Occupied History

From the BBC:

“Ukraine war: History is rewritten for children in occupied areas”

(Russia's textbook calls the annexation of Crimea a "reunification with Russia" and says Ukraine is run by "radical nationalists")

When Ukrainian children in occupied areas return to school on 1 September, history lessons will be taught very differently. The BBC has discovered that Ukrainian teachers are being pressured to use the Russian curriculum, which means studying the world according to the Kremlin. Most names in this report have been changed. In the occupied areas of Ukraine's south, administrative and educational buildings - including schools - have been dressed with Russian flags. In Russian-controlled Melitopol, Iryna's 13-year-old child is getting ready to begin the 8th grade. Iryna is worried. "What really bothers me [about the Russian curriculum] is what they'll be taught in history. It will be taught from the 'other side'," she says. She's also angered by lessons being held in Russian rather than Ukrainian: "It's the imposition of their traditions and culture - I do not want the children to be hostages to the situation," she said. Users of pro-Russian social media channels have boasted publicly about the attempted erasure of Ukrainian history in occupied areas. There are regular images of Russian forces removing Ukrainian history books from libraries, while Russia's so-called Ministry of Enlightenment has started to provide several occupied areas of Ukraine with Russian textbooks.

The BBC has analysed the content of the main school textbooks approved for use by the Ministry of Enlightenment and the differences with their pre-war 2016 and 2022 editions. Most references to Ukraine and Kyiv were removed. Even "Kyivan Rus" - the name of a medieval Eastern European state with its capital in Kyiv - was replaced with the name "Rus" or just "Old Rus". The books include false statements that during the Russian annexing of Crimea in 2014, people came out to "protect their rights" after "radical nationalists… came to power [in Kyiv] with the support of the West". Meanwhile, in the current version of the textbooks, the number of references to Putin and his achievements has grown. The BBC contacted Russia's Ministry of Enlightenment but did not receive a response.

Iryna has considered leaving for Ukraine-controlled areas but doesn't want to abandon her home. She's adamant that she doesn't want her child to learn under the Russian curriculum, but is concerned about keeping her child at home. In principle, children can learn the Ukrainian curriculum online, but parents are concerned about repercussions. "What if someone informs on us to the new [Russian-installed] authorities or if they start persecuting me and my child for not receiving a Russian education?" she says. On 19 August, a post on the social media platform Telegram from a local pro-Ukrainian outlet quoted a message allegedly sent to parents from a pro-Russian teacher at a school just outside Melitopol. It said that there will be "no remote learning on our liberated territory," which is how the Kremlin describes occupied areas. Parents who refuse to send their children for in-person teaching would be "stripped of parental rights" if they violated the rule multiple times. Meanwhile, parents who agree to send their children to schools in occupied regions of Ukraine will be rewarded. On 24 August, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the one-off payment of 10,000 rubles (£140) to parents, as long as their kids attend a school by 15 September.

Teachers tracked and deported

(Parents are concerned about losing parental rights if their children learn the Ukrainian curriculum)

Pro-Ukrainian teachers have also been hit hard by the war, with some forced to go into hiding, sent for 're-training' and threatened with deportation. Dmytro, a headteacher in Melitopol, had a bustling school of more than 500 pupils before the invasion. Now he's in hiding after being sought out by Russian officials for trying to organise for students to learn the Ukrainian curriculum online. He says he knows teachers who were either forced or decided to cooperate with Russian officials and were sent to Crimea or Russia to be re-trained in a way that's palatable to the Kremlin ideology. "They were told, 'we're Russia, we're one people. We should be united,' and that these narratives should be passed to children," he says. While Dmytro has chosen to stay in Russian-controlled areas, many teachers and parents have decided to leave.

Marina, a teacher from Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region fled at the end of July. Her decision came weeks after armed Russian soldiers and a Russian-installed head of education announced that they were shutting her school because the headteacher would not cooperate with them. She says she has heard of staff shortages in Nova Kakhovka, with some teachers having to teach multiple unrelated subjects. She's worried that the Russian-installed education system will be detrimental to children's sense of identity. "Their main task is to brainwash and to put their own narratives into a child's mind. They want our children to forget what country they've been living in, to forget who they are."

Historical revisionism

(Pro-Russian Telegram channel claims 66,000 Russian textbooks have been delivered to occupied Melitopol)

Leonid Katsva is a Russian author who has taught history to school pupils in Moscow for 42 years. He has seen how history has been misrepresented in Russian textbooks. In the case of the 2014 annexation of Crimea, he says there are "no mentions of activities of any Russian forces in the peninsula." In the next school year, Mr Katsva believes books will likely feature a tough assessment of the West's activities. "Textbooks that are being rigidly moderated now will fully follow the line of Channel One (Russian state TV)," he says. "This is a clear evidence that the Kremlin uses school education as a propaganda tool", says Dmytro from Melitopol. However, he hopes that even with a limited access to an online version of the Ukrainian curriculum, children from his region will still be able to learn the true course of events and have a clearer understanding of Ukraine's recent history. "Our kids keep asking why their schools have been dressed with a flag of another state. What can I say... Even six-year-old children understand this is not normal."

^ I hope the Ukrainian Parents can continue to teach their Children, at home and in secret, about what life was like in a Free Ukraine so they won’t only know Russian Occupation. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-62577314

Canine Center

 

Airlines Promise

From Reuters:

“U.S. airlines commit to providing meals, hotel rooms for extended delays they caused”

Major U.S. airlines told the U.S. Transportation Department (USDOT) they will provide meals for customers delayed by three hours and hotel rooms for stranded passengers if prompted by issues under the airlines' control. American Airlines (AAL.O), United Airlines (UAL.O), Southwest Airlines (LUV.N), Delta Air Lines (DAL.N), JetBlue Airways (JBLU.O) and others detailed commitments in customer service plans they updated this week at USDOT's prompting. Many airlines have previously offered vouchers or hotel rooms for delays they caused but did not spell out commitments in customer service plans.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Aug. 19 that he would publish by Friday, ahead of the busy Labor Day holiday travel weekend, an "interactive dashboard" for air travelers to compare services each large U.S. airline provides when the cancellation or delay was due to circumstances within the airline’s control. Buttigieg had written airline chief executives asking them "at a minimum" to provide meal vouchers for delays of three hours or more and lodging for those who must wait overnight because of disruptions within the carrier’s control. Buttigieg also warned USDOT is "contemplating options" to write new rules "that would further expand the rights of airline passengers."

In the past, some airline customers had to know to ask for vouchers or hotels from airlines. Some airlines said in updated customer service plans that if they cannot find a hotel room, they will provide a voucher or reimburse stranded passenger if they find a reasonably priced room on their own and will reimburse them for transportation. Southwest Airlines said if meal vouchers are not available for a three-hour airport delay under its control they would honor reasonable requests for reimbursement. JetBlue will provide $12 meal vouchers and United Airlines will give meal vouchers for the "reasonable cost of a meal at airport food vendors. If you don’t automatically get one, just ask us" for three-hour delays under their control.

^ Here’s hoping that the Airlines actually do what they promise. ^

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/us-airlines-commit-providing-meals-hotel-rooms-extended-delays-they-caused-2022-08-31/

Variant Boosters

From News Nation:

“COVID boosters targeting newest variants cleared”

The U.S. on Wednesday authorized its first update to COVID-19 vaccines, booster doses that target today’s most common omicron strain. Shots could begin within days. The move by the Food and Drug Administration tweaks the recipe of shots made by Pfizer and rival Moderna that already have saved millions of lives. The hope is that the modified boosters will blunt yet another winter surge. “You’ll see me at the front of the line,” FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks told The Associated Press shortly before his agency cleared the new doses.

