Reboot: Figure it out

 Spain's gals' soccer team reaches the World Cup semifinal for the first time after defeating Netherlands 2-1. They made it despite unsuccessful efforts to dislodge Coach Jorge Vilda and the ensuing discord. Maybe lessons learned for all sides? 

Aug 15, 2023

In a seesaw game Spain edges Sweden 3-2 and is going to the WWC final.  Less complaints about Coach Vilda now?

Aug 19, 2023

Spain vs England in final on Aug 20. Coach Valdi tells press we're united and doesn't want to talk about the old mutiny news. He!! of a run for Spain ladies. An old sports adage. Winning cures a lot of ills.

Aug 21, 2023

Spain 1 England 0. Carmona scores the winner for Spain in the WWC.

Charges of attempted rape were dropped against Greenwood(Manchester), but some say his return to the team is not a move forward in terms of proper respect for diversity and inclusion. This new "religion" is a slippery slope.

Aug 24, 2023

 Eamonn Holmes catches flack for dismissing honors for second place Brit gals in WWC. Brit 1966 WC champs: In 1966 it was customary for only the 11 players on the pitch at the final whistle to be awarded medals.

Sept 10, 2023

Spain fires Vilda. The team won the WWC despite 12 of the country's best players quitting in 2022.

Sept 17, 2023

Monste Tomé, named the first female coach of Spain’s women’s team, but the players continue to rebel. Good luck getting another WWC.

Oct 15, 2023

Sanchez's Socialists are talking with Catalan and Basque separatist groups to avoid an election. Huge move and may cause more trouble for Spain. Sanchez is desperate to stay in office.

Nov 8, 2023

In Spain the General Council of the Judiciary, the body that picks top judges, stated that pardoning Catalan politicians, will imperil the rule of law.

This is a response to the Catalan amnesty plan floated by PM Sanchez.

Dec 3, 2023

Isabel Ayuso, an anti-lockdown crusader, crushed Iglesias, whom she called a Communist, to return as a President of the Madrid Region. Stores and bars supported her.

 Of course, most of the press is focused on her possibly working with Vox.

Dec 11, 2023

Olive oil- a luxury item in Spain? Rise in its exports, the problem?

 Italians sell Spanish olive oil under their own brands, so many consumers now believe that the Italians and not the Spanish are the market leaders in the olive business.

Jan 30, 2024

A rally in Madrid against Catalan amnesty bill which was a main condition by Catalan parties for agreeing to support Sanchez's coalition government.

 Spain's lower house of Parliament votes on the bill today and if approved, the law will block legal action against hundreds of Catalan activists who are being investigated or have been charged for their roles in the attempts to declare an independent Catalan state in 2017.

April 25, 2024

Sanchez, Spain PM, will cancel his work duties to focus on his wife Begonia Gomez, who is facing accusations of corruption from a Spanish court. 

She's accused of receiving favors from airline Air Europa and its Spanish holding company Globalia during her time as director of an African research center at Madrid's IE business school.

May 19, 2024

Spain's Transport Minister Oscar Puente suggests that Milei "ingested substances" during last year's Argentine election campaign. 

Milei is expected in Spain in two weeks to participate in an event organized by VOX and claims Sanchez' policies are bringing "death and poverty" to the Spanish people.

May 23, 2024

Spain, Norway, Republic of Ireland are going to recognize  the Palestinian state on May 28.  Clueless Norway PM Store blames Hamas for the terror as if it's not running Palestine.

August 9, 2024

Carles Puigdemont, a Catalan politician wanted on various charges, managed to slip in and out of Spain because police waited until the end of his talk in order to detain him "at the most opportune time so as not to generate public disorder."

Regardless of how you view Puigdemont, this is crazy.

Catalan regional police  arrested two of their own officers for assisting his escape.

Nov 17, 2024

 Farm Minister Zeichner calls himself  "a champion of farmers" while telling UK farmers to be calm about the new tax burdens coming their way. That's a kick in the head.

Feb 18, 2025

Portugal relied a great deal on the British navy for a long time so I'm unsure what to make of this: Portuguese naval authorities recorded heightened Russian ship activity in the Atlantic Ocean, although deemed normal, they stress continued observation.

April 24, 2025

Nissan's Alan Johnson told UK MPs that the Sunderland factory electricity bill is more than at any other Nissan plant in the world.

Previous blog:

 reboot redneck

Catsup Canada

 Trudy reshuffles cabinet amid soaring interest rates, wildfires, etc, but is more concerned with bashing Bebe. As goofy as his dad Pierre.

Clinics in Calgary, and elsewhere in Canada are offering membership fees and finding ways to skirt around the law. Apparently, folks are requesting ways to get better service.

Canada censors social media. Here's a line from the late Gord Downie's, "Boots or hearts". See when it starts,To fall apart, Man, it really falls apart.

Sept 20, 2023

Trudeau accuses India of involvement in the death of Nijjar, 45, in British Columbia but offers no proof. India says Ninjar was a bad guy, Both sides are goofy, so far.

Sept 26, 2023.

Hey Rota, a quick glance at a history book would've helped. Dear Canada, try vetting. you would've learned that old soldier was in a Ukranian Nazi squad.

Oct 4, 2023

Trudy's word for the day: Denialism. Good luck Canada!

Oct 22, 2023

Canada pledges additional $50 million to help Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. F'N crazy!

Nov 26, 2023

Poilievre's Conservatives vote against carbon tax for Ukraine. CUFTA still made it through the committee stage.but Trudy keeps whining.

Feb 28, 2024

Trudy's Liberal pals in Canada introduced a bill claiming to combat online hate that would force major companies to quickly remove harmful content and boost the penalty for inciting genocide to life in prison. Of course, they use the cover of protecting children from online predators.

Who defines genocide?

April 6, 2024

CRA reversed a rule change just days before the T3 filing deadline, after many taxpayers already had done their (Bare Trust )preparation work.

Bare trust:  a person has legal ownership of a property or asset but doesn't hold beneficial ownership.

May 4, 2024

 Canadian police arrested and charged three Indian men with the murder of Nijjar, a Canadian citizen campaigning for the creation of Khalistan, an independent Sikh homeland carved out of India. This keeps getting uglier.

May 13, 2024

Trudeau Backs Away from Tax Threat on REIT s, breaking a power sharing promise to the NDP to tackle the so called financialization of the housing market.

June 8, 2024

The Bank of Canada trimmed its key policy rates to 4.75% from 5%, and is the first G7 country to do so, in an attempt to ease pressure on highly indebted consumers. 

I'm not feeling a  downward trajectory on inflation.

June 26 2024

Trudy's Liberal Party lost a safe seat in a special election.Conservative  Don Stewart won the race in the Toronto-St Paul's constituency. First time a conservative has won there since 1988.

 Election was called after the previous legislator quit.

Aug 22, 2024

Trudeau on rail freight traffic coming to a standstill over labor dispute.“It is in the best interest of both sides to continue doing the hard work at the table,”. Tiresome cliche from Trudy

(CN) and CPKC railroads both locked out their employees after the deadline passed yesterday without new agreements.

Sept 21, 2024

Trudy's poll numbers are below 30%. Trudeau's Liberal Party lost a crucial parliament seat in a special election in Montreal a few days ago.

