Protest news-free Saturday part 4

 Two Men in Manhattan is a 1959 French flick produced by  Jean-Pierre Melville . Great shots of Manhattan, fast moving plot, and believable scenes of after-hours bars and crawling  around the streets as the sun rises. 

I re-visit episodes of Decoy, a 1958 American TV series about a NYC lady cop, to see shots of Manhattan from that time.

May 24, 2026

They covered a lot of the corruption possible with money in The Taste of Money a South Korean film.

Kim Hyo-jin ,who played Yoon Na-mi ,explaining to Joon why it was easier to accept you had sex with my mother because she basically raped you as she has done to others was noteworthy.

Mom( Baek Geum-ok character)   was definitely the heavy in this flick.

 

June 6, 2026

Hannah Hoekstra ,who played the lead role In Hemel ". I would find it almost disgusting for a man to write a script like that." Roller coaster of a movie.  Hemel's interactions with her dad(Gigis) were fascinating in various ways.

June 15, 2026

Nina Hoss(Barbara) is intriguing in "Barbara" , a 2012  movie about doctors in an East Germany rural hospital near the Baltic Sea in 1980. Stasi  is monitored daily and manages to help a young runaway escape to Denmark.

Nina was also good in the movie: "AMost Wanted man"

previous blog  https://vaporvents.blogspot.com/2024/09/protest-news-free-saturday-part-3.html

Hitch 25 Syrious and more

 ISIS claimed responsibility for the assassination of prominent Shi'ite cleric ,Sheikh Farhan Hassan al-Mansour, of the Sayyidah Zaynab shrine. The vehicle he was traveling in near the Safir Al-Zahra Hotel area surrounding the shrine blew up on May1, 2026

ISIS labeled Monsour one of the“imams of the Rafida” which is a derogatory term used to refer to Shi'ites.

Assad rests in Russia and his replacement , Ahmed al-Sharaa, continues to struggle with the same old issues.

May 17, 2026

In an effort to restore credit card payments, Syria authorized its banks to work with Visa and Mastercard. 🤔

 

previous blog: Hitch24

Canada, where are the rulers

 Doug Ford claims Ontario will sell its $28.9M private jet  which can use only 10% of Ontario airports, which have long enough runways for the plane to take off. 

The Bombardier 650 Challenger at full capacity needs about 5,650' to take off at its maximum weight.

 Marineland,  the permanently closed theme park and zoo in Niagara Falls, Ont is requesting $10M to $20M in a federal loan from Canada to move 30 belugas and 4 dolphins to aquariums across the USA, however it is refusing to disclose its finances.

May 6, 2026

Alberta separatists submitted almost 302,000 signatures to try to trigger a referendum on the province leaving Canada. They need 178,000 signatures.

One possible stumbling block: A judge hasn't ruled on Alberta First Nations lawsuit claim that Alberta's separation will violate treaty rights.

June 12, 2026

 Quebec language laws to make sure  people can receive services in French continue to create more red tape for Montreal business owner.

OQLF inspector questioned Rahimi , the owner of SoLIT" on whether could be interpreted as an English phrase if separated into two words: so lit. Her reply: well, any word that you separate could mean anything else,".

previous blog https://vaporvents.blogspot.com/2023/07/catsup-canada.html

May 7 UK matters

 A bill laying out plans to cede sovereignty of Chagos to Mauritius, which is about 1,200 miles away from the archipelago ,has been put on the back-burner. UK elections occur on May 7.

Starmer was going to then pay to lease the Diego Garcia, located  in the middle of the Indian Ocean between Asia and Africa

Great Britain has controlled the  base at Chagos since 1814, including after Mauritius gained independence in the 1960s. The Diego Garcia base been essential in USA military operations in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Meanwhile  some of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) trackers, the civilian support wing of the Royal Navy, are promising sustained industrial action to get better wages,and the Royal Navy is using military personnel to fill the gaps.

 RFA Tideforce, a 39,000-ton tanker, is deployed to track a heavily armed Russian frigate off the south coast. 

April 18, 2026

Three males, two men, aged 19 and 21, and a 16-year-old boy were arrested for an attempted arson attack on the offices of Iran International, a Persian language news station in London.

It's not being treated as terrorism, but counterterrorism officers were involved in the investigation.

April 24, 2026

 Once King Charlie signs the bill ,people in the UK born on or after January 1, 2009 will never be permitted to buy cigarettes, cigars, or tobacco, in the UK. It does not include some vaping products.😲

April 25, 2026

Keir Starmer promises imminent laws to ban IRGC ,which signals election time (May 7) is approaching

German middle finger continues in 2026

 Chancellor Merz will visit the White House and show Trump diagrams to prove that Germany has reduced illegal immigration, I doubt this will persuade DJT.

 Merz will not  be raising concerns about the USA/Israel action in Iran. 

March 3, 2026

 Bundestag VP Omid Nouripour of the Greens, who was  born in Iran, wrote Iranians want freedom above all. 

April 26, 2026

 The Palace of the Republic served as a symbol GDR power from 1976-90. It was replaced by the Humboldt Forum, a cultural center and museum in east Berlin. The building is a partial replica of the Prussian Palace ,which was hated by East German leaders.  Humboldt has hosted temporary exhibitions and projects dedicated to the Palace of the Republic.

The Prussian Palace(1443-1950) housed the royals of Prussia up until 1918 when it became a museum.

June 4, 2026

Germany failed to secure a temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and one possible reason that's not getting enough ink is that Austria is not a NATO member,  which appeals to non-aligned countries in Africa, Asia ,and Latin America. 

Austria is  militarily neutral by its own laws.

Portugal got the other Western Europe and Others” group seat.

June 11, 2026

Airbus(Germany) and Dassault Aviation(France) scrap $115B FCAS project, launched in 2017, over who's in charge, intellectual property, etc. Does it "roll" into Combat Cloud,

previous blog: German middle finger

Asia in 2026

Cambodia is relying on France , who ruled Cambodia as a protectorate from 1863 until 1953, to roll out its maps from 1907 of the Thailand/Cambodia border in hopes of easing the tension.

They were drawn using on the "watershed" principle that separates the basins of the Mekong and the Tonle Sap rivers.

Feb 19, 2026

🤔Houthi leadership's loyalty to Iran makes it likely that it will go after USA military assets in the region. So, northern Yemen will get hit by USA strikes.

Feb 23, 2026

 A four-day “confirmation of charges” ICC hearing will determine whether Rodrigo Duterte, ex President of PI, will face a formal trial on crimes against humanity. He has opted to not attend the hearing

March 24, 2026

Hong Kong rule to surrender any password or other decryption method was added to financial hub's national security law. If you don't comply, you face up to a year in prison or a fine of over  HK$100,000 ($12,700; €11,000) 

May 12, 2026

Ronald Dela Rosa , a current Senator and a former police chief for Duerte,  took refuge in the Senate building in PI to escape an ICC warrant pertaining to his alleged actions during a drug war from 2016-18.

June 17, 2026

I doubt if Aung San Suu Kyi (80), who has been completely incommunicado in a Mynamar prison, gets  released before she dies. Her sentence is currently 18 years.

June 23, 2026

An installation built by China at Scarborough Reef is likely for surveillance to reinforce its control over the reef, which is  located about 200 KM from the Philippine coast.

June 28, 2026

 ​Xi , Pres of China, claims Beijing firmly supports Cambodia in ​safeguarding national ​sovereignty and security. China respecting sovereignty🙄

earlier blog: https://vaporvents.blogspot.com/2024/02/japantaiwanasia-in-2024.html

Local print media stores in 2026

I miss that Louisville passed an exemption for cigar bars in 2025.  It was tired of losing business to places in Indiana. A bill in the KY legislature to legalize them faces a rocky road. If passed, it will preempt local prohibitions on cigar bars.

