JULY 5 AND 6, 2018


NEWS AND VIEWS


HERE ARE TWO STORIES FROM DIFFERENT TIMES TODAY ABOUT THE BOYS IN THE THAI CAVE, EACH SHOWING A BIT MORE INFORMATION. I AM INCLUDING BOTH FOR YOUR PERSONAL INTEREST. THIS CASE WILL BE A CLIFFHANGER MOMENT TO MOMENT DUE TO THE EXTREME DANGER TO EVERY PERSON IN THE CAVE. IF THE GROUND WATER COMES RUSHING BACK IN, THEIR TIME WILL BE UP. MOTHER NATURE HOLDS NEARLY ALL THE CARDS. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE RELIGIOUS, PRAY. IF YOU AREN’T, WATCH THE STORY HOUR TO HOUR AS I HAVE BEEN DOING, AND HOPE FOR THEIR SAFETY.

DEATH IS NEVER GOOD, BUT I DON’T WANT TO DROWN. THAT LINE FROM THE VERY LONG TS ELIOT POEM “THE WASTELAND,” WHICH I DIDN’T READ EXCEPT IN EXCERPTS, “FEAR DEATH BY WATER,” IS MORE DISTURBING ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL LEVEL THAN MOST SIMPLE IDEAS THAT I HAVE EVER ENCOUNTERED. IT’S BECAUSE IT HAS THE IMPACT THAT ONLY A GOOD POET CAN IMPART IN JUST FOUR WORDS, AND IT HAS NEVER GONE AWAY FROM MY MEMORY. I WAS SWIMMING AT THE BEACH IN MY EARLY TWENTIES AND THE WATER WAS OVERLY ROUGH. THAT LINE CAME INTO MY MIND, THEN, EVEN THOUGH I WAS ACTUALLY ENJOYING THE WATER. I LIKE SWIMMING, BUT AT THE OCEAN PARTICULARLY, I AM WARY OF GETTING OUT TOO FAR FROM THE SHORE.

OF COURSE, WHILE I DON’T FEAR “BEING DEAD,” THE LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS, I DO FEAR THE VARIOUS WAYS OF COMING TO THAT PLACE. THAT’S AN INSTINCT, OF COURSE. I WOULD HOPE DEATH WOULD BE FINAL, THOUGH. THOSE STORIES OF PEOPLE WHO ARE KEPT ALIVE ON LIFE SUPPORT FOR MONTHS AND YEARS UNABLE TO MOVE OR COMMUNICATE, ARE ACTUALLY ABOUT THEIR HAVING TO ENDURE A LIVING DEATH. THAT’S MY VIEW. REMEMBER THAT SCENE FROM “ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST?” IF YOU’VE EVER SEEN OR READ IT, YOU’LL KNOW WHICH ONE. IT’S HARD TO FORGET, AND IT ANSWERS THE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ACCEPTABILITY OF EUTHANASIA FOR ME. I KNOW WHAT I WANT FOR MYSELF IF THAT IS EVER MY SITUATION. I WANT TO BE ON LIFE SUPPORT FOR JUST 24 HOURS, TO GIVE THE DOCTORS A CHANCE TO SAVE ME WITH THEIR MODERN MEDICAL MIRACLES, BUT AFTER THAT, UNHOOK THE RESPIRATOR. GIVE ME A HUG AND SAY GOODBYE FIRST, THOUGH. READ EMILY DICKINSON’S POEM, “TO MAKE A PRAIRIE,” TO ME AS WELL. THAT’S MY PATH TO WHAT FOR ME IS HEAVEN. REMEMBER, THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE ON RESPIRATORS CAN’T SPEAK, CAN’T DO ANYTHING EXCEPT MAYBE MOVE THEIR EYES, BUT THEY CAN HEAR, SO DON’T SAY DISTURBING THINGS ABOUT THEM AT THEIR BEDSIDE.