Until now, COVID-19 vaccines have targeted the original coronavirus strain, even as wildly different mutants emerged. The new U.S. boosters are combination, or “bivalent,” shots. They contain half that original vaccine recipe and half protection against the newest omicron versions, called BA.4 and BA.5, which are considered the most contagious yet. The combination aims to increase cross-protection against multiple variants. “It really provides the broadest opportunity for protection,” Pfizer vaccine chief Annaliesa Anderson told the AP. The updated boosters are only for people who have already had their primary vaccinations, using the original vaccines. Doses made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech are for anyone 12 and older while Moderna’s updated shots are for adults — if it has been at least two months since their last primary vaccination or their latest booster. They’re not to be used for initial vaccinations.

There’s one more step before a fall booster campaign begins: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must recommend who should get the additional shot. An influential CDC advisory panel will debate the evidence Thursday — including whether people at high risk from COVID-19 should go first. “As we head into fall and begin to spend more time indoors, we strongly encourage anyone who is eligible to consider receiving a booster dose with a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said in a statement.

The U.S. has purchased more than 170 million doses from the two companies. Pfizer said it could ship up to 15 million of those doses by the end of next week. The big question is whether people weary of vaccinations will roll up their sleeves again. Just half of vaccinated Americans got the first recommended booster dose, and only a third of those 50 and older who were urged to get a second booster did so. It’s time for U.S. authorities to better explain that the public should expect an updated COVID-19 vaccination every so often, just like getting a fall flu shot or a tetanus booster after stepping on a rusty nail, said University of Pennsylvania immunologist E. John Wherry. “We need to rebrand it in a societally normal-looking way,” rather than a panicked response to new mutants, Wherry said. “Give a clear, forward-looking set of expectations.”

Here’s the rub: The original vaccines still offer strong protection against severe disease and death from COVID-19 for most generally healthy people, especially if they got that important first booster dose. It’s not clear just how much more benefit an updated booster will bring — beyond a temporary jump in antibodies capable of fending off an omicron infection.

One reason: The FDA cleared the modifications ahead of studies in people, a step toward eventually handling COVID-19 vaccine updates more like yearly flu shots. First, FDA checked human studies of earlier Pfizer and Moderna attempts to update their vaccines — shots matching the omicron strain that struck last winter. That recipe change was safe, and substantially boosted antibodies targeting the earlier variant — better than another dose of the original vaccine — while adding a little protection against today’s genetically distinct BA.4 and BA.5 omicron versions. But FDA ordered the companies to brew even more up-to-date doses that target those newest omicron mutants instead, sparking a race to roll out shots in less than three months. Rather than waiting a few more months for additional human studies of that recipe tweak, Marks said animal tests showed the latest update spurs “a very good immune response.” The hope, he said, is that a vaccine matched to currently spreading variants might do a better job fighting infection, not just serious illness, at least for a while.

What’s next? Even as modified shots roll out, Moderna and Pfizer are conducting human studies to help assess their value, including how they hold up if a new mutant comes along. And for children, Pfizer plans to ask FDA to allow updated boosters for 5- to 11-year-olds in early October. It’s the first U.S. update to the COVID-19 vaccine recipe, an important but expected next step — like how flu vaccines get updated every year. And the U.S. isn’t alone. Britain recently decided to offer adults over 50 a different booster option from Moderna, a combo shot targeting that initial BA.1 omicron strain. European regulators are considering whether to authorize one or both of the updated formulas.

^ One step closer to getting this ready before Fall. ^

https://www.newsnationnow.com/health/coronavirus/vaccine/covid-boosters-targeting-newest-variants-cleared/

50: Compensation

From the BBC:

“Munich Olympics massacre compensation deal struck”

(The hostage situation ended in a bungled raid by German authorities)

Germany has agreed a compensation deal with the relatives of Israelis killed during the 1972 Munich Olympics. Eleven Israeli athletes were killed after being taken hostage by members of a Palestinian militant group. The €28m (£24m) deal was struck days before the 50th anniversary of the tragedy.Families earlier this month threatened to boycott commemorations of the tragedy, saying the amount they were offered was too low. Israeli President Isaac Herzog welcomed the deal, calling it was an "important step by the German government". The Munich massacre on 5 September 1972 is one of the darkest chapters in Olympic history. Members of the Israeli team were taken hostage inside the Olympic village by Palestinian gunmen from the Black September group. Two were shot dead almost immediately, while the others were killed during a gun battle with West German police at a nearby airfield, as the militants tried to take them out of the country. In a joint statement, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Mr Herzog said they were "happy and relieved" that an agreement on historical clarification had been reached. Germany has also said it will declassify documents related to the hostage-taking and the botched rescue operation. For many years, the victims' families have blamed German authorities for not doing enough to protect athletes and failing to be transparent about its security shortfalls.

^ The West German Government, the West German Military, the West German Police and the vast majority of West Germans in 1972  supported the Palestinian Terrorists over the murdered Israelis - it was only 27 years after the Holocaust and the murder of 6 Million Jews by the Germans (and Nazis were still openly allowed in every aspect of West German Society from the top-down.)

The thought back then was "What's another dead Jew on German soil?" or "They (the Terrorists) are just finishing what we (the Germans) started."

50 years later and the Germans have finally started to make up for their past mistake - with regards to not trying to save the Israeli Olympic Team, for letting the 2 Palestinian Terrorists that survived to go free a month later, etc. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-62742124

EU Suspends Accord

From the DW:

“EU foreign ministers agree to suspend Russian visa accord”

(People walk towards the Estonia-Russia border)

EU foreign ministers have agreed to suspend a 2007 visa facilitation agreement with Russia over the country's war in Ukraine, top EU diplomat Josep Borrell announced on Wednesday. "This will significantly reduce the number of new visas issued by the EU member states. It's going to be more difficult, it's going to take longer," Borrell said at the end of a two-day meeting of foreign ministers in Prague. He also said there had been a substantial increase in border crossings from Russia into neighboring states since mid-July. "This has become a security risk for these neighboring states," Borrell added. "In addition to that, we have seen many Russians traveling for leisure and shopping as if no war was raging in Ukraine." The move was particularly welcomed by member states that border Russia. "We need to immediately ramp up the price to Putin's regime,'' Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu told reporters. "The loss of time is paid by the blood of Ukrainians.'' "It's important that we show that at the same time when Ukrainians are suffering, normal tourism shouldn't continue business as usual,'' Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said

How will visa process change? The move is designed to prevent "visa shopping" by Russian applicants seeking easier entry to the European Union through member states with laxer rules, the EU foreign policy chief said. Such a move would make the EU visa process more complicated, more expensive and more bureaucratic, as well as increasing waiting times for approval, according to European Commission guidelines.  Students, journalists and those who fear for their safety in Russia would still be able to acquire visas. The move would have no immediate impact on the estimated 12 million visas already issued to Russian citizens, but EU officials are looking into what could be done to freeze them. The suspension comes after weeks of pressure from EU countries bordering Russia, such a s Finland and Estonia, to crack down on Russian nationals traveling to the bloc on Schengen visas issued by some EU member states. Diplomats said the EU ministers could not agree immediately on a blanket ban of travel visas for Russians as member states were split on the issue. However, Finland's top diplomat Haavisto said that the European Union's move to restrict travel visas for Russians due to Moscow's war in Ukraine is a step "in the right direction" if implemented by member states.