The rule in Louisville  that passed in March 2025 requires establishments to  not sell to those under 21, have a valid liquor license, and 15% of their annual gross income comes from the on-site sale of tobacco products. 

March 5, 2026

Michigan’s cannabis market' tax payout to counties has decreased due to increased competition and excess supply, the usual factors.

May 20, 2026

Somerset is in the Laurel Highlands region of western PA about 20 miles north of the MD border. The closest major urban area is Pittsburgh, about 70 miles northwest 

This  rural border region of Somerset County adjoins Maryland counties, Garrett and Allegany. 

Flight 93 crashed in that area on 9/11/2001

May 26, 2026

So many issues in Baltimore County, however County Executive Kathy Klausmeier's big priority is legislation to ditch gender-specific titles for neutral ones like councilmember or councilperson.

May 31, 2026

Harford County(MD) Sheriff Jeff Gahler  claims Community Trust Act puts sheriffs in a no-win situation by preventing us from honoring 48-hour ICE federal detainers. Hello Gov Moore!!!

June 24, 2026

Del. Adrian Boafo, D-Md., a former aide to Steny Hoyer, won the Dem primary for  MD District 5 and will likely replace Hoyer , who's retiring.. Chris Chaffee is his GOP opponent  in November.

Dunn, Pelosi's choice , was one of many Dems who lost in the 5th yesterday.

 

earlier blog  Local 2023 

Shaking things up BLA style

William Kunstler came to mind when I heard about Shakur's death in Cuba. I started wondering about what happened to the 3 BLA who freed  Assata Shakur from a New Jersey prison on Nov 2, 1979.

Mutulu Shakur was convicted in 1988 of various crimes, including assisting in the prison escape.

Odinga was caught in 1981 and was jailed until 2014

Ronald Boyd Hill  held on charges related to the escape.

Tyrone Rison testified about how Shakur was moved to a safe house following her escape.

These BLA members don't wear halos.

Oct 3, 2025

William Kunstler also defended H Rap Brown, who loved to incite folks with phrase,"Burn baby burn".

Later Kunstler defended Mafia boss John Gotti , and, in his last case, suspected Pakistani terrorists linked to the bombing of the NYCWorld Trade Center in 1993

Nov 2, 2025

Black Liberation Army:  George Wright, who was convicted of murder in NJ in 1962,  died a free man in 2015 in Portugal,which had refused to extradite him due his to marrying into Portugese citizenship and the statute of limitations' expiration. 

After his 1970 escape from prison he wasn't nabbed until 2011.

Jan 26, 2026

 Black Panther Party for Self-Defense is working in Minnesota and chanting the Assata Shakur phrase, it is our duty to fight for our freedom, it is our duty to win.

MD tidbits from history

Sarah Tilghman Hughes,  a federal judge in TX appointed by JFK, was raised on Myrtle Avenue in west Baltimore City. She administered the oath of office to LBJ on AF1 on 11/22/63.

She graduated from Western High School(Baltimore City) in 1913.  

Aug 3, 2025

There was chatter about German becoming the state language in MD, and Germans were a large immigrant population in Baltimore , particularly in the 1800s. WW1 put an end to that chatter.

I  studied the German language for four years at Poly(1973-77) and recall Mr Griswold calling me an RC(Roman Catholic).  He was a solid language instructor, who during one six week period taught us English grammar  during German class time, because he thought we lacked the necessary grammar skills to learn a foreign language.

Ms Denzel  was my freshman year teacher, and Mr Griswold, the Lutheran,  was my teacher the next three years. High German , not Low German, was taught.

August 12, 2025

 Gunter Hotel in Frostburg, Maryland  contained a jail, a speakeasy, and for a while a cockfighting ring in the basement.

New owners have kept the jail intact.

Sept 1, 2025

 One of the notable ferry operators was Thomas Cresap, a frontiersman from MD, who established the “Blew(Blue) Rock” ferry operation near his “Pleasant Garden” plantation.

 He was nicknamed the Maryland Monster for the armed phase his skirmishes he directed until May 1738 when King George II's intervention led to a cease-fire and established the PA/MD border 15 miles south of Philadelphia.  It  was not officially defined until  1867 when British astronomer Charles Mason and surveyor Jeremiah Dixon completed  their work on the Mason–Dixon line in 1767.

Zimmerman Center for Heritage stands on what was Pleasant Garden. Address: 1706 Long Level Rd, Wrightsville, PA 17368

Sept 7, 2025

Redwood Street in downtown Baltimore was originally German Street, and the City Council re-named it in 1918 to honor First Lieutenant George Buchanan Redwood, the first Baltimorean to die in WW1 action.

Oct 17, 2025

 MD towns , Reliance (formerly Johnson's Crossroads) in Dorchester County,near Delaware, and Vienna on the Nanticoke River,  were transfer points for smuggling operations with Virginia during the Civil War.

Oct 31,2025

DC was formed in 1790 from land ceded by Maryland and Virginia, that straddled the Potomac River. 

In 1847, the portion of land south of the Potomac, which had been ceded by Virginia ,including areas known today as Arlington and Alexandria were returned to Virginia via retrocession. Only the land originally donated by Maryland counties, Montgomery and Prince George, makes up DC today.

Nov 29, 2025

Camp Ritchie, located in Cascade, MD, held German, Italian, and Africa Corps officer POWs, mainly captured during the 1942 Allied invasion of French North Africa.

Dec 26, 2025

Frank Key Howard, the grandson of Francis Scott Key, was arrested on 9/13/1861 and jailed for a year at Fort McHenry for his pro-Southern viewpoints as editor of the Baltimore Exchange. He criticized President Lincoln’s policies, particularly the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus and the declaration of martial law.

Jan 8, 2026

After many years I've decided to re-acquaint myself with High German. Those umlauts.

I  was proficient in In German grammar, not pronunciation.

Now getting acquainted with the German Orthography Reform of 1996. 

Feb 17, 2026

The B&O rail connections to Baltimore City created a medical hub during the Civil War. Casualties from the Battles of Antietam and Gettysburg were treated in churches, warehouses, and public parks. 

March 7, 2026

Broadside with 16 signatures or marks of those joining the militia of Maryland on July 13, 1776, in the middle department,  from this province to New-York inclusive, until the fifth day of December next(1777). It was certified and signed by William Henry, who stated he was appointed by the Committee of Observation for Kent County.

Old English intrigues me.

April 19, 2026

High German was the second most spoken language in the USA after English during the 19th and early 20th centuriy but waned during WW1.

This probably explains why Mr Griswold was ticked , at times , that there was only one German class per grade(9 through 12) at Poly(1973-77).  See my Aug 3, 2025 entry.

PA had a bigger population of Germans then MD

Prior blog: Rappin Brown 

Latin America the beat goes on

 Venezuela update:

 Hugo Carvajal, ex- Venezuelan spymaster, pled guilty to four USA criminal counts including narcot-terrorism conspiracy and conspiracy to import cocaine.

UN official Volker Turk was declared persona non-grata by the Venezuelan National Assembly after condemning   arbitrary detentions and forced disappearances.

July 11, 2025

German-Brazilian nuclear agreement turned 50 on June 27.  The original goals were for Siemens to construct eight nuclear power plants, a uranium enrichment plant, and a nuclear reprocessing plant in Brazil .

The signatories in 1975 were the the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) and neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) under Chancellor Helmut Schmidt on the German side, and the Brazilian military dictatorship led by President Ernesto Geisel. 

