Archive for the ‘Putin’ Category
April 8, 2016
It’s quiet in the cottage; I haven’t decided on what music I might want to hear. For right now, the silence is good.
The snow is almost gone, what was left was melted by yesterday’s sun and today’s rain. When I woke this morning, I was in an awfully good mood for no good reason. Later in the day, with torrential rain falling, I was not in so good a mood. I followed the day into darkness and had to work to be out of it.
Last night I went to The Dot for an original one act play by a local writer. Actually, it is a three act play being played out over three weeks. So last night was really Act One. I’ll be back for Act II next week. And Act III the week after that…
It is a night when it is good to be cozied in the cottage. It is chilling outside though the day was warm, if wet.
While running my errands today, I heard Hillary Clinton talking and she sounded hoarse and exhausted. I felt sorry for her. Bernie Sanders is sounding chipper and he should be — he has won all of the last six contests. Now the focus is on New York State where Hillary and Bernie seem running neck and neck.
It may be a pivot point in the Democratic run for the Presidential nomination. We’ll see.
Ted Cruz is not doing so well here; it appears all New Yorkers, upstate and down, are having more than a little trouble forgiving him his “New York values” statement about Trump. From what I have been reading, his New York stumping is not doing well.
67% of Americans don’t like Donald Trump but that might now be enough to stop him from getting the nomination. Cruz desperately wants Kasich to drop out, something he seems to have no intention of doing. In a brokered convention, he might have a shot.
It is the wildest year in politics I have seen in my lifetime and I am watching it all play out. As a registered independent, I cannot vote in the Primary. I will follow the results avidly.
In the meantime, IS, driven out of Palmyra where they made ruins of the ruins, have kidnapped something like 300 in a suburb of Damascus, factory workers who have now entered a nightmare.
We have the Panama Papers. David Cameron, Prime Minister of the UK, has benefitted from an offshore company set up by him late father but it all seems inconsequential.
Many of Putin’s friends have been named. Putin says this is all a Western conspiracy to weaken Russia. He has not been named and he points that out. What the West is trying for is “guilt by association.” I wonder what future weeks will bring?
It is getting later and there is still no music in the cottage. I am ending for today.
Today reminded me of the wild ride of emotions we all live through on a given day.
Good night.
Tags:Claverack, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Hudson, IS, Isis, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, New York, Obama, Putin, Red Dot
Posted in 2016 Election, Claverack, Columbia County, depression, Elections, Entertainment, Greene County New York, Hillary Clinton, Hollywood, Hudson New York, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Political Commentary, Politics, Putin, Russia, Social Commentary, Television, Trump, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
April 6, 2016
Dusk is descending on the creek; I am watching the light fade from my dining room table while classical music plays.
And I am thinking over the day, one of seemingly endless frustrations with an email problem Apple could not seem to fix and a group of errands squeezed into a short period because of all the time Apple had consumed.
When they couldn’t fix the issue, I turned to the local computer guru, Jonathan Simon, who does not work on Macs but who solved my problem in about twenty minutes. My Apple Faith is shaken.
There was a meeting this afternoon in which one of the participants became so upset they walked out; unnerving for all. The rest of us retreated to a local restaurant, had drinks and food and attempted to continue.
In other words, a day that did not run smoothly.
Last time I wrote, the predicted snow had not fallen. The next morning it was all there and more; instead of three inches we had close to seven. Only five intrepid students made it to class. We called it early and went home.
Last night, I fell asleep reading a mystery and woke lazily into a sunny but chill day. Predictions are that tonight and tomorrow are to be two of the coldest of the season. What climate change?
“The Panama Papers” have exploded onto the world stage and the President of Iceland is no longer President, having resigned today after he was named in them. As were several of Putin’s closest friends including one who was once close but had a rift with Putin and is now dead after blunt force trauma in a DC hotel.
It seems the President of Ukraine, a chocolatier billionaire did not, as he said he would, divest himself of his holdings but transferred them to offshore companies. Prime Minister Sharif of Pakistan is distraught that relatives are named with having accounts. China has tightened censorship; one can only wonder what will happen there?
These leaks create messy, messy situations while one cannot help occasionally having a moment of schadenfreude, relishing the misfortunes of others; thinking these others deserve their misfortune.
