Decay of Society

• For the first time in the history of this country, a former President has been indicted and faces the possibility of a prison sentence. Donald Trump has been arrested for making a $130,000 payment to an adult film actress in the waning days of the 2016 election to silence her about claims she had an affair with him. He also has a case in court now where he is charged with raping a writer in a department store years ago. And in Georgia, it could be any day now that the prosecutors there start the case against him and his claims of fraud and ineffective voting machines. The irony of all this is that Trump is campaigning for the 2024 election while these court cases are swirling around him.
• ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence program that produces complex, human-like responses- has provoked a public reckoning over the future of learned professions, and teachers, writers, and office workers are all said to be on the chopping block. Maybe even doctors will be affected as AI could effectively handle a large part of a doctor’s responsibilities. Many newspaper articles throughout the USA and Europe are addressing the subject of work and labor and how the words “freedom of speech” at play here are differentiated in the real world and how ChatGPT may affect both.
• Just in the United States in the last three days, three people were shot and killed by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. One young boy rang the bell of a home and was shot in the head as he had the wrong house. A 20-year-old woman drove up the wrong driveway by mistake and was shot by the owner. And a cheerleader was shot by a man who mistakenly shot into the wrong car. This is a sad commentary on where society has gone with lack of gun control but also man’s inhumanity to man has deteriorated in the last few decades.
• On the same subject, it was just reported that mass killings in the United States are on a historical pace this year with 22 mass killings with 115 lives taken, all by guns, in the first 4 months of the year. I see reports about the same thing happening in other countries and the killings are taking place at daycares, schools, or places with large audiences. Three miles from my home five family members were killed by a neighbor because they complained they couldn’t sleep because he was firing his gun at night.
• Robberies of postal workers in the United States alone surged 78% in 2022 with 500 robberies and 2023 is on a stronger pace than last year.

Political Unrest

• There is a growing concern in America that China is infiltrating important facets of our society so that gradually they will control everything – including our government. China owns TikTok and Temu- which gives them a leading role with the control of social media and eventually overtaking Amazon as America’s number one retailer.
• There have been 6751 recorded incidents of white supremacist propaganda activity last year-an increase of 38% nationwide and an all-time high. There have been 465 incidents of white supremacy in Massachusetts alone – a 72 % increase over the previous year (neo-Nazi, anti-semitism, and racist banners and graffiti.).
• Mexico has become a lawless place as they have become anti-black after an unusual influx of migrants from Haiti. Anti-Blackness isn’t a new dynamic in Mexico but black asylum seekers have faced increased racism, harassment, and cruel acts of violence since the Mexican government agreed to become a de facto waiting room for those trying for asylum there.
• There has been a wave of killings in India that have a byline that might read “violence yields political dividends.”  The police in India’s largest state are having clashes with a notorious mobster/politician’s associates but interestingly why did the police not bother killing the mobster/politician himself when the opportunity was there

Weather Patterns

• A devastating pair of earthquakes killed over 50,000 in Turkey and Syria. The head of the World Food Programme David Beasley described the situation in southern Turkey as “apocalyptic.” He said, “The scale of devastation here is truly incomprehensible.”
• California has had a series of storms that walloped the state in fierce waves since a month ago and have left many communities cleaning up and digging out from flooding and landslides. So far this winter, the cumulative precipitation is well above average for the past 70 or so years. In 24 hours 38 inches of snow fell in the California mountains and one report said it was of “Biblical Proportions!”
• The National Weather Service has confirmed at least 81 tornadoes touched down in 14 states in the last month. There have been 32 deaths reported.
• Over 400 people were killed in the Congo after deadly floods and landslides hit last week and rescuers are searching for victims and survivors of the disaster.

Wars & Rumors of War

• During a recent trip, American Economist, Janet Yellen warned China that it would face “severe consequences” if it provided material support to Russia in violation of U.S.-backed sanctions. On Monday, China criticized the United States for its role in the war in Ukraine. A spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry said, “While the United States has intensified its efforts to send weapons to the conflicting parties, resulting in endless wars and no end in sight for peace, it has frequently spread false information about China’s supply of weapons to Russia.
• Sudan descends into carnage and despair. A power struggle between two power-hungry generals is dominating Sudan. When their relationship denigrated into violence the fighting spread to four corners of the country. The country was experiencing a joyful democracy that occurred four years ago when protestors overtook a brutal dictator and now it’s all in vain as these two power-hungry generals are destroying the country with bombings- killing civilians and forcing visitors to get out of the country. And now the Sudanians are trying to flee their own country.
• Shootings between Israeli and Palestinian soldiers continue to go on. Almost every day there are shootings and killings. The past few months have been marked by rising violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which Israel captured along with the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war.

Diseases

• Tick-borne disease babesiosis is on the rise. Cases of a parasitic disease spread by ticks have been on the rise in the U.S., particularly in states that had previously seen few cases. Ticks have 16 different diseases that have the potential to kill. Ticks are found in many countries around the world. The highest disease incidence has been reported in the Baltic states, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic. Asian countries with reported cases of virus activity include China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and South Korea¹.
• Coronavirus variants like omicron continue to develop. The variant also is reported to have faster rates than previous surges in infection, suggesting that this variant may have a growth advantage.
• A recent article said that even though the Covid virus has slowed down it’s still the leading cause of death and Coronavirus continues to kill about 250 a day.
• Cases of Tuberculosis (TB) have risen this year throughout the world and world health leaders will be meeting soon to develop a plan to remedy the problem.