July 26, 2025

Brazil SC Justice Moraes barred Bolsonaro from appearing in videos and audios shared or published by third parties. Not sure how Bolsonaro does that.

Aug 1, 2025

Bayardo Arce , one of Daniel Ortega's comrades from the 1979 Sandinista revolution that toppled  Somoza, was arrested for not rendering accounts. Is an ailing Ortega still making the decisions?

Arce has served as an economic adviser to Ortega.

Aug 17, 2025

Strong possibility that Bolivia, which has the largest lithium reserves on the planet, votes out the socialists today. One less buddy for Maduro of Venezuela. Medina and Quiroga, right leaning candidates, are in a dead heat.

Aug 21, 2025

Three USA Aegis-class guided missile destroyers are expected to arrive near the Venezuela coast by Sunday the 24th.

Aug 29, 2025

Milei comments on  “Kirchnerism”: “The empty-headed nutters throwing rocks resorted to violence again,”

Oct 9, 2025

USA Senate unable to restrict Trump's war powers. Lula of Brazil condemns USA attacks on drug boats near Venezuela while asking Trump for tariff relief.

Nov 14, 2025

 Libertarian Johannes Kaiser  or conservative Kast in Chile. Presidential race worth watching

Nov 30, 2025

Is it splitting hairs? Government officials in Venezuela are heavily involved in drug trafficking and corruption, but it's more like a gangster state than a cartel.🤔

Gangsters states do not function as a single, hierarchical organization with a command structure like many cartels.

Dec 15, 2025

Kast's “Implacable Plan” may have to bend some when dealing with National Congress in Chile. It appears Venezuela may be getting some folks back from Chile.

Jan 3, 2026

wow, Maduro captured and headed to USA federal court ,probably in the Southern district of NY to face a charge from 2020.

Jan 30, 2026

Panama's Supreme Court annulled the 2021 concession held by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings, to operate ports on either side of the canal. An audit conducted by Panama's comptroller led to concerns over the 25-year extension.

Feb 5, 2026 

Pres Mulino stands behind Pamaa SC ruling against China, who's making threats to retaliate. Maersk is temporarily managing the port terminals

March 27, 2026

 Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied a request to dismiss the case against Maduro who claims he doesn't have enough money for his defense but pressed the Trump administration about its basis for barring Venezuela's government from paying.

May 18, 2026

 Flavio, Jair Bolsonaro's son, and Lulu, the incumbent,  each received 45% in a Datafolha poll of voter support in Brazil. 9% percent would cast null ballots in October.

May 21, 2026

Cuba has acquired more than 300 military drones,  and there are Iranian military advisers in Havana.

Cuba had discussed plans to use military drones to attack the USA naval base at Guantanamo Bay, military vessels and Key West, Florida.

May 29, 2026

Espriella , the Tiger, is surging in the polls ahead of the first round of Colombia’s presidential election on  May 31. He promises to restore ties with Israel.

 previous blog

https://vaporvents.blogspot.com/2022/05/latin-america-some-things-dont-change.html

Two Irelands ramble on

“When the earth is put on my coffin we will still be in the United Kingdom” – Peter Robinson, a former leader of the DUP in Northern Ireland.

I concur and don't see the momentum for a United Ireland

July 15, 2025

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald Rof I : "Northern Ireland ‘makes no economic sense’ and called for a border poll within the next five years. Oh, this should cheer up the Unionists. 😉

Aug 16, 2025

 La Datcha, a superyacht owned by Siberian-born Oleg Tinkov, arrived in Belfast coming from Port Ellen in Scotland.

He founded Tinkoff Bank in 2006 .

Yacht has its own helipad.

Sept 21, 2025

Sinn Féin will back Catherine Connolly, a left -eaning Independent, to be the next president of R of I. She is for a united Ireland . McGregor and Geldof aren't running. 

Heather Humphreys, center-right Fine Gael  from County Monaghan, near the border with NI, is a member of a Protestant church. Her grandfather signed a petition against Irish self-government in 1912, when all of Ireland was still a part of the UK.

Jim Gavin of the  Fianna Fáil, which is the largest party in the Irish Parliament, is running.

Oct 15, 2025

A woman In Londonderry , NI ,whose home was badly damaged during flooding in 2017 described a public meeting hosted by the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) as a "tick-box exercise".  Just bureaucrats checking boxes

Nov 5, 2025

The Harland and Wolff site in the Port of Belfast, NI was searched for unexploded WW2 bombs in preparation for a defense contract ,and no bombs were found.

Cleary Contracting, a local company, completed the job.

Dec 17, 2025

Grace period for veterinary medicines will end on the final day of 2025 for NI as Windsor Framework moves it closer to the EU mandates

Dec 23, 2025

Riders of Scramblers, versatile, vintage-style motorcycles built more for light-road use, are  not listening to Belfast, NI regulations. Vehicle should not be driven on pavements, roads, public property, or parks.

Jan 26, 2026

This headline made me curious: "Yellow rain warnings for parts" of R of I. it's the least severe of three warnings, not yellow rain

Feb 1, 2026

NI:First Minister Michelle O’Neill pushes Sinn Fein’s call for a border poll by 2030 while Emma Little-Pengelly (DUP), the Deputy FM, feels there's no momentum for an Irish unity poll.

March 18, 2026

Splitting hairs. Gerry Adams, one time boss of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA, told a court he was never in the IRA.

He faced questioning during a civil suit  by London victims of IRA bombings.

April 8, 2026

Those fuel protests in R of I:  Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien  claims they've significantly reduced excise on petrol and diesel. 🤔

May 2, 2026

Stormont says public doesn't have a right to know what one of NI’s top civil servants is paid ,his/her name, and job description

June 9, 2026

"I don’t want a united Ireland slipping past by a tiny majority." SDLP chief Claire Hanna's warning is odd, since a poll hasn't reach a threshold to be called.

SDLP  in NI is the sister party to the Labor Party

June  19, 2026

Apparently mainland China does this everywhere  "overseas service centres" to assist Chinese citizens with administrative tasks, are more like transnational police networks which monitor overseas citizens 

UK Paarliament investigated the Belfast, NI site and found no direct evidence of illegal activity on the premises,  but undeclared and unapproved sites were deemed unacceptable and closed down.

How do the Chinese get this far?

June 25, 2026

Reading  about the Braney case in NI and found this law which was used  successfully by the prosecution about the Braney case

Criminal Law (Surveillance) Act 2009 that allows a superior Gardai officer to authorize the use of a listening device without making an application to a District Court judge where a delay might cause evidence to be lost.

Braney (Real IRA) was at a KFC in 2013

Previous blog

 Two Irelands- more coming

Artist on art quotes continues

 Nixon expected "square entertainment " from the Ray Coniff singers at a White House gala celebrating the 50th anniversary of Reader's Digest magazine on 1/28/72. However,  Carole Feraci, a singer, decided she wanted to give the Prez a lecture on Nam.

Ray Coniff apologized after the concert, and I'm guessing he didn't suspect this from his group. 

Hey Carole, you knew  the gig was square but you made it all about you.

June 7, 2025

“Some folks want their luck buttered.” Thomas Hardy, wrote in The Mayor of Casterbridge

June 15, 2025

“Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words? " excerpt from Hemingway

Tragically Hip lyric: " Like boots or hearts, oh, when they start ,they really fall apart

July 1, 2025

I was about  ten-years old when I first heard Don’t Step on the Grass, Sam by John Kay &

Steppenwolf. Gradually, I figured out it was about pot, not a lawn.