While I am typing exit polls are being held in Wisconsin. Cruz and Sanders are both hoping to take a little wind out of the frontrunners’ sails there. Hillary has not had a good history in Wisconsin, having lost it in 2008 and Trump is facing a coalition of conservative talk show hosts who are determined to bring him down, exploiting all his wonderful gaffes to the fullest.
Governor Phil Bryant of Mississippi signed into law a bill that allowed for anti-gay discrimination. As in North Carolina, he is facing a barrage of blowback. Long lamenting the lack of a Fortune 500 company in his state, he is less likely to get one now. Mississippi’s largest employers are not happy, including Toyota and Nissan and MGM Resorts.
Is the Civil War being fought again over gay rights?
As a gay man, I am astounded at the progress made in my lifetime. Gay marriage was something I thought would never happen and yet, here I am, not yet dead and it has happened. That states like Mississippi and North Carolina would attempt to turn back the clock is disheartening, if not surprising. They are setbacks, not defeats and they are not on the right side of history.
What is amazing is that the Governors of those two states are ignoring the businesses in their states; pandering instead to bigoted voters. Well, they do have to re-elected!
The soft classical music is mellow, comforting and encasing the living and dining rooms with a gentle feel. I’ve turned on the floodlights over the creek and am thinking it is close to time to curl up with my mystery and slip out of the night into the land of Nod.
Tags:Apple, Bernie Sanders, Claverack, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Jonathan Simon, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Mississippi Gay Law, New York, Panama Papers, Phil Bryant, President of Iceland, President of Ukraine, Primaries, Primary in Wisconsin, Putin, schadenfreude, Ted Cruz
Posted in 2016 Election, Civil Rights, Claverack, Columbia County, Entertainment, European Refugee Crisis, Gay, Gay Liberation, Greene County New York, Hollywood, Hudson New York, Life, Literature, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Political, Political Commentary, Putin, Russia, Social Commentary, Television, Trump, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
March 19, 2016
A brilliant sun is beginning to set over the Catskills as I ride north on the train. There is a great swath of sunlit river streaming straight toward the train as we crawl north.
There might be snow this weekend; a nor’easter may be storming our way though the forecast for Claverack doesn’t seem to indicate snow. It will be what it will be…
I am headed down to the city on Monday so I can sit in on the taping of Howard Bloom’s podcast, “Howard Bloom Saves The Universe.” [Available on iTunes.] Then a couple of meetings on Tuesday, a lunch on Wednesday and then I’ll race back to the country.
Easter Sunday is in front of me and I’m doing the brunch after Mass. I am beginning to think the General in me will need to come out. With moderation, of course…
While I have been doing my meetings in New York, the Belgian police have been conducting raids, which netted one of the prime suspects in last fall’s Paris attacks, Salah Abdesalam. It may be an intelligence coup. Other suspects also have been detained, some for helping him.
The EU has struck a deal with Turkey to return refugees to them while Greece, a bankrupt country, is on the verge of being a refugee prison. Would this be or not be a good time for an American to go to Greece? I love the country and would like to visit.
The Hudson is now steel grey and there is pink in the sunset. “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight.” Pink? Probably good…
Mitt Romney has said he is supporting Ted Cruz. Has it come to this?
Merrick Garland made some rounds on the Hill today while the Republicans say, with absolutism, they will not consider him. Ah, love gridlock… So now that Congress in in recess the fight is going to the home front.
It’s my understanding Georgia has passed a religious freedom bill, which is interpreted by many to be anti-gay.
The NFL as in the National Football League, has said that this might impact their plans to have the Superbowl in Georgia. Unintended consequences…
The markets have finally caught up with where they were at the end of last year but more to be thought of about where the markets are. Are things good again or not? The reports in the press seem divided.
Dark has descended on the trip. We are now headed toward Hudson. The evening progresses. When I am off the train, I’ll head to the Red Dot for a bite to eat and then home.
My bathroom is being repainted and from the pictures I’ve seen looks quite wonderful. Tomorrow I am meeting young Nick to pick up a new sink and faucet while at the same time picking out new appliances for the kitchen.
Now that I am living more at the cottage than anywhere else I would like it to be more me than it is now.