How many Russians visit the EU? According to the EU border control agency Frontex, almost a million travelers with Russian passports have come to the EU since the war in Ukraine started six months ago. The overwhelming majority of these travelers arrived in Finland (333,000), Estonia (234,000), and Lithuania (132,000). The high number of trips by land to countries neighboring the EU can be explained by the lack of direct flights between Russia and the bloc since the outbreak of the war. As a result, countries like Germany and France are now more difficult to reach.

^ молодец Евросою́з! Russians should not be able to go to the EU (or the UK, the US, Canada, etc.) as Tourists or Businessmen/women while their country continues to butcher innocent Ukrainian Men, Women and Children. ^

https://www.dw.com/en/eu-foreign-ministers-agree-to-suspend-russian-visa-accord/a-62983438

No Gray Area

 

In the past 6 months of Russia’s War in Ukraine I have done everything I can to help the Ukrainians win and to help the Russians be defeated.

There hasn’t been any Gray Area in this War since April 2022 when the World learned firsthand about all the Russian War Crimes. You either support Ukraine and the Ukrainians or you support the Russian Nazis and their War Crimes. Period.

I am proud to say that I have helped all aspects of Ukraine’s Fight for its Freedom. I have helped the Internally-Displaced Ukrainians, the Internationally-Displaced Ukrainians, the Ukrainian Government, the Ukrainian Military, the Ukrainian Red Cross, Ukrainian Animal Charities and Groups, etc.

The Donations I have given have both helped the Innocent Ukrainian Victims (Men, Women, Children and Animals) as well as helped to Kill Russian Soldiers and Occupation Officials. Again, I am proud of that.

Of course the blunt of the fight is being carried out by every Ukrainian – those currently living in the Ukrainian Held Areas as well as those currently living under Russian Occupation.

The more we (every Man, Woman and Child) helps the Ukrainians defeat Russia the sooner the  Russian Genocide in Ukraine will end and the sooner the whole world will no longer have to worry about: High Food Prices, High Gas Prices, High Electric Bills, High Heating Bills or the Fear of a Nuclear Holocaust.

Ukraine and the Ukrainians didn't ask or want this War - only the Russian Nazis did.

I Masticate

I love to masticate. I masticate at least three times a day (sometimes more.) I masticate in private, but it is more fun to masticate in public. I like to sit with friends and family and masticate together. I'm a masticator -  are you? Don't lie. Everyone masticates.

FYI: Masticate = To grind or crush food with or as if with the teeth. To chew.  (Not what you thought? You dirty bird.)

Pumpkin, Apple & Maple

Tomorrow, every place will be filled with nothing but Pumpkin Spice from now until the end of November. I have to say I'm not a fan of it (come on all of you Trolls working for the Pumpkin Spice Industrial Complex.)

 I prefer Maple (Maple Candies, Maple Syrup, Maple Butter, Maple Ice Cream, etc.) and Apple Cider (cold Apple Cider Drink, Hot Apple Cider Drink, Apple Cider Doughnuts, etc.) I get my Maple products and Apple Cider products from places down the road from me. I can literally smell them being made.

September Streaming

From Market Watch:

“Opinion: From ‘Andor’ to ‘The Rings of Power,’ here’s what’s worth streaming in September 2022”

It’ll be worth splurging a little — or a lot — on streaming subscriptions in September. From the well-rounded offerings of Disney+ — including “She-Hulk,” “Andor” and “Mighty Ducks: Game Changers” — to Amazon’s blockbuster “Lord of the Rings” prequel series “The Rings of Power,” to Hulu’s stockpile of quality comedies, to HBO’s compelling “House of the Dragon,” there is no shortage of must-see fall TV on the way. And the best of it can be had for less than $50 in total. Each month, this column offers tips on how to maximize your streaming — along with your budget — rating the major services as a “play,” “pause” or “stop,” similar to investment analysts’ traditional ratings of buy, hold and sell, and picks the best content to help you make your monthly decisions. As we’ve previously mentioned, consumers can take full advantage of cord-cutting though a churn-and-return strategy — that’s adding and dropping streaming services each month — and all it takes is good planning. Keep in mind that a billing cycle starts when you sign up, not necessarily at the beginning of a month. Also keep an eye out for lower-priced tiers, limited-time discounts (HBO Max has a 40% off deal right now), free trials and cost-saving bundles. There are a lot of offers out there, but the deals don’t last forever. Here’s a look at what’s coming to the various streaming services in September 2022, and what’s really worth the monthly subscription fee.

Disney+ ($7.99 a month) Disney+ recently announced a price hike that’ll take effect before the end of the year, but if its programming lineup remains as strong as it is right now, it’s a good bet that most subscribers will be willing to pay more. This month’s big addition is the long-anticipated (and delayed by a month) “Rogue One” prequel “Andor” (Sept. 21), starring Diego Luna as the spy Cassian Andor in the early days of the rebellion against the evil Galactic Empire. It’s a longer season — 12 episodes — than previous “Star Wars” spinoffs, and a second season is already in the works. One hugely encouraging sign: It’s helmed by Tony Gilroy, who co-wrote “Rogue One,” along with four “Bourne” movies and “Michael Clayton.” Could this finally be a “Star Wars” show for grown-ups, darker and grittier, that expands the story well beyond worn-out Tatooine and the all-too-familiar Skywalker clan? Fingers crossed, but hopes are high. “The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers” (Sept. 28), the surprisingly fun sequel series to the ’90s movie franchise, is back for a second season of youth hockey hijinks. The always delightful Lauren Graham returns, but the face of the franchise — Emilio Estevez’s hotshot player-turned- grumpy coach Gordon Bombay — is out, and will be replaced by Josh Duhamel, who’ll play a former NHL player running a summer hockey camp. Whatever your dreams of the future might be, our FREE retirement planner can help. Build your financial plan: Set your goals, take control, make better decisions and stay on track. There’s also a live-action reboot of “Pinocchio” (Sept. 8), directed by Robert Zemeckis, and starring Tom Hanks as Geppetto opposite a slightly creepy-looking computer-generated Pinocchio; “Hocus Pocus 2” (Sept. 30), a sequel to the beloved 1993 supernatural comedy, with Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy and Bette Midler reprising their roles as a trio of villainous witch sisters; and the streaming debut of this summer’s Marvel blockbuster “Thor: Love and Thunder” (Sept. 18), starring Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman’s biceps. Disney is also adding a slate of ESPN’s “30 for 30” sports documentaries (Sept. 2), and in a game-changing move, “Dancing With the Stars” (Sept. 19) will become the streamer’s first live weekly series, as the hit celebrity dancing competition moves over from ABC. And don’t forget new episodes every week of Marvel’s breezy superhero comedy “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.” 

Who’s Disney+ for? Families with kids, and hardcore “Star Wars” and Marvel fans. For those not in those groups, Disney’s library can be lacking.

Play, pause or stop? Play. There’s a lot to offer, and something for everyone.

