I am traveling down to DC on Amtrak, having five meetings in DC tomorrow before heading up to Baltimore for a weekend with friends. It is grey and gloomy again today, which has been the theme of this week’s weather. It doesn’t do much to keep the spirits up. I am yearning for a little sunshine though I think I have a couple of days more of this before the weather changes.
What isn’t changing is the growing numbers joining the Republican race for the Presidential nomination. Rick Perry, who ran in 2012, has thrown his hat back in the ring, hoping he will not open his mouth and insert his foot as much as he did last time.
Chafee of Rhode Island has joined the much smaller list of contenders for the Democratic nomination.
It will be an interesting nomination season, particularly on the Republican side as there are more to come. Jeb Bush will make an announcement on June 15th. Allee all outs in free!
As I was scouring some websites today, there was a quote from George Soros about his concern that we are on the brink of WWIII, certainly not a happy thought. And that remark was underscored by a Czech NATO officer, musing about what might happen if Russia overwhelmed the Baltic States. Could that result in a use by the West of nuclear weapons?
Even the whisper of WWIII should give us a major case of the willies. The sad thing is that the whispers are there as the global situation deteriorates. I have a slight case of the willies as I ride the rails into the nation’s capital.
The bright hope that infused the world at the end of Communism has grown dim. Can we bring back the light if we all clap loudly enough, the way Tinkerbelle is saved in Peter Pan?
US military leaders and ambassadors are being called to Stuttgart by Pentagon Chief Ashton Carter, to discuss preparedness in the face of Russian aggression. Ukrainian President Poroshenko warned of all out war with Russia as fighting renewed in the rebel east, near Donetsk. It appears the last suburb of that city has fallen to the rebels.
Meanwhile, Putin is going to be visiting Pope Francis on June 10. Think Francis can talk any sense into the man?
In what is shocking news, if true, is that the Red Cross, which raised half a billion dollars for Haiti relief, has apparently spent very little of that in Haiti and has built only six homes instead of the thousands it promised. It seems unbelievable though the Red Cross is being very quiet about what they actually spent there, which is raising suspicions.
I’ll have to find another charity to donate to, I guess.
The rescue operation for the Eastern Star, the Yangtze cruise ship that capsized, has come to an end and it is now a recovery operation. During the day, dozens of bodies were brought to the surface. A hole has been cut in the hull of the vessel and the grim work continues.
Allegedly a group of grieving relatives who got too nosy were beaten by local police and shuttled into a building and told they were not to talk to the press.
It is the 26th anniversary of the massacre at Tiananmen Square. Leaders of the protest are no closer to returning home than they were when they went into exile. I will pause for a moment of silence in memory.
Former FIFA Vice President, Jack Warner, of Trinidad and Tobago, has announced his is going to spill the beans about the wrong doing in the football organization. Let the chips fall where they may, he says. And it will be interesting to see where the chips do fall.
Also falling was the stock market, rattled by Greece missing a payment, down by almost 171 points. Greece and the EU are playing a game of chicken. Let’s hope no one gets hurt. Because if someone does, it is not going to be good for the rest of us.
It’s not a good day to be a Federal Employee. The records of four million US government employees got hacked today. No word on who done it but employees were warned to check their credit reports and keep a watchful eye out for fraudulent activity.
I am not a great fan of Piers Morgan but he did a devastating article about the Duggar molestation scandal, which can be found here:
It’s an evangelical mess.
Letter from the Vineyard 
Letter From New York 06 05 15 The Adorable and the Horrible…
June 6, 2015The weather app indicated that it would rain this afternoon in Baltimore, which is where I am, but at least for now, sun pours down on Fells Point, a charming part of Baltimore where friends live. It’s not too warm and later we will walk about twenty minutes to La Scala, a restaurant in Baltimore’s Little Italy section.
We all went walking this morning to Alexander’s Tavern for brunch and then around Fell’s Point and then some shopping for tomorrow’s meals. Monday I am in DC for some meetings and then back to New York in the evening.
As we left to go to brunch, CNN was carrying live the funeral of Beau Biden, the 46 year-old son of Vice President Biden, who succumbed to brain cancer. Losing a child is incredibly difficult. Biden has lost two. His infant daughter was killed in a car crash along with his first wife and now he has lost his oldest son, Beau, by all accounts a very good man and a rising leader in the Democratic Party.
Obama gave the eulogy. Chris Martin performed. A thousand people mourned.
Mourning is racking China; the death toll in the Eastern Star capsizing has risen to over 400. The ship was righted today and body after body was removed. The company that owned the ship has apologized and will “fully cooperate” with the investigation. The captain and engineer, who survived, are being detained by police.
Putin was in the news. He stated that the West had no need to be frightened by Russia. [I wonder if Hitler ever said anything like that?] But what is true is that Russia has been stepping up its military efforts, modernizing and maintaining an army that is 850,000 strong with 2.5 million reservists. He is diverting some recruits from active service into working in factories producing military equipment. None of this sounds benign to me.
China seems to be doing the same, especially with the military build-up in the South China Sea. Experts place the U.S. as the world’s greatest military power, followed by Russia and then China.
Sarajevo was once known as a city where interfaith harmony reigned. Christians, Muslims and Orthodox Christians lived together in peace. Then came the ‘90’s, when interfaith harmony fell apart in the midst of the Balkan conflict. Today, the city seems to be moving back to its peaceful ways. Francis arrived today to encourage Catholics to stay and work with Muslims and Orthodox Christians to find peace fully again.
He has also taken up the banner of climate change prevention, something which Rick Santorum, once again seeking the Republican Presidential nomination, has said he thinks the Pope should just keep his mouth shut about climate change. Could Santorum keep his shut?
In a little less than eight hours, polls will open in Turkey. President Erdogan is hoping to set in process a motion that will give him more power. Currently, Turkey has a parliamentary system much like Britain’s, with real authority in the hands of the Prime Minister, which Erdogan used to be. He faced term limits and couldn’t run for Prime Minister so he ran for President. His former Foreign Minister is now Prime Minister and it is pretty clear Erdogan is calling the shots.
But he might not be able to pull it off. Polls are indicating he may get a trouncing, which might be a very good thing for Turkey as a democracy. He has been cracking down on any media outlets that don’t like him. In a final rally yesterday, he reminded the crowds that the New York Times was funded by “Jewish capital” and the British Guardian should know its limits. Good thing they’re not Turkish media companies. They might have been shut down. Will be watching this one closely. I am not an Erdogan fan.
The Saudis shot down a SCUD missile launched by the Houthis, aimed at a Saudi Air Force base, using a US made Patriot missile. The Houthis and the government of Hadi, who is in exile in Saudi Arabia, have agreed to meet in Switzerland even as the fighting seems to be escalating.
In a very worrying turn of events, IS is suspected of recruiting scientists so it can make chemical weapons.
But for something that will make you smile, look at the pictures of Prince George and his sister, Princess Charlotte. Adorable.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/princess-charlotte/11655903/Princess-Charlotte-Prince-George-first-family-photo.html
As I close out for today, I chose to focus on adorable more than horrible.
Tags:Alexander's Tavern, Baltimore, Beau Biden, China, Chris Martin, Eastern Star, Erdogan, Fells Point, Joe Biden, La Scala, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Obama, Pope Francis, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Putin, Rick Santorum, Sarajevo, SCUD, Turkish Elections
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