It is what we all want, our homes to represent ourselves.
Home is something I have thought about all my life, a looking for home. The cottage is the most I have ever felt at home and I am so grateful I have found that place.
The world will roar and the political battles will be fought and at the end, I will be at home, in the cottage, looking over the creek while the world plays itself out.
Tags:Amtrak, Belgian Police, Claverack, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Howard Bloom, Howard Bloom Saves the Universe, Hudson, Hudson River, Iran, IS, Markets, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, NFL, NFL and Georgia, Obama, Putin, Red Dot, Salah Abdesalam, Syria
Posted in 2016 Election, Claverack, Columbia County, Entertainment, European Refugee Crisis, Greene County New York, Hillary Clinton, Hollywood, Howard Bloom, Hudson New York, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Mideast, Political Commentary, Politics, Putin, Social Commentary, Syrian Refugee Crisis, Television, Trump, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
March 16, 2016
The Hudson River is nearly mirror still as I rumble south on the train, into New York for a visit to my gastroenterologist for a [ugh] colonoscopy, a follow-up to my stay in the hospital last month.
The morning was full of news about the primaries. Trump, as had been expected, trounced Marco Rubio in his home state of Florida and Rubio, also as expected, withdrew from the race.
Bernie Sanders is wondering about what next as Hillary Clinton handily beat him in Illinois, Ohio, North Carolina and, of course, Florida. It is looking like she eked out a win in Missouri, beating Bernie by a mere 1500 votes the last time I looked.
Kasich took his home state of Ohio so he is still playing the Republican game of musical chairs.
53% of Americans would choose Trump to be the Republican nominee. 61% don’t like him. Go figure.
Trump is preening in his victories, winning everywhere but Ohio. He claims there will be riots if the Republican Party denies him the nomination. Even in victory he summons images of violence.
While there will likely not be physical violence, there will be much name calling and shouting now that Obama has nominated Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court seat left vacant by Scalia’s death. Republicans have vowed not to move on the matter until there is another President, keeping their fingers crossed a Republican will occupy the White House.
Congressional chaos…
In the streets of DC and its environs there was another piece of chaos on the streets. After two electrical fires within the last year, the new head of the Metro ordered it shut down for twenty-four hours while they inspect it to ensure it is safe.
Having once lived in DC, I can only imagine what the day was like and be grateful I wasn’t there. It’s how I usually get around DC.
Also, the Fed is being dovish about raising rates. The dollar falls, gold rises as do the markets, modestly.
In Brussels, an Algerian, illegally in the country, was killed in a raid by police. At least two others were detained; an Islamic flag was found with them. Belgian police are promising more raids.
In Nigeria, two female suicide bombers killed twenty-four at a mosque. A bomb placed on a bus in Pakistan killed fourteen.
Angelina Jolie has met with refugees in Lebanon and Greece in a bid to bring the spotlight on them. Germany’s Merkel thinks only Turkey can stem the flow and has called for a Pan-European meeting to address the issue.
The Kurds in Syria are calling for a Federalization of Syria, creating more independence for them. No else seems very much in favor of the solution, especially Assad, who sees it as the beginning of the break-up of his country.
Putin has announced in the last couple of days that Russia has accomplished its mission in Syria and is beginning a withdrawal of a majority of its forces. Indeed, half the Russian planes have departed but eyebrows are raised as to whether this is actually going to be the kind of withdrawal that Putin intimates.
“The Happiest Place on Earth” is Disney owned. However, the happiest country on the planet is Denmark, which has held the top spot for three of the four years that the World Happiness Report has been issued.
Next are Iceland, Norway, Finland, Canada, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia and Sweden.
Poor Burundi is the unhappiest country. Just above it on the list are Syria, Togo, Afghanistan, Benin, Rwanda, Guinea, Liberia, Tanzania and Madagascar. Poor and riven with war or disease or both, they are at the bottom.
You’re wondering where the US is on this scale, aren’t you? We’re number 13, actually a little higher than I thought we might be.
Russia is number 110 and China is 83rd and India is 118th.
