The Septuagenarian race to win/keep the White House: all older than Vladimir Putin

The US election is on November 3rd, 2020. 

The democrats have:

1. Bernie Sanders (from September 1941). His change of winning increased after his last heart attack.

2. Joe Biden (from November 1942). Obama's vice-president.

3. Elizabeth Warren (from June 1949) - only 70.  She is the youngest.

When electing a president I would have liked someone who'd be around during the mandate and for some time after that to be able to advise future politicians.

Two younger people colour the picture:

Pete Buttigieg (born in 1982) is 38. I have not heard of him before. He is enthusiastic and able to hold an audience, and to raise plenty of funds for his champaign. He is also religious, happily married with a supportive partner and a dog and openly gay. He would be the youngest US president to date. So far they say he trails the septuagenarians even when polling the younger generation. He does not bring a clear picture on how to shape American's future beyond how to argue with Donald Trump, and focusing on the argument for me signifies a bit of a weakness - like there is no expectation of winning it and doing anything beyond that.

Andrew Yang (from 1975) is the son of immigrants from Taiwan. He seems to be the only one who has a timely plan. He proposes some basic income for all Americans to support them when large companies close. Something similar exists in Canada. Obama supports him as do some of my former colleges. Unfortunately, people are biased enough against immigrants and sons of immigrants that he is unlikely to win, but perhaps he will play a more prominent role in American politics in the future. In mid February, the numbers where not in his favor and he quit the presidential race.

Will any of them address climate change? I have not seen much discussion on potential solutions in the US press beyond the occasional pictures and videos of Greta Thunberg who is 17 and Swedish and cannot candidate for the US presidency.  The various political campaigns were always funded by oil and car companies and so climate change seems to be a taboo topic that nobody really addresses.

The republicans have Donald Trump  (born in 1946; 73 years old). He is going through impeachment, which might help him gain publicity and support. War tactics like killing Iran's general also make him seem strong. They might also bring another war in the middle East. Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and discusses his military strikes with them before mentioning them to members of his own congress. Trump is ill with dementia, and will be struggling to be physically fit and mentally fit to be seen in public if re-elected. This might be a problem during the campaign as well. 

The Russian president Vladimir Putin (born 1952) is 67 and struggles to prove the world how fit he is. Recently, the Russian parliament quit in an attempt to stop him from retaining power indefinitely. Continual dictatorship means an increased risk for war and instability. What role does he play in American politics? Perhaps people from the same generation (and particularly those born in the previous decade) are easier to understand, control and predict. These people were the ones around when Putin was growing as a/becoming the politician he is today and it must be comforting to have them still lead the scene.

In the past life at 80 was considered over, and it's still close to over for those who make it to that age. The chance of living another 10 years is fairly small and the chance of accomplishing changes in those years is even smaller. Yet today instead of spending time with grandchildren and being advisors and enablers for the next generations, the presidential race is dominated by people at the end of their careers. I imagine candidates holding political debates in wheel chairs in the recovery ward of various hospitals if we insist in having presidents that are ill and old or perhaps they would just be seen as little as possible and be represented through random twitter feeds and pictures and videos of them when they were young. Should a nation's future be shaped by people who don't have a future?

My father is 69. He is two years older than Putin. When I was a child, I would imagine him running for president. Of course, my father was a doctor and not a politician, but that never stopped me from dreaming. Today, as I help my mother prop him up in bed and change his diaper after a stroke from two years ago that he's never recovered from, I know those dreams are gone. Most of his colleagues in the same age range are either gone, ill or still sort of functional, but they are all shadows of what they used to be when they were young. So, why should the greatest nation in the world have a shadow for president? unless their role is similar to that of the queen - to pose, make news, but try not to interfere with those behind the scene - and even she does not do all her posing alone. Her children, grand-children, and cute great-grandchildren play some role as well and add some balance to her age. Will a nation remain great if we abuse its leadership so?

Instead of ending with deep thoughts, I will end with a joke.

In a snail catching competition for people over 80, the one who caught two snails received first prize, the one who caught one snail won second prize, and the one who won third prize caught no snails, but won the prize anyhow for trying. When they interviewed him they asked how he failed to catch the snails. He answered: "You see young lady...Until I stretch, until I bend the snail rushes away". (Romanian version: "Pana ma aplec, pana ma intind ... melcul tusti").

