (butter optional), only to find her stuffing the thing in between the two slices of bread. The peppers picked fresh from our very own garden. We have tried spinach omelets as well. I am only waiting to muster the gumption to attempt a Feta, Tomato, Fish Oil, Double Whammer Banger Deluxe Ultra Flaky Sesame Souffle.
We even offered two nice salmon and rice dishes at the Cooking Club last week. Scrumptious!
As of yet I haven't seen much change in my facial skin. I still have to shave on a daily basis. But what have we given up to pursue our new found healthy life style (remember, we do yoga too!). Erin has given up McDonalds breakfast sandwiches, and I have given up sausage yogurt, ham gumbies, and weenie tots for my morning meal.
Is it really that much of a price to pay?

Conservative Or Liberal?

Conservative, or Liberal?

My lovely case manager, Erin, recently asked me if I held conservative, or liberal view points. I have to admit I was taken aback a bit, and answered, "You haven't been reading my blog," which was a stupid response on my part, as I know she reads it occasionally, and for which I have suffered vast retribution.
However, I'm pretty sure she skips over those posts that may be political in nature, for others that may interest her more (such as those where she is mentioned). I understand that and don't mind. I'm happy that she reads it at all.
But for those of you dear readers who do happen to follow all of the posts know that my position on most political issues tend toward the progressive, or liberal side of the isle.
Now Erin knows this too.
I don't think she cares either way, but now she knows.
My own dear sister, Cheryl, holds some conservative views. She even watches the Fox Misinformation Channel every now and then, and is tired of the constant bickering between Bill O'Reilly and Keith Olbermann (you keep it up Keith. As long as Billo keeps lying, I support you reporting it). I think that when women get older and become mothers that they tend also to become more conservative in nature, as they wish to protect their nest by maintaining the status quo.
But that is not necessarily the case.
Our world changes daily. Our environment is changing, and not for the best. How do we deal with this issue?
The Conservatives tend to wish the issue of climate change does not really exist, despite a vast amount of scientific evidence otherwise. Why?
I know that the petroleum industry has a vested interest in the subject of climate change. It's their products that are continously being dumped into the atmosphere and which is a major ingredient in pollution in general, and global warming as well. I also know that that same industry sponsors a public relation campaign intended to debunk the whole theory that the atmosphere is getting dangerously warmer, and that those scientists who argue against global warming tend to have direct affiliations with Big Oil too. Why are they doing this?
I believe the answer is that the petroleum industry will stand to lose a great deal of their current record profits if they admit that global warming is real, and they are forced to deal with it in an effective manner. In other words they are being grossly irresponsible.
Now I'm all for making a buck. I even have three on me right now (and some change). But not at the expense of my health, my sister's health, or that of my niece, or Erin, or their potential children, or the health and well being of my neighbors, the country, the world, and all future generations.
Now back to that question of why the Conservative position seems to be to resist efforts of effectively dealing with an issue as important to our entire species as global warming, or over fishing the worlds oceans, or advancing universal heath care for all, or a host of other issues. The answer seems to be a resistance to change, maintaining that old status quo, and hoarding as much cash as possible during one's lifetime. True, if you are exceptionally wealthy you may be able to insulate yourselves from the detrimental effects of global warming, for a while, or will be able to afford caviar, for a while, and will be able to get the best medical treatment money can buy.
Still this seems, at least to me, to be an irresponsible and selfish position to take.
So I tend to take what is often labeled the opposite, or liberal/progressive view, which to my understanding is not to ignore these issues, but to tackle them in an effective, innovative, responsible manner, that is beneficial to all, not just a privileged few. By golly, taking this liberal stance will even be beneficial to those privileged few, in the long run. They only have to pay their fair share, another thing they are hesitant to do.
Responding vigorously to pressing problems in a responsible, thorough way that alleviates the problem rather than worsen, or ignore it seems to me to be the right way to proceed. It will help all of the world's mothers and their families.
It's a question of personal make up I believe. To be extremely selfish and short sighted, or work for the benefit of all, and thereby helping myself in the process.
It's a easy question for me. How about you?
By the way, dear reader, the lovely lady to the right of my lovely case manager in the picture above, is Erin's friend Courtney, who I was happy to meet recently. She's very nice, but doesn't like the taste of water.
Please stay well hydrated, dear Courtney. We need you here.