ON THE T. S. ELIOT POEM ITSELF, SEE https://www.shmoop.com/the-waste-land/death-water-summary.html. THE VERY SOUND OF THE PHRASE “FEAR DEATH BY WATER,” HAS ALWAYS DISTURBED ME. I DON’T LIKE THE DARK, EITHER, SO BEING IN THAT CAVE WOULD BE ESPECIALLY FRIGHTENING FOR ME. I CAN ONLY HOPE FOR THOSE KIDS’ WELFARE. SOMETHING MAY HAPPEN TO SOLVE THEIR PROBLEM ALL AT ONCE, THOUGH. THE REASON I DON’T FEAR A FINAL HOPELESS FATE, IS BECAUSE I HAVE SEEN SO MANY TIMES IN MY LIFE THAT EVERYTHING LOOKED IMPOSSIBLE, BUT THEN ONE LITTLE THING OR ANOTHER CHANGED, AND THE SITUATION BECAME MANAGEABLE. THAT’S WHAT GIVES ME HOPE. WE DON’T TRULY KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN UNTIL EACH EVENT OCCURS. UNDERSTANDING THE LIKELIHOOD IS NOT THE SAME THING AS KNOWING. THE TRICK ISN’T TO WAIT PASSIVELY FOR FATE TO OVERTAKE US, BUT TO KEEP ON TRYING UNTIL THE MIRACLE HAPPENS! THAT’S WHY WE HAVE TO FACE THINGS HEAD ON.

I AM SURPRISED BY THE WAY THOSE YOUNG KIDS SEEM ALMOST CHEERFUL. THEIR SITUATION MAY SEEM LIKE AN ADVENTURE TO THEM, NOW THAT THE RESCUE TEAM REACHED THEM, BUT IT IS BY NO MEANS OVER. LET THEM KEEP THEIR GOOD CHEER IF THEY CAN. I’M ROOTING FOR THE SCIENTIFIC TEAM WHO ARE WORKING ON POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS, SUCH AS THE PUMPING OF THE WATER TODAY. I’M GLAD, ALSO, TO SEE THAT THE THAI CHILDREN ARE NOW BEING TAUGHT INDIVIDUALLY TO SWIM AND WEAR THE OXYGEN TANKS. ALL CHILDREN SHOULD BE TAUGHT TO COOK, CLEAN HOUSE, READ, DO BASIC MATH, DEAL WITH ANIMALS, AND SWIM; AND YES, I MEAN THE BOYS AS WELL, BECAUSE IF THEIR LOYAL WIFE IS TOO ILL TO COOK FOR THE FAMILY THEY WILL HAVE TO DO IT.

ABOUT TEACHING KIDS TO SWIM, THOUGH, THERE IS NEED FOR A SAFE WATER AREA, AND OCEANS AND RIVERS AREN’T ENTIRELY SAFE. STRONG CURRENTS AND WORSE, PARASITES AND POLLUTANTS ARE A PROBLEM, EVEN IN PARTS OF THE USA. SO MANY PEOPLE IN THOSE PLACES JUST DON’T GO IN THE WATER AT ALL. OUR POOLS HERE ARE TREATED WITH CHLORINE, BUT EVEN SO, USERS OF THE POOL WHO ARE CARRYING SOMETHING LIKE A RESISTANT VIRUS CAN MAKE THE WATER UNSAFE FOR OTHERS.

