Well y'all, I'm back. I had a very surreal experience flying dowwn to California for a meeting with a client and getting back Sunday night after ten o'clock and getting prepared to be able to lecture for two hours beginning at 8 AM the next morning. Time whizzed by and here I am. I have written extensively about what went down in Cal, because there were some mind bending events, but I think I'm going to publish that at another time. I need to digest it and edit it before letting all that out. But, in the meantime, I hope you will find this challenging!

Tom’s Challenge #3

There’s not much to say by way of introduction this time, so I guess I’ll just dive right in.

A country had just won its independence after a long fought battle. In their victory, they wrote a declaration of Independence that began, “All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” In the aftermath of the war, the leader of the country wrote 8 letters to the leader of another country seeking help. Below is an excerpt of one of those letters, with key words, dates and identities edited so as not to give away information that might make this too easy:

“I wish to invite (the ) attention of your Excellency for strictly humanitarian reasons to (the) following matter. Two million (of our people) died of starvation during the Winter of (year) and spring of (following year) because of (the) starvation policy of (the enemy) who seized and stored until it rotted all available (crop)… three-fourths of (our) cultivated land was flooded in the summer of (year), which was followed by a severe drought; of (our) normal harvest five-sixths was lost….Many people are starving… Unless great world powers and international relief organizations bring us immediate assistance we face imminent catastrophe…”

Here are the questions:

1) Who wrote the above letter (and the other 8 letters) and what country was he/she the leader of?
2) To whom did he/she write the letters?
3) What was the response to the letters?
Bonus question: What year did the country in question gain its independence and write the Declaration of Independence referenced above?

This one may be more difficult than the previous ones, but if no one is getting it, I will begin to give out hints, so hang in there and check back if you are at a loss.

Thanks for playing.