My Case Manager Is Dating A Conservative!

OMG! My lovely, innocent, prone to killing herself (she broke her own neck while swinging high on a swing, normally not considered an instrument of torture, as a small child, and we've already discussed her walking backward into the Grand Canyon), case manager is dating a conservative!
She told me so. His name is Shane, and although I'm sure he must be very nice or Erin wouldn't like him, conservatives are like cameleons, and can hide there true colors at will.
As a matter of fact I've come up with a new, intriguing theory. I've been watching recently the first season episodes of the famous 1960s television program, The Invaders, a Quinn Martin production. As I'm sure you already know, dear readers, in the show, the protagonist, David Vincent (played un-emotively, by Roy Thinnes), while driving home after a business meeting, witnesses an alien spaceship land in the desert. Naturally he becomes inquisitive and it becomes his life mission to find out what the aliens are doing here. He discovers that although polite, the aliens are not looking out for the best interests of the human race. It seems they are coming from a dying planet (in one episode the announcer claims they have come from a different galaxy, which of course is a very long way to go, and makes one wonder why they couldn't find a suitable planet in their own galaxy amongst their billions of stars) and want to move to Earth. They don't want to share the planet, they want the whole thing all to their alien selves. It remains unclear how exactly they intended to remove the existing human population. Instead of infecting us with an alien virus, or changing out atmosphere, or something, they take the time and trouble to change themselves physically to look just like humans, and infiltrate our population, while hatching all sorts of nasty plots in order to subdue our race. They could kill us by sticking us in their regeneration tubes (the aliens have to periodically rejuvenate their bodies or they will revert to their true alien form) to cause heart failure, or slap us on the back of the neck with their alien cerebral hemorrhage causers, making it look all the time that we died of naturally.
I think the shows premise is true, and that the aliens have indeed landed sometime between 1964, after Barry Goldwater ran with Stephie Miller's dad for President, and 1980, when Ronald Reagan won that office. I think that aliens are hellbent on causing as much trouble as possible, have either impersonated our species, or have infected our population with some alien disease that takes over the human body. And I think that those who have been taken over, or infected, are Republicans, or conservatives, or right wing loonies.
This is not the first time I have advanced this particular theory. I invite you to revisit the short story, "Who's Ronald?" where I contend that President George W. Bush had been infected by an X-Files like black oil organism which made him do all of the crazy things he did while in office, like start two unnecessary wars, torturing prisoners, domestic spying, ruining the economy, subverting the constitution, war profiteering, advancing cooperate monopolies, shifting as much tax payer money into those same corporations as possible, diminishing social programs, creating homelessness, turning a national budget surplus into a huge deficient, letting the attack on September eleventh occur after having been forewarned, outing our own covert CIA operatives, trying to privatize social security, ignoring scientific evidence, or manufacturing their own in order to advance their agenda, destroying the environment, deny abortion funding, and supporting abstinence only birth control to the determent of millions of women around the world, to name just a few. Besides that he was an okay president, I guess. About the only good things he did do while in office was to promote Aids research, and treatment, and create a Marine National Monument off of Hawaii.
I mean think about it. Why would anyone of a compassionate nature, or who is sane, create so much havoc and misery upon the very nation he was sworn to protect. Can you think of any logical answer, dear reader, other than alien infestation? I certainly cant. It seems the simplest answer to me.
Now I'm almost positive that if Erin ever becomes President she will run the country in a responsible manner and look out for all of the countries citizens rather than just the wealthy. I'm certainly sure she wouldn't cause as much trouble as President Bush did, because she is a very nice person with great integrity. I know this to be true.
Unless she becomes infected. Now I don't know if Shane is a Republican, or an alien, or anything like that. I'm sure he's very nice (some Republicans are). And I don't even know if my theory is true.
But just in case I think I'll be monitoring my esteemed case managers mannerisms a bit more closely to notice appreciable changes in behavior.
Like a sudden interest in politics, and talk about running for office. OMG!