July 10, 2025

Just a reminder from Kerouac on the Beats: 

"Oh the Beat generation was just a phrase I used in the 1951 written manuscript of On the Road to describe guys like Moriarty who run around the country in cars looking for odd jobs, girlfriends, kicks. It was thereafter picked up by West Coast Leftist groups and turned into a meaning like “Beat mutiny” and “Beat insurrection” and all that nonsense;"

July 19, 2025

In the late 1930s Neville Chamberlain, UK PM,  referred to Czechoslovakia as “a far-away country of which we know nothing.” 🙄

July 25, 2025

 John Kay lyrics for Tighten up your wig: "I'd like to mention Junior Wells, we stole his thing from him, and he from someone else"

July 28, 2025

 Rachel Tucker , a star on West End ,credits her success to  “came out of her mum’s belly singing”.🤔

She is playing Myrtle Wilson in The Great Gatsby musical at the London Coliseum.

August 23, 2025

“I saw a sign that said 'Drink Canada Dry'. So I did.” Brendan Behan

Dec 14, 2025

“Death is like an old whore in a bar--I'll buy her a drink but I won't go upstairs with her”-Ernest Hemingway, To Have and Have Not 

Jan 4, 2026

Are the Tibilis nightspots like Bassiani and Mtkvarze in Georgia's capital city  going to make the Beasties Boys song , fight for your right to party, it's anthem? , 

Apparently, clubgoers need the freedom to party to techno beats in order to support, LGBTQ+ rights and EU integration. 

Jan 9, 2026

Germany named the accordion, the instrument of the year for 2026. 🤔

Jan 15, 2026

Chuck Berry wanted to to jam with Nat King Cole a few times, stating, “The Big Band Era is my era." Too bad it didn't occur.

April 20, 2026

Emmanuel Macron emphasizies the imporantance of diversity of opinion in the publishing world when it comes  to 170 authors leaving the publisher Grasset, owned by Victor Pollore, who leans to the right and states a small caste inside the company felt it was in charge and triggered the protest/exit. 

Those upset feel Pollore is an an extreme, right wing authoritarian

Funny that Macron is interested in diversity of opinion at Grasset but wants limits at X.

June 5, 2026

 Bank of England  announced a short list of wildlife images that could replace wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill, author Jane Austin , etc on new banknotes. Austen is referred to as a cult author which apparently means she has a strong following that may resemble a cult.

In college I took a class  on Brit Lit in the 1800s and when it came to female writers, I preferred George Eliot to Jane Austen. Eliot used a male name to get published and was not a tranny.

2022 quote blog

Soviet -Putin style and more

 Putin continues his tradition of sending Kim Jon Un, the NK dictator, various gifts. This week it's lions and bears, and earlier this year it was 24 pure-bred horses, as thanks for artillery shells provided by North Korea.

And Kim loves car, so Putin sent  him an Aurus limousine in February.

Dec 11, 2024

Russian FM Sergey Lavrov made his first visit to the EU since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Lavrov's  assets can be frozen, but he is free to travel across the bloc.

His appeared at a meeting of the OSCE in Malta yesterday.

Dec 14, 2024

 Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former Manchester City soccer player, is the new president of Georgia. Maybe he's too tight with Russia, but hearing Starmer's UK bunch call anybody undemocratic is funny.

Dec 28, 2024

The Azerbaijani plane that may have come under fire from Russian air defense systems as it tried to land in Chechnya was diverted across the Caspian Sea to Kazakhstan, where it crashed. 

The head of Russia's civil aviation agency said the situation in Chechnya was "very complicated" because of Ukrainian drone strikes on the region.

Azerbaijan has not accused Russia. 38 people died. Spin cycle in high gear.

Jan 15, 2025

Hanoi-Vietnam and Moscow, who  have had a  diplomatic relationship since 1950, signed an agreement to boost co-operation on nuclear energy.

 Hanoi's goal is to become energy-sufficient.

May 3, 2025

Construction started on a road bridge to Russia, which will span the Tumen river in northeast North Korea. It will be near  a Soviet era rail bridge named the Friendship Bridge,which is the only other land connection between Russia and North Korea. 

July 5, 2025

Russia is the first state to recognize Afghanistan's Taliban government. Russia's FM sees the potential for cooperation in energy, transportation, agriculture, and infrastructure. WOW

Oct 18, 2025

Putin is expected to meet Trump in Hungary despite ICC arrest warrant. Perhaps, the ICC should focus on its own: Prosecutor  Karim Khan stepped down pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct.

Nov 6, 2025

Iran(AEOI) plans to build eight new nuclear power plants with Russian support as part of a major expansion of its clean energy sector..

President Pezeshkian emphasized that the program remains entirely peaceful and has no intention of developing nuclear weapons. 🤔

March 4, 2026

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the Swedish allegation, that an unauthorized drone was launched from the Russian vessel Zhigulevsk, as absurd. Swedish Armed Forces intercepted the drone near the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle which was visiting Malmöas.

April 2, 2026

University students in Russia are being recruited with lucative contracts to serve in drone units with promises they won't be sent to the front in Ukraine . Russian law does not guarantee that type of deal.

April 6, 2026

Putin told Armenia: EU Membership is impossible for you due to your membership in the  Eurasian Economic Union.

Arrmenia has accused the Kremlin of failing to provide adequate support despite its military presence in the country., particularly during conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 and 2023. 

May 25, 2026

Is Putin recruiting? Transnistria’s military or law enforcement structures cannot be denied Russian citizenship because of their service. Transnistria is a landlocked breakaway state  recognized internationally  as part of Moldova but heavily dependent on Russian subsidies.

May 28, 2026

Russian lawmakers passed a bill  which requires banks to finance the installation of drone-jamming equipment on their premises and allows trained bank employees to shoot down Ukrainian drones 

Banks are not known to be a prime target, and the legislation is short on details.

June 26, 2026

FIFA banned Russia from international competition in February 2022, however the new U-15 tournament rules to include "all FIFA member associations,"  provides a possible way for Russia to return.

The inaugural U-15 World Cup and Festival, which will be ⁠held in Azerbaijan in October, is open to all FIFA member associations.

 Gorby style  earlier blog

Two Irelands - more coming

John Connolly, who was jailed for 14 years by a Belfast(NI) court in 2000 after being caught with a Real IRA mortar bomb on his way to blow up a police station on Armistice Day, was welcomed as guest by the Russian embassy in Dublin(R of I).

Oct 5, 2024

 Sinn Féin did not revoke former press officer Michael McMonagle's security pass at Stormont,  nor warn British Heart Foundation in a job reference request that MM was facing child sex charges. Then blamed that omission on possibly harming a pending police investigation, which the cops call bullsh^t.

How was  McDonald unaware of  McMonagle's crimes, then spend more time apologizing to BHF , who hired him, then to the citizens of NI.

Nov 9, 2024

Causeway Safari Park in NI on the north coast was a must-see for families during the Troubles.  And had( Pete the chimp , a chain smoker 

Nov 11, 2024

Paper remains  important: Attics is Belfast, NI are a source for history written in Gaelic.

The first urban Gaeltacht was set up on Shaw's Road in west Belfast in 1969.

Nov 14 2024

Reeves still coming for UK farmers ' money.  Assets above £1m, will be taxed at 20% starting April 2026 - half the general rate of inheritance tax.

Nov 22, 2024

RofI: Independents are gaining in popularity, up to 20% in an Irish Times poll, and many of them are running on anti-immigration tickets.

Dec 3, 2024

RofI: Labor lost 11 of 12 seats in the Dail. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael combine for 86. Will they turn to right- leaning Independent  Ireland(4 seats ) to reach 88  and become the majority?