The narrow loss in Montreal's federal electoral district of LaSalle-Émard-Verdun is the second defeat in three months for Trudeau's minority Liberal government.Liberal candidate Laura Palestini cfinished behind the Bloc Quebecois candidate, Louis-Philippe Sauvé.

Oct 22, 2024

Some Liberal MPs  in Canada are committing themselves to trying to force Trudeau out of the party leadership. Doubt if it will occur, but it's noteworthy.

Nov 12, 2024

Health care in Canada: ER at South Okanagan General Hospital in Oliver, B.C., was closed for 31 hours this weekend,  the third type of closure this month.

No clear explanations.

Nov 18, 2024

Bad poll numbers' reaction: Trudy wakes up, caps immigration, reduces the number of both permanent and temporary residents.

Dec 4 2024

 Canada is blasting out "ally to the north"ads  in DC airports and across the USA on billboards.

March 4, 2025

Trudeau met King Charles and they discussed Trump’s suggestion to make Canada the 51st state. Wonder if this was  # 1 on the list?

March 18, 2025

 Psychological concern causes Indie game  developers from Canada to be wary about attending the GDC conference in San Fran. Too much time in front of their monitors.

May 11, 2025

another Imelda Marcos? 58 pairs of Manolo Blahniks were found at the Toronto home of Singa Bui and Nicholas Cartel, who are under investigation after millions of dollars were embezzled at their firm

June 4, 2025

Canada's PM "Carnage" seeks to expand authorities' ability to open and inspect mail. WTH!

Beware immigration and security bill

June 29 2025

Canada's  digital tax occurs on gross revenue linked to Canadian user engagement and is retroactive to January 2022.

Levy came into law June 2024 and applies to online marketplaces, social media platforms, digital advertising, and the sale or licensing of user data.

Hawaii Canada

Local print media-more stories 2023

  Packers claim it will cost $7.5 million to host the 2025 NFL draft and expect to lose $$$ on the event. Two local state GOP politicians submitted a motion to the Wisonsin Legislature’s seeking a $2 million grant for Experience Greater Green Bay, a group that promotes tourism in the Green Bay area. Perhaps they should file for a loan to be paid back by 2026.  Sales tax revenue from tourists should cover this easily. 

June 2, 2023

Steve Garvey, former 1B for Dodgers and Padres, may run for the US Senate seat in California.

I forgot about this from 1989:  Cyndy Garvey was released from jail one day after she was arrested for refusing to allow her ex-husband, Steve Garvey, court-ordered visits with their two daughters.    In the same year SG admitted that he had fathered the children of two other women and one of them is suing him.

June 19, 2023

San Fran Mayor is mad about a GMA claim it’s ‘too dangerous to film’ in the downtown area, while Biden wants to hold fundraisers in the area in 2024.

July 6, 2023

Nearly 30 train cars crashed in Reeseville, WI in Dodge County, spilling grain and potash. No one was hurt. Another derailment occurred in Crawford County, WI in April. Where's "Mayor" Pete?

July 18, 2023

 Bandimere Speedway, a longtime stop west of Denver on the NHRA circuit, will be sold for residential development. It may be tricky finding another location for drag racing in the Denver area.

Aug 11, 2023

Big Ed's BBQ is expanding in the Midwest. Eddie Nero, the owner, got an early boost from some former Chicago Bears, Jason McKie and Devin Hester. Is the food tasty?

Oct 12, 2023

 CHICKEN FRIED DEVILED EGGS-tasty in local 21236 joint. The Local had some melt-in your mouth apps last night.  those eggs : buttermilk and herb marinade, B&B pickle relish, rosemary

hot sauce, chives. Hot sauce was sweet than kicked in hot.

Oct 24, 2023

  The Phandemic Brew, cool beer name, in Phillies' land. New Jersey brewery, Red White and Brew, has carved out a niche at Citizens Park. 

Dec 12, 2023

K Williams was arrested in Fort Calhoun, Nebraska on charges of homicide for knifing Rev S Cutsgell.  In 2007, SG pleaded guilty to embezzling 127K from an area church. He was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay restitution. Diocese reassigned him to another church. 

Dec 22, 2023

Black barbershops are creating a buzz − over books. So young readers can just 'be boys.

 Alvin Irby, founder of Barbershop Books, has been placing a popular series of children's chapter books in neighborhood shops, including the Germantown section of Philadelphia. 

Black boys are more than just their skin color. They want to read about trucks. They want to laugh. So many of the books that feature black boys don't give them a chance to be boys: silly or gross or funny." quote from Irby.

Jan 15, 2024

Bob Evans restaurant employees confronted Marquis Walker, a New Castle, DE resident, after he paid with a counterfeit $100 bill, but he started to argue with employees and refused to give back the change that he received. He gave back the change, took the counterfeit $100 bill. Delaware State Police chased him on foot and arrested him. He is charged with trying to pay a restaurant bill with a counterfeit $100 bill and with carrying more fake currency.

Jan 18 2024

Baltimore City supports passage of the Pava Marie LaPere Act in the Maryland General Assembly. It will eliminate “good-time credits” for first-degree sex offenders. 

Billingsley, who is is charged with the murder of Pava Marie LaPere, a 26-year-old tech company CEO killed in 2023, received credits following a 2015 conviction on a sex offense.

Billingsley was also charged with a west Baltimore arson in 2023, where investigators claim he raped a woman, handcuffed a man, and slashed their throats in the apartment and then set them on fire.

Jan 22, 2024

Claymont, DE man sentenced to only 6.5 years for blowing up and robbing ATMs in the Philly area in 2020. I can't find his name in the reports.

March 3, 2024

 In Norfolk VA, Port of Virginia opened a two-way passage allowing ultra-large container vessels to travel through and is dredging it and the Norfolk Harbor to 55 feet deep and the ocean approach to 59 feet deep. 

When $450M dredging project is done in fall, The Port of Virginia will have the deepest, widest channels on the USA East Coast.

It quite a site to be on a tour boat and ride by the aircraft carriers in that area.

March 8, 2024

What's that smell around Millsboro DE? Officials claim it's a rotten egg smell caused by the dredging of the Indian river. Others ain't buying that claim.

 Its bringing decaying organic material to the surface and dumping it in nearby wetlands.

April 10, 2024

Who are the good guys? Bull City United, a  Durham, NC-based group of violence interrupters and outreach workers, has issues.

Nicole Taybron, 40, a BCU employee, was arrested earlier this week on a charge of possession with intent to sell and deliver crack cocaine. 

May 18, 2024

 Pot plants were spotted amidst a tulip patch near the capitol building in downtown Madison, WI and removed . No comment yet from Gov. Evers.

May 24, 2024

Norfolk Southern, which did not admit wrongdoing, agreed to a proposed consent decree estimated to cost them  over $310 million to resolve a government lawsuit over a February 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

June 3, 2024

Headed to NC this week and  I"ll be wary.   NC Highway Patrol pursued Kahshon Nahkiem Cunningham and Promise Allure Hope on several drug charges. The chase started in Wilson Mills off of U.S. 70 and went through Johnston County and  reached speeds of 145 mph. 