If interested in Hollywood and the often salacious stories that come out that place, a new book is due out, “James Dean: Tomorrow Never Comes,” by Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince, claiming that James Dean and Marlon Brando had an on/off sadomasochistic sexual relationship from their meeting to Dean’s death in a car accident in 1955.
Long dead but still capable of steaming up the book sales.
New York approaches.
Tags:Amtrak, Angelina Jolie, Bernie Sanders, Brando/Dean S&M Sex relationship, Brussels, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Hudson, IS, James Dean, Kasich, Marlon Brando, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Merkel, Merrick Garland, Nigerian Mosque Bombing, Obama, Pakistan Bus Bombing, Putin, Syria, World Happiness Report
Posted in 2016 Election, Afghanistan, Elections, Entertainment, European Refugee Crisis, Hillary Clinton, Hollywood, Hudson New York, Life, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Mideast, Political Commentary, Politics, Putin, Russia, Social Commentary, Syria, Syrian Refugee Crisis, Television, Trump, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
February 23, 2016
Outside, the world is dark, though the moon is full and bright and big overhead. It has been a clear, sunny day with temps in the mid-40’s, pretty perfect for the 22nd of February.
Yesterday, I went to church and then to Albany and by the time I got home, the stuffing had been knocked out of me and I tumbled into bed about five and ended up falling asleep somewhere around nine. Going to a party up there exhausted me. Carrying a crockpot up a small hill was nearly impossible. I felt old and fragile and I was not happy.
Today, I woke up early and it has been the most active day I’ve had since I was out of the hospital. I was doing just fine and then, about twenty minutes ago, the wall was hit and I sank back into bed.
My sister, the nurse, has been telling me to listen to my body and I have been. When it says rest, I do. I stretched too far yesterday.
So here I am, propped up in bed in my sweats, jazz playing and my laptop in my lap.
It was a good day. Good class. Isaac Phillips, a young entrepreneur, Skyped in from Mexico City where he is working on an app for the Latin American market. This sounds promising. Ads delivered to your phone in exchange for your data bill being paid.
Isaac is a really good young man. And he is not much older [and younger than some] of my students. He spoke about following your passion also meant suffering for your passion. It was a great dose of reality about what it takes to make it in the high tech world.
I also showed a short film about the history of media which featured a poster of “The Jazz Singer,” the first talkie. A lifetime ago I had lunch with May McAvoy, who was the female lead in “The Jazz Singer.” She and three other stars of the era talked of the ’20’s as if they were yesterday and were a window into a world that was gone.
One of the other stars that was there that day was Leatrice Joy, who was divorced by John Gilbert so he could marry Greta Garbo, who left him at the altar. She was one of my mother’s favorites.
Esther Ralston was another, top billed over Gary Cooper in her day, who talked about having to beat off her husband with her umbrella when he tried to push her into the Grand Canyon after the stock market crash so he could collect the insurance.
These were women who had lived and were still seizing life when I met them.
On Twitter, I posted an article about the controversy between Apple and the Feds over unlocking a phone used by the terrorist couple in Riverside who killed fourteen and wounded many more. Apple is not wanting to do it; the Feds are demanding it and everyone is thinking about it. I have made no decision about it and was a bit surprised when my post brought forth strong comments on both sides of the issue.
And then I realized it was really important and how we decide this is going to be important going forward. How does a free society remain free in a time of terror? I don’t have the answers but appreciate the questions being asked.
Meanwhile, Ted Cruz has fired his spokesman for a tweet, inaccurate, about Rubio. Cruz is getting a slimy reputation and he is trying to shake it. He’s not shady but he hires people who are… Excuse me?
Jeb Bush spent $130,000,000 running for President and has now bowed out of the race. I actually thought he would be the candidate; it seemed logical. My friend, Jeff Cole, picked Rubio. I think Jeff is smarter than I am.
In Kalamazoo, Michigan an Uber driver shot eight people, killing six and picking up rides between the killings. Officials are describing it as “unexplainable” and it is but then so much is “unexplainable.”
Russia and the US have agreed to help implement a ceasefire in Syria, which is great if it works though it doesn’t include the Nursa Front or IS so who knows what actually will happen. Hopefully, some relief for the tortured souls living there…
Also tortured, but not as viscerally as Syria, is Yahoo, a tech giant who has lost its way. In 1999, it was the Google of its day. Now it’s not and there is lots of talk about dismembering the company, selling it off in pieces. Marissa Meyers may well be its last CEO.