Dec 16, 2024

Israel will close its embassy in the Republic of Ireland. Decision makers in Dublin  have been pro-Palestine on nearly everything.

Jan 19, 2025

The Legacy Act blocks Gerry Adams and others , interned without a trial in the early 1970s, from claiming compensation for unlawful detention. If Starmer's repeal occurs, Adams could pursue compensation. Keir claims he can prevent that which is as funny as Adams on-going denial of ever being an IRA member.

Feb 8, 2025

42 years ago: An armed gang of kidnappers broke into a farm in County Kildare(RoI) and seized Shergar, a champion race horse. No organization admitted to the kidnapping and no trace of the horse has been found.

Horse was owned by Aga Khan

March 2, 2025

 Ian McLaughlin, a Belfast city councillor, claims his name should have been removed from a deed for a Heather Street loyalist club(UDA) in Shankill that was shut down by the courts.

  A police anti-terror investigation investigated UDA drug dealing at the club.

March 16, 2025

Jason Rhodes(26) did not apply for bail at Belfast(NI) Magistrates’ Court when charged with attempting to murder two women at a bungalow on Stream Street . And is also accused of having a zombie knife, possession of cocaine and pot, and assaulting a police constable.

'Zombie-style' is the slang name given to knives which are over eight inches in length and often have a serrated edge, spikes, or more than 2 sharp points.

April 7, 2025

Cheryl Brownlee, deputy chairwoman of Stormont’s (PAC), claims  more than £3 billion is overspent on major capital projects.  “little oversight” and “little accountability”. DOGE-time.

PAC= Public Accounts Committee

May 31, 2025

 Gerry Adams won rd1 of putting  “manners” on the BBC, but it ain't over.  Sad to think of Gerry giving "manners"lessons.

June 18, 2025

Rof I Government making ‘an absolute "hames" of rental reforms . I needed a slang converter to learn "hames" means to make a mess of something.

Accusations fly about a housing shortage, rising rents, decreasing rents, etc

Jan 11, 2026

Keir Starmer  appears to be siding with Rof I  rather NI,  in dealing with protections for veterans being discussed in the NI Legacy bill.

Rof I has opinions but I'm unsure why they need to be considered since its not  part of the UK.

Previous blog Two Irelands-more coming

Protest news-free Saturday part 3

 Lured(1947) is an entertaining flick filled with fun banter between Lucille Ball and George Sanders. The segment which features Boris Karloff as a fashion designer trying to re-live or re-create his glory days from the past is interesting.

The main theme about the danger in answering personal want ads remains with us.

Sept 30, 2024

Kim Novak , wearing that green dress  while playing a sales  clerk in Vertigo. Also, liked  the green car

October 6, 2024

I watched Blood on the Moon, a 1948 flick featuring Robert Mitchum and Robert Preston.  No good guys in this tale about cattle rustlers. 

Walter Brennan's character Kris Barden stole some scenes.  

Phyllis Thaxter's character Carol Lufton nabbed my attention in a few scenes.

October 21, 2024

I watched a  documentary,  The Village Detective: a song cycle, about the recovery  and restoration of  a Soviet film  "Derevensky Detektiv", a 1969 Russian film found off the coast off the coast of Iceland. The film was a copy that had fallen or been dumped from a Russian ship. Better versions exist. 

It then went into the acting career of Mikhail Zharov (1899-1981) which started in the days of  Tsar Nicholas II.     

October 27, 2024

I watched  the 1985 movie Colonel Redl, the head of the Austro- Hungarian secret police before Archduke Franz Ferdinand  was assassinated in 1914.  Redl was a double agent living high on Russian funds.

It's a movie  ,not a documentary ,and the implication in the movie is that the Archduke knew Redl was gay when he said he's so sensual. He was pressured into committing suicide. No one wanted a messy trial.

Nov 17, 2024

Speaking of Murder(1957): Annie Girardot caught my eye in this gangster flick. Straight forward crime story in which the bad guys were not sympathetic and did not survive.

Nov 24, 2024

Alain Delon(Commissaire Edouard Coleman ) was dating  Catherine Deneuve (Cathy) who was working  with a gang of thieves in the movie The Cop(1972).  Coleman solved the cases, and let  Cathy walk away. 

Plenty of action. Deion continues to impress me.  Deneuve was so damn beautiful in her youth.

Jan 2, 2025

I watched a A Spy Story  yesterday. The lead actress ,Petra Schmidt-Schaller did, did a great job. Her character  Saskia Starke, a double agent, worked  at a CIA office in West Germany , and frantically worked during  the start of the Wall  coming down, to erase a paper and microfilm trail inside the Stasi files that showed she was a mole for East Germany/Russia.

She wanted out of being a mole. A happy ending in the movie with the usual twists but watching the machinations she went through was interesting.

Feb 2, 2025

"The Woman with one shoe" is one of the flicks in the Austrian TV series “Backwoods Crime” . Nina Proll plays one of the cops in a small town in the Alps. Quirky twists and turns in the plot and a reminder of how you sometimes know too much about your neighbors when you live in a smalltown.

While trying to solve a murder, they find an escape female convict ( Edita Malovcic), who has married a car mechanic and assumed his dead wife(suicide) identity. The mechanic cut up the body parts which eventually surfaced.

Feb 23, 2025

Stromboli is more than a turnover. It's the name of an island in Italy with one of world's most active volcanoes.

Today it's dealing with heavy rainfall and mudslides.

I  was amused watching Year 1 of I married Jane, an NBC TV series(1952-55) starring Joan Davis who was quite an entertainer.

Jim Backus played her husband.

March 19, 2025

Sometimes an old movie just  hits the entertainment spot.  Vivacious Lady(1938) with Ginger Rogers(Dancer) and Jimmy Stewart(Professor).

March 30, 2025

Boris Karloff was decent as Mr Wong detective, an Asian sleuth with no accent. He grinned often in the heavy makeup.

April 6, 2025

Let the Corpses Tan (2017) is more like a movie from the late 1960s. Hectic pace, constantly changing allegiances among thieves.  Luce, played by Elina Löwensohn, captures the viewer's attention.

May 4, 2025

Intrigued by veteran German actress , Nicole Heesters, while watching Der Schutzengel, a 2022 release. Plenty of references to Nietzsche quotes.

It's titled The Blood Trail on Amazon Prime.

May 18, 2025

Hugh Beaumont, the Dad on Leave it to Beaver, played some shady characters. I tried to get through Apology for Murder(1945) , a weak rip-off of Double Indemnity, but failed. Ann Savage was interesting briefly in the vixen role. Nice gams.

June 21, 2025

Noticed  Twin Peaks is 35. I recall being glad to see Peggy Lipton(Mod Squad) in a few episodes

June 23, 2025

German 2018 TV mini-series , The Typist, jumped around but was interesting . Iris Berben, who played Freya the Typist, was riveting.

Katharina Schlothauer (Anne)  stirred the pot.

July 13, 2025

Marie Sandø Jondal captured my attention in Fatal Crossing, a Danish TV series featuring the town of Zealand, Denmark

She plays Nora, a journalist who's fallen from a big time job and is licking her wounds in her hometown.

The investigation of missing girls from the 1980s  spurs an investigation that drags then speeds up to the point of confusion at times.

I enjoyed  Nora's chats  with her friend Trine (Anna Stockholm) .

Aug 9, 2025

Melisa Sözen who plays Yasar, a college professor, in Alef, a Turkish  series, caught my attention . Kemal , a British cop who returned to Turkey, and Settar, an old school bullish cop, are quite a tandem. The investigation of a series of murders and the ties to religious history are intriguing.