Suspects gave up peacefully and drugs were found on Hope.

June 9, 2024

In Raleigh, NC, a barber is required to complete 59 steps and 17 forms to open a barbershop.

June 29, 2024

Enjoying the lead-in line --Business heats up ----for South Raleigh,NC ice-making plant. Holiday Ice peak season.

July 29, 2024

Hopefully, UNC abides by a lawsuit settlement which includes a commitment to follow the state's open-meeting laws including discussions on  future conference alignment.

Missed this on -going news on this while I was in Chapel , NC in early June, 2024.about David McKenzie's lawsuit against UNC. He got 25K.

Feb 7, 2025

An old CSX railway line in NC that was completed in the late 1890s and has not been active since 1983 may become a rail trail linking Durham and Person Counties.

Starts at American Tobacco Trail and works its way through Durham toward Braggtown and possibly touch Bahama, Rougemont, and end at Roxboro.

April 19, 2025

How did Limestone U, an independent non-denomination Christian college in South Carolina, not  prepare its students and staff for going to only online and probably closing down.

 It will host a “reverse college fair” on April 25 for students to speak with other universities. 

Limestone was the first women’s college in South Carolina and began admitting men in the early 1900s, but did not allow them to live on campus.

May 25, 2025

Click it or ticket in NC: Drivers who fail to wear their seatbelts could be fined $179 in North Carolina.

All drivers, ages 16 and older must wear their seat belts. The driver of a vehicle is responsible for himself and all children less than 16 years old Those riders  16 and older are responsible for themselves.

https://vaporvents.blogspot.com/2019/05/local-print-media-catching-stories-ive.html

Random pop-ups in Europe

 Pope Francis is visiting Hungary later this week, and I doubt he and Orban agree on migrants but may concur on Ukraine. In 2021 Orban met the pope asked him, "not to let Christian Hungary perish". He gave the pope a facsimile of a letter that 13th century Bela IV, the King of Hungary and Croatia between 1235 and 1270, sent to Pope Innocent IV asking for help in fighting the Tartars.

I wonder if the Pope will comment on Hungary's child protection law which the EU hates. That would be "rich" coming from a Vatican that gives cover for pedo priests.

April 27, 2023

So this confusing issue flares up again: Armenia claims that the Russian force has failed to keep open the Lachin corridor, the only land route that links it to Karabakh across Azerbaijani territory.

Russia is a major arms exporter to Azerbaijan and so is NATO member Turkey. 

Russia is a military ally of Armenia.

Toss in Ukraine war.

April 30, 2023

Armenia and Azerbaijan may hold a new round of talks in Washington on Sunday to try to normalize relations.  I guess because the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan will be in Washington DC this weekend. Otherwise, WTF are we, the USA, doing in this mess.

May 10, 2023

 Switzerland's military performed its largest exercises in more than three decades. Big deal for a long-time neutral country.

May 13, 2023

For all the climate change folks: Snow fell in parts of northern Spain yesterday after months of high temps and no rain.

June 3, 2023

Italian PM Meloni: The clampdown on charity ships stops them from acting as "ferry boats" for migrants, going "back and forth with human traffickers to shuttle people from one country to the other."

 Charities' ships are being impounded for ignoring the law.

And to counter so called ‘Pride Month’ Meloni’s has launched ‘Family Pride Month’ to promote the traditional family.

June 6, 2023

Romania is buying two second-hand British minesweepers and two French submarines. Probably to deal with its Black Sea naval fears.

June 18, 2023

Germany will transfer its Patriot missile defense systems, which are currently stationed in Slovakia, to Lithuania to protect the upcoming NATO summit on July 11 and 12.

Shifting gears, Belgian foreign affairs minister Hadja Lahbib is facing calls for resignation after granting visas to delegations from Iranian and Russian cities, which are in countries under international sanctions, to attend a convention of Mayors in Brussels.

June 23, 2023

Some Amsterdam residents don't want to see tourists coming for sex and drugs. You have prostitution museums. Gimme a break!

July 5, 2023

The amount of funds raised for the French cop who shot teenager Nahel M. is 4x the amount raised for NM's family.

Aug 2, 2023

A Scottish lawmaker has been , triggering a by-election that will indicate whether the opposition Labour Party is recovering support from Scotland's dominant pro-independence party.

Aug 1, 2023

Margaret Ferrier (SNP), one of a wave of SNP politicians who swept Labour from its one-time Scottish stronghold in 2015, was stripped of her seat yesterday in Britain's parliament for breaking COVID rules in 2020. Quite a tactic!

Aug 25, 2023

 Macron's advisers feel Le Pen could get elected in 2027 because she'll have the working class and middle class, but it's not due to questions on migration, Hello, runaway migration is a major factor in why she'll have those two groups.

Sept 7, 2023

Bear attacks on humans become an election issue in Slovakia. Over-protected?

Sept 23, 2023

Bulgaria: 115th anniversary freed from Ottoman Empire, also booted out Russia orthodox priest yesterday for being spies.

Sept 29, 2023

Sweden PM Ulf Kristersson called in the chief of the armed forces to help curb a rise in gang killings. New Trend?

Nov 2, 2023

A man tossed dyed rodents into a McDonald's in UK and screamed F^ck Israel. Reuters headline: apparent, anti-Israel protest😕

Nov 20, 2023

Orban's billboard message: let's not dance to Soros Jr and der Leyen tunes

Nov 28, 2023

A man from Kalipetrovo, Bulgaria grilled sandwiches in the office of the electricity distribution company in Silistra to protest that there was no electricity in his house for 24 hours.

Company officials promised the problem will be fixed and that power will be restored to his home within an hour and a half.

Dec 26, 2023

First kiosk in Lisbon opened in 1869 and these cafes are experiencing a revival.

Moorish-style kiosks provide chairs and shade and serve traditional snacks and drinks.

 Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar's laws that began in the 1930s discourage public gathering.

Jan 6, 2024

Sint-Truiden, Belgium: This Christmas season it moved its ice-skating rink inside Minderbroederse, an18th-century baroque church that doesn't host services.

Children skate across the nave of the church and past a nativity scene, with Christmas music filling the air and a starry night image projected on the ceiling.

Jan 20, 2024

To counter money laundering and terrorist financing, EU has reached a partial agreement, imposing a €10,000(10.9K USD) cap on cash payments. The agreement, struck between member states and the European Parliament, claims it will safeguard European citizens and the EU financial system from illicit financial activities.

Entities involved in financial services, banking, real estate agencies, asset management firms, casinos, and merchants will be required to adhere to the cash payment limit. And they will be required to verify the identity of individuals making cash payments that range from €3,000 to €10,000.

Jan 25, 2024

Sweden will have to wait until Feb 26 for Hungary to ok its accession to NATO. Orban told NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg that he’ll “urge” parliamentary approval “at the first possible opportunity."

Feb 1, 2024

EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola: "To the farmers that are outside. We see you and we hear you.". I dread these words at work cuz it's just a brush off.

Feb 4, 2024

Portugal moving to the Right ahead of the March 10 snap election. Chega Party is gaining ground in opinion polls. Open Borders and EU climate-mania ain't popular.