And that’s the last I can do for today. I am worn out. Need to quit now and allow myself to fall asleep watching something good, start tomorrow all over, hopefully as fresh as I felt today.
Tags:Apple, Claverack, Esther Ralston, Gary Cooper, Greta Garbo, Hudson, IS, Isaac Phillips, Isis, John Gilbert, Leatrice Joy, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, May McAvoy, Melissa Meyers, New York, Putin, Russia, Syria, Ted Cruz, The Jazz Singer, Yahoo
Posted in 2016 Election, Claverack, Columbia County, Entertainment, Hollywood, Hudson New York, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Mideast, Political Commentary, Putin, Russia, Social Commentary, Syria, Syrian Refugee Crisis, Television, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
February 16, 2016
Columbia County Ben Franklin Pandora Antonin Scalia Obama Mitch McConnell Oil Prices Saturday Night Live Cruz Rubio Trump
Outside, a light snow is falling and I am sequestered in the cottage, where I have been all day. It’s very chill though tomorrow we are supposed to hit the low fifties. We are all rolling our eyes about this winter which seems unlike any winter I have experienced since I’ve been up in Columbia County. For the most part, it’s been like a long, chill fall and not like winter.
There is a fire in the Franklin Stove though I have the door closed. I am not after aesthetics tonight, I am after heat. There has been a chill to the cottage all day and I am seeking to counter it with the stove, which could almost heat the house when I keep it stocked with logs and the door closed. Good old Ben Franklin; a fount of inventions…
Jazz is playing on Pandora. I am getting better so I am no longer feeling the need for silence. It is the first day I haven’t spoken to my sister since this began. I’m healing but am still so tired; I sleep a deep sleep every night and usually for nine to eleven hours. Ah, “sleep that knits up the raveled sleeve of care…” My sleeve has been raveled and needs knitting up…
Several friends have called today to check on the state of my health and after I have assured them I am on the mend, our talk seems to go to politics and all express a dismay at the political world we are living in. Scalia is dead and McConnell has sworn to delay an appointment until we have a new President. And, frankly, I rolled my eyes at that. Somehow, it seems the Republicans think of Obama as an eight year constitutional crisis and I don’t understand that.
I haven’t always agreed with him and I don’t think he is a constitutional crisis personified. I have never understood what seems a pathological hatred for the man by Republicans.
After a discussion of Scalia, we immediately go to Trump who has caused the campaign for the Republican nomination to resemble a Saturday Night Live comedy sketch.
And yet it’s all very real. And the vitriol between the Republicans is so unseemly. I am appalled. But they are taking it very seriously. And that’s more than a little frightening… Cruz, Rubio, Trump are espousing the politics of fear and hatred from what I see. Where is hope? Belief in the future?
The rest of the world is ticking on. The Australians have uncovered a ring of drug smugglers using bras to carry meth. The WHO is working to figure out Zika. Ehud Olmert, a former Israeli Prime Minister, is off to prison while proclaiming his innocence. Gas is under $2.00 a gallon in most places.
The world is nuts. When hasn’t it been? It is just this is our nuts and we have to deal with it.
Tags:Antonin Scalia, Ben Franklin, Claverack, Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Mitch McConnel, Obama, Pandora, Saturday Night Live, Ted Cruz
Posted in 2016 Election, Afghanistan, Claverack, Columbia County, gas prices, Gay, Gay Liberation, Hudson New York, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Putin, Russia, Social Commentary, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
February 14, 2016
It is Saturday night and I am at the cottage. I have just lit a fire and have finished prepping for tomorrow; I am doing the coffee hour after the 10:30 service. Since it is Valentine’s Day I wanted to do something a little special. I think I have, once again, succumbed to my mother’s philosophy: too much is never enough.
Oh well, hopefully it will be fun and it is the first real thing I have done since being in the hospital. My primary care physician, Dr. Paolino, summed it up: You were sick and now you’re better. You still have to see your gastroenterologist but you are on the mend.
And I am, though I am still sleeping a lot and being very careful about what I eat. My body is working to be normal and I’m grateful. Amazing things these human bodies, they often heal themselves, sometimes with help but they are wondrous.
