December 10, 2018 International Human Rights Day

Ridley’s Believe It Or Not For December 10, 2018 1,700 arrested in Paris over the weekend as police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse rioters and Macron whose popularity has fallen to 22% is addressing the French people today; in a Marvin K. Moody moment the Bill and Hillary Tour ticket sales have evaporated faster than a pond on a Death Valley freeway on a July day forcing the Clintons to offer deep discounts on Groupon to promote sagging sales (sad to see two people who can’t accept the fact that their time has come and gone); Voyager II has entered interstellar space with instrumentation still functioning; SCOTUS has declined to take up a case involving the ability of a state to block Medicaid funds paying for non abortion services at Planned Parenthood; after Kelley’s announcement of his leaving at the end of the year, President Trump is still looking for a replacement as his chief of staff (tough job for someone with the patience of Job); climate change proponents have just added another argument in favor of being concerned-the Vibrio vulnificus an often fatal  bacteria found in oysters and with the water temperatures rising causes them to multiply; British Prime Minister May has postponed a planned vote of her Brexit deal with the European Union due to fears she does not have the votes; people with Type I diabetes are facing a major problem, sky high increases in the price of insulin they need daily to control their blood sugar; Emanuel’s announcement that he will not seek reelection has not curbed the gun violence as through December 9, 2018, 2834 people mostly of color have been shot by mostly people of color, of whom 479 have died (when will Chicago get serious about this carnage or is this the case of true racism as a Blue run city turns a deaf ear and a blind eye to the slaughter of mostly people of color by mostly people of color).

        As always, I hope you enjoy today’s holidays and observances, a music link to Sly and the Family Stone, factoids of interest for this day in history, the fact that you are have time to obamulate and a relevant quote from Charles Krauthammer on torture, secure in the knowledge that if you want to find a gift for any memorable events like college graduations, birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, you know that the Alaskanpoet can provide you with a unique customized poem at a great price tailored to the event and the recipient. You need only contact me for details.

1. International Human Rights Day—created by the UN General Assembly in 1950 to promote the cause of human rights in all nations.

2. Green Monday—celebrating the promotion of online Christmas gifts sales on the last Monday with at least 10 days before Christmas to insure delivery before Christmas.

3. 1971 Number One Song— the number one song in 1971 on a run of 2 weeks in that position was “Family Affair” by Sly and the Family Stone. Here is a recording of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbT_ask1Cco

4. Word of the Day—today’s word of the day as we move from words beginning with “n” to words beginning with “o” is “obamulate” which means to wander about which when dealing with major issues facing us describes our response to a tee.

5. Sell a Senate Seat Go to Jail--celebrating or bemoaning the birth on this day in 1956 of Rod Blagojevich former governor of Illinois who tried to sell Obama’s Senate Seat he had to vacate following his election as president in 2008 and was arrested, convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison and who is anxiously hoping President Trump will commute his sentence.

    On this day in: 

a. 1906 President Teddy Roosevelt received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to bring about an end to the Russo-Japanese War.

b. 1953 Winston Churchill received the Nobel Prize for Literature.

c. 1978 Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

d. 1984 the UN General Assembly recognized the Convention Against Torture.

e. 1995 the Israeli Army withdrew from Nablus on the West Bank pursuant to the Oslo Accords.

   Reflections on when to use torture: “Torture is an impermissible evil. Except under two circumstances. The first is the ticking time bomb. An innocent's life is at stake. The bad guy you have captured possesses information that could save this life. He refuses to divulge. In such a case, the choice is easy.” Charles

Krauthammer noted former columnist and commentator.
   Please enjoy the poems on events of interest on my twitter account below (if you like them, retweet and follow me) and follow my blogs. Always good, incisive and entertaining poems on my blogs—click on the links below. Go towww.alaskanpoet.blogspot.com for Ridley’s Believe It Or Not—This Day in History, poems to inspire, touch, emote, elate and enjoy and poems on breaking news items of importance or go to   www.Alaskanpoethistory.blogspot.com for just This Day in History.

© December 10, 2018,  Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet

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