Feb 24, 2024

More farmer protests in France amid rumors that Macron invited environmentalist group Soulevements de la Terre to his scheduled debate with farmers' union representatives.

April 17, 2024

Emir Kir, mayor of the Brussels district of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode,  issued a ban on a conservative conference, claiming the far right is not welcome in the city.

"Police have instructed that they won't let people into the building but won't force them to leave," said Anthony Gilland of the MCC think tank, one of the organizations behind the event.

July 19, 2024

 Macron created the mess and appears to have prevented a Leftist nightmare.by working with the center and center-right parties. Communist lawmaker André Chassaigne may not get a top job.

Assembly Speaker ,Yael Braun-Pivet,  retained her post Thursday 

Aug 29, 2024

Here we go:  Starmer’s ‘Operation Reset’ starts with Germany  to undo hard Brexit despite his claims to the contrary.

Sept 8, 2024

High on a bullsh^t meter: Stamer on removing Thatcher's portrait. "This is not actually about Margaret Thatcher at all. I don’t like images and pictures of people staring down at me."

Sept 27, 2024

Tech companies Europe  pay more to comply with EU regulations than for R&D. AI will suffer there.

Oct  9 , 2024

National Rally, which has 125 seats in parliament, abstained from the no-confidence vote on France's PM Barnier, which caused its defeat.  Leader Marine Le Pen is giving the government a chance for the time being. Commies are pissed.

Oct 17, 2024

Hits keep coming at Starmer: Downing Street rejected suggestions that Starmer received Taylor Swift tickets as a “thank you” after she was given a taxpayer-funded police escort while in London. Also, no response on whether the PM met the singer at a show .

Oct 18, 2024

So now Columbus is not Italian but a Sephardic Jew from western Europe. However, DNA analysis is unlikely to validate a distinction between Spanish versus Italian or Sephardic Jewish ancestry. 

A documentary aired on Spain’s broadcaster TVE called "Columbus DNA: The True Origin,"  made these claims.

Oct 25, 2024

Starmer: "Regular" working folks who get additional income from assets such as shares or property, do not count as working people- per his definition. Taxman is coming.

Oct 31, 2024

 Keir Starmer : “those with the broadest shoulders” would have to pay more tax." Reeves wants increase in the tax businesses pay for employing people. F'n nuts

April 15, 2025

Macron last seven days: He recognizes the statehood of Palestine, Algeria expels tell 12 French embassy officials. French prisons encounter burning of vehicles and automatic weapon fire.

Africa- so much desert and more

 The building of the Mauritania’s Train du Desert which was completed in 1963 must have been brutal. The train system operates a daily service from the port at Nouadhibou on the Atlantic coast to the iron ore mines in Zouerat. A full journey runs along the border of the disputed territory of Western Sahara and takes around 20 hours. The train is made up of three or four diesel locomotives, one passenger carriage, and between 200 and 210 freight cars. 

Mauritania became an independent nation in 1960.

March 31, 2023

Pirates have abandoned Monjasa Reformer, a Danish-owned ship hijacked in the Gulf of Guinea last week, but have taken some crew members with them. Ransom demands expected shortly.

April 6, 2023

Gunmen in Nigeria's northern Kaduna state kidnapped eight school kids while Nigeria's military fights a long-running Islamist insurgency in the northeast. I know it's sounds like same old sh^t but it serves as a reminder.

May 8, 2023

Rumors of Russian paramilitary group Wagner looking to supply weapons to the RSF in Sudan in exchange for RSF-controlled gold mining resources.

June 4, 2023

Turkey, which sent forces to help the government in Tripoli ward off an assault by eastern forces in 2020, has previously deployed drones from bases in western Libya. Ankara has not commented the June 2 drone strikes by Libya's Government on the western regions of Zawia, Zuwara, Ajeelat, and Maya.  What are Ergodan and Libya's GNU goals?

BTW, this started me thinking about Hannibal fleeing to what is now modern day Turkey. Yes, I know Carthage, Hannibal's base, is in modern day Tunisia.

July 23, 2023

Morocco considers Western Sahara its own territory, but Algeria isn't happy and many some Algerians prefer WS to be an independent state. Is war coming?

July 28, 2023

On-going coup of Bazoum in Niger. Some folks outside the National Assembly waved Russian flags and chanted anti-French slogans.

Sept 8, 2023

Jihad steps up attacks in Mali while UN works on its exit.

Oct 14, 2023

UN forces exit Mali -Fighting intensifies-no surprise- between the army and separatist insurgents in Mali. 

Oct 23, 2023

  Elsewhere in Africa: Moroccan police seized 1.37 tons of cocaine in Casablanca. It was concealed in a cargo of imported frozen fish found at a distribution company and was imported from a Latin American country via Spain, the Moroccan police. Where's Bogey.

EU sanctions the junta in Niger.

Nov 21, 2023

Malawi President Chakwera suspended all foreign trips by government officials, including himself. Let's see how long this lasts.

Dec 2, 2023

Biden promised to visit Angola. He hopes to discuss the Artemis Accords, a pact designed to shape the rules for space exploration with Angola, which has a satellite program that has benefited from Russian support. Angola and Russia have not signed up.

Jan 2, 2024 

 Landlocked Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland, a breakaway enclave of Somalia, which give it access to the Red Sea. 

Ethiopia has offered the region a stake in Ethiopian Airlines and will officially recognize it as a sovereign state. Somaliland declared its independence in 1991.

Feb 25, 2024

Canada pledges $59M for the deployment of a Kenya-led multinational mission to support Haitian police in its battle to contain criminal gangs. Quite a path!

April 15, 2024

Sunak, Brit PM, is ready to exit ECHR if his Rwanda Scheme passes in Parliament. It paves the way for asylum seekers to be deported to Rwanda. 

 Rwanda needs to be treated by British judges as a safe destination, and it will also limit individuals' options for an appeal to only exceptional cases.

April 27, 2024

A portion of the USA. troops in Chad will move to Germany for now, but it's a temporary step. Hey, Pentagon spokesperson Major General Patrick Ryder hints they may return after the country's May 6 presidential election, and it sounds like they're sure Deby will win.

June 12, 2024

 Tunisia: Saied may use a decree to void the Article 25 statute which prohibits direct financing of the state budget by its Central Bank.  Abassi, the bank's governor, warns financing it will lead to a Venezuela scenario.

June 25, 2024

Kenya  is facing tax protests in the street. A proposed "eco levy" on most manufactured goods including sanitary towels and diapers has made the situation worse.

July 2, 2024

Libya fully reopens major Ras Ijdir border crossing with Tunisia. Nouri, Tunisian IM, states "reopened for all activities except smuggling". It gave me a chuckle-although probably not his intention.

This follows three months of armed clashes.

Sept 28, 2024

Kenya supplies more than 40% of the flower market in Europe, particularly fresh roses. Planes makes deliveries daily to various cities.

Unpaid overtime, harsh working conditions, and lack of protective gear on some flower farms , are among numerous  complaints to both the Kenya Flower Council and (KEPHIS).

October 8, 2024

Saied, the leader of Tunisia since 2019, has removed institutional and legal checks on his own power and claims not to be a dictator.  He's getting financial help from European countries worried about migration.

