Sunday, December 11, 2022

the yard chore, flowers, and thoughts on bringing Griner home


Another day Saturday working on the old raised garden bed site. I got half the 16' long bed of dirt spread out and roots cut. 

The second half will take longer I think as it appears to have many more roots in it than the half I did. And still need to spread out and de-root the first bed on the left. Speaking of which, those red leaves in the picture below sprouting from the stalks is virginia creeper already starting to grow again from the roots/vines I cut when I first started.

My little camellia has bloomed. Last year I only got two flowers, this year, eight. Only one open now and one more to go.

Also blooming is the little Japanese azalea. I expected it to bloom in the spring but this exceptional heat confused it I guess. The petals are long and narrow and the flowers have a sweet scent. This is the first time it's bloomed in the two years I've had it.

Thunderstorm with lots of lightning and thunder and hard rain at times around dawn this morning giving us about 1 3/4” so I won't be chopping and spreading dirt today. Plenty of chores in the house or maybe I'll start a watercolor. Been thinking about it. Pansies maybe.

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Here's some things to consider about Brittany Griner and her arrest in Russia and the trade Biden made to bring her home. In Russia, the penalty for possessing up to 6 grams of marijuana is a fine or 15 day detention. Griner had less than a gram but because she brought it with her when she entered the country, she uses it medically, they charged her with smuggling, punishable by 5 – 10 years in prison and gave her 9 years for less than a gram. Griner is a two time Olympic gold medal winner, an extraordinary athlete who also happens to be a black lesbian. She was in Russia to play in a Russian league during the off season in America. If our female sports teams were given the same respect and income as our male sports teams, our women wouldn't need to play elsewhere in the off season. I can't help but think that if Griner was a white heterosexual male, there would not have been an outcry against the trade, as there was against Griner, with the haters saying she got what she deserved in Russia and that she hates America because she engages in peaceful protest to point out the institutionalized racism against POC in this country as well as the hate and discrimination towards the other gendered.

Whelan, who holds citizenship in four countries, UK, Canada, Ireland, and the US, is an ex-Marine who was dishonorably discharged for theft, lying, and other charges. After his court marshal he worked for different companies engaging in global security and investigations. He was arrested in Russia on charges of spying which he denies, there is a report he was receiving a list of intelligence officials, and was sentenced to 16 years. Biden tried to include him in this trade but Russia would not even discuss Whelan's release. It's likely they only allowed Griner to leave to create division here in America, knowing how the right wing would react. The more Putin can divide us, the better for him and the right wingers play right into his hands. I find the hysteria from the far right about Biden's failure to win his release to be just a little contrived especially since Whelan was arrested when Trump was president and Russia offered him in an exchange for Bout and Trump refused.

Bout, the 'merchant of death', had been retired for 10 years when the sting operation by the US lured him out. He has already served 10 years in prison and would be released in a few more so the man is 20 years out of the loop of weapons procurement. I think it's doubtful that he will start selling weapons again. As for that, the biggest weapons dealer in the world is the US. We sell them above and below the table, have no problem providing weapons to insurgents to take down our opponents or governments we don't like...like the Taliban, Saddam Hussein, Iran/contra deal just to name a few. And we need look no further than our own homeland to see how much America loves guns and gun violence. The uproar about releasing an arms merchant falls a little flat since apparently selling death is OK as long as it's us doing it.



15 comments:

  1. Oh, I say, but you've got it right down to a gnat's hair! I couldn't understand why there was so much hate and vitriol against a black, female, lesbian basketball player--a gold medal winner, no less! Where are people's heads and hearts???? And yes, the US sells more guns than any other country in the world and we don't care who we sell them to as long as they pay the $$. Horrible.

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  2. Ellen, you said it. Exactly right. Thank you.

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  3. Thank you! For your absolute clarity on the Brittney Griner situation, so eloquently stated. I wish everyone could read this.

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  4. I completely agree with everyone else who has commented. You nailed that right to the wall.

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  5. You hit it right on the head. Thank you.
    Last night's thunderstorm gave us a butt load of downed tree limbs, 2 and 1/4 inch rain, a flood watch, and 2 very scared puppies.

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  6. Excellent analysis of the Griner trade (which I was ecstatic about!).

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  7. Thank you for writing down this analysis of the Griner release and the trade. It's one of the most insightful perspectives I've read about this.

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  8. I wondered if you'd gotten rain this morning. It arrived here about 8, and there was a good bit of lightning and thunder for a while. Then it cleared out beautifully, and the water in Galveston was filled with surfers.

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  9. Thank you for the thorough discussion to the Griner trade.

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  10. wicked games these so called leaders play

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  11. A great synopsis of the Griner situation, Ellen. Why anyone would do anything but rejoice at the release of one of its citizens from a Russian gulag is beyond my level of understanding - unless of course you are a former US president or one of his sycophants, for whom peaceful, lawful protest is the same as "she doesn't love our country." And when was that a criterion for any country to rescue one of its citizens? You are quite correct, had she been a white male there would have been none of this uproar. I commend all those involved in securing her release and I wish her well.

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  12. You explained it well, Ellen. I agree with all you said.

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  13. I see many thoughts on twitter that Bout will probably be heading out of a window before long. Maybe, maybe not.

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  14. I see people I went to school with on FB. One in particular is viewed by his peers as a very wise and just man, grounded in his good deeds in his church and considered to be worth listening to. He is an avid Trumpster and the thing that bothers me is that never have I heard such hatred spewed from one claiming to be all about the love of God. I just don't get it. Living in the Bibe belt is an education I didn't know I was in for!

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  15. I love the Japanese magnolia.

    Thanks for the perspective on Griner and Whelan. I didn't know all the background of the Whelan case, but I certainly wouldn't argue that Griner didn't deserve to come home, having been detained for such a minor offense. I was so happy when she got released. And I agree about Bout having served his time, though I'm not entirely convinced he won't continue to be a danger. He's a scary guy.

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I opened my big mouth, now it's your turn.