Oct 12, 2025

Erica Wessels plays detective Fanie von Wyk in Donkerboss(dark forest), a cop story set in Pretoria. Language moves back and forth from English to Afrikanaas. I could hear German and Dutch influences.

German is spoken in Pretoria, largely due to the Deutsche Internationale Schule Pretoria (DSP), a German-medium school.

Oct 26, 2025

Yesterday, I watched a bend in the river, a 2020 flick about a writer who returns to NI after a 25 years in the USA. Some interesting moments, including an oddly timed interjection of clips from the Troubles. A big push for a United Ireland took away from the flick.

The brief scene of Noreen, the store clerk, seducing Matt, the writer , is amusing.  Here's Noreen, played by Nicola Boyle

Dec 16, 2025

I'm late to this news. a fresco of a Roman-looking Jesus as the “Good Shepherd” was discovered in August 2025 in an underground tomb near Iznik, a town in NW Turkey.   Erdogan presented a tile painting of the Good Shepherd discovery to Pope Leo XIV recently.

Jan 10, 2026

The Locket(1946) is a movie about  Nancy(LaraineDay),a female kleptomaniac and possible murderess, who disrupts the lives of three men, including Norman(Robert Mitchum), an artist who commits suicide over the guilt of lying to the authorities about Nancy's alibi for a murder. Plenty of flashback scenes demand your full attention. 

I don't recall seeing a character played by Mitchum commit suicide in any movie.

Jan 19, 2026

Susan Sontag directed  her own script in the 1969 flick, Duet for Cannibals, It was a test of perseverance  to watch, at times. Two things I focused in on were would Tomas, the assistant, cigarette going to ignite the author's paperwork, and the moods of his girlfriend Ingrid, played by Agneta Ekmanner.

Jan 24, 2026

The 2024 remake of  Bonjour Tristesse was interesting. Father/daughter  relationship felt  too cozy. Cecile played by Lily McInerny

Feb 8, 2026

For a break I watch Homicide Hills , a German police -related comedy. the character Sophie Haas(Caroline Peters), a criminal investigator from Cologne, is sent to  small police station in the Eifel mountains. Inane at times but amusing. 

Eiffel mountain range located in located in western Germany, eastern Belgium, and northern Luxembourg.

The show s on MHZ (Amazon)

March 21, 2026

If you want a cop show on Benzedrine, Season 2 of Deadloch, an Aussie TV series , fits the bill. Nina Oyama, who plays Abby, a forensic lab tech, caught my attention.

The script writers are all over the place with  the latest hot topics but the most consistent theme appears to be  a lot of cops are corrupt or stupid, but they never linger long enough on any topic.

March 31, 2024

The Deserter, a flick about Anton,  a wounded SS soldier, who stumbles upon a cabin in a remote section of Austria  which houses Hannah, a German Jewess , who removes the bullet and allows him to heal.

Tense relationship for obvious reasons. 

Georg, Anton's former SS buddy, finds them. Interesting plot lines with few happy endings.

Sebastian D. Fischer plays Anton

Anna Kaminski plays Hannah

protest free news2

Beating the drums of escalating war.

 Secretaries for Democrats: McNamara(Defense) for JFK and LBJ. Blinken (State)for Biden. Vietnam/Ukraine- I'm getting that Deja Vu feeling.

And many folks thought  LBJ was safer than Goldwater in 1964!

Sept 26, 2024

What does Zelensky do with the $$$? Ukraine's state railways plan  to increase freight tariffs  by 67%, which will hit struggling farmers and lead to a fall in production and export volumes.

For example, the cost of grain transportation will increase by 50-60 hryvnia per ton and will lead to an increase in farmers' expenses during the war by about two billion.

Oct 15, 2024

Odessa, or "Little Chicago", has a long history of being run by gangsters going back to Yaponchyk((Wee Jap).

Nov 5, 2024

In 1997, in the early days of Clinton's second term Ukraine was third, behind Israel and Egypt, in receiving aid from the USA. A little different than under Bush1. Do you recall his"chicken Kiev" speech warning Ukraine against changing a distant tyrant for a local one?

Remember the movie,The Dirty Dozen. Ukraine releases people from prisons if they enlist to fight against Russia.

Dec 1, 2024

Ukraine needs to deal with desertion,  battlefield  disobedience, etc before talking about NATO membership. Reality bites.

Feb 1, 2025

 Putin is open to peace talks with Ukraine hosted in Slovakia, who is feuding with Ukraine over gas transits. Oh well! 

March 1, 2025

 Dmitry Medvedev, one- time Russian Prez, on Zelenskyy: "insolent pig" who received a "proper slap" in the Oval Office. DAMN!

March 20, 2025

Macron claims Canada and France are "peaceful powers and reliable allies"  while they continue to promote the war between Ukraine and Russia,

April 10, 2025

USA Army has redeployed its military personnel and equipment away from Jasionka Airport in Poland, a critical logistics hub for aid to Ukraine.

May 20, 2025

  2014: Yanukovych was getting close with Russian courtiers and more shenanigans in the energy sector. Shkematalog, a Ukranian term for a schemer,  could be applied to him.

July 29, 2025

The notion that the Ukraine is a front line to western civilization bugs Putin . I'm guessing he views it as a fake buffer state.

Aug 25, 2025

Russia and Ukraine  exchanged 146 POWs each after mediation by the UAE.

Sept 27, 2025

Critics moan the 4B cut in foreign aid hurts USA soft power abroad. They've been taking our $$ and sneering at us for years.

May 15, 2026

Andrii Yermak, the former head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, has been placed in pre-trial detention with bail set 3.18 million on a charge of high scale laundering. He has toturn in travel documents, avoid contact with other suspects or witnesses, and wear an electronic monitoring device.

Promoting democracy abroad somehow gets translated to open your borders.

Dec 8, 2025

Starmer hosts Zelensky, who hasn't read the latest peace proposal, in London. Just invite  Mayor Khan and the dunce party can kick off.

Jan 7, 2026

Lt General Kyrylo Budanov is the first military officer to  be Zelenskyy's Chief of Staff. 

He's the popular head of HUR, the military secret service. 

April 9, 2026

Gives one pause: Acting Defense Minister  Zapryanov stated that Bulgaria is not taking on any military obligations under the ten-year security cooperation agreement with Ukraine.  It builds on existing frameworks.

May 15, 2026

Andrii Yermak, the ex head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, was placed in pre-trial detention with bail set at 3.18M, by a High Anti-Corruption Court ruling connected to a large-scale money laundering case. 

He's required to turn in travel documents, avoid contact with other suspects or witnesses, and wear an electronic monitoring device.

Previous blog. Jimmy Carter Previous blog. Jimmy Carter

More reboots of Incorrect chatter

 Lightning coach Cooper apologized for saying “might as well put skirts” on goalies, which is borrowed from Jack Lambert's comment on Quarterbacks.

This pompous response to the apology irked me: Brock McGillis, ex- hockey player who came out as gay, tweeted. “We all say or do the wrong thing. Be accountable, apologize and don’t do it again.” F off, Brock

I'm a Red Wings fan but props to the Chicago Blackhawks for keeping their name chosen by its founder Frederic McLaughlin, a WW1 commander in the 86th Infantry Division, known as the "Blackhawk Division."

May 15, 2024

Will the NFL punish Harris Butker for his commencement speech at Benedictine College? He is working against the cultural emasculation of men and criticized Pride Month and Joe Biden.

June 11 2024

Temporary sanity from Judge Sherman in CA. Restraining  order asserts that the CA academic workers walkout  stemmed from non-labor issues and violated the no-strike clause in the union's contract.

