Happy Mother’s Day, DDers! I’m not going to bore you with a massive opinion piece/rant today, but just some M-Day-related links in the news.
90 percent of malaria fatalities strike infants, children under five, and pregnant mothers. The distribution of LLINs (long-lasting insecticidal mosquito nets) in endemic African nations over the past three years has helped over 300 million people – roughly the population of the entire United States. This HuffPo article provides more information about the effort to reduce malaria fatalities in women and children in sub-Saharan Africa. (Trust me – in sub-Saharan Africa, a mosquito net is an essential item, particularly an insecticidal one. That and a supply of anti-malarials, and vitamin B1 and garlic to reduce one’s appeal to mosquitoes. Hint: Mosquitoes like you more if you eat bananas.)
Here’s a blog by Sen. Kristen Gillibrand of NY about a legislative agenda for moms, which, as a mother herself, she is well-qualified to speak on. (Legislative change is a GREAT Mother’s Day present!)
And to round out this trilogy of articles, we should always remember that not all mothers around the world are as fortunate as our own here. Mothers in conflict zones such as DRC and Iraq face extra challenges, some Iraqi widows turning to suicide bombing in desperation (sometimes the families of martyrs are paid a monthly stipend to support the children – I am not quite sure if this extends to Iraq or female bombers).
…and now for something completely different: Obama’s just as much of an unrepentant geek as Tommy and I are.
“About a year and a half ago, I was at a political event. One of our current campaigners for the office of president of the United States saw me — and as he approached, he gave me the Vulcan hand signal.” You can practically hear Nimoy’s eyebrow raise. “It was not John McCain.”
And on that note, I’m out – going to go see the new Star Trek film with my mom for Mother’s Day. Qapla’!
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Thanks Alex!
and you are giving your Mom, the best gift possible, time with her child.
Hope you both had a beautiful day!
Happy Mothers day out there!!