Hulu ($6.99 a month, or $12.99 with no ads) For years, this column has dubbed Hulu the best value in streaming — but it’ll lose a big chunk of that value in September, as next-day streaming of NBC and Bravo shows ends. It’s part of the gradual unraveling of Hulu, as a longtime content-sharing deal between majority owner Disney DIS, -1.03% and minority stakeholder Comcast CMCSA, -0.84% expires, and Comcast migrates its most valuable NBCUniversal programming to its own streaming service, Peacock. While older seasons of many NBCUniversal series will remain on Hulu — at least for a while, thanks to long-term licensing contracts — next-day streaming of current NBCU shows like “Saturday Night Live” will stop, and will stream exclusively on Peacock instead. But some library shows are leaving right away — such as all seasons of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Top Chef” and the “Real Housewives” franchises (all leaving Sept. 18). But onto the good news: Hulu still has a ton of new series on the way. “The Handmaid’s Tale” (Sept. 14) returns for its fifth season, and the grim, dystopian drama has never been quite as timely, coming after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. The new season finds June (Elisabeth Moss) still fighting Gilead after escaping to Canada, while grieving widow Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski) finds a new fan in a certain Mrs. Wheeler (Genevieve Angelson), a villain who poses a major new threat. After a two-year layoff, the thoughtful clash-of-cultures comedy “Ramy” (Sept. 30) returns for its third season. Ramy Youssef stars as an Egyptian-American slacker navigating life in New Jersey, who, this season, will abandon his rather disastrous spiritual journey and focus instead on working at his uncle’s diamond business. Donald Glover’s “Atlanta” (Sept. 16) is also back for its fourth and final season, just a few months after the finale of an uneven Season 3. The new season finds Earn (Glover), Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry), Darius (LeKeith Stanfield) and Van (Zazie Beetz) back in Atlanta after their European travels, and promises to be a “nostalgic” goodbye. New episodes will stream a day after they first air on FX. There’s also “Reboot” (Sept. 20), a very meta sitcom about a rebooted sitcom and its reunited, dysfunctional cast, starring Keegan-Michael Key, Rachel Bloom and Judy Greer; “Tell Me Lies” (Sept. 7), a twisty, toxic-relationship drama starring Grace Van Patten and Jackson White; a new season of “The Kardashians” (Sept. 22); and a slew of fall-premiere ABC and Fox shows, such as the excellent “Abbott Elementary,” “The Goldbergs” and “The Masked Singer” (all Sept 22); “Bob’s Burgers” and “The Simpsons” (both Sept. 26); and “Bachelor in Paradise” (Sept. 28). And look for new episodes every week of “Archer,” “The Patient,” “What We Do in the Shadows” (season finale Sept. 4), “Welcome to Wrexham” (season finale Sept. 14) and “Reservation Dogs” (season finale Sept. 28), as well as all 10 eps of August’s under-the-radar but very funny gang member-rehabilitation comedy “This Fool.”

Who’s Hulu for? TV lovers. There’s a deep library for those who want older TV series, and next-day streaming for many current network and cable shows.

Play, pause or stop? Play. Though “The Handmaid’s Tale” can be misery porn, it’s offset by Hulu’s unrivaled lineup of outstanding comedies. But be advised: Prices are going up in October.

Amazon’s Prime Video ($14.99 a month) September is arguably the biggest month ever for Amazon’s Prime Video, which will premiere the long-awaited and massively expensive “The Lord of the Rings” prequel series “The Rings of Power” and kick off exclusive coverage of NFL Thursday Night Football. Coming two decades after Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy reaped nearly $3 billion at the global box office, the first season alone of “The Rings of Power” (Sept. 2) reportedly cost roughly $715 million — the most expensive TV show ever — and Amazon is planning an ambitious five-season run. Based on the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, the series takes place in the Second Age of Middle Earth, thousands of years before the events of “The Lord of the Rings,” and will reveal how the kingdoms and alliances of men, elves, dwarves and Harfoots (think pre-hobbits) were forged — along with the magical rings — and chronicle the rise of an evil that their world has never before seen. The sprawling cast includes Morfydd Clark, Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Sophia Nomvete, Ismael Cruz Cordova and Nazanin Boniandi. The first two episodes will drop at once, with new episodes coming every Friday. The trailers look spectacular, and it should be interesting to see how “Rings” fares in a nearly head-to-head battle with another fantasy blockbuster, HBO’s “Game of Thrones” prequel series “House of the Dragon.” Amazon  AMZN, -1.53% has committed even more money ($13.2 billion over 10 years) for exclusive rights to the most lucrative programming in the U.S. — NFL football. While Prime Video has streamed 11 Thursday-night games every season since 2017, this is the first time the games won’t air anywhere else. Prime Video will stream 15 exclusive regular-season games Thursday Night Football games starting Sept. 15, with the Chiefs hosting the Chargers. There’s also the Boeing 737 Max documentary  “Flight/Risk” (Sept. 9); Season 2 of the trans family drama “September Mornings” (Sept. 23); and the addition of all five seasons of the beloved high-school football drama “Friday Night Lights” (Sept. 1). You can also catch up with the uneven but likeable “A League of Their Own” reboot and new episodes every week of Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum’s fashion competition “Making the Cut.”

Who’s Amazon Prime Video for? Movie lovers, TV-series fans who value quality over quantity.

Play, pause or stop? Play. “The Rings of Power” looks fantastic, and exclusive NFL games are an added bonus. And if you get bored, a “Friday Night Lights” rewatch is never a bad idea (though maybe skip most of Season 2).

HBO Max ($14.99 a month without ads, or $9.99 with ads) HBO Max is offering 40% off a 12-month subscription through Oct. 30, which is a great deal, but it comes a very odd time, amid a slashing of original content and jobs from new corporate parent Warner Bros. Discovery WBD, 0.19%, and an unusually slow month of programming. The cuts at HBO Max have been disturbing, with not-yet-completed movies (such as the $90 million “Batgirl”) getting yanked along with a swath of series cancellations and the removal of hundreds of episodes of original content — particularly in animation — all in an apparent effort to save money through tax write-offs and eliminating residual payments to creators. And while it’s one thing to cancel a project, it’s quite another to entirely remove it from the archives, especially when it may have little or no availability on other platforms. The content slashing has sparked a backlash among subscribers and serves as a bitter reminder that the entertainment business is, first and foremost, a business, and often that comes at the expense of the creative side. What makes it even more of a shame is that HBO Max has quickly built itself into the premiere streaming service, and the cuts threaten to severely tarnish its reputation among subscribers and Hollywood creatives alike, who are left to wonder if fan-favorite but less-popular titles will simply vanish. Meanwhile, HBO is resting on its laurels in September — and why wouldn’t it, with new episodes every week of the blockbuster “Game of Thrones” prequel series “House of the Dragon”? There’s not a lot else, though. The bilingual horror comedy “Los Espookys” (Sept. 16) is one highlight, returning for its second season, and Baz Luhrmann’s recent musical biopic hit “Elvis” (Sept. 2), starring Austin Butler, will make its streaming debut. Max is also adding a selection of Magnolia Network programming (Sept. 30), with a slew of home and lifestyle shows from Chip and Joanna Gaines, while “The Vampire Diaries” (Sept. 4) and “Gotham” (Sept. 30) will migrate over from Netflix. There are also new eps of the addictive investment-bank drama “Industry” (season finale Sept. 19) and the brilliantly filthy animated supervillain series “Harley Quinn” (season finale Sept. 15).

Who’s HBO Max for? HBO fans and movie lovers.

Play, pause or stop? Pause and think it over. “House of the Dragon” is great, but there’s not much else there right now. If you’re not a Westeros fan, save your money for another month (for example: Season 2 of “The White Lotus” is coming in October).

Paramount+ ($4.99 a month with ads but not live CBS, $5.99 a month with ads, $9.99 without ads) September features the sixth and final season of arguably the best series on Paramount+, the legal drama “The Good Fight” (Sept. 8), which will see Diane (Christine Baranski) despondent over the political state of the country and her life. Andre Braugher and John Slattery join the cast this year, and Alan Cumming will reprise his “Good Wife” role as Eli Gold. It’s a solidly entertaining and addictive show, and makes a Paramount+ subscription at least worth thinking about. Meanwhile, the David Boreanaz military drama “SEAL Team” (Sept. 18) has a new exclusive home, moving over from CBS, and “Ink Master” (Sept. 7) has a new host, Good Charlotte frontman Joel Madden. Fall brings new seasons of plenty of other CBS shows, such as “NCIS” and “NCIS: Hawaii” (Sept. 19); all three “FBI” shows (Sept. 20); and “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race” (Sept. 21). There are also new episodes every week of “Blood & Treasure,” “Star Trek: Lower Decks” and “Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head,” the return of college football on Saturdays starting Sept. 3, NFL football on Sundays starting Sept. 11, and plenty of soccer. Also of note: A live Taylor Hawkins tribute concert (Sept. 3) for the late Foo Fighters drummer, featuring an all-star lineup of musicians.

