Ehlana and Ethan:
Here at home, the weather was a top story of the day; and we enjoyed the mid-seventies high and regularly-sunny skies – at least until some showers moved into the area after dinner tonight. Tai Chi was by the river this morning; we had a hot breakfast with Mom and Dad; and then our academic adventures included some bonus outdoor time. We opted for biking and play time with our friends between school and dinner; and then we work-played at the lab or archives after taking care of the dinner clean-up. We used time-phasing to get more work done with our books or beakers; so we put in about seven hours of ‘real’ time of work before we headed home at around ten-thirty. We did a visit with Mom and Dad in the office as they wrapped up their work too; and then we all headed up to our rooms for the night.
Ethan and I needed bath or Jacuzzi time after the biking and work; he did more of the computer checks while I spent more time soaking in my tub; and now we’re winding down fast toward nap time with our twin chat and the rest of the world news checks. As usual for the past month and a half, the Iran war is the top story; and the claimed two-week ceasefire might be nothing more than political theatre on both sides of the war. Israel increased attacks on Lebanon while pretending to honor the ceasefire; Iran pointed out that the Pakistani mediators stated that the ceasefire was supposed to include Lebanon, Yemen, and the rest of the Middle East countries; and President Trump claims that Lebanon was excluded from the agreement. Yes, there has been a reduction in the attacks everywhere except Lebanon, but that doesn’t mean the ceasefire is holding; and the Strait of Hormuz is still mostly-closed. There are also insurance issues for the ships in the region; so at least some of those ships will not move until they can have their cargos and property insured.
There is definitely more pressure from world leaders to stop the war and get the Strait of Hormuz opened again; and Israeli armed forces are getting some serious pushback for endangering UN forces in Lebanon – including a team from Italy that was fired on while working in Lebanon. Gaza and the Palestinians are being ignored, but an Al Jazeera reporter was killed in Gaza by Israeli forces; and they are getting condemned for that too – especially so soon after attacks and killings of a handful of reporters in Lebanon in recent weeks. There are still too many leaders in Israel and America willing to ignore all of the ongoing war crimes, but the rest of the world is appalled; and ‘we’ are losing what little diplomatic reputation we have left as many other countries pivot away from us and make alternate economic and political connections and deals.
Let’s stop there; since it is still too-early to know whether the fragile ceasefire will hold or lead to a more-lasting peace deal. Ethan and I are ready to sleep now; so that’s all we have for this update.
Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!