Oct 30, 2024

Macron offers more French investment for the Western Sahara in a speech to Morocco's parliament. Tension with Algeria will heighten.

Algeria has been imposing visa requirements on Moroccans, accusing some of its passport holders of "Zionist espionage".

Nov 2, 2024

Global demand for diamonds hurt Botswana and BDP, its ruling party for 58 years, just got knocked out of power by the UDC (Umbrella for Democratic Change). Masisi out,Boko in. 

Dec 15, 2024

Ghana- Incoming Prez Mahama promises to abolish nuisance taxes , such as the electronic levy on mobile transactions and a levy on carbon emissions produced by petrol or diesel-powered vehicles.

Jan 9, 2025

Chad: French soldiers leaving, Chinese diplomats visiting, Deby's military repels armed assault of presidential complex. 

Deby is in office via a coup. Plenty of oil in the ground.

Jan 27, 2025

Al-Burhan, Sudan Army Chief, claims there will be no reconciliation with RSF, and that there will be fighting until the very last rebel is dead.

Feb 11, 2025

What a childish response to Trump from SA Department of International Relations and Cooperation  “It may become clear that our expropriation act is not exceptional, as many countries have similar legislation,”

March 31,2025

Camara, Guinea's ex-military ruler, was pardoned over 2009 stadium massacre in which troops under his command opened fire during a rally calling for a return to civilian rule.150 people dead. Health reasons cited as the reason for the pardon.

April 4, 2025

I wonder why Samir Shegwara, who published documents linking Libya's intelligence service to the Lockerbie bombing, decided to return home where he was arrested yesterday. 

 Those files could form evidence against Abu Agila Masud Kheir Al-Marimi , who has been accused of making the bomb that brought down Pan Am Flight 103.

June 7, 2025

Reading about Dlomo, a  female teenager playing  tent pegging, a traditional cavalry sport, across sub-Saharan Africa.

Definitely new to me!

Older blog:

https://vaporvents.blogspot.com/2020/10/africa-those-darn-wigs-and-gowns.html

India is on a rampage and more on Asia

  Indian tax officials examined mobile phones and laptops used by some BBC editorial and administrative employees during an inspection at the British broadcaster's offices in New Delhi and Mumbai. Some are claiming this is in reprisal for a BBC documentary that raised questions about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's behavior in the last 20 years.

India will raise seven new battalions of the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in the next few years to deal with brewing tensions with mainland China.

Feb 18, 2023

 On February 6 when a Filipino boat was attempting to take supplies to the Sierra Madre, a vessel that is used as a Filipino naval outpost in the South China Sea, a Chinese vessel intercepted it and used a laser device to temporarily blind the crew.

Laser weapons designed to damage eyesight are banned under UN convention, but when did Communist China care about bans.

Feb 26, 2023

Sometimes I forget about Japanese royalty. Naruhito, who was crowned emperor on May 1, 2019, after his father Akihito became the first Japanese emperor to abdicate in two centuries, gave his first public birthday address on Thursday.

March 8, 2023

 Joe Biden's legacy: Universities have reopened in Afghanistan but only for men.

March 20, 2023

China and Cambodia held military naval exercises for the first time in Cambodian waters. I started thinking about the Vietnam War, Mekong Delta, Khmer rouge. etc.

March 21, 2023

I'm a bit surprised that Japan PM Kishida is going as far as visiting Kyiv.  This follows Japan joining Western allies in imposing sanctions on Russia, sending defensive equipment, and offering refuge to those fleeing the Ukraine-Russia war.

April 13, 2023

I had to read this statement twice; Myanmar's military stated that if civilians were also killed in its air strike on a gathering in the Sagaing area, it was because they were being forced to help "terrorists".

April 17, 2023

Atiq Ahmed , former lawmaker in India's parliament who was convicted of kidnapping, was killed along with his brother while police were escorting them for a medical check-up. The assailants were posing as journalists. I keep thinking about Jack Ruby.

April 28, 2023

Many folks in India are offended and have been criticizing a cartoon in Der Spiegel, a German magazine, that they claim is racist and in bad taste. The cartoon shows a dilapidated Indian train, overflowing with passengers, overtaking a fancy Chinese train on a parallel track. Hell, the cartoon acknowledges India is surpassing Communist China. Gimme a break!

May 11, 2023

Ming Pao, a Hong Kong newspaper, will scrap Wong Kei-kwan's comic strip, which has been running since 1983, because it offends the mainland Commies. Censorship grows- no surprise.

June 8, 2023

EU is coming after palm oil and other products by demanding exact proof of which trees are cut down. Malaysia ,etc are its targets. Endless micro-management.

June 30, 2023

India and Philippines vow stronger cooperation dealing with mainland China’s regional claims in the South China Sea which center on a nine-dash line surrounding several islands and waters of disputed sovereignty. They've agreed to the placement an Indian defense attaché in Manila.

July 19, 2023

 Private Travis T. King of the USA Army "stumbles" into North Korea, but Kirby lectures us on abortion. What a Pentagon!

August 16, 2023

Spanish group Inditex will cut ties with Myanmar suppliers. Primark and Marks & Spencer did last year.  I doubt these moves will make the military junta snap to attention.

Sept 5, 2023

 Myanmar's junta will let Kyi rot in jail -her request for an outside physician denied.

Sept 25, 2023

The Philippines claim it will remove a Chinese floating barrier blocking fishing vessel access in the Scarborough Shoal. This will get ugly quickly.

Oct 11, 2023

Hong Kong’s business community struggles due to Beijing’s bounty on those with opposing views. Many in the legal sector are concerned about judicial independence, and some executives are concerned that Hong Kong is losing its business relevance to Singapore and Dubai.

Oct 17, 2023

Chinese and Japanese coast guard ships faced off in waters around disputed islands in the East China Sea

China claims it drove away several Japanese vessels that "illegally" entered territorial waters on Monday around islands, which it calls Diaoyu and is urging Japan to stop all "illegal activities" in the area. However, Japan controls the islands and calls them the Senkaku.

Oct 31, 2023

Pakistan has given illegal Afghan immigrants until November 1 to exit the country and will use force if the deadline is not met.

Nov 12, 2023

Burma Shave occurring too close to China.

Anti-junta offensive in Shan State, on Mynamar's northeast border near China, has displaced at least 50,000 people, with trade routes cut off and several towns seized.

China is asking for all sides to cease hostilities.

More China news: China detained Japanese executives Hiroshi Nishiyama, on suspicion of espionage in March, and he was arrested last month. This has Japanese employees wondering if it is safe to travel to China, Also, Japanese companies in China have been telling employees to keep a low profile.

Nov 27, 2023

South Korea suspends 2018 deal with North Korea and re-starts its aerial surveillance in response to the launch of a satellite by North Korea. NK has also had started to rebuild guard posts along the frontier.

Dec 15, 2023

 KMT Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia, a former Taiwanese diplomat and one-time head of Taiwan's China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council, visited the mainland hoping his party can narrow the DPP, the ruling party, lead ahead of the Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary elections.

DPP response: "It is no wonder that international public opinion and Taiwan's people have questioned: does the KMT have to report everything to Beijing first?"