Who’s Paramount+ for? Gen X cord-cutters who miss live sports and familiar Paramount Global PARA, -2.90%  broadcast and cable shows.

Play, pause or stop? Pause. If you’re a fan of “The Good Fight,” CBS shows or live sports, it may be worth signing up. But the budget play may be to wait until “The Good Fight” ends, subscribe for a month and binge then.

Peacock (free basic level, Premium for $4.99 a month with ads, or $9.99 a month with no ads) As mentioned previously, Peacock is benefiting from the gradual split between Disney and Comcast over at Hulu, and will become the exclusive next-day streaming home of current NBC and Bravo shows starting Sept. 18. And as further enticement, Peacock is offering Premium subscriptions at a discount of $1.99 a month, or $19.99 for a year, through September. The new season of “Saturday Night Live” won’t debut until October, but September will feature next-day streaming of Bravo hits such as the various “Real Housewives” and “Below Deck” iterations, and NBC shows like the rebooted and intriguing “Quantum Leap” (Sept. 20), starring Raymond Lee, Ernie Hudson and Caitlin Bassett; Dick Wolf’s “Chicago” trio — “Fire,” “Med” and “P.D.” — (Sept. 22) and the “Law & Order” trifecta (Sept. 23). Peacock also has “Last Light” (Sept. 9), a five-episode apocalyptic thriller starring Matthew Fox in his first big role since “Lost”; “Vampire Academy” (Sept. 15), a YA fantasy series based on the books by Richelle Mead about two young women, played by Sisi Stringer and Daniela Nieves, as they prepare to enter vampire society; “Meet Cute” (Sept. 21), an original rom-com starring Pete Davidson and Kaley Cuoco involving the use of time travel to recreate a perfect first date; and the streaming premiere of the objectively terrible summer hit “Jurassic World: Dominion” (Sept. 2). Peacock will also be the only place to watch the long-running soap “Days of Our Lives” (Sept. 12), which moves over from NBC after 57 years, and all seasons of the classic Fox sitcom “That ’70s Show” arrives Sept. 1. A loaded live-sports lineup includes the return of NFL football on Thursday, Sept. 8, with the Bills vs. Rams; Sunday Night Football starting Sept. 11; Sunday morning MLB games; Notre Dame football starting Sept. 10; and a strong weekly lineup of English Premier League soccer, golf and IndyCar racing.

Who’s Peacock for? If you like network and basic-cable TV, a good movie lineup and don’t mind ads, the free version of Peacock is great. And if you have a Comcast or Cox cable subscription, you likely have free access to the Premium tier (with ads). But the addition of next-day streaming of current broadcast and cable shows is a big deal and really bolsters the case for paying for Peacock — especially at the current discount rate.

Play, pause or stop? Pause. If you’re a cord-cutter who likes NBCUniversal shows and/or live sports, there’s a strong case to be made.

Netflix ($9.99 a month for basic, $15.49 standard or $19.99 premium) It’s a surprisingly slow month for Netflix NFLX, -1.70%. The fan-favorite “Karate Kid” spinoff series “Cobra Kai” (Sept. 9), starring Ralph Macchio and William Zabka, returns for its fifth season, and the ever-comforting “Great British Baking Show” (date TBA) is back for another season. And MarketWatch readers should appreciate “Eat the Rich: The GameStop Saga” (Sept. 28), a documentary about the meme-stock phenomenon. Then there’s the buzzy and NC-17 Marilyn Monroe biopic “Blonde” (Sept. 28), starting Ana de Armas, which director Andrew Dominik promises will be a nightmarish peek into a life spinning out of control that will “offend everyone.” So…OK then! But aside from that, Netflix doesn’t have a whole lot. “Do Revenge” (Sept. 16), a dark comedy about high school girls wreaking revenge on their enemies, starring Camila Mendes and Maya Hawke, could be decent, as could “Lou” (Sept. 23), a “Taken”-like action thriller starring Allison Janney. But the vast majority of Netflix’s new additions are uninspiring throwaways like “Floor Is Lava” (Sept. 30), “Love Is Blind: After the Altar” (Sept. 16) and Rob Zombie’s reboot of “The Munsters” (Sept. 27).

Who’s Netflix for? Fans of buzz-worthy original shows and movies.

Play, pause or stop? Stop. Not much to see here, try another month.

Apple TV+ ($4.99 a month) It’s an unusually slow month for Apple AAPL, -1.40% as well, with only a handful of notable premieres: the third season of the animated musical “Central Park” (Sept. 9); “Gutsy” (Sept. 9), a docuseries from Hillary and Chelsea Clinton celebrating inspirational women; “Sidney” (Sept. 23), a terrific-looking documentary film about screen legend Sidney Poitier; and “The Greatest Beer Run Ever” (Sept. 30), an action-comedy movie based on the true story of a Marine veteran (Zac Efron) who decides to sneak into Vietnam and deliver beer and messages from home to his friends serving overseas. There are also new episodes every week of “See,” the delightfully nasty “Bad Sisters” and “Five Days at Memorial.”

Who’s Apple TV+ for? It offers a little something for everyone, but not necessarily enough for anyone — though it’s getting there.

Play, pause or stop? Stop. There’s just not enough to justify a subscription this month.

Discovery+ ($4.99 a month, $6.99 ad-free) You know exactly what you’re getting every month with Discovery+, and this time around the relationship/lifestyle/true crime/paranormal highlights include: “90 Day: The Single Life” (Sept. 12), a new season with now-single “90 Day” fan favorites back in the dating scene; “Deadliest Catch: The Viking Returns” (Sept. 13), as crabber (and often crabby) Sig Hansen brings his family to his ancestral home of Norway to start a new family fishing empire; Food Network’s “Halloween Baking Championship” (Sept. 12), with judges Stephanie Boswell, Carla Hall and Zac Young; “Bobby’s Triple Threat” (Sept. 27), with Iron Chef Bobby Flay taking on multiple challengers in the kitchen at one time; HGTV mainstay “Love It Or List It” (Sept. 12); a new season of “Ghost Adventures” (Sept. 15); and a new season of ID’s long-running true-crime newsmagazine “On the Case with Paula Zahn” (Sept. 15).

Who’s Discovery+ for? Cord cutters who miss their unscripted TV or who are really, really into “90 Day Fiancé.”

Play, pause or stop?  Stop. Sorry. Discovery+ is still fantastic for background TV, but it’s not worth the cost. Still, it should add value when the reconfigured Warner Bros. Discovery combines it with HBO Max next summer.