My brother is now in Honduras, where he goes at least once a year to provide medical care to the back of beyond, to places who only have medical care when teams like his arrive. I’m terribly proud of him. When he is there, I am concerned as Honduras has devolved into one of the most violent places in the hemisphere but every year he goes back, as he has for almost forty years now.
Lionel let me know that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia passed away. I have mixed feelings about it as he spewed some hateful things these last years, particularly about gay rights and marriage equality. About six months ago, I read a speech he gave and was appalled at the intolerance, actually shocked. It seemed so bitter and unforgiving.
Still, may he rest in peace. As may we all rest in peace when our time comes.
Being ill and in the hospital, summoned intimations of my mortality, heightened by my old good friend, Tim Sparke, diagnosed some three or four years ago with a brain tumor, who is now in hospice, the cancer having spread through his body. He wrote me and told me he was now serene, something that I have heard comes to people in their last days if they are given the grace to know they are living their last days.
He is younger than me by a decade I think. Life plays itself out for each of us in its own cadence and only the universe understands it.
The Russian Premier, Medvedev, has declared we have slid into a new “cold war.” Yes, I suppose we have. I’m not sure quite how it happened but it’s been years in the making and lies, I think, largely in Putin’s lap as it serves him to prop up his power in Russia. They’re suffering from the collapse of oil prices probably as much or more than anyone with the possible exception of Venezuela.
Months ago, I read something about a dam in Iraq. It wasn’t being maintained and threatened a half million people with catastrophe. It’s back in the news and it is in bad shape. An Italian firm has been hired to repair it and, hopefully, repairs will happen in time or a half million people may drown. Think Katrina, exponentially worse.
True to form, The Donald is striking out. Apparently he has called Cruz “a pussy.” I had to Google it because polite press wouldn’t tell me exactly what Trump had said. I will need to read more about this but nothing Trump does surprises me.
Back in the olden days of the early Republic, politics was this nasty. Yes, it was. And now we have returned to it, thanks to the Donald. Ah, we shall see how this plays out. Not prettily I think.
It’s getting late. I’m off to bed. I have coffee hour tomorrow. May your tomorrow be good…
Tags:Claverack, Donald Trump, Hudson, IS, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, New York, Obama, Putin, Syria
Posted in 2016 Election, Claverack, Elections, Entertainment, Gay, Gay Liberation, Hudson New York, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Political Commentary, Politics, Putin, Social Commentary, Syrian Refugee Crisis, Television, Trump, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
February 11, 2016
Amtrak Hudson River Gary and Angel Koven The Knot Bernie Sanders Donald Trump Hillary Clinton Einstein Theory of Relativity Oregon Standoff Ammon Bundy NATO Syria Russia Secretary Kerry Lavrov Saudi Arabia
As I start this, I am riding south on Amtrak, heading into the city to see my primary care physician, who is in the city, to bring him up to date on my medical adventures.
The Hudson is a steely grey, occasionally looking like burnished silver when the sun breaks through the heavy cloud cover. My friend, James Linkin, is sitting beside me, happy to see me up and walking.
The river is choppy, not surprising as the wind is up and biting, making it feel much colder than the temperature. I am tired as I often am these days though grateful to be up and out of bed and on the move.
My world feels altered in some way by my sojourn in the hospital. My friends often describe me as thoughtful and I am more so right now. The last few days, I have lived in quiet, without my usual jazz playing in the background. I’ve started to turn it on and then decided against it, preferring silence as my solace.
Tonight, I will have dinner with my friends Gary and Angel. They have been married now for four + years and I was at their wedding. Today their love for each other is as incandescent as it was the day they married. I recommended them for a shoot for the 20th anniversary of The Knot, a website devoted to marriage. One of the crew told me they were his favorite couple.
While I have been recovering, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump won their respective races in New Hampshire. Headlines wonder whether Hillary’s campaign is about to implode and I wonder about the future of the country. The Trump juggernaut continues and that scares the hell out of me.
I’m sure I’m not the only one. The Daily News had scathing headlines about his victory saying zombies had come out to vote. One wonders…
Scientists are wondering less since they have found gravitational waves which fit into Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. Great scientific excitement and my friend, James, was particularly excited. He’s a fan of the physicist and shares his birthday with Einstein.
