PeoriaStory

Prepare to suffer

PE0RIA, IL -- OMG, the apocalypse has arrived.

The stock market has crashed, business and government offices have closed, people are terrified of other people.

How did this  happen?  

How did the federal government sit on its behind for weeks instead of springing into action earlier to stop the virus?

And will the Republicans use this crisis to pursue their anti-immigrant, voter suppression agenda?

On another note, how many people are using this as an excuse for a paid home vacation, watching TV and pursuing household chores they put off for years? While others have no money because they lost their jobs. 

Here's what appears to be the brutal truth: the national shut down is to delay, not stop, the virus transmission.  Which means that most people are going to get it sooner or later.

If a few people can infect dozens, the risk exists until everyone contracts it. Most will survive but perhaps 20 percent will die.   A vaccine is the only hope of stopping it. 

But the world can't even eradicate polio or measles and chicken pox, and all of these have vaccines.

So -- the shut down is  killing the US economy instead of the virus. 

Meanwhile, as Stephen Colbert would say, Biden is the likely Democratic nominee. That's good, as he is the most likely candidate to defeat Trump and turn the Senate blue. A ray of hope? Maybe. 

For a laugh, read the latest Garrison Keillor column.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

Ambassador to speak on March 23, NOW Cancelled

UPDATE:  This event has been cancelled because of the virus, to be rescheduled later.

PEORIA, IL -- From a news release:

Renowned U.S. Ambassador Opens  PAWAC 50^th Anniversary Celebration

Distinguished United States Ambassador Thomas Pickering will speak at a dinner launching the 50^th anniversary celebration of the Peoria Area World Affairs Council.  The six-time Ambassador will examine “Challenges to U.S. Foreign Policy” with his unique insight gained from over five decades as an American diplomat.

Pickering has served as ambassador to the Russian Federation, India, Israel, El Salvador, Nigeria and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan under both Republican and Democratic administrations in a career that stretched from Richard Nixon to Bill Clinton. He also served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 1989 to 1992 during the first Gulf War.

When Pickering was appointed Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, the number-three position at the State Department under then-Secretary of State  Madeleine Albright, Time magazine called him the “five-star general of the diplomatic corps.” He retired from full-time service in the State Department in 2001.

In 2012, Pickering helped lead a State Department-sponsored panel investigating the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi. He currently serves as vice chairman of Hills and Company, an international consulting firm.

With ambassadorships around the world, Pickering is expected to analyze various hot spots when he speaks at 7 p.m. Monday, March 23 at the Hayden Clark Alumni Center on the Bradley University campus.  His presentation is preceded by dinner at 6 p.m.

Pickering’s address is the first of several events commemorating PAWAC’s 50 years of providing education about world affairs in central Illinois. Other organizations partnering with PAWAC to celebrate the year-long anniversary are Bradley University, Illinois Central College, Eureka College and Methodist College.

Cost to attend Pickering’s speech and the dinner is $60.  Sponsorships for the event, including the opportunity for more direct discussion with Ambassador Pickering, are available. To make reservations or find more information, visit www.pawac.org or call (309) 677-2454.

The Peoria Area World Affairs Council is a community-based, volunteer organization that brings the world to Central Illinois by holding a variety of forums on international history, culture and current events. Along with expert speakers, PAWAC offers guided travel opportunities, book club meetings and public discussion forums. In an era of increasing communication and globalization, the organization provides an interactive and engaging international perspective to our local community. The Peoria Area World Affairs Council held its first conference in 1970. PAWAC is affiliated with the World Affairs Councils of America. - 30 -