^ This gave a good summary of the different Streaming Services and what they are offering in September. ^

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/from-andor-to-the-rings-of-power-heres-whats-worth-streaming-in-september-2022-11661813267?siteid=yhoof2

Airlines' 270%

From News Nation:

“US airline complaints up 270% as travel chaos continues”

Consumer complaints against U.S. airlines are climbing as the industry continues to face staffing shortages. A new report from the U.S. Department of Transportation found that the number of complaints against airlines is up nearly 270% compared to pre-pandemic levels. In June, nearly 30% of complaints were from scheduling issues, and 25% stemmed from refund problems. If your flight is canceled, the airlines have to give you a full refund to wherever you paid it. “Some of them … try and trick you and say, ‘Hey … take a travel voucher that’s going to expire in a year.’ Don’t do it,” travel journalist Johnny Jet said Monday night on “NewsNation Prime.” “If they cancel your flight, you get the money back.” The good news is that US. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announced a new dashboard of rules, which will make it easier for Americans to get their money back when things go wrong in air travel. The new rule would give people the right to a cash refund — not a voucher — “if airlines cancel or significantly change their flights.” Many people are wondering if travel chaos will continue into the holiday season. Jet predicts travel delays will not be as bad during the holiday season, but he encourages travelers to still “pack your patience.” It never hurts to have a plan B.

^ The only thing I am surprised about all of this is the low percentage of complaints. I thought it would be more than 270%. ^

https://www.newsnationnow.com/business/us-airline-complaints-up-270-as-travel-chaos-continues/

Russian Genders

When I was learning Russian (in Russia by non-English Speaking Russians) I was told the best way to remember the Gender of a Noun (Masculine, Feminine or Neutral) is by what it does.

Since English Nouns don't have Genders, like most other Languages do, it's hard for English-Speakers to understand.

Examples I was given (by a Female Teacher):

If the thing tends to break-down or not work when you need it to then it is Feminine like: Car/Machine (машина.)

If it always works then it is Masculine like: Husband (муж.)

If it sometimes works then it is Neutral like: Body (тело.)

Note: I asked my Teacher if Russia (Россия) – which is Feminine would break-down or not work when you need it to.  The same with Moscow (Москва.)

She looked around the Classroom as though someone else was there except Her and Me and said, in Russian: “No. Russia and Moscow always works and is the exception to the rule.”

Years later and I guess she was wrong because Russia is breaking-down and not working when you need it to – just ask the Ukrainian Farmers who are using their Tractors to destroy the Russian Occupation Forces there.

In case you really want to know how to tell the Gender of a Russian Word:

If it ends in a Consonant or the letter "й" then it is Masculine.

If it ends in "а" or "я” then it is Feminine.

If it ends in "o", "e" or "ë" then it is Neutral.

Of course as with all Languages there are exceptions to this.

NASA And WiFi

 

25: Princess Diana

From Reuters:

“Twenty-five years since Paris death, Princess Diana still captivates”

A quarter of a century after her death at the age of just 36, Princess Diana remains a source of fascination to people around the world and her fate still casts a shadow over the British royals. Diana was killed on Aug. 31, 1997, when the limousine carrying her and her lover Dodi al-Fayed crashed in the Pont de L’Alma tunnel in Paris as it sped away from chasing paparazzi photographers on motorbikes. Her death plunged the monarchy into crisis, coming after the highly public disintegration of her marriage to heir Prince Charles with its revelations of feuding, adultery, and the misery she had felt in her royal role. Millions globally mourned the "people's princess", as the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair described Diana, who was one the world's most recognised and photographed woman.

Twenty-five years on, her allure shows little sign of faltering. There has been "Spencer", a movie about the tumultuous end of Charles and Diana's marriage; "The Princess", a documentary by Oscar-nominated director Ed Perkins; while the hit Netflix drama "The Crown" has focused on Diana in its recent series. There have been books, countless newspaper articles, numerous TV programmes, recriminations over a controversial 1995 interview she gave to the BBC, and even "Diana, The Musical", a much panned and shortlived Broadway show. "Diana still has an impact, there are still documentaries being made about her, stories written about her, people are still intrigued by this woman," said author Andrew Morton, whose 1992 biography first exposed the deep divisions in her marriage and with whom she secretly cooperated. “She just had a charisma, she had an appeal which went beyond her royal moniker - it was of an extraordinary human being," Morton told Reuters.

OMNIPRESENT For the royals themselves, Diana is still omnipresent, not least for her two sons, Princes William, 40, and Harry, 37, who have spoken of the trauma her death caused, and how it affected their mental health for years afterwards. They were just 15 and 12 when they walked slowly behind their mother's coffin, past a throng of mourners, through the streets of London to her funeral. "Every day, we wish she were still with us," William said when the two brothers unveiled a statue in her honour last year at Kensington Palace in central London, her former home. "I feel her presence in almost everything that I do now," Prince Harry told a U.S. television interview in April. Prince Charles has slowly emerged from the shadow cast by his ex-wife's death, and has now been married for 17 years to Camilla, the woman Diana held responsible for their relationship failing. But, polls show the issue lingers with some. "I think there's a generation of people still around who feel that she (Camilla) was to blame for the break-up of the fairytale marriage," Morton said. The enduring fascination is also not just with her life, but the manner of her death. A lengthy inquest concluded in 2008 Diana and al-Fayed were unlawfully killed by the grossly negligent driving of chauffeur Henri Paul and paparazzi photographers pursuing their limousine. Al-Fayed's father, Mohamed, had claimed the killing was carried out by British secret service on the orders of Queen Elizabeth's late husband Prince Philip. A police investigation which looked at whether she might have been murdered, dismissed a host of conspiracy theories and determined Paul had been drunk and was driving too fast. But, speculation that she was a victim of an assassination plot still endures, and one of Diana's former bodyguards made headlines this week by suggesting British security officers might have inadvertently caused the crash.

WHY THE INTEREST STILL? So why does Diana and her death generate such interest? "I think the only other moment in my life that I really feel like time just stopped was 9/11," filmmaker Perkins told Reuters. "Diana's death really was a moment where the whole world just seemed to be focused on this singular event." He was 11 at the time, and remembers the collective outpouring of emotion and the unprecedented scenes of mourning. "We as humans have been telling ourselves variations of the fairytale myth for thousands and thousands of years. And suddenly this real life fairytale sort of came into being," he said. "And this marriage, this fairytale romance, came onto the public stage and gave a lot of people a beacon of hope, something that they really bought into and wanted to work. And I think a lot of people became emotionally invested in wanting that story to work." In his 2010 biography, Blair wrote that his famous description of the "people’s princess" now seemed "corny" and "over the top", but said it was how Diana saw herself and should be remembered. "Was Diana, the queen of people's hearts? Just look at the evidence," Morton said. "The mountains of flowers, the fact that people mourned her loss probably in some ways greater than their own members of their own family."

^ I remember hearing about her Death. I was going back home from a Family Vacation and heard it on the radio. So many people around the world continue to praise and remember her because of all the good she did in such a short time. The fact that her death continues to remain a mystery – maybe not officially, but to many still – adds to the interest. With everything we know about Princess Diana it makes you stop and think how much good she could have accomplished had she not died. ^

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/twenty-five-years-since-paris-death-princess-diana-still-captivates-2022-08-24/

Mikhail Gorbachev

From the MT:

“Mikhail Gorbachev, Last Soviet Leader and Architect of Perestroika, Dies at 91”

Mikhail Gorbachev, whose actions as the last General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union helped shape the world as we know it today, died after a "serious and long illness" late Tuesday, the state-run TASS news agency reported, citing the Moscow Central Clinical Hospital. He was 91.

His era started in 1985 with the reform of the Soviet system forever known by its Russian name, perestroika, and ended with the coup that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.  While he was admired in the West for his role in ending the Cold War, he was a divisive figure at home, perceived to have instituted policies that precipitated the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the economic chaos and loss of superpower status that followed.