OF COURSE, KIDS DON’T ALL HAVE ACCESS TO WATER FOR THE PURPOSE OF LEARNING THAT BASIC LIFE SKILL. WE HAD A SWIMMING POOL IN OUR TOWN, AND I WAS IN THE GIRL SCOUTS. I MENTION THE GIRL SCOUTS FAIRLY FREQUENTLY BECAUSE IT GIVES THE KIDS A GROUP OF FRIENDS, WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT, AND TEACHES THEM LOTS OF USEFUL THINGS LIKE SWIMMING. ALSO, AROUND THAT PUBERTY TIME OF LIFE, KIDS SHOULD HAVE AN ADULT-SUPERVISED ACTIVITY TO KEEP THEM BUSY. IT’S LIKE THE WRITER OF A GREAT BOOK THAT I READ ON RAISING BORDER COLLIES SAID OF A BORDER COLLIE PUPPY, “GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO DO, BECAUSE IF YOU DON’T, THEY WILL FIND SOMETHING TO DO, AND YOU WON’T LIKE IT!” I’VE ALWAYS LOVED BORDER COLLIES. INTELLIGENCE, SPUNK AND BEAUTY ALL IN ONE PACKAGE; AND YOU DON'T TRULY KNOW THEM UNTIL YOU SEE THEM WORK SHEEP. THEIR SIMILARITY TO A WOLF WILL BE CLEAR TO YOU. THAT PIERCING EYE TO EYE GAZE WILL TURN BACK EVEN THE BOLDEST SHEEP.

LEARNING TO SWIM SHOULDN’T BE TOO HARD FOR A YOUNG PERSON IF THEY ARE TAUGHT THE RIGHT WAY, BUT IF THE CHILD IS FEARFUL HE WON’T BE ABLE TO DO THE TWO KEY THINGS: RELAXATION AND BREATH CONTROL. JUST DON’T BREATHE IN UNTIL YOU HAVE A CLEAR PLACE TO RAISE YOUR HEAD TO THE AIR, EVEN IF YOU FEEL THAT YOUR LUNGS WILL BURST. WAIT UNTIL IT’S SAFE TO BREATHE. SLOWLY BREATHE AIR OUT THROUGH THE NOSE SO THAT IT MAKES BUBBLES. THAT WILL KEEP WATER FROM RUSHING IN TO THE NOSE. THE FIRST THING I WAS TAUGHT IN SWIMMING WAS TO "MAKE BUBBLES."

ONE MAJOR PROBLEM WITH THIS PARTICULAR CAVE IS THAT THERE ARE PARTS OF THE TRAIL WHERE EVEN KIDS CAN’T STAND UP OR EVEN PASS THE OXYGEN TANK THROUGH, BECAUSE THE PASSAGE IS TOO SMALL. THEY MAY NOT BE ABLE TO LIFT THEIR HEADS UP AS THEY WILL NEED TO DO, EITHER.

I DO WISH SOMEONE HAD TOLD THESE BOYS TO STAY OUT OF DEEP DARK HOLES IN THE GROUND ALTOGETHER. KIDS, ESPECIALLY BOYS, WILL DO UNWISE THINGS JUST BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE FUN AS LONG AS THEY ARE IN A GROUP. THE GROUP SPIRIT MAKES THEM FEEL INVULNERABLE. THAT’S OUR DOWNFALL IN SO MANY THINGS. AT THIS POINT, THOUGH, I JUST HOPE FOR THEIR SAFE AND MIRACULOUS ESCAPE FROM THAT TRAP THAT THEY ARE IN. I’LL UPDATE THIS STORY LATER TODAY.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/07/05/thailand-cave-race-drain-water-caverns-before-new-rains-arrive/758692002/?csp=chromepush
Thailand cave rescue: Former Thai navy SEAL dies from lack of oxygen
Kim Hjelmgaard and John Bacon, USA TODAY Published 12:46 a.m. ET July 5, 2018 | Updated 11:06 p.m. ET July 5, 2018

A former Thai navy SEAL working to save a young soccer team trapped in a cave died from a lack of oxygen in an overnight mission, officials said Friday morning.

SEAL commander Arpakorn Yookongkaew told reporters the volunteer rescuer was working to replace oxygen canisters.

Earlier Thursday, rescue workers suffered a setback in their race to drain water from the flooded cave and extract the team when volunteers inadvertently pumped water back into the cave.

Operation commander Narongsak Osatanakorn said overzealous volunteers working on their own arrived on site and began pumping water into the ground, forcing it back into the partially flooded Tham Luang Nang Non cave in northern Thailand.

"They may have some belief that their techniques are effective for groundwater drainage, but anything that is not in the plan must be discussed with us first," Narongsak told Thai media. "We are racing against water (that is) flowing into the cave although we have plugged its channels."