June 23, 2024

Rasmussen poll: 58% of American Adults approve of Butker expressing his religious beliefs, 38%  strongly approve

July 11, 2024

"Do not count on us to scam, loot and endanger Spaniards." VOX threatens to end coalitions with centrer right People's Party over an agreement to transfer  400 alleged, underage migrants from the Canary Islands to continental Spain.

Vox claims that many migrants designated as underage are of age.

Sept 7, 2024

Starmer visit Biden  again- make it stop.  Probably to promote jailing "bad" American tweeters

Sept 23, 2024

Duke Machado: “If we’re not careful, we’ll slide into Cuba and Venezuela. Their ultimate goal is to destroy capitalism."

When he was asked if it was responsible to share fears that the Democrats could turn the USA into a communist country.  And his focus toward Latino exiles who had fled repression.

 He said: “It’s not irresponsible at all. I see it as a duty.”

Oct 4, 2024

Starmeir wants to put the Brexit years behind us and have more mature relations with the EU. Perhaps he should try being mature at home.

Nov 30, 2024

I wonder if Starmer raids Chartwell, Winston Churchill's former home, for displaying a re-creation of one of WC's  birthday cakes as part of celebrations to commemorate his birthday(11/30/1874).

Dec 10, 2024

Another scary decision. Charles Onana did not question that genocide took place, or that Tutsis were targeted in Rwanda, but a French court finds him guilty of downplaying Rwandan genocide.

He and his publisher were fined for violating France's laws prohibiting genocide denial and incitement to hatred.

Jan 16 , 2025

 Charlie Hebdo , French satirical magazine, is marking 10 years since the attacks on its Paris office by running a cartoon contest asking for God-mocking submissions. I wonder if Atheism, which behaves in a similar fashion to an organized religion with a " humanist God",will be mocked.

Feb 4, 2025

Is Bridget Jones' Darcy based on Keir Starmer gives me a chuckle?

Feb 19, 2025

  I doubt Starmer will cancel funding UNWRA after his phone call with Emily Damari, a recently released British-Israeli hostage, who claimed parts of her captivity were in UNRWA facilities.   

March 23, 2025

Sad chuckle at: Rachel Reeves claim, I will not 'tax and spend'.

May 9, 2025

Any word from Prince Harry ,who sits on board  of African Parks Charity which admits human rights abuses in Congo park?

July 20, 2025

While leafing through a photo-album book on Clover, SC, I noticed the term unreconstructed to describe ex-Confederate soldiers in the 1870s. It reads like slang , but is listed in the dictionary as an adjective to describe  not reconciled to some political, economic, or social change.

In this case it means what one  would suspect- refusal to accept the outcome of the Civil War.

Sept 15, 2025

Lula, Prez of Brazil, casually dismisses the Trump administration's accusations that Brazil's justice system had targeted and censored USA tech firms by stating his country's courts were right to regulate the internet.🤔

Nov 1, 2025

   USA convinced Argentina, Hungary, North Macedonia, Paraguay, Ukraine , and Israel to vote against the UN resolution that the USA end its embargo of Cuba.

Nov 17, 2025

Starmer's plan to alter ‘golden ticket’ for asylum seekers headed to the UK is too little, too late. It's based  loosely on  Denmark focus on temporary protection over permanent residency. 

Feb 14, 2026

King Charles III contributed 2M of a $16M loan to Andrew, his younger brother, enticing Virginia Giuffre to drop a USA lawsuit. His Mom , the Queen, also contributed. Time for the Sex Pistols tune "God save the Queen".

April 5, 2026

Headlines from The Guardian, etc:: Trump and Hegseth are using vicious language against Iran.  Would you prefer, good morning, I'm dropping a bomb on your building?

June 8, 2026

“Calm down. I’m not Claudia Cardinale. or Lollobrigida.”  Bernadette Chirac, Jacques wife, who died on 6/6/2026, 

She was responding to reporters looking for her husband  back in 1998 , when Princess Di died

June 21, 2026

What does Starmer know- how does he remain the PM?

June 28, 2026

Republic of Ireland’s Taoiseach Micheal Martin on Starmer “a person of great ability, decency and honour” 

At this point, I'll just laugh

 https://vaporvents.blogspot.com/2023/08/reboot-figure-it-out.html

https://vaporvents.blogspot.com/2020/11/reboot-of-anti-redneck-redneck-sports.html

Japan/Taiwan/Asia in 2024

  Japan's semiconductor industry is getting a boost from Taiwanese chip companies' expansion here to support a new TSMC (2330.TW) plant.

 Shifting alliances and priorities in the global chip industry are on the increase with the United States pushing to limit China's progress in cutting-edge semiconductors and strengthen its other partnerships. 

Is Japan going to expand its military, too?

Feb 29, 2024

Sri Lanka may stop visa extensions for Russian an Ukranian tourists trying to escape the war. The Tourism ministry has been receiving complaints about some Russian tourists running illegal businesses in the southern part of the country.

March 2, 2024

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and coast guard have intensified patrols at the border to deter more refugees from the Myanmar civil war.

March 12, 2024

Hey Joe Biden: Since you gave the Taliban control in 2021, Afghan females have lost access to education & employment, and face arbitrary arrests over how they wear their hijabs.

March 18, 2024

Pakistan unleashed airstrikes on hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban inside Afghanistan. This occurred two days after a suicide bombing targeted a Pakistan army post near the Afghan border.

May 9, 2024

Pakistan's military claims a suicide bomb attack in March in Pakistan's northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, that killed five Chinese engineers, was planned in Afghanistan by an Afghan national.

Taliban issues a denial

May 21, 2024

 Iran's Supreme National Security Council has allocated funds for the construction of a concrete wall and a border fence in Central Khorasan. Turkey built a wall along its border with Afghanistan.

Taliban takeover of Afghanistan when the USA left has been  the major trigger for the building of these walls.

May 31, 2024

Rasoulof, an Iranian filmmaker on temporary home arrest, fled to Germany. His cellmates told him about a secret route over the mountains to the border , which he took to freedom.

Rasoulof chose Germany for his exile because "The Seed of the Sacred Fig" was being edited in Hamburg He had lived in Germany once , so his information was on file with the German authorities, and they were able to ID him without his passport, which the Iranian police had seized.

June 13, 2024

Lee Jae-myung, South Korea's main opposition leader, was indicted on bribery charges in an alleged scheme to use Ssangbangwoo, an underwear maker, to transfer funds to North Korea to promote a commercial project.

June 28, 2024

Bye ,bye what remains of Hong Kong's autonomy. School kids in HK criticized for singing the Chinese national anthem too softly.

 Here's the goal: "unifying thoughts" and "gathering strength for building a strong country".

July 3, 2024

Break-dancing sessions for senior citizens is all the rage in Tokyo. 🙄

July 10, 2024

 Beijing courts can issue the death penalty to "Taiwan independence" supporters. This includes trials in- absentia.

China claims the  new guidelines target a small number of die-hard 'Taiwan independence' separatists."

July 15, 2024

 Alice Guo, mayor of Bambon in the Philippines, who has been accused of being a Chinese spy has gone into hiding,  She's ignored Senate subpoenas  about scam centers being used as cover for text scams, human trafficking etc, in her town.

Ri Khu, a senior North Korean diplomat based in Cuba, defected with his wife and child to South Korea in November. No further details other than  he flew out of Cuba with his family. That's wild using Cuba  as the starting point of an escape from Communism. 

July 27, 2024

Ok China: MDNAA controls Lashio, Mynamar, about 74 miles from the Chinese border. Perhaps it's time to place a call to the Burma junta , who has lost control of 80% of the country.