Dec 20, 2023

A Japanese court ordered the governor of Okinawa to approve the central government's modified plan for landfill work at the planned relocation site of a key USA Marine base on the southern island despite long running opposition by residents.

Jan 5, 2023

North Korea fired approximately 200 artillery shells into waters off its western coast. This led to an emergency evacuation order for civilians on the border islands of Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong. The Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea confirmed the artillery firings which breached the maritime buffer zone that was set up to reduce border tensions.

South Korean military responded with live-fire artillery drills.

Jan 13, 2023

 William Lai, Keep Taiwan (Free of Communist China), is set to be Taiwan's next president. He is the first presidential candidate in Taiwan to get five million votes.

Jan 17, 2024

  Missiles from Iran targeted two bases in Pakistan of the militant group Jaish al Adl, a Sunni outfit. The Ayatollah is on a rampage in the area.

Jan 26, 2024

Kirin sees Japanese whiskey driving 50% export of premium brand, When I think whiskey Japan doesn't come to mind.

Feb 14 2024

 Myanmar Junta will implement military conscription and bring back retirees due to steep military personnel losses while it's battling a coordinated offensive by an alliance of three ethnic-minority insurgent groups.

Feb 20, 2024

Mainland China's top financial watchdogs' goal is to ensure that the sector adheres to Communist Party values- be wary Hong Kong! Their bumper sticker: socialist economy can work.

April 11, 2024

200 Myanmar military personnel withdrew to a bridge to Thailand on Thursday after a days-long assault by the anti-junta resistance in Myawaddy, a border town. 

Thailand, which remains neutral, is concerned about the fighting spilling into its airspace and is taking in refugees.

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.

prior blog https://vaporvents.blogspot.com/2021/10/focusing-on-asia-in-4q-of-2021.html

German middle finger, too

 Hans Modrow, the last Communist prime minister of East Germany, died at age 95. Many of today's news reports mention that he oversaw democratic reforms that opened the way to German reunification in 1989. However, they don't mention that in 1993 he was convicted of vote rigging in the municipal elections held in Dresden in May,1989. Or that he gave orders to destroy incriminating Stasi files.

It's quite interesting to consider Modrow's career path. He was a Nazi soldier in WW2 who the Soviets captured and sent to an anti-Fascist indoctrination camp. 

April 11. 2023

 Austria plans to extend checks at its borders with Slovenia and Hungary by another six months from May 11, when the current six-month suspension of free travel over those boundaries expires, and I bet Germany doesn't complain. Illegal immigration is a major world-wide issue regardless of the feelgood rhetoric.

April 20, 2023

"Flashes of Memory: Photography During the Holocaust" is an interesting exhibition that moved from Israel for the first time and is currently presented at Berlin's Museum of Photography. It's a reminder that photography during the Nazi era was used as a tool to manipulate the public opinion but also served to document atrocities for later war crimes trials. So kids, you gotta take the good with the bad. Learn from history, don't deny or erase it.

May 24, 2023

The Fehmarn Belt Tunnel, the world’s longest immersed tunnel, will link Denmark and Germany, and create a land route between Sweden and Central Europe that will be 160 kilometers shorter than it is today.

June 14, 2023

Germany boosts coal imports from Colombia while seeking to phase out fossil fuels at home.

July 12, 2023

 AfD, which is labeled the far right, has nationwide support in Germany of 20%., mostly due to the out of control migration problem. No one wants to work with them, nor address the migration problem. Demonization of AfD is not working.

July 24, 2023

Friederich Merz, the leader of center-right CDU in Germany, now claims he'll work with the AfD on the local level. His tune will change more.

Aug 7, 2023

AFD's polling numbers are on the rise in Germany while it calls the EU a failed project. Will CDU have to work with AFD?

Sept 22, 2023

Is Bavaria with its own border police, the "Texas" of Germany?

Oct 9, 2023

Free Voters and the AfD look set to claim around 30% of Bavaria's vote. Soder(CSU) needs an attitude adjustment. 1, 3, and 4 are center right to right. 

nov 18, 2023:

On November 12, the old 485s trains(Coke cans) took their last runs on Berlin streets. 

Jan 14, 2024

The Dortmund District Court in Germany is pressing forward with deportation proceedings for a Tajik national accused of planning the New Year's Eve terror attack on Cologne Cathedral.

I'm stunned.

Feb 21, 2024

Hamburg is testing debit card for asylum-seekers to prevent state benefits from being sent outside the country. And one recipient is mad because she can't send money back home to pay her debts.

Feb 23, 2024

Former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who is charged with making false statements to a parliamentary inquiry into alleged corruption, will receive the court verdict soon. He could get three years in jail.

April 9, 2024

Germany sends its first soldiers for a permanent Lithuania force to be named Panzerbrigade 45.

Lithuania has a border with the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad and Belarus.

Suwalki Gap is around the border between Lithuania and Poland, and centers on the shortest path between Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast on the Polish side of the border. 

April 18, 2024

Bavaria asks: Get drunk, not high at Oktoberfest. In my party days, I'd say why not both.

June 5, 2024

Germany will likely deport Afghan migrants who pose a security threat back to Afghanistan, which runs counter to its usual stance of not repatriating people to countries where they are threatened with death. It's election time!

Interior minister Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said it must be done quickly.

June 24, 2024

   Djir-Sarai , one of Scholz' coalition partners, calls for a slash to benefits for Ukrainian refugees in Germany, while Scholz suggests Milei work on more socially acceptable policies in Argentina.

Sarai serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

August 17, 2024

Nancy Faeser, the IM of Germany, gave a chilling response, to a German court provisionally lifting the ban on Compact, a right-leaning magazine. Basic Law "expressly provides an instrument to ban organizations in order to protect democracy from enemies of the constitution."

Aug 28, 2024

Germany’s AfD party is using opposition to renewable energy projects in rural areas to clinch its first wins in two east German state elections on 9/1/24.

It proposes tougher new planning rules for constructing turbines

Sept 5, 2024

AfD's record result in the eastern German state of Thuringia confuses so many folks. The center and mild right  refusal to deal with migration issues is the major reason for the AFD's success. 

Sept 16, 2024

Austria's Chancellor Karl Nehammer 's response to Germany tightening its border controls will be to send more people eastward towards the Balkans. No one is listening to the EU bosses.

Sept 25, 2024

 Nouripour and co-leader, Ricarda Lang, who took the helm of the German Green party in early 2022, are stepping down after disappointing  election results in eastern Germany. 

Sept 29, 2024

Germany has stopped approving war weapons exports to Israel, but continues to insist that there is no ban in place.

It appears many weapons' approvals were granted late in 2023 but  the spigot has been nearly shut in 2024.

Nov 8, 2024

AFD is pushing for Chancellor Scholz, whose coalition has disintegrated, to face a vote of confidence next week. I bet he won't.

Dec 5, 2024

Berlin to cut arts funding by 12% this year.  Recall this -"Berlin is poor, but sexy" — slogan by former Mayor of Berlin(2001-14), Klaus Wowereit. 

Jan 4, 2025

"There was a repeated 'no' to fundamental reforms this week," Meinl-Reisinger of the Neo-Centrists in Austria. New elections?? FPO back in play?