Birther Nation

First, congratulations are in order for Sonia Sotomayer who was confirmed by the United States Senate today as the nation's 111th Supreme Court justice, the third woman and first Hispanic on that bench! The vote was 68 to 31, with 9 Republicans voting in favor of her confirmation, 4 of those are retiring. Only one Senator was not present, Ted Kennedy, who is dealing with health problems. And in a big One Finger Salute to the fastest growing minority in America, all 31 votes against Judge Sotomayer were from the Republicans.
Sadly, todays confirmation only replaces one liberal/progressive/sanity leaning justice with another one. What we really need is crazy boy Antonin Scalia (73) to retire, or Roberts, Thomas, Alito, or Kennedy (also 73) for that matter. The balance of power on the court with Sotomayer on it is the same that put George Bush in office in 2000.
Perhaps Ruth Bader Ginsburg (76) and John Paul Stevens (89) should consider retirement while President Obama is still in office to make sure the court doesn't shift more to the right. Both are fine judges (and that John Paul is a hell of a base player), but getting a twidge, how shall I put this...old. That would be sure to drive the Republicans crazier than they already are.
Speaking of which, it becomes increasingly clear that the Republican Party has nothing to offer this nation except to maintain the status quo. If you are resistant to change, any change at all, even change that benefits you personally, or the nation as a whole, than the Republican Party is the one for you. If you wish to keep multi-international corporations, banking, insurance, and health interests in the positions of power over the government that they enjoy today, the Republican Party is the one for you. If you are a racist, a bigot, or a hypocrite, the Republican Party is the one for you. If you are ignorant, unable to make decisions on your own and need to be lead by others throughout life, the Republican Party is the one for you. If you wish to impose your will on others, are a bully, and cannot resist peer pressure, the Republican Party is the one for you. If you wish to dismiss reality in favor of ideology, if you wish to hide your scandalous behavior with bogus religious fervor, or to be as irresponsible as to ignore the dangers of dramatic environmental change, and against science in general (except of course those little things like cell phones, automobiles, and electricity that science has given us), the Republican Party is the one for you.
Given that the Republicans have nothing to offer this nation other than to keep the way things are the same, and they are out of power directly because of their outrageous excesses, the only way to advance their agenda is to use fear mongering, lies, deceit, propaganda, and the huge money reserves their corporate owners have at their disposal. And they do it quite well.
The latest display of this is the rise of the Birther movement. Seemingly emerged from the Tea Baggers of last April, the Birthers claim that President Obama is not an American citizen, and thereby not eligible to be President of the United States, despite ordinary evidence (a birth certificate) that proves otherwise, and which is wholly available to them, and everyone else. Stirred up by the likes of Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, and now health care interests who are adamantly against single payer, or a public option plan, these poor mindless bastards are using the only tool available to them... make as much noise as possible. The right wing media, including CNN's Lou Dobbs (who is losing ratings because of his position) states that all Obama needs to do is to produce a birth certificate which will end the (fake) controversy. Apparently the one pictured above is not good enough for them because it is merely a Certificate of Live Birth, which only proves that Barack Obama was born alive, in Hawaii, in 1961. I don't know about you dear reader, but I don't get the distinction.
Then again I am hampered by sanity.
The Birther movement, which is increasingly revealing itself to be racist in nature, has produced an obviously forged Republic of Kenya birth certificate, claiming Obama was born there in 1961. A problem for the birthers is that Kenya did not become a Republic until 1964.
These same people are now being given their marching orders from the health insurance industry, and their lobbyists, to simply disrupt town hall like community meetings, with members of Congress discussing the current health care bills being advanced, with shouting, bullying, and other forms of intimidation. These people are nuts, shouting out their fear of a socialist health care taking over the nation, while most of them are receiving the benefits of medicare (a government run, single payer, ie, socialist system).
Fortunately the majority of Americans actually want progressive health care changes in this country. 1,400 Americans go bankrupt every hour in this country (the economy another victim of the Bush administration), largely due to sky-rocketing health care costs. The danger involved with the Birther movement, and these mobs being manufactured by the right wing fringe, is that they are increasingly becoming more hostile and violent, in both word and deed. Receiving encouragement from the Republican noise machine, corporate lobbyists, and Republican members of Congress, these poor people are being used in a most atrocious manner, and are venting their biased, racist, ignorant views, and being whipped up into violent mobs.
Those responsible must be held accountable for the thuggish actions of their creations.