The volunteers were corrected, and Poonsak Woongsatngiem, an official from Thailand’s interior ministry, told the Guardian that the water had been reduced by 40 percent in the past few days, clearing a 1-mile stretch of cave the boys would need to cross. The boys are about 2.5 miles from the cave entrance.

Communications are also a concern as rescue workers consider extrication options in advance of monsoon rains forecast for Saturday. Authorities have not yet been able to connect a phone line, and a round trip through the winding, waterlogged tunnels between the boys and a rudimentary cave command post that now has a phone takes more than six hours.

More: Rescue workers start teaching trapped Thailand cave boys to swim and dive

More: These dramatic rescues boost hope for boys trapped in waterlogged Thai cave

Narongsak said the boys and their coach were in weak but otherwise stable condition and good health when found late Monday. "What we worry about most is the weather," Narongsak told reporters. "We can’t risk having the flood back into the cave."

Ideally, the water level would be lowered to no higher than the boys' waists, so they could walk out wearing life vests without needing to don scuba gear for what would be an extremely dangerous trip.



https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/07/05/thailand-cave-race-drain-water-caverns-before-new-rains-arrive/758692002/?csp=chromepush
A former Thai navy SEAL working to save a young soccer team trapped in a cave died from a lack of oxygen in an overnight mission, officials said Friday morning.

SEAL commander Arpakorn Yookongkaew told reporters the volunteer rescuer was working to replace oxygen canisters.

Earlier Thursday, rescue workers suffered a setback in their race to drain water from the flooded cave and extract the team when volunteers inadvertently pumped water back into the cave.

Operation commander Narongsak Osatanakorn said overzealous volunteers working on their own arrived on site and began pumping water into the ground, forcing it back into the partially flooded Tham Luang Nang Non cave in northern Thailand.

"They may have some belief that their techniques are effective for groundwater drainage, but anything that is not in the plan must be discussed with us first," Narongsak told Thai media. "We are racing against water (that is) flowing into the cave although we have plugged its channels."

The volunteers were corrected, and Poonsak Woongsatngiem, an official from Thailand’s interior ministry, told the Guardian that the water had been reduced by 40 percent in the past few days, clearing a 1-mile stretch of cave the boys would need to cross. The boys are about 2.5 miles from the cave entrance.

Communications are also a concern as rescue workers consider extrication options in advance of monsoon rains forecast for Saturday. Authorities have not yet been able to connect a phone line, and a round trip through the winding, waterlogged tunnels between the boys and a rudimentary cave command post that now has a phone takes more than six hours.

More: Rescue workers start teaching trapped Thailand cave boys to swim and dive
More: These dramatic rescues boost hope for boys trapped in waterlogged Thai cave

Narongsak said the boys and their coach were in weak but otherwise stable condition and good health when found late Monday. "What we worry about most is the weather," Narongsak told reporters. "We can’t risk having the flood back into the cave."

Ideally, the water level would be lowered to no higher than the boys' waists, so they could walk out wearing life vests without needing to don scuba gear for what would be an extremely dangerous trip.


THERE PROBABLY ISN’T ANOTHER INTENTIONAL MURDER HERE. IT’S MUCH MORE LIKELY THAT A POISON CONTAINER WAS LEFT IN THE PARK AND THEN TOUCHED BY THIS SECOND COUPLE. STILL, THIS STORY IS A LITTLE ON THE BLOOD-CHILLING SIDE.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/amesbury-poisoning-same-novichok-nerve-agent-salisbury-attack-sergei-skripal/
CBS NEWS July 5, 2018, 7:40 AM
U.K. couple likely new victims of Salisbury attack on ex-spy Sergei Skripal

SALISBURY, England -- British police say two more people have been poisoned by the same type of nerve agent used to attack a Russian former spy and his daughter. The new victims were found in Amesbury, England, just a few miles from the scene of the alleged assassination attempt in March, and officials now believe they are likely secondary, unintended victims of that attack.