Jan 12, 2025

I bet Kickl (FPO) quickly works with the OVP to form a ruling majority in Austria. EU will likely try to mess things up.

Jan 31, 2025

Merkel is mad at the CDU for using AFD support to pass a non-binding motion to restrict immigration. So what! 

April 6, 2025

Germany deployed its first permanent military brigade abroad since WW2, sending 5,000 troops to Lithuania to bolster NATO's presence on the alliance's eastern border. 

The 45th Armored Brigade was officially activated in a ceremony near Vilnius and is expected to become fully operational by 2027,

May 26, 2025

In an appeal of a perjury conviction that Kurz won, he argued that the Austrian Judge in the conviction case  interrupted his testimony. 

June 11, 2025

A federal court in Leipzig will determine if Compact, a magazine with a YouTube channel, can exist. For now it can. Alleged Article 5 violations ,such as demeaning  migrants, will be evaluated.

June 27, 2025

The magazine Compact  remains in business. German judges ruled "remigration" and "cult of guilt" are covered by freedom of expression.

Earlier blog on Germany:  

German middle finger

Protest news-free Saturday part 2

 Lunar year 2023 is a Year of the Cat on the Vietnamese zodiac, from January 22, 2023 to February 9, 2024. Cat is the fourth sign in the ancient Vietnamese Zodiac.  Did Al Stewart see this as a convenient title for his song in the late 1970s?? 

I had no idea these celebrations were so widespread in the USA. The congregation of St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta Parish at St. Therese Chinese Catholic Church in Chinatown-Chicago. watches as a lion dance is performed down the aisle to begin a Lunar New Year celebration before Mass on Sunday. It marked the beginning of the Year of the Rabbit. 

Al Stewart was born in Greenock, Scotland and has resided in Santa Monica, CA since the 1980s. The other Stewart tune I like to spin is Broadway Hotel.

Greenock reached its population peak in 1921 (81,123) and has been in the 40K range for a while. The French Vauquelin class destroyer Maillé Brézé blew up off Greenock with a heavy loss of life following an accident involving two of her own torpedoes.

Feb 18, 2023

I watched a good bit of Cleo from 5-7, a French new wave film(1962), which featured Corinne Marchand as a model wondering around Paris pondering her mortality. I was more intrigued by her buddy played by Dorothee Black. Photography of Paris was great.

March 13, 2023

A Flight to Berlin(1984), is a quirky, so-so flick, but Tusse Silberg as Susannah maintained my interest with her looks and her mannerisms, plus she was given solid lines. Susannah, who signed the hotel register as Marianne, may or may not have pushed a woman down the steps in England and flew to Berlin to see her sister. No answers given to the audience on the possible crime. Plenty of Berlin street scenes shown including.

May 7, 2023

I was caught off guard yesterday while flicking though the channels and found, The Sunset, a movie about milliners and more in 1913 Budapest. Lazlo Nemes, the director, filmed it in a style that reminded me of silent films with a heavy focus on facial expressions. Irisz Leiter, a milliner, returns to Budapest with the intention of learning more about her family, who once owned Leiter, a women's hat store. The dialogue is minimal, but you sense that the Austro-Hungarian  Empire is nervous about it 's future.

1) Is Irisz' newly discovered brother Kalman, an anarchist? 

2) Did he kill Count Redey whose wealthy, drug-addicted widow now hosts musical soirees for the cream of society? Yes, I would have liked more focus on the Countess played by Julia Jakubowska 

3) Is the Leiter store a grooming ground for courtesans?

I didn't get many answers but remain intrigued by the flick.

July 3, 2023

After watching a WW1 doc yesterday, I'm calling it a tie between Italy and Bulgaria for changing partners during the decade of 1910-1919.

July 9. 2023

Watching Vienna Blood and loving the outside shots that were filmed in Vienna and Budapest. The Vienna basin was a nodal point of ancient trade and military routes. It linked north and south along an ancient road that ran southward from the Baltic and linked east and west along the Danube.

July 29, 2023

Keeping it light: wooden nickels were common advertising tools in the 19th and 20th centuries that could sometimes be redeemed for a beverage, etc.

Sept 18, 2023

Four 1,900-year-old Roman' swords were discovered in a remote cave near the Dead Sea. They were possible stash from rebels in Judea.

Oct 5. 2023

Not sure what to make of Saint Laurent promoting the jumpsuit. Models paraded in sling-back heels, modeling pencil skirts, and roomy-legged trousers-cinched at the waist.

Oct 28. 2023

Pagan Peak, Gedeon Winter character remains intriguing. The sub plots of clashes between Winter(Austria) and Ellie(Germany) is over the top at times. Ritualistic murders in the German-Austrian borderlands and the frequent convening of a cross-border Soko provide a taste of slightly different TV possibilities. Some are great and some fall back into TV cop-show cliches.

Nov 19, 2023

I watched an episode of Paris Police 1900 on Amazon Prime and was intrigued by the wealthy ladies carrying small boxes with a syringe and a vial of heroin. The main themes are Police corruption and the rise of anti Semitism.

Evelyne Brochu portrays Marguerite Steinheil, a well-paid police informant.

Eugénie Derouand portrays Jeanne Chauvin, who eventually became a lawyer during a time period when women weren't allowed to become lawyers.

Dec 5, 2023

Pumpkin regattas- news to me. Tualatin, Oregon, Kasterlee, Belgium. 

Dec 14, 2023

 Parsa, a city in modern day Iran, was the capital of the Persian empire of kings Cyrus, Darius and Xerxes. It was eventually destroyed by Alexander the Great, and the once majestic city fell into ruin, known by locals only as “the place of the forty columns” for over 1000 years before being rediscovered in the 1600s.

March 10, 2024

Intrigued by Natalie Madueño in the Danish TV series, Those Who Kill.  She's a profiler and her interactions with her dad feel extremely cold. 

April 7, 2024

Kari Sorjonen, played by Ville Virtanen, is an interesting detective in the Finnish TV series BorderTown. The show reminds me just how thin the Russia/Finland border is.

Matleena Kuusniemi  plays  his wife.

June 2, 2024 

Hanne Mathisen Haga plays Maya Angell, a profiler in Outlier, a 2021 TV series set in Norway. She battles to solve  a  serial murder case, and it was refreshing to see her  portrayed warts and all.

Saddest part was when she was  having a booze pity party ,and the character Elle brought her info that  was helpful to solving the case and she never gave her the chance to state it. Elle left her house and later got in a car with the killer and became his last victim.

Aug, 4, 2024

The Riddle of the Sands, a 1971 flick about Germany's naval plans to invade England near Harwich in 1901 is amusing.

 British yachtsman Davies stumbles on a German naval plot to attack England while touring the Frisian Islands 

He and Carruthers manage to derail the plans  far too easily, but it's only a movie. 

I enjoyed seeing a young Jenny Agutter.

Aug 11, 2024

Jim Carrey as a Polish cop(Tadek) ,whose need for justice leads to his death ,was a bit over the top at times, but Dark Crimes(2018) is worth watching . Particularly for Charlotte Gainsbourg(Kasia).