Freed

Some very good news to report. American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling have been released from custody in North Korea and are now back home in the United States, reuniting with there families this very moment.
A very short while ago, 38 hours or so, the two were taken together to a room thinking the were finally going to be sent to a hard labor camp which they had been sentenced to 12 years. Instead, they found ex-President Bill Clinton.
"Oh no! They got you to?" Euna was rummered to have said.
"What?" President Clinton asked.
"You'd think they would treat a President of the United States better than this..."
"No, no. I'm here to get you home."
And he did, flying them out of the country on a private plane which arrived here in LA this morning after 140 days in custody. Very good news.
Apparently President Clinton was able to affect this release through diplomatic channels and a brief visit to the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong il, who issued a special pardon. Hopefully this episode will lead to better relations between North Korea and the United States, if only the North Koreans would stop trying to take over the world with their friends the Mongolians.
This story even caught the attention of my otherwise current event challenged, but lovely case manager, Erin, who I caught listening to a BBC report of the release in her office.
"You knew of this earlier, and you didn't tell me?" she asked, clearly outraged. I had no idea she had even heard of their arrest, or she had an interest in the story. Amazing. Perhaps as she is herself a traveler of the world she felt a certain kinship with the two women, who seemed to have wandered across the border from China into North Korea, their sole crime.
Unfortunately, as far as I can tell Private Bowe Bergdahl is still in the hands of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Joshua Fattal are being held in Iran after they too wandered into that country from Iraq. The circumstances surrounding the capture Private Bergdahl are unclear, but the three hikers in Iraq were warned that the Iranian border was close and ill defined, and still went. Hopes for their release are particularly troublesome as, like North Korea, we have no direct diplomatic relations, and the United States and other western countries are currently seeking new sanctions against Iran in order to thwart that countries nuclear ambitions. At the same time Iran is facing unprecedented domestic difficulties due to the mass protests of its recent Presidential election, which its leadership is blaming the US and Britain for encouraging.
I see little hope at all for gaining the release of Private Bergdahl from the Taliban as he is basically a prisoner of war, and see no reason at all for their letting him go. And I doubt very much that the Taliban observe and maintain the articles of the Geneva Convention regarding the treatment of prisoners. Why should they? We haven't followed them either! We still have hundreds of afghan and Iraqi prisoners in Guantanamo Bay who are not being treated as prisoners of war, and being held without charge or being allowed access to the American legal system.
That's the problem when a country chooses to ignore a treaty it ratified 60 years ago which calls for the humane treatment of soldiers and civilians in a time of war. The other side doesn't have to either.
Thank you President Bush.
We've labeled these prisoners as "Enemy Combatants," which somehow magically makes them ineligible to the protections of the Geneva Convention. We've specifically maintained that they are not prisoners of war. And they are not civilians, for they are protected by the convention as well. They're "Enemy Combatants," which means... nothing, absolutely nothing. People in their own countries fighting an invading force. Some may have indeed had connections to Al Queda, and those responsible for the attack on 9-11, but not all (there are clear indications that some of these prisoners didn't do anything at all), even if they did they should still be treated as human beings, something even our first President, George Washington, thought was important.
"Treat them with humanity, and let them have no reason to Complain of our Copying the brutal example of the British Army in their treatment of our unfortunate brethren…. Provide everything necessary for them on the road," he wrote in 1777.
It is a national disgrace that the previous administration in its ignorance abandoned these principals, and the examples of Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, and Blackwater are the defining events in our current military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Perhaps George W. Bush should travel to Afghanistan as a special envoy in order to get Private Bergdahl released. I'm sure the Taliban would love to see him.