Traveling!

I am near the end of the first week of a three week trip to Europe.  After a short stay in London I flew to St. Petersburg and tomorrow will head for Prague and then on to Rome and Sicily.

While news is easy to get these days, being a bit removed from the immediacy of the moment provides a useful perspective.  For example, the play-by-play, minute by minute back and forth between Clinton, Trump and their surrogates followed by instant analysis from the pundits is, from this distance, an exercise in silliness.

I assume that here in Russia the locals have their own version of the same phenomena, but I am blissfully unaware of their issues and therefore free from being interested or concerned.  Is this hiding from reality or taking a welcome break from paying attention to trivia.  I think the latter.

Have a nice day.

Test

This is a test

Don't Know!

There’s a lot I don’t know or taken the time to figure out – like:

What’s the rationale for some European group telling Apple they owe Ireland $14 billion in back taxes?

WHIP – VORP – RISP and a bunch more statistics in baseball.  Just kidding, I know what RISP means.

Presidents of most African countries.  Ditto for the Stans.

Names of up and coming young tennis players.

Who’s fighting who in northern Syria and Turkey.

What Obamacare is and isn’t doing.

Why there are no salary or transfer fee limits in European football.

What foods are good or bad for you.  The answer keeps changing.

What drugs are good or bad for you.

What exercises are good or bad for you.

Etc.

Turn Offs!

I’m not interested in looking at or reading about:

X-rays of the misshapen skulls of Zika babies.

Tales of misery and destruction associated with floods, earthquakes, and the like.

The daily litany of terrorist attacks.

Op-ed columns predictably promoting a partisan point of view.

Anything Donald Trump has to say.

Details about how the Giants slide into the baseball toilet is continuing.

Pre-season news about the Santa Clara 49’ers.

In the New York Times, local restaurants I’ll never visit.

Self-help gurus.

Millennials.

Reviews of children’s books.

In Case You Missed It!

Jesús Alfredo Guzmán, son of El Chapo, was kidnapped at gunpoint at a party in Mexico.

In Bangladesh, a stranded elephant that had become a cruel sideshow for onlookers died of a heart attack.

Roger Ailes, recently fired as head of Fox News for sexually harassing women, is advising Trump on how to win the upcoming presidential debates.

China launched the first quantum communications satellite in a bid to lead the way into a new era of transmitting information securely.

In Nepal, a busload of earthquake survivors on their way to receive government grant money to rebuild their homes were killed when their bus went over a cliff.

The Navajo Nation is suing the EPA, claiming the agency is responsible for poisoning a river that flows through their land.

Tomorrow is the last broadcast of “The Nightly Show” with Larry Wilmore on Comedy Central.  Not enough viewers.  Also canceled: “I Am Cait” on E.  Not enough viewers.

Drivers in New Jersey can now get vanity license plates that reference their belief in atheism.

Scientists are searching for great white sharks off the coast of Long Island.  They want to study them.  So far, the sharks haven’t shown up.

Investments!

Four years ago Juventus bought French midfielder Paul Pogba from Manchester United for less than $2 million.  The other day Manchester United bought Pogba back from Juventus for $117 million.  They say United is the richest football team on the planet.  But smart deal makers?  You may have an opinion.

Nine years ago the New York Yankees signed Alex Rodriguez to a 10-year deal that paid him $275 million, even though he had been accused of (and later admitted to) using performance-enhancing drugs and was physically fragile.  Now, having not played well for years, currently batting under .200 and not able to play every day, he is retiring.  They say the Yankees are the richest baseball team on the planet.  But smart deal makers?  You may have an opinion.

On the other side of the ledger, some years ago a friend of mine bought a 4-unit residential building in San Francisco for just under $1 million.  Recently he sold one of the units, about a sixth of the living space, for almost the same price he paid for the building.  Lucky or smart?  You may have an opinion.

Moral:  Place your bets and hope for the best.  Sure things are a fantasy.

Making Sense of the Nonsensical!

It’s a challenge to figure out what’s going on around us.  For example:

Trump and Pence openly disagree on which fellow Republicans to support.

Trump has a disastrous two weeks and yet raises more money than ever.

While she is in a standoff with police (and is killed) a woman goes online to solicit advice from followers.

Moon Express, a start-up, has received federal approval to land on the moon.

After an attempted coup, Turkey’s President Erdogan is purging everyone in sight:

            9,000 police officers

            21,000 teachers

            10,000 soldiers

            2,745 judges and staff

            1,500 university deans

            And more . . .

The U.S. sends $400 million in cash to Iran on pallets in a cargo plane because the two nations don’t have a banking relationship.

The Supreme Court has blocked a court order that would have allowed a Virginia transgender boy to use the boys’ bathroom.  Good news for social conservatives.  Bad news for civil rights.

Texas has agreed not to enforce strict ID laws in November’s election.  Good news