 Tadek notices similarities between a cold case murder of a businessman and a best-selling novel by Marton Csokas (Kozlov) and is hellbent to nail him. However, he gets it wrong , loses his family, and drinks  a concoction that kills him while Kasia is telling him she is the killer .

Aug 18, 2024

Life in the Czech Republic or Austrian -Hungarian Empire was an occasional topic of The Prague Mysteries TV series set in the 1920s.

Inspector Budik , a city cop gets a top job on the outskirts of Prague and is not happy trading in his dress shoes for tall boots.

Decent plots. Great photo shoots of Prague. Sabina Rojková, who plays the step-daughter of Chief Inspector Budík is an intriguing actress.

Protest news-free   first blog

What would you do if ..continued

 A Roman-era cemetery was discovered in the Gaza Strip, but action on the housing project has continued. 

The Roman burial site is not far from the ruins of the Greek port of Anthedon now the Israeli city of #Ashkelon on the border with the Gaza Strip.

Among the discoveries: a tomb with polychrome paintings depicting crowns, garlands of laurel leaves, and jars intended for funeral libations.

Dec 27, 2022

In 1762 Denmark knows Peter III(Duke of Holstein-Gottorp) will use Russian troops to take back his ancestral lands. The Danes stood little chance of winning that battle. Then Catherine the Great, his wife, completed a coup and the two governments negotiated the transfer of ducal Schleswig-Holstein to the Danish crown in return for Russian control of the County of Oldenburg and adjacent lands.

Dec 30, 2022

About 10% of all German bombs dropped on Wales during WW2 failed to detonate, and local emergency services are called to deal with about 20 bombs a year.

 Wales was a major battleground because of the industrial targets along the Bristol Channel.

Feb 4, 2023

 The detection of a WW2 era bomb in the southern German town of Rastatt on the Karlsruhe-Basel route has disrupted services to the Swiss city of Basel. The bomb is 70 to 80 centimeters and weighs 250 kilograms.

March 6, 2023

What would you do if you saw a man level the gun at the head of a President-elect and get off one shot? On Feb 15, 1933 Lillian Cross grabbed the arm of the gunman, Giuseppe Zangara, an Italian anarchist, and deflected three more shots. FDR was not hurt.  Anton Cermak, the Mayor of Chicago, who was in Miami, Fla to ask for FDR's assistance, died a week later.

Zangara was executed on March 20, 1933.

March 28, 2023

A Roman mosaic, probably belonging to the Durobrivan group from the East Midlands, was uncovered during excavations last week at Olney, Buckinghamshire in England. The area is near the site of a Roman fort probably established between the Claudian invasion of 43 AD and the beginning of the reign of Vespasian in 69 AD. 

May 5, 2023

War events last forever. The pastor of the local church in Sopiv, western Ukraine told the German War Graves Commission of the remains of German soldiers buried in its backyard.  A German medical plane crashed near the village in the region of Ivanko-Frankivsk during WW2.

The German War Graves Commission was founded during the Weimar Republic in the 1920s to recover and bury the dead German soldiers from WW1.

May 18, 2023

This news is about a year old: 3D photos show that the Titanic ran over an emerged shelf of the iceberg, which was the first scenario proposed back in 1912. However, that story got buried under the idea of this 200 foot gash along the side.

Aug 8, 2023

The tradition of filling in the letters on tombstones at Normandy American Cemetery with Omaha Beach sand began in the 1950s. Perfect way to show gratitude!

Sept 6, 2023

Trinidad, a schooner that sank in Lake Michigan in 1881, was found intact. It was carrying a load of coal. Crew survived using a yawl boat.

Dec 9, 2023

 Romania will receive a maritime minesweeper from Great Britain in the next few weeks and will work with Bulgaria and Turkey to search for mines in the Black Sea.

April 29, 2024

An undetonated USA Army bomb from WW2 was discovered recently during renovation work deep within Mainz's soccer stadium in Germany during renovation work and later defused.

 The bomb, which weighed 500 kilograms, was unearthed during construction work for the expansion of a nearby university.

May 28, 2024

INAH, Mexico’s leading archaeology agency, wants  to know how the city of Guanajuato  mishandled the mummified artifacts during a museum renovation. An arm came off of one of the preserved corpses .

The corpses were originally buried in crypts in a dry, mineral-rich soil environment in the mining state of Guanajuato. Some of the corpses still have hair, leathery skin and their original clothing.

June 15, 2024

A Dutch roll is a combination of a plane's tail sliding side to side, and the plane rocking that causes the wings to roll up and down. The term is derived from a description of swaying movement sin a form of ice skating that was once popular in the Netherlands.

The Southwest pilots regained control of the plane and landed at Oakland. No reports of injuries on the flight, which carried 175 passengers and six crew members.

 This incident occurred as the jet cruised at 34,000 feet from Phoenix to Oakland, CA on May 25, 2024.

Aug 10, 2024

This is what the USA State Dept does when it realizes Iran is the threat:  lifts its suspension on certain transfers of air-to-ground munitions to Saudi Arabia

Aug 20, 2024

Great Britain stops Alan Turing's Delilah papers from being sold to a foreign buyer,  which allows time for a UK institution to buy them. He's known for cracking the Nazi's Enigma cipher device.

Sept 2, 2024

 When a WW2 bomb was found at a construction site at PKN Orlen of Litvinov,CZ a Polish oil company, experts decided not to transport the 550lb bomb to a safer place to dispose of it, because it contained a chemical mechanism designed to delay the explosion. They covered the bomb with hundreds of sandbags before the explosion.

 A few broken windows and no major damage from the detonation.

Sept 11th, 2024

Danube river's low level near Prahovo reveals hundreds of scuttled explosive-laden vessels  left by Nazi Germany's Black Sea fleet in 1944 as they retreated from advancing Soviet forces.

Feb 12, 2025

A truck cabin, that was swallowed by a sinkhole in Yashio city near Tokyo two weeks ago, has been located in a nearby sewer pipe, and authorities will need to install a temporary bypass pipe to stop the water flow and access the truck.

Drone images show a human body is inside the cabin, but it is unclear if it is that of the missing 74-year-old driver.

Feb 16, 2025

Adrián Simancas, a kayaker paddling through the Strait of Magellan, off Chile's Patagonian coast, was swallowed by a whale and spat back out unharmed. No time to react.  Slimy nightmares.

May 16, 2025

 German embassy in Japan sent boxes with personal effects to Argentina during WW2 aboard a Japanese steamship,  but Argentina found Nazi items and kept them in the basement of the Supreme Court to avoid questions about neutrality. They were recently  re-discovered.

May 24, 2025

 NCL Salten , a cargo ship, ran aground  near Johan Helberg's home on Trondheim Fjord’s coast in Norway.

He slept through it and woke up when a neighbor started ringing his doorbell. 

No injuries or oil spills were reported.

June 13, 2025

 Archaeologist Marcus Reuter guess, that Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (121-180 C.E.) would not have considered Trump a good leader, is my morning chuckle.

June 19, 2025

An unnamed 80-year-old man drove a compact luxury Mercedes-Benz A Class sedan down the landmark Spanish Steps in Rome and got stuck part of the way down.

He tested negative for alcohol and received a  citation on the spot. The car was removed with a crane

what would you do if