The Oregon Standoff is over. Bundy, Sr. has been arrested, following son Ammon to jail. And other standoff chapter is finished and this time, thankfully, without mass deaths.
NATO is sending warships into the Aegean to see if it can stem the flow of refugees, many being transported by human traffickers. The seas are rough, dozens are dying and the fighting rages back in Syria.
Saudi Arabia is said to have made a “final” decision to send troops to Syria. That is not going to uncomplicate things.
And while they might be sending troops, they’re not taking in their brethren, rather letting them suffer their fate on water than let them into their own lands.
Russia’s Foreign Minister, Lavrov, says this will result in an terminable, never ending war with the possibility of a new world war at the end of the game. Loverly.
The Saudis might make their move in concert with the Turks, who have been engaged in verbal hostilities with Russia ever since they downed a Russian jet before the New Year.
Secretary Kerry is desperately trying to get the Peace Talks going but it seems hard to get the sides into the same building not to mention the same room. Well, actually, they have no intention of being in the same room. If there is any dialogue, it will be through messengers shuttling between rooms. Could cost a lot of shoe leather but if there is progress, it would be worth it.
The Mideast already seems mired in that “interminable war.” 470,000 have died in Syria since the outbreak of protests against Assad five years ago. Millions of Syrians are in camps and desperate to get out to a better life, somewhere.
The day has faded. I am sitting in a deli in the city, sipping a cup of black coffee [I’m not allowed cream yet], looking out into the night that has fallen, the bright lights of cars heading down 7th Avenue, people scurrying from the cold.
All peaceful here. But for how long?
Tags:Ammon Bundy, Amtrak, Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, Einstein, Gary and Angel Koven, Hillary Clinton, Hudson River, Kerry, Lavrov, NATO, Oregon Standoff, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, The Knot, Theory of Relativity
Posted in 2016 Election, Airstrikes, Claverack, Columbia County, Entertainment, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Mideast, Political Commentary, Politics, Putin, Russia, Social Commentary, Syria, Syrian Refugee Crisis, Trump, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
October 1, 2015
Russia. Putin. Kerry. Lavrov. IS. Syria. Joaquin. Nefertiti. Bernie Sanders. Hillary Clinton. Joe Biden. Abraham Lincoln’s ghost.
There are so many things to think about today as the Acela glides south toward Washington, D.C. I am headed down there for a couple of “get togethers,” not really meetings.
My former partner and I are having lunch; he recently found something emotionally important to me in a drawer and is returning it to me and then I am having drinks with my dear, good friend, Rita Mullin, who recently left Discovery and is contemplating her future.
While I am contemplating a pleasant day, the world stage is filled with players doing unpleasant things.
Russia has built up its military presence in Syria and launched airstrikes. Surprising to some but not to me, they didn’t bomb IS but anti-Assad troops, some of them trained by the U.S. As early as today, Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Lavrov, will meet to discuss ways of avoiding unanticipated “encounters.”
In other words, the whole Syrian situation has become more chaotic. Putin has one military base outside of Russia. It’s in Syria and he is not going to let it go while he works to ensure he is perceived as a player on the stage of world events.
I’m afraid many more may die to help him perceive himself in that role.
Hurricane Joaquin is battering the Bahamas and is headed north, skipping Florida and probably coming ashore in the Carolinas, then working its way north. New York City is in, as the Times said, “the cone of uncertainty.” I will say a prayer Joaquin does not disrupt my Sunday flight to Indianapolis.
As I have mentioned before, I dreamed in my childhood of being an Egyptologist. That world is all atwitter, as I have also mentioned before, that there is a room behind the burial chamber of King Tutankhamen, which may well be the burial place of Nefertiti. If it is true, the place may no longer be known at King Tut’s but as Queen Nefertiti’s.
She was a more important figure than Tutankhamen, who died at 17. She co-ruled with her husband and then, suddenly, disappeared from the historical scene. Her bust sits in a room of its own in a museum in Berlin, regal and enchanting, alluring and mystifying.
