Politics Corner May 24

 

photo mine (beware of Harlan)

I'm on a streak of posting early. Of course it has to be bad news. I have a friend who has been in a nursing home for a while. It took a long time to get her accustomed to using her walker. She fell today and broke an arm. I don't know if it requires surgery or even how it happened yet. I do know it's a major setback. She won't be able to use her walker while she heals and then she'll be afraid to stand, let alone walk. The longer she stays off of her feet the worse physical condition that she'll be in and it will be harder than ever to get her on the right track again. I'm waiting for details. ETA: They put her arm in a sling. I don't know if that's good news or bad. My partner talked to orthopedian friend and they said that's the first treatment for someone her age. Something more invasive might do more damage. Still waiting. 

via erdemdemirkan

More doctors are going to leave Texas. They won't be going to Louisiana or Idaho or a bunch of other places. Pretty soon the only places that you'll be able to find a decent Ob/Gyn are states where abortions are legal. I expect a baby boom in blue states. [Associated Press]

via Associated Press 

The World Court has ordered a ceasefire in Rafah. No one expects this to happen. [Associated Press]

via Associated Press 

Putin claims he will negotiate a ceasefire at "current border" which, according to him, includes territory not under his control. Ukraine is not interested. [Reuters]

via Iryna Vidienina 

Want proof of Putin's intent? Look over at Estonia. The border between Russia and Estonia is in the middle of a river. The border shifts with the movement of the river bed. Estonia placed buoys in the river to keep Estonian boats on the correct side of the river. Putin had the buoys removed. Estonia has demanded they be replaced. This is deeply disturbing because, unlike Ukraine, Estonia is already a member of NATO. If Putin is threatening a border skirmish with NATO it will have farther reaching consequences than Ukraine. More on this in next item. [Yahoo] https://www.yahoo.com/news/estonia-says-russia-removed-navigation-135328597.html

via Yahoo 

Putin has been a busy boy. He's also running for reelection yet again and the Ukraine war is deeply unpopular at home. He seems to be worried that someone might avoid a balcony. He seems to hedging his bets by cozying up to North Korea and there's speculation that he and Kim Jong Un are planning an "October surprise" of a military sort with the aim of putting Trump back in office and Trump has promised to let Russia run rough shod over Europe. North Korea could involve South Korea, Japan and/or Taiwan. Any of those would be devastating. [NBC] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/are-russia-north-korea-planning-october-surprise-aids-trump-rcna153828

via NBC

Finally some good news. Pat Connaughton is not only a valuable Bucks player but he's also in vested in building real estate here and elsewhere. This means that he's got money to spare and he's using to build and refurbish basketball courts all over Miwaukee and from New Hampshire to Rwanda. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

via Pat Connaughton Foundation 

Political Discussion welcome.