Gorbachev was born on March 2, 1931, to a family of Russian-Ukrainian peasants in the village of Privolnoye, in the southwestern part of Soviet Russia.  The village was collectivized under Soviet leader’s Joseph Stalin’s first five-year plan that included forced consolidation of small landholdings into state-controlled farms, a process that claimed the lives of millions of peasants throughout the Soviet Union.  Both of Gorbachev’s grandfathers were sent to Gulag labor camps during Stalin’s repressions of the 1930s, and his family endured the 1932-33 famine.  Those early experiences shaped Gorbachev’s views on Stalinism and the use of violence as means to power, according to his biographer William Taubman. 

Gorbachev joined the Communist Party while in high school. He won a scholarship to the most prestigious university in the Soviet Union, Moscow State University, where he excelled and graduated from the law faculty with the highest honors. He also met and married the love of his life, Raisa.  He attracted the attention of the Politburo in 1974 when, as party boss in the Stavropol region, his construction of the Great Stavropol Canal provided necessary irrigation and produced record crops. In 1978, he joined the ranks of the Soviet ruling elite in Moscow when he was appointed Secretary of the Central Committee.  That same year he became the party secretary responsible for agriculture as the collective farming model began to falter. Gorbachev attempted to modernize the Soviet agricultural sector by introducing mechanization.  During these years he also traveled  to Western Europe in Soviet delegations which continued to expand and shape his views on the world and politics.

When Gorbachev was appointed to the top job in 1985, the U.S.S.R. was in economic, social and political decline after the so-called “stagnation” period under Leonid Brezhnev and the short-lived tenures of Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko.  His twin policies of perestroika — rebuilding — and glasnost — openness — aimed to restructure the Soviet system and bring transparency to its politics by loosening state censorship. Gorbachev also sought to shift control from the Politburo to the Soviet people by implementing a democratically elected parliament.  He attempted to reform the Soviet centrally-planned economy by allowing state enterprises to determine their output levels based on demand and permitting self-financing. The state would no longer rescue unprofitable enterprises, and control shifted from state to elected workers’ collectives. Most significantly, Gorbachev also allowed foreign investors to enter the Soviet market.  His reform efforts were often undermined by bureaucrats within his own party.  A fundamental test of the new system came on April 26, 1986, when a reactor at the Chernobyl power plant exploded and caused the world’s worst nuclear accident.  It took Gorbachev almost three weeks to address the nation on the disaster, and 20 years later he said it had perhaps been Chernobyl, rather than perestroika, that was the real cause of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The Cold War was in full swing when Gorbachev took power. Five years previously, U.S. President Jimmy Carter had refused to send athletes to the Moscow Olympics or meet with anyone from the Soviet leadership to protest the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.  Within six years Gorbachev had withdrawn Soviet troops from Afghanistan and acted as middleman between Washington and Baghdad during the Gulf War. Western leaders saw Gorbachev’s leadership as an opportunity to open the Iron Curtain. He visited Britain, France, Germany, Canada and many other countries during his rule. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher famously said in a BBC interview, “I like Mr. Gorbachev. I think we can do business together.”

Some praised Gorbachev for watching the peaceful dissolution of the Eastern bloc, while others criticized him for allowing the communist systems in neighboring countries  to collapse without any interference. His far-reaching agreements on arms control paved the way for the Paris Charter that ended the Cold War and united Eastern and Western Europe.  In Nov. 1989, shortly after Gorbachev’s visit to East Germany, the Berlin wall fell.  Gorbachev repeatedly stated that the dissolution of the Soviet Union was never his end goal, but his leadership started a chain reaction that changed the world.  In 1990, Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace prize for his accomplishments in international relations. At home, however, the loss of the Eastern bloc and Gorbachev’s to sign a new Union Treaty that would refound the U.S.S.R. as a loose confederation, angered many within his own party, turning former allies into enemies.  In August 1991, while Gorbachev was on vacation with his family in Crimea, hardline politicians and the military staged a failed coup in Moscow and put him under house arrest. By the time he returned to the capital, Boris Yeltsin had seized the momentum and would become the first president of a new Russia. The Soviet Union didn’t last the year.

After his political career ended, Gorbachev established the “Gorbachev Foundation” and continued to lecture and speak out on social, economic, domestic and geopolitical issues.  His beloved Raisa, who he described as his closest confidant, died of leukemia in 1999.  He is survived by his daughter Irina, and his granddaughters Anastasia and Ksenia.

^ Poor Old Gorby. The West loved him. The Russians hate him.

до свидания, Михаил Сергеевич.

Good-Bye, Mikhail Sergeyevich. ^

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/08/30/we-forced-them-well-back-fighting-intensifies-in-ukraines-south-a78679

Gorby In Pictures

Mikhail Gorbachev

1931-2022

(Gorbachev in 1987)

(Gorbachev and his Ukrainian maternal grandparents, late 1930s)

(Gorbachev on a visit to East Germany in 1966)

(U.S. President Reagan and Gorbachev meeting in Iceland in 1986)

(Gorbachev and his wife Raisa on a trip to Poland in 1988)

(Leaders of the Soviet Republics sign the Belovezha Accords which eliminated the USSR and established the Commonwealth of Independent States, 1991)

(Gorbachev visiting Reagan, both in western wear, at Rancho del Cielo in 1992)

Ukraine's Grain

From the BBC:

“Ukraine grain deal: Where are the ships going?”

The UN secretary general called it "an agreement for the world". Speaking in Istanbul on 22 July, Antonio Guterres said the Black Sea Grain Initiative would bring relief for "the most vulnerable people on the edge of famine". The deal - agreed with Russia and Ukraine last month - allowed ships carrying much-needed Ukrainian food products to leave the country's Black Sea ports for the first time since the war began. A month later, more than 50 ships have so far braved the risks and departed Ukraine - helping to export over 1.2 million tonnes of grain and other foodstuffs. The war which rages close by has so far failed to intrude and more and more ships are joining in.

But where is all the food going?

A deal which the UN argued forcefully was needed to prevent millions of people from going hungry has so far seen only modest humanitarian benefits. The first ship carrying food aid on behalf of the World Food Programme (WFP) has only just arrived at its destination. The bulk carrier Brave Commander is carrying 23,000 tonnes of wheat intended for vulnerable communities in southern Ethiopia. It left the Ukrainian port of Pivdennyi on 16 August and has just berthed in Djibouti. The WFP has a second ship, the MV Karteria, loaded and ready to carry 37,500 tonnes of wheat to Yemen, where it is badly needed. Officials at the agency say they hope other shipments will follow. But these are tiny quantities. In 2021, WFP distributed 4.4 million tonnes of food aid around the world. Two thirds of it came from Ukraine. UN officials recognise that these are modest beginnings, but insist that the wider picture is important. "You've got to separate what we're doing from the overall opening up of the ports and the flooding of the market with this extraordinary amount of grain," says Greg Barrow, senior spokesman for the UN's World Food Programme.

The reappearance of Ukrainian grain on the international market has certainly brought relief around the world. "It's good news for Irish agriculture," says John Bergin, Commercial Director of R&H Hall, Ireland's leading importer of grain for animal feed. The Navi Star, which recently arrived at Foynes on the west coast of Ireland laden with 33,000 tonnes of corn, was a welcome sight. The ship was being loaded on 24 February, the day Russia's invasion began. "There was 28,000 tonnes on that ship the morning the war started," Mr Bergin recalls. "Our supplier never got the ship out. Then the port became mined and the whole thing got stuck." The war brought Ukraine's peak export period, which runs from December to April, grinding to a halt. Grain prices, already driven high by the coronavirus pandemic and droughts elsewhere, shot up, but have recently come down again. "Average export prices were around 30-40% higher before the conflict began," says Alexander Karavaytsev, senior economist at the International Grain Council. "Now they're 8% higher, so prices have declined markedly." Some of the reduction in price is due to seasonal impacts, as harvests progress elsewhere in the northern hemisphere, but the psychological impact of unblocking one of the world's major grain producers is important. "It brings some solidity back into the market," Mr Bergin says. As grain silos are emptied and previously trapped vessels are liberated, industry sources are daring to hope that better days are ahead. "There is growing optimism that agriculture commodities will continue to flow," says a spokesman for Viterra, a grain and oilseed exporter with a significant presence in Ukraine. "We are seeing an increased willingness from vessel owners to enter Ukrainian ports, which will also grow if passage remains safe."

