*Amnesty International concluded that Israel is committing genocide, I know the U.N. and the International Criminal Court (ICC), and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) have made similar declarations, but Amnesty is somehow better known and represented in the U.S.
I also saw that the Vatican's nativity this year features a sweet baby Jesus swaddled in a keffiyeh; the statues themselves are carved by carpenters from the West Bank, reportedly.
*The CEO of the largest US health insurance company was killed and the killer immediately became a folk hero. Stories about the killer abound (the bullets were inscribed with insurance delaying feint words, the backpack was full of Monopoly money) and it feels like this is how it might have felt to hear Robin Hood stories back in the 1300s. Big A said that when he walked into the ER the day it happened, he had never seen so many people celebrating someone's death since Bin Laden. It feels ugly to celebrate anyone's death. But it's also obscene to make 10 million dollars a year for sucessfully turning people's life support off and denying life-saving treatment from behind a desk.
I am in NYC on a six-hour layover at JFK (on my way to join my sister for our long-awaited vacation together!!!!) when a friend jokingly texted to ask if I was there for the look-alike contest. Apparently, New Yorkers were celebrating by holding a killer look-alike contest.
*Martial law was declared in South Korea and FAILED WITHIN HOURS due to people's actions and protests.
* The Assad regime has collapsed in Syria and people are already making their way back home!
*Amnesty International concluded that Israel is committing genocide, I know the U.N. and the International Criminal Court (ICC), and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) have made similar declarations, but Amnesty is somehow better known and represented in the U.S.
I also saw that the Vatican's nativity this year features a sweet baby Jesus swaddled in a keffiyeh; the statues themselves are carved by carpenters from the West Bank, reportedly.
*The CEO of the largest US health insurance company was killed and the killer immediately became a folk hero. Stories about the killer abound (the bullets were inscribed with insurance delaying feint words, the backpack was full of Monopoly money) and it feels like this is how it might have felt to hear Robin Hood stories back in the 1300s. Big A said that when he walked into the ER the day it happened, he had never seen so many people celebrating someone's death since Bin Laden. It feels ugly to celebrate anyone's death. But it's also obscene to make 10 million dollars a year for sucessfully turning people's life support off and denying life-saving treatment from behind a desk.
I am in NYC on a six-hour layover at JFK (on my way to join my sister for our long-awaited vacation together!!!!) when a friend jokingly texted to ask if I was there for the look-alike contest. Apparently, New Yorkers were celebrating by holding a killer look-alike contest.
*Martial law was declared in South Korea and FAILED WITHIN HOURS due to people's actions and protests.
* The Assad regime has collapsed in Syria and people are already making their way back home!
16 comments:
The murder of the United Healthcare executive is really sad to me. It maybe hits me differently since I live in Minneapolis. There are certainly major issues with the US healthcare system but I don’t see how ruthlessly murdering an executive will make a difference. Healthcare reform is so necessary, but it makes me sad that there is so much glee and celebration over his death. I don’t think his compensation is out of line with a CEO within a Fortune 500 company - if you rise to the top of a large corporation, $9mm is a typical compensation package at a for-profit company. I feel for his wife and teen sons who are having fake bomb threats sent to them during a time of profound grief.
Wow. Decades in a week, for sure. I hadn't heard about the health insurance CEO (you can tell I'm still not watching any news...) These are crazy times.
You have a vacation!!! Enjoy : )
I had not heard of the health insurance CEO. That's honestly quite shocking to me. Everything about US health insurance is shocking to me, really, but this feels like a scary precedent.
Enjoy your vacation and time with your sister! Where are you two heading off to?
A Decade in a week, indeed.
I'm astonished that anyone would celebrate a murder like that. It certainly doesn't stop the health insurance industry. Does it make a statement? I'm not entirely sure about that, either, since it's up to others to piece together the Clues left behind and form them into some sort of symbolic manifesto.
I hope you have a warm and wonderful time with your sister and that it gives you a rest and rejuvenation of spirit. XO
The day before the Assad government fell, I said to Beth, "It's really hard to root for either side." Can't say I'm sorry he's gone, but I fear the new government could be worse. Time will tell.
I hope you have a nice time with your sister.
Ugh. It's all so ugly. Is this the start of increased numbers of political assassinations in the US? Is anything going to be better in Syria? What is even happening in South Korea? I must admit that international relations are out of my ability to understand right now.
Steph--I know what you mean--like Egypt during the Arab Spring. But it's nice to seeing political prisoners being reunited with their families and refugees returning.
Engie--It seems messy everywhere. And knowing we are so messy ourselves makes it impossible to pass judgement.
Thank you, Nance.
Healthcare workers really dislike the insurance industry. As patient advocates who watch 70,000 people die every year from denied claims (that they've filed), I don't want to get between them and their schadenfreude. As a friend who is a nurse told me, they would be a murderer if they went to the hospital and yanked people's life support out, but it's respectable and legal when someone does it from behind a desk.
Nicole--Greece!! Eeeeeeeee!!
The news is still not safe, Jenny (I don't know when it will ever be, frankly!). But thank you for the vacation wishes!!
All of this sounds really awful, Lisa. The fake bomb threats are particularly dismaying. Of course, people don't deserve to get shot no matter how much we disagree with them or despise them.
The fact that health care and insurance is for profit is the problem. The fact that these people have a legal fiduciary duty to make money for their shareholders above the duty to provide care is the problem. This man should not have been shot, the shooter is a nut job. But the reason people are celebrating (which they should not be) is because the entire system is so fucked up, and people are hurting. Ask me about my mother's $20,000 hospital bill for 2 days in the hospital that she paid back, but because of interest charges, she still owe about $19,000 when she died. I'm not calm on this issue.
Also, YAY Amnesty, I hope this helps somehow.
Jules, I'm so very sorry. About ALL of this.
No one should be making money off of people's literal and emotional pain.
This murder is awful to read about. Prayers to the CEO's family.
Take care
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