CBS News correspondent Charlie D'Agata is at the hospital in Salisbury, England, where the pair are being treated. British media have identified them as Charlie Rowley, 45, and Dawn Sturgess, 44.

Paramedics in hazmat suits stretchered them out of an apartment in Amesbury, about eight miles from Salisbury, on Saturday evening.

But it wasn't until Wednesday night that lab results confirmed the dreaded news, delivered by Scotland Yard, that "the man and woman have been exposed to the nerve agent Novichok."

It is the same type of nerve agent used in the attack on Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia that Britain blamed squarely on Russia.

Sam Hobson was with Rowley when he became violently ill on Saturday.

"He was rocking against the wall and his eyes were all red and pricked and he started sweating loads and dribbling, so I had to phone an ambulance for him," Hobson recalls.

British security officials said Thursday that they're working on the assumption the pair in Amesbury were not specifically targeted, but were instead victims of the previous attack.

Police tape now surrounds an entire park in Salisbury that the couple had visited. It is just a short walk from where the Skripals were found collapsed on a bench.

It is possible that the couple from Amesbury stumbled across a dangerous amount of the nerve agent, maybe on instruments used in that initial attack.

Unlike most chemical nerve agents, Novichok can remain deadly for long periods of time, according to chemical weapons expert Hamish de Bretton Gordon.

"Most nerve agents are not very persistent and last for days, possibly weeks," he tells CBS News. "We understand that Novichoks were designed to last for months, so four months down the line, is obviously still toxic."

And that presents a new and urgent challenge for counterterrorism police in England.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



ON THE NEW SUBJECT OF “ABOLISHING” ICE, SEE HUFF POST BELOW, AND THE FOLLOWING OTHER SITES.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-abolish-ice_us_5b3bba5ce4b05127cced1535
POLITICS 07/03/2018 03:00 pm ET Updated 1 day ago
Bernie Sanders Calls To Abolish Immigration System, Restructure ICE
The senator had sidestepped previous questions about the issue.
headshot
By Lydia O’Connor

VIDEO – TYT THE YOUNG TURKS 9:53

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is now calling for the abolition of our current immigration system and a restructuring of Immigration and Customs Enforcement after facing criticism for dancing around the issue.

In a series of tweets on Tuesday, the 2016 presidential candidate took a clearer stance on the agency and reminded followers that he voted against establishing ICE and the Department of Homeland Security when they were proposed 15 years ago.


Bernie Sanders
✔
@SenSanders
In 2002 I voted against the creation of DHS and the establishment of ICE. That was the right vote. Now, it is time to do what Americans overwhelmingly want: abolish the cruel, dysfunctional immigration system we have today and pass comprehensive immigration reform.

1:27 PM - Jul 3, 2018
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Bernie Sanders
✔
@SenSanders
Replying to @SenSanders
That will mean restructuring the agencies that enforce our immigration laws, including ICE. We must not be about tearing small children away from their families. We must not be about deporting DREAMers, young people who have lived in this country virtually their entire lives.

1:27 PM - Jul 3, 2018
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Bernie Sanders
✔
@SenSanders
Replying to @SenSanders
We must not be about forcing over 10 million undocumented people, many of whom have been here for decades, to continue living in fear and anxiety. Congress must do what the American people want. Let us create a humane and rational immigration system.

1:27 PM - Jul 3, 2018
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Sanders joins fellow Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a number of other lawmakers and 19 ICE special agents in calling the agency into question in light of its role in separating immigrant families and its handling of immigration as a matter of criminal enforcement.

Late last month, Sanders caught flak for sidestepping a question from CNN’s Jake Tapper asking if he favored abolishing ICE.

“I think that what we need is to create policies which deal with immigration in a rational way,” the senator said. “And a rational way is not locking children up in detention centers or separating them from their mothers. What we need is Trump to sit down with members of Congress and work on a rational program which deals with this serious issue.”

This piece has been updated to reflect that Sanders called to abolish the entire immigration system when speaking about ICE.