But how big an "if" is that? Despite the deal struck in Istanbul in July, freight costs are still almost double what they were before the war, reflecting a lingering nervousness about the potential dangers associated with sending vessels into a war zone. That nervousness is likely to prevent Ukraine from hitting the targets it needs to generate badly-needed revenue for its battered economy. "They want to hit 5 million tonnes a month," says Bridget Diakun, Lloyd's List data reporter. "It sounds ambitious." For now, it's smaller shipping companies, many of them Turkish, which seem willing to take the risk, with many of the world's big players still holding back. "They just want to keep the safety of the vessel and the safety of the crew as their top priority," says Nidaa Bakhsh, senior markets reporter at Lloyd's List. "And they can't guarantee that they will be safe."The clock is ticking. The agreement brokered by the UN and Turkey only runs for 120 days. It can be extended in mid-November, but only if Russia and Ukraine agree. For the UN, which has set so much store behind the success of the deal, to have it stop after just four months would be disastrous. "The world is going to struggle if that market is closed off again," says WFP's Greg Barrow. Grain deals are normally struck 18 months to two years ahead. With no-one able to predict the state of Ukraine's economy in 2023-24, it's going to take time before that level of confidence returns. Finally, what ever happened to the Razoni, the first vessel to leave Ukraine, amid great fanfare, at the beginning of August? The UN's checklist still has TBD ("to be determined") against the ship's destination, an awkward admission that the 26,000 tonnes of corn on board never reached its intended port, Tripoli in Lebanon. When the original buyer rejected the shipment, apparently citing quality concerns, the Razoni embarked on a circuitous voyage around the eastern Mediterranean, much of it with its transponder switched off, indicating a reluctance to be tracked. It finally unloaded most of its cargo at the Syrian port of Tartus. There's nothing illegal about delivering food to Syria, or unusual about ships changing direction. But the Razoni's secretive journey shows that in the complex world of grain trading, you can't always be sure where individual cargoes eventually end up.

^ Ukrainian Farmers risk their lives (under constant Russian Bombs, Missiles and Bullets) to grow and harvest their crops.

Ukrainian Truck Drivers risk their lives (under constant Russian Bombs, Missiles and Bullets) to transport the crops to the Ports.

Ukrainian Dock Workers risk their lives (under constant Russian Bombs, Missiles and Bullets) to load the ships with the crops.

Ukrainian Sailors risk their lives (under Constant Russian Bombs, Missiles Bullets and Mines) to ship the crops out of Ukraine

Despite all the Ukrainian sacrifice these ships are now feeding people who support Russia's War in Ukraine. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62717010

NY's Illegal Whipped Cream

From News Nation:

“New York enforces under-21 canned whipped cream ban”

Alcohol, tobacco, and now whipped cream are illegal for purchase if you’re under the age of 21 in New York. The 2021 law is now being enforced, the Albany Times Union reports. While whipped cream is unharmful in proper culinary use, teenagers have caught on to the nitrous oxide gas located in the chargers of the whipped cream. The gas can produce a high when inhaled. There’s even a name for the recreational use of the drug — “whippets.” According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration factsheet, inhalants such as whippets can cause “damage to the parts of the brain that control thinking, moving, vision, and hearing,” which one in five young people have used by the time they reach the eighth grade. It’s a big reason why New York Sen. Joseph Addabbo, D-Queens, sponsored the legislation last year. “Nitrous oxide is a legal chemical for legitimate professional use, but when used improperly, it can be extremely lethal,” Addabbo said in a statement last year. “Sadly, young people buy and inhale this gas to get ‘high’ because they mistakenly believe it is a ‘safe’ substance. This law will eliminate easy access to this dangerous substance for our youth,” he said. The reason it’s just now being enforced in 2022, however, is due to “some sort of reporting mechanism that just didn’t go the way it was supposed to,” Kent Sopris, president of the New York Association of Convenience Stores, said to the Times Union. “We had been tracking the bill last year, and when I looked in the bill tracking file, there is just no indication that it was signed,” he said. Retailers caught selling the canned good to minors face a $250 fine for the first offense, and $500 if caught a second time.

^ New Yorkers 18, 19 and 20 years old can join the Military and possibly die for their country, but they are forbidden from buying whipped cream.

New York also allows legal Recreational Drugs, but not whipped cream.

New scene in a New York Prison:

Man 1: What are you in for?

Man 2: Murder. You?

Man 1: Buying whipped cream when 19 years old.

Makes sense to me. ^

https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/northeast/new-york-is-now-enforcing-under-21-canned-whipped-cream-ban/

$3 Theaters

From News Nation:

“Theaters to sell $3 movie tickets for one day only”

For one day, movie tickets will be just $3 in the vast majority of American theaters as part of a newly launched “National Cinema Day” to lure moviegoers during a quiet spell at the box office. The Cinema Foundation, a non-profit arm of the National Association of Theater Owners, on Sunday announced that Sept. 3 will be a nationwide discount day in more than 3,000 theaters and on more than 30,000 screens. Major chains, including AMC and Regal Cinemas, are participating, as are all major film studios. In participating theaters, tickets will be no more than $3 for every showing, in every format.

Labor Day weekend is traditionally one of the slowest weekends in theaters. This year, the August lull has been especially acute for exhibitors. Cineworld, which owns Regal Cinemas, cited the scant supply of major new releases in its recent plans to fill for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. But, if successful, National Cinema Day could flood theaters with moviegoers and potentially prompt them to return in the fall. Before each showing, ticket buyers will be shown a sizzle reel of upcoming films from A24, Amazon Studios, Disney, Focus Features, Lionsgate, Neon, Paramount, Sony Pictures Classics, Sony, United Artists Releasing, Universal, and Warner Bros. “After this summer’s record-breaking return to cinemas, we wanted to do something to celebrate moviegoing,” said Jackie Brenneman, Cinema Foundation president, in a statement. “We’re doing it by offering a ‘thank you’ to the moviegoers that made this summer happen, and by offering an extra enticement for those who haven’t made it back yet.”

After more than two years of the pandemic, movie theaters rebounded significantly over the summer, seeing business return to nearly pre-pandemic levels. Films like “Top Gun: Maverick,””Minions: Rise of Gru,” “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and “Jurassic World Dominion” pushed the domestic summer box office to $3.3 billion in ticket sales as of Aug. 21, according to data firm Comscore. That trails 2019 totals by about 20% but exhibitors have had about 30% fewer wide releases this year. Organizers of National Cinema Day described the event as a trial that could become an annual fixture. While some other countries have experimented with a similar day of cheap movie tickets, the initiative is the first of its kind on such a large scale in the U.S.

^ Movie Theaters should keep the $3 tickets all the time. The cost to go to the movies (with tickets, food, drinks, etc.) is way too high  - especially when you can see the same movie at home for less. ^

https://www.newsnationnow.com/entertainment-news/theaters-to-sell-3-movie-tickets-for-one-day-only/