Hi all, Ahoy Capt.!

I LOVE that wren sculpture of spoons. That is pure awesome art! Structure dictates it is a Bewick's Wren, or was the model. Even has the supercilium (eyeline) right. Most excellent.

Though there are ten species of wrens in America each type (except Winter-Pacific Wren), like most hawks, shorebirds, etc., is structured subtlety differently. For making a living its way in its environment. They all have slightly different structures, e.g. shapes. Clearly this is a Bewick's Wren with that long tail. BTW Bewick's is pronounced just like the automobile. Yesterday EL said he had a just-fledged family group of them at his place!

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RFK on Julian's plea deal
https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1805389415663255819
Robert F. Kennedy Jr @RobertKennedyJr
Julian Assange struck a plea deal and will go free! I am overjoyed. He's a generational hero.

The bad news is that he had to plea guilty to conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense info. Which means the US security state succeeded in criminalizing journalism and extending their jurisdiction globally to non-citizens.

Julian had to take this. He has heart problems and he would have died in prison. But the security state has imposed a horrifying precedent and dealt a big blow to freedom of the press. 6:55 PM · Jun 24, 2024

happy trails all!

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/25/haitians-wary-as-k....

Hundreds of Kenyan police officers have arrived in Haiti as part of a US-backed security intervention aiming to rescue the Caribbean country from a criminal insurrection that toppled the prime minister and brought death and chaos to the streets.

About 400 members of the Kenya-led multinational police operation stepped off a Kenyan Airways plane at Port-au-Prince’s international airport on Tuesday. The US president, Joe Biden, hailed their arrival as the start of “an effort that will bring much-needed relief to Haitians”.

https://apnews.com/article/kenya-protests-finance-bill-33a20092285f1d663...

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Thousands of protesters stormed Kenya’s parliament Tuesday to protest tax proposals, burning part of the building, sending lawmakers fleeing and drawing fire from police in unrest that the president vowed to quash. Several people were killed.

It was the most direct assault on the government in decades. Journalists saw at least three bodies outside the complex where police had opened fire, and medical workers reported five people killed. Clashes spread to other cities. There was no immediate word on arrests.

“Today’s events mark a critical turning point on how we respond to threats to our national security,” President William Ruto said, calling the events “treasonous” and vowing to quash the unrest “at whatever cost.”

Kenya’s defense minister said the military had been deployed to support police during the “security emergency” and “breaching of critical infrastructure.”

Protesters had demanded that legislators vote against a finance bill imposing new taxes on East Africa’s economic hub, where frustrations over the high cost of living have simmered. Youth who had voted Ruto into power with cheers for his promises of economic relief have taken to the streets to object to the pain of reforms.

you always post lovely art in your OTs, but this spoon dude just hit a grand slam. STUNNING!
So, I booked a mini-vacation for my assistant to spend some fun time with her kids on the beach at Galveston. My schedule looked fairly clear, but this morning, the phone is ringing off the wall with questions about court settings and that is just the sort of questions my assistant, the court scheduler, can answer. Good grief. No good deed goes unpunished. News from the beach is good, though.
I might shut down the office a bit early this afternoon so that I can do some grocery shopping. I have a plan to prepare a large pot roast with veggies, enough for 2 dinners. We are headed out of town to attend a concert. We won't feel like cooking at the cabin, and we aren't that keen on dining out. This will lessen the stress and driving, not to mention packing clothes for dining out.
Thanks for the OT, and the death knell to journalism is tolling through no fault of ours.