In a move that is long, long, long overdue, the US government has taken steps to begin the process of normalizing relations with Cuba. These moves were the result of 18 months of secret talks facilitated by the Vatican and pope Francis
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In a Congress that is notable for the craziness of some of its members, she truly stood out. Why the people of Minnesota saw fit to elect her so many times is something I will not understand. Stephen Colbert gives her a fond send-off.
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A Cleveland Browns football player Andrew Hawkins wore a shirt during pre-game warm-ups that said “Justice for Tamir Rice and John Crawford”. This was viewed by the local police union chief as an incredible act of disrespect to the police and he demanded an apology from the football team, which they have quite rightly declined to do.
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I came across this nice demo that labels itself ‘the world’s simplest electric train’. It is very clever. I would never have thought of it. It is fun to think about the physics behind it.
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John Kasich, the current governor of Ohio, has been suspected of having presidential ambitions, just waiting for the right moment to join the vast throngs of Republican elected and non-elected people who think they have what it takes to do the job. He has been coy about expressing his ambitions openly but he just gave an indication that he is seriously considering it by taking an action that is blatant pandering to the religious nutters.
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The release of the torture report has brought out the torture architects, perpetrators, and apologists in full force and they are all over the media explaining why brutalizing people in disgusting ways was good and noble and why just the fact that this report was released somehow absolves America for committing these horrendous crimes and proves how great and noble we are.
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Readers must have heard about the case of Heather Cho, a senior Korean Air executive who, on a flight from New York to Seoul, was enraged when the purser (the flight crew chief) served her nuts the wrong way (in a bag and not in a dish) as the plane left the gate and headed for the runway.
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Stephen Colbert is a huge fan of the Hobbit world created by J. R. R. Tolkien and is familiar with the most minute aspects of it. When I saw that he was going to interview Smaug (apparently is a character in some of the books) I thought it would be someone dressed as the character and was wondering whether it would be worth watching since I am not a big fan of the books or the films. I am glad that I did because it was really something to see.
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I remember well how when cell phone usage in the US was just at the beginning stages, taking a trip to Sri Lanka and seeing cell phones all over the place, with people from all walks of life like street vendors, taxi cab drivers, plumbers, electricians, and other small scale businesspeople all using them.
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We need a break from depressing news about torture and what better than some good music?
I love these flash mobs that pop up in public spaces to play the great classical pieces. And there are few pieces more suited to this kind of street art than the last movement from Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, a magnificent piece that never fails to move me however many times I hear it. And since this took place at a street fair in Nurenberg, Germany, there was the added bonus that many of the spectators actually knew the words and could join in on the choral parts.
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