Sometimes it is easy to live near a palace

Palaces further away from my window

When I look out my window I see two palaces.  The next street holds several such structures as well. When you drive through Romanian cities (and I have read Moldova is the same) you see these huge buildings that could belong to the royal family, but they do not. They do not belong to a king or to any princes. Palaces in Romania are owned by Roma families (also known as gypsies), who live in them for short periods every year. Some use them for a month. Some are empty and others yet are lucky enough to have family members living in them. The one across the street was unused for a few years because the father of the family was in jail in Germany. Rumor has it the charge was human trafficking and that he was supposed to be released last year, but another victim came forward (they said a husband told the police 'he took my wife'; so trafficking of women) and the sentence was prolonged a bit.

In May he was released from jail and mentioned there are some restrictions. He cannot immediately return to Germany.   His family chose to stay with him. His sons drive large vans with dark windows in which they fit two relatively crappy mattresses that are in contrast to everything else they own. They say they use them for sleep across long trips. We've discussed owning houses abroad. They said there they would have to justify the money for the purchase, but here there are no such issues or rules. So, they celebrated his return from jail by buying another house in an even more central location. The house is now getting a makeover so that it will look more like a palace. They can also afford expensive looking finishes and furniture.

In the German jail my neighbor had full health insurance and had gone through cardiac surgery. After some time here, he started having breathing problems and went back to Germany, where he had another surgery to facilitate blood flow in his leg. He must have ignored the restrictions. They performed the surgery,  but sent them back to Romania just before Xmas. They hope to return soon.

The palace dwellers don't appear to have many skills or formal education that would enable them to earn money beyond a fierce support of each other. The men do drive cars, which means they have passed driver license tests somehow and do not seem to have many accidents with their vehicles. They also buy property and redesign it. They thus invest some of their money wisely. The main thing they lack is education. They have the palaces, but they do not have the royal gardens. They cut all trees and have paved hot yards (with statues) that overheat in summer, but many other rich people do the same. Jail time seems to be reserved for older members of the family -- usually, the father figure; he is the one who can hold his temper in check, speaks languages poorly, and is likely to receive shorter sentences due to age and potential health issues. The Roma palace next to our house in Timisoara is empty because its owner is in jail in Austria - perhaps for drug trafficking but nobody knows for sure.

The owners of the other palace from across the road  (from my grandparents house in Lugoj) are more careful. They spent no time in jail and bought two houses this year.  My favorite from their clan is their grandmother.  She is a dear old lady in her eighties who married into the powerful clan many years ago. All her life she cleaned houses for a family of doctors. After she retired with a very small pension, she started working to maintain the big houses for her grandchildren who are abroad. She is close to the end of her life now, but she always has a kind word for me, and is happier working for her `own' people. Since her pension is small, she worries about what she spends, and about not having enough money even when surrounded by extreme luxury. Since she dresses in gypsy attire, Andy says she looks like a character out of a movie, but I love her. She gives me second hand clothes, and even food sometimes, and I take them to avoid offending her, and because reusing things makes sense. Her generosity reminds me that whatever their exploits her grandchildren are human with more than one facet of personality and whatever they've done there is this sweet old lady who loves them regardless and works hard to keep the palace ready for the one month they come home to it.

The Lugoj police protecting clans from shooting each other

 It is, however, important to understand that only a very small fraction of the Roma population live in palaces. Each city in Romania has a host of Roma families who are related to each other and who own and build these places. Their legality or how and where they get the money to build and maintain them is unclear. Only a chosen few join these families. The older members of the clan own some guns to protect themselves, and the police is so far only involved to record/resolve shootings/arguments between clans. Since they happen rarely, I have never seen such a shooting, but newspapers in Lugoj recorded one (see picture).

I would like to remind my readers that the aim of my post is not to increase their bias against the gypsies/Roma population, who have already suffered from a history of slavery and abuse. My writing is just an observation of what goes on around me, and I never want it to became a source of blame or hate. The palace dwellers are not representative of Roma/gypsies as a whole just like the top fraction of a percent are not representative of white people. My facebook-friend Alina Serban is Roma and is a tremendous force of good in the world. She is many people's hero including mine. She struggles to educate people through plays with social justice messages, against sexism, racism, homophobia and various other forms of discrimination. She held the leading role in "Singura la nunta mea", which one of the best movies I have seen to date. Another person who fought for their rights is my mother, who is a gynecologist. Throughout her career she struggled to treat Roma women to the best of her ability and repeatedly fought social injustice to help them.

The palace dwellers are powerful, but still uneducated. So, perhaps if the next generation goes to school (some do and some do not) this trend might not continue, but then fewer palaces will be built. And it's not just Eastern Europe - only here we have the palace landmark and one cannot hide from them or not notice since they exist on almost every city street.