Aug 1, 2024

Most of the migrants traveled from Turkey to breakaway north Cyprus and then attempted to cross into Cyprus before being barred by Cypriot authorities and left in a buffer zone. UNHCR expects Cyprus to take them. How about calling Ergodan and sending them back to Turkey.

Aug 5, 2024

Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina resigned and left the country yesterday. I bet most of the UK hopes Starmer does the same thing.

Aug 19, 2024

Myanmar authorities released Hiroshi Kasamatsu, a Japanese Aeon manager who was sentenced  to one year in prison for violating rice price controls.

Aug 23, 2024

Hey Joe Biden: The Taliban set up a ministry for the “propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice” in 2021 and just banned women’s voices and bare faces in public.

Aug 26, 2024

Japan's scrambled jets against a Chinese Y9 reconnaissance aircraft that breached its airspace this morning over the Danjo Islands to the west of the southern island of Kyushu

Sept 10 2024

Consider yourself lucky: David Missal, a German citizen , graduate of Hong Kong U, and member of a pro-Tibet NGO, was refused entry to Hong Kong

Sept 20, 2024

Has anyone asked Kamala about the Taliban being in control of 39 Afghan embassies globally?

Nov 10, 2024

Communist China welcomed Hlaing, the Mynamar military junta chief, for talks, but it sure feels like the Junta is collapsing and this move will fuel the Burmese rebels.

Nov 19, 2024

XI  warns Biden: Taiwan, “democracy and human rights,” the Chinese communist system, and China’s development “rights” are the four red lines. Second item is hilarious coming from XI.

Dec 6, 2024

 The Taliban terror militia that financed its activities by drug trafficking has stepped up enforcement on its ban of growing opium poppy in Afghanistan. Rural revolt may be brewing.

Dec 17 2024

Burma junta has lost the western border,  which divides Myanmar from Bangladesh, to the Arakan Army. You can bet China is pushing  the Junta into peace talks.

Dec 29, 2024

Indian villages deter wild elephants with lemon trees, mint plants, etc, which  trigger them to re-route.

Jan 6, 2025

In the early 1900s, France ruled Indochina, which included present-day Cambodia.

Indochina ceded Koh Kood island to Thailand(Siam) in the Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907, but Indochina went defunct by the mid 1970s.

However, Cambodia claimed its side of the maritime boundaries from the treaty included the southern part of the island. 

Gas and Oil  reserves are on Koh Kood island.

Jan 24, 2025

 Nice try by ICC , but its warrant for Akhundzada, accusing him of persecution of women and girls, is going nowhere. He rarely travels outside Afghanistan.

Feb 5, 2025

ASEAN tells Myanmar’ junta its plan to hold an election is a mistake  amid an escalating civil war. Junta could care less.

Feb 17, 2025

DOS deletes "we do not support Taiwan independence" and mentions support for Taiwan's membership in international organizations "where applicable".  Mainland wants the USA to correct its mistakes.

Feb 25, 2025

Japan and PI boost military ties to deal with China, who states control of more than 90% of the South China Sea, where PI, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia,  and Brunei have competing territorial claims.

March 11, 2025

 Dalai Lama states his successor will be born in the “free world,” which is outside China. Beijing ain't happy.

March 12, 2025

BLA thinks its Jesse James and continues to attack passenger trains in Pakistan. It wants independence for Balochistan, one of Pakistan's most mineral-rich but low-population provinces. 

Yesterday, freed hostages walked for hours to reach safety after being forced to leave behind relatives.

March 13, 2025

PI Paybacks: Marcos turns Duerte over to ICC for prosecution. ICC is intended to be a "backup" to domestic court systems . Why doesn't PI prosecute Duerte if they have a case?

April 3, 2025

Joint USA-PI military exercises, will be conducted in northern Luzon, the region of the Philippines nearest Taiwan, later this month. USA approves the sale of twenty F-16 fighter jets worth $5.58B to PI.

April 9, 2025

Tyrannical China provides a morning chuckle by calling for the world to unite against Trump's trade tyranny. Ask Hong Kong citizens!

April 28, 2025

Myanmar's capital city Nay Pyi Taw will be redrawn after the earthquake last month.Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said that buildings which collapsed were built on soft soil.

May 23, 2025

North Korea's Kim Jong Un described the failed launch of a new naval destroyer , a "criminal act caused by absolute carelessness." I wonder if he gives someone the death penalty.

Some sections of the warship's bottom were crushed.

July 7, 2025

 Iran tells many Afghans to leave or face arrest ,and one of the reasons is a claim that Israel has recruited Afghans as spies,

July 18, 2025

North Korea bans foreigners from Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Area, not too long after Lavrov, the Russian FM, started promoting it. 🤔

July 22, 2025

31 KMT lawmakers in Taiwan face  recall votes over their ties to mainland China. If a recall passes, a by-election will be held within 3 months to elect a replacement.

July 24, 2025

Cambodia and Thailanda are clashing again. The most prominent and violent conflicts have been around the 1,000-year-old Preah Vihear temple. In 1962, the ICOJ recognized Cambodian sovereignty over the temple. Ruling was reaffirmed in 2013.

Aug 4, 2025

Taking notice: The Philippine and Indian navies sailed together for the first time in the South China Sea.

Aug 10, 2025

Iran thinks it can block a planned corridor which passes near its border in the Caucasus. It's part of a USA-brokered peace accord between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Velayati , an adviser to the Iran Supreme leader, claims  the corridor will open the way for NATO to position itself “like a viper” between Iran and Russia.

August 15, 2025

Sara Duterte, the VP of PI,  remains the top choice in polling for President in the 2028 elections, while  no ally of Marcos Jr  is among the front-runners.

Sept 20, 2025

Afghanistan rejects USA return to Bagram airbase, which is one hour away from where China makes its nuclear missiles. However, Trump and the Taliban are chatting.

Oct 13, 2025

Taliban and Pakistani forces exchanged heavy fire across Afghanistan border after an alleged Pakistani air strike on Kabul on Oct 9. Two main border crossings ,Torkham in the north and Chaman in the south, are closed.

Oct 29, 2025

North Korea test-fires cruise missiles in the Yellow Sea while Trump visits South Korea. Same old sh^t.

Dec 2, 2025

John Lee, CEO of Hong Kong, a Chinese-administered region, stressed that there will be an Independent investigation of the fire which ripped through seven tower blocks in the Wang Fuk Court housing complex in the city’s Tai Po district. Then  justified the arrest of protestors requesting answers:  “not tolerate any crimes, particularly crimes that exploit the tragedy that we have been facing now”

Protestors were later released

Sub-standard materials is the suspected reason for the fires.

Dec 5, 2025

Myanmar(Burma)  fills the opium gap and is the world’s main source  following decline of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan.

Dec 28, 2025

Election Protection Law imposes harsh penalties and restrictions for nearly all public criticism of the first election since Myanmar military seized power. 🤔

Jan 2, 2026

China’s Army (PLA) completed two days of military exercises in the waters off Taiwan and calls it Justice Mission 2025. What a term???

Feb 2, 2026

Beijing executes four members of Bai family criminal group in a clampdown on Myanmar-based telecom scams, which involve cryptocurrency investments and drug smuggling.

Feb 9, 2026

Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party has a two-thirds majority in Japan's lower house, and she'll be visiting the White House on 3/19/26

Feb 10, 2026

Thailand's acting PM Charnvirakul  is in coalition talks  after his conservative Bhumjaithai Party  proved the pollsters wrong on the election. Standing up to Cambodia was a key factor in the surprising result.