While Nefertiti has enchanted across the millennia, in the moment we seem to be enchanted with “outsiders” in our political process. On the Republican side, the frontrunners are Donald Trump, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina, none of whom have held political office.
Bernie Sanders is beginning to clip at the heels of Hillary Clinton. In the last fund raising period Sanders raised $24 million to Hillary’s $28 million. Complicating Hillary’s situation is the specter that Biden will throw his hat in the ring. Her camp is suddenly taking the possibility seriously and is working to outflank him.
Recent polls indicate he would be the most popular candidate of either the Democrats or Republicans.
Speaking of specters, my friend Joshua Warren, has released a photo that was shot during the renovation of the White House under President Truman, which shows a figure that cannot be explained. He is sure that it is the ghost of Abraham Lincoln. You can find out more, here: http://freecharm.com/WhiteHouseGhostPhoto.html
We are soon arriving in Baltimore, my ultimate destination today. Tomorrow evening we will be celebrating my Australian “brother’s” birthday at his favorite restaurant in Baltimore, where he now lives. Streaks of rain have begun to touch the windows of the train; all around me the early morning travelers seem to be largely napping, catching a few winks before arriving in DC.
The day is grey but I’m not in a grey mood. I hope you’re not either.
Tags:Abraham Lincoln's Ghost, Ben Carson, Bernie Sanders, Carly Fiorina, Donald Trump, Harry Truman, Hillary Clinton, IS, Joaquin, Kerry, Lavrov, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Nefertiti, Putin, Russia, Syria
Posted in Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Putin, Russia, Social Commentary, Syria | Leave a Comment »
Letter from the Vineyard 
Letter From New York 04 07 2016 Wild emotional rides, probably weather induced…
April 8, 2016It’s quiet in the cottage; I haven’t decided on what music I might want to hear. For right now, the silence is good.
The snow is almost gone, what was left was melted by yesterday’s sun and today’s rain. When I woke this morning, I was in an awfully good mood for no good reason. Later in the day, with torrential rain falling, I was not in so good a mood. I followed the day into darkness and had to work to be out of it.
Last night I went to The Dot for an original one act play by a local writer. Actually, it is a three act play being played out over three weeks. So last night was really Act One. I’ll be back for Act II next week. And Act III the week after that…
It is a night when it is good to be cozied in the cottage. It is chilling outside though the day was warm, if wet.
While running my errands today, I heard Hillary Clinton talking and she sounded hoarse and exhausted. I felt sorry for her. Bernie Sanders is sounding chipper and he should be — he has won all of the last six contests. Now the focus is on New York State where Hillary and Bernie seem running neck and neck.
It may be a pivot point in the Democratic run for the Presidential nomination. We’ll see.
Ted Cruz is not doing so well here; it appears all New Yorkers, upstate and down, are having more than a little trouble forgiving him his “New York values” statement about Trump. From what I have been reading, his New York stumping is not doing well.
67% of Americans don’t like Donald Trump but that might now be enough to stop him from getting the nomination. Cruz desperately wants Kasich to drop out, something he seems to have no intention of doing. In a brokered convention, he might have a shot.
It is the wildest year in politics I have seen in my lifetime and I am watching it all play out. As a registered independent, I cannot vote in the Primary. I will follow the results avidly.
In the meantime, IS, driven out of Palmyra where they made ruins of the ruins, have kidnapped something like 300 in a suburb of Damascus, factory workers who have now entered a nightmare.
We have the Panama Papers. David Cameron, Prime Minister of the UK, has benefitted from an offshore company set up by him late father but it all seems inconsequential.
Many of Putin’s friends have been named. Putin says this is all a Western conspiracy to weaken Russia. He has not been named and he points that out. What the West is trying for is “guilt by association.” I wonder what future weeks will bring?
It is getting later and there is still no music in the cottage. I am ending for today.
Today reminded me of the wild ride of emotions we all live through on a given day.
Good night.
Tags:Claverack, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Hudson, IS, Isis, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, New York, Obama, Putin, Red Dot
Posted in 2016 Election, Claverack, Columbia County, depression, Elections, Entertainment, Greene County New York, Hillary Clinton, Hollywood, Hudson New York, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Political Commentary, Politics, Putin, Russia, Social Commentary, Television, Trump, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »