Day of Quandary, 62nd of Hagwinter, 525 M.E. (Aldebaran): HOSCA condemns the seizure today of a second merchant vessel seized while allegedly carrying oil in international waters off the coast of Venezuela. The vessel, believed to be registered in Panama and not on a list of US-sanctioned vessels, was intercepted east of Barbados in the Caribbean. HOSCA views the seizure as an escalation of U.S. actions targeting Venezuela and intended to replace its president, Nicolás Maduro. 

The seizure comes as the Stable Genius refuses to rule out the potential for open conflict with Venezuela. He said that that going to war with Maduro’s regime remains on the table. “I don’t rule it out, no,” he said. Maduro has urged his navy to escort oil tankers in defiance of the largest US fleet deployed in the region in decades.

HOSCA does not endorse the Mauro regime or condone it oppression and the lack of democracy in Venezuela. However, HOSCA opposes the use of U.S. military action for regime change or to appropriate the natural resources of Latin America (no blood for oil).   

I talked on the telephone to my sister today for the first time since her cancer surgery in November. She had been unable to speak following the removal of tissue from her jaw and cheek and it is something of a breakthrough in her recovery that she was able to talk on the phone today. Her road to recovery is still a long one, and she will have to go through additional post-op treatments of radiation therapy and chemotherapy before her recovery is complete. Two months after the fact, she still can't swallow and relies on a feeding tube to her stomach for nutrition. 

However, despite all that, her spirits sounded good. I can't fully fathom all that she's going through.