Journalists arrested in China and Saudi Arabia – The depressed status of New Orleans – The loss of White’s Ferry – Burke Lake and Lake Mercer – Evening statistics
One has to put things into perspective, I suppose. I greatly dislike our current administration, as I’ve emphasized many times in previous entries. Still, it does observe certain limits, as can be seen from recent events in China and Saudi Arabia. Zhang Zhan, a journalist who reported early about the virus breaking out in Wuhan, has just been sentenced to four years in prison after being accused of spreading false information, giving interviews to foreign media, disrupting public order, and having “maliciously manipulated” the outbreak. She was arrested in May and she went on a hunger strike following her arrest while awaiting her trial; her captors responded by inserting a tube in her mouth to forcibly feed her and tying her hands 24 hours a day to restrain her from removing the tube. She is in poor health and is said to be declining rapidly as a result of such treatment – quite the penalty, one would say, for reporting openly about the beginnings of a pandemic, but one which the Chinese government has not the slightest hesitation in exacting. Loujain al-Hathloul, a leader in the movement to allow women to drive automobiles in Saudi Arabia (they were finally allowed to do so in 2018), has been sentenced for nearly six years in prison for attempting to “destabilize the kingdom.” She had been detained for interrogation already, before the trial started. After the trial was held – i.e., 2½ years later – the judges held out the possibility that the amount of time she has already served will count as part of the time she is to spend in prison and it is also possible that part of the time to serve will be suspended. The fact remains that she has been imprisoned, as well as tortured under the interrogation proceedings, for having the temerity to suggest that women be allowed to drive on their own.
We are not muzzled to anything approaching a similar extent. In this very journal, for instance, I have made some remarks about Donald Trump that his supporters might consider rather disrespectful (although personally I feel that I have treated him with all of the politeness that he deserves), without any fear of reprisal. In the unlikely event that this journal were to be brought to his attention, he probably would be irritated, but I doubt that he would do much about it. If he went about arresting everyone who criticized or mocked him online, nearly half of the nation would be in prison.
I heard from a friend who lives in Louisiana, and he has given me a very discouraging account of the current situation prevailing in New Orleans. Its finances are at a very low ebb. The chief industry of the city is tourism, which for obvious reasons has suffered greatly over the past several months. Many of the festivities for the upcoming Mardi Gras have been canceled, including the famous parades. The bars will be open, but they will be subject to whatever COVID-related restrictions are prevailing at the time. By mid-February (Mardi Gras falls on February 16th this year) there should be some improvement as the vaccines start making an effect, but it is doubtful that the restrictions on social gatherings (no more than 100 people indoors and 150 outdoors) will be lifted by then.
White’s Ferry has closed operation following a legal dispute. It has been in operation since 1782, transporting cars over the Potomac between Montgomery County and Loudoun County; but there is no record of the creation of a public landing on the Virginia shore. The ferry operated under a contract with a private landowner of the Rockland property. This agreement stipulated that no additional construction was permitted at the Virginia landing without the landowner’s permission. In 2004, the ferry operators built a new concrete retaining wall to replace a wooden structure damaged by high water following a hurricane. The property owners contended that this alteration greatly expanded the size of the landing and was in violation of the contract. The judge ruled in their favor and awarded damages to the property owners. At this point the group running the ferry announced that they would no longer operate it. Their decision caught everyone by surprise – including the property owners, who have been roundly denounced on social media and who have protested that they never desired such an outcome. Some good may come out of this debacle in the long run, for it highlights the need for a bridge between Cabin John and Rte. 15 (they are about 40 miles apart and there is no bridge between them), but in the meantime the commuters who depend on the ferry for crossing the river will be forced to use the over-burdened Rte. 15 bridge instead.
As if in mockery of these depressing developments, the weather today has been unusually fine, not only sunny but quite warm for this time of year, just touching upon 60 degrees; when I was out I had to take my jacket off at one point. I used my old standby hike of Burke Lake/Lake Mercer, since the drive to the trailhead is less than 15 minutes. I was not the only one who had this idea; the parking area adjoining Burke Lake was full and I was forced to use the larger parking area near the amphitheater instead. Many herons and loons were avidly scanning the water for fish. Dog owners have become more cautious in recent months as a result of the warnings about social distancing; they are more ready to pull dogs out of the way and to retract leashes when another pedestrian approaches, and generally behaving – by the standards of the typical American dog-owner – rather reasonably on the whole.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 81,653,988; # of deaths worldwide: 1,780,865; # of cases U.S.: 19,774,304; # of deaths; U.S.: 343,087.