4/13/24

 Saturday, April 13, 2024

Slept from around 8:15 to 9:30, awake until 10:45, PS at 11:45.  Up to let Lilly out at 1:40, up again at 3:26 for bm, and lights on at 3:39.  Dozed off at some point and woke up again at 6:15. 

Pain. etc.  I took 1,000 mg. of Tylenol around 9:30 and Geri applied Lidocaine patches to my left shoulder.  I also applied a copious amount of Diclofenac to my right hand and wrist.  At 3:49, no resting pain in my left shoulder and in my right hand - able to type with fingers of both hands.  ROM limited.  The same is true of my right shoulder and my left wrist is stiff. . . . Invalid creativity: I used the rubber tip of my BritStick to lift my heavy robe off my shoulders before using the bathroom, minimizing the need to stress my shoulders.   

I'm grateful for Springtime, for sunny days, for warmer temperatures.

7:11 a.m., the sun at 86°E, altitude 10°.

What do the U.S. and Israel owe each other and why?  From David Ignatius' column in this morning's WaPo:

The Biden administration is using every diplomatic and military tool to contain what officials expect will be an imminent Iranian reprisal attack against Israel — in the hope that U.S. pressure can keep the conflict from escalating into a regionwide catastrophe.

Call it “the guns of April.” Though this is hardly a conflagration on the order of World War I, it’s a moment that eerily evokes the dynamics of summer 1914, when a war that every power sought to avoid suddenly appeared inevitable, with consequences that no one could predict.  . .  .

. , , the United States and Israel are both stressing defenses that could neuter an Iranian attack. But if Iran or its proxies succeed in a major strike, Israeli and U.S. officials have warned that it could trigger an offensive spiral that might eventually involve the United States. . . .

Administration officials keep preaching the gospel of de-escalation of the war in Gaza and other regional violence. The White House hopes in this latest crisis, too, that once Iran has punched back, the tide of violence will ebb. But on Friday, no one appeared to be heeding that message, and a dangerous new round seemed set to begin. 

In other words, the United States may very soon be engaged in a military conflict with Iran because of Israel's unilateral decision to strike the Iranian consulate in  Damascus on April 1.  We are told - credibly - that Israel did not inform Washington of this attack before it was launched.  Another WaPo story tells us:

Three U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss security matters said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other senior defense officials believed Israel should have informed them ahead of time because of the strike’s implications for U.S. troops and interests in the region. Knowing in advance would have permitted the Pentagon to heighten defenses for U.S. personnel and to position assets, including warships with missile defense systems on board, in a way that could help protect both Israel and U.S. troops from a potential Iranian response.

 This afternoon Iran launched from Iran itself dozens of drones against Israel and Biden announced that the U.S. support for Israel is "ironclad."  The drones are being accompanied by cruise missiles