So, is Romania unique? Other countries do not have palaces on every street, but are not doing that much better in terms of criminality rate, and ability to stop crime and corruption.  The crimes my neighbors commit (one was in prison for traffic of women) appear to be perpetuated in Western Europe. They do not traffic women or children from their house. If they traffic them, they take them directly across the border AND across the border there is a market for whatever they do. The Roma money is made abroad and now so is their jail time. If they are criminals for hire, they are hired abroad by people who afford to pay them AND don't get caught.

 It is sad that being powerful is not correlated to being talented or educated or to understanding the world, but it is more about being clannish enough and being born into the right clan whether one is Roma or of other origin. The Roma, the white, the Asian and the black, all give so much power to a few. These few represent us and may destroy our world yet again. 

Home Grown Veg

I started the tomatoes (back of photo) at the end of Jan so they’ll be well-established by April/May. The plants at the front are runner beans, they’ll go out at around the same time.

I read your blog Ruxandra on not finding bugs in the UK, I’ll be encouraging the girls to take photos of the bugs we find in the garden - perhaps David and Edward can help to identify them for Gina & Maddie.

I’ll post photos of the plants as they develop....

Best wishes to all xx

Hannah was kind enough to send us some of her tomatoes. Mihai brought them in an airplane and Edward and I planted some in the yard and some in the garden. Only we did not tie them properly and they ended up a bit bushy. The chicken found them a perfect refuge for hot summer days - especially, after they ate all other bushy plants around. The chicken picked the red tomatoes they could reach. James picked the green tomatoes and called them apples. This made harvest a little difficult, but they added to the atmosphere. Lastly, when winter came, Edwina, the goat, ate the tomato leaves and wines. They are slightly toxic, but seemed to be OK in small quantities.

Hannah planted them in her green house and had tomatoes all summer and fall. They were tied on metal poles. They looked very professional. We enjoyed picking tomatoes and berries every time we visited London. She also had kale, beans and various other kinds of yummy vegetables, and several kinds of berries as well. The children were encouraged to eat everything rough. She sent us some berry plants without spines, but they did not survive the animals or the children who do not always pay attention on what/where they step.

Le réveil des consciences

Mihai m’a écrit une lettre pour me souhaiter la bonne année. Je n’ai pas eu le temps de lui répondre et cet article répond en partie aux nombreuses raisons qui m’en ont empêchées. Il l'appréciera plus qu'un simple email. Je te remercie Ruxandra de me laisser m’exprimer sur ton blog fort intéressant et d’une grande ouverture d’esprit.

Mihai, le scientifique, a écrit un texte  brillant sur la politique américaine et sur son président.  Je ne prétends pas avoir vos connaissances surtout en matière scientifique mais je vais essayer de susciter la réflexion de la nécessité de ne pas se contenter de  constater ce qui arrive dans le monde mais vous inviter toutes et tous à entrer dans le combat.

Art by Austin Paulson

De quel combat je veux traiter aujourd’hui? Celui de la vie car notre existence est en danger. Bien sur ce ne serait pas un drame pour l’ensemble des êtres vivants sur cette planète  si nous disparaissons mais il serait bien d’essayer de réveiller les consciences pour empêcher  qu’un nombre réduit de personnes s’approprie les richesses de la planète et pour quoi faire? Cette quête d’appropriation n’a pas de sens et mènera à la fin de notre monde sauf si nous, citoyens du monde nous tentons de réagir. Je lance un appel vibrant à l’éveil des consciences.

Je vais tenter de vous parler de syndicalisme. Je suis une militante syndicaliste depuis 4 ans maintenant. Je suis en pleine campagne électorale dans mon entreprise. Je me retrouve face à une liste syndicale adverse qui n’en est pas une et qui est contrôlée par la direction. Ces personnes candidates au Conseil Economique et Sociale désapprouvent les méthodes syndicales et considèrent que nous sommes des « fouteurs de merde » . Convaincus pilotés et aidés par la direction, ils pensant mener une bataille juste en prétendant être un syndicat « réformistes » et nous empêcher de faire notre travail d’opposant assumée à la direction. Je travaille pour une entreprise dont le propriétaire ne paie pas d’impôts et accumule les richesses et laisse à ceux qui travaillent pour lui des miettes pour survivre. Je milite pour la défense des droits des salariés et en revendiquent d’autres. Je suis également conseillers prudhommales, je juge des affaires opposant salariés à leur employeurs. 

Pour comprendre comment en est ton arrivée là, il faut remonter à la seconde guerre mondiale: quelques personnes ont échafaudé un plan des plus ingénieux. Ils ont constaté que la guerre ne leur était pas profitable, en tout cas pas assez. Dans le livre prophétique de Huxley, il décrit ce monde qui fait froid dans le dos tellement, c’est notre monde d’aujourd’hui. 

Revenons à la fin de la deuxième guerre mondial en France. Pour récompenser les syndicalistes de leur contribution, les syndicalistes et résistants ont mis en place la sécurité sociale modèle de santé publique à la française enviée ou incompris par le monde entier. Que vous soyez riches ou pauvres, vous avez accès aux soins.Tous ces acquis et le système de protection des salariés nous sommes en train de les perdre un par un dans la grande indifférence générale des salariés et du citoyen. Ces quelques personnes ont commencé juste après la guerre à diviser les syndicats en encourageant la multiplicité. Ils les ont perverti, corrompu et travaillent pour la disparition des syndicats, dernier remparts à l’exploitation totale des salariés. 

L’actualité montre une accélération de cet état de fait: les lois antisyndicale sous la présidence Macron, le mouvement des gilets jaunes qui discréditent les syndicats mais qui montre aussi une résistance saine de simples citoyens qui ont du mal à joindre les deux bouts!Une autre cible concerne le système éducatif à la française qui ETAIT l’un des plus égalitaires avec la possibilité pour tous, d’avoir accès à l’éducation et à la connaissance. 

Car ces quelques personnes ont décidé d’un plan  des plus parfaits pour nous exploiter sans que nous ayons envie de nous révolter. Ces quelques personnes ont inventé la société de loisirs et de consommation. Toujours occupé à consommer et à s’amuser, le citoyens abandonne ses droits les plus élémentaires:  la liberté de penser. D’autres pensent à notre place et en échange, on nous balance des programmes TV insipides et on éduque les jeunes à renoncer à leur liberté et ne pas se poser des questions sur les réalités du monde. 

Aujourd’hui, notre intelligence humaine n’utilise pas les technologies pour le bien être de l’humanité mais pour asservir le peuple dans sa globalité. Nous sommes capables  de résoudre les maux de la terre entière mais il n’y a aucune volonté politique à le faire et aucun intérêt économique de la part de ces quelques personnes contrôlant la planète entière. A quoi sert un smartphone dont nous sommes de plus en plus dépendants si ce n’est que pour nous contrôler et nous inviter encore plus à consommer…

J’invite toutes les personnes intelligentes et conscientes de se joindre à ce combat qui est à la fois environnemental, politique et économique. Alors l’autre question fondamentale: comment combattre ce géant invisible toujours prêt à s’enrichir et à ne pas redistribuer les richesses? Evasion fiscale, subventions aux entreprises qui partent avec l’argent de l’Etat, NOTRE argent.

Nous avons, par le passé, des exemples de luttes pacifistes: Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, ces personnes inspirantes ont un point commun: ils sont fondamentalement humains. Ils ont accompli leur destinée en ayant pour unique souci, le bien être et l’amour de l’humanité. 

Le réveil des consciences passe par un état vibratoire déterminé à empêcher la destruction menée par ces quelques personnes aveuglées par l’accumulation des richesses sans but. La science  nous apprend que par la pensée, nous pouvons transformer les choses, la matière mais aussi le monde dans lequel nous vivons. Nous devons empêcher ce qui arrive, tenter sans relâche de convaincre ce qui est bon et juste de faire. Nous devons utiliser la recherche scientifique pour le bien être de l’humanité. En unissant nos pensées dans un souhait profond de changement, chaque êtres humains et l’ensemble des êtres humains par la même pensée et dans le profond respect de ce que nous sommes, nous pouvons changer cet état de choses. 

Voilà, je ne prétends pas que ma démonstration ait été des plus concluantes, mais je voulais vous faire partager mes pensées et vous inviter à réfléchir. Malheureusement, je ne peux pas écrire en anglais, mais le français était la langue des débats et des progrès. Si nous partageons nos pensées, ils pourront peut-être rejoindre ceux des nombreux intellectuels qui ont utilisé le français pour façonner les siècles passés. Ensemble, nous pouvons réussir à transformer le monde en un lieu où nos enfants peuvent réapprendre à penser au lieu d'apprendre à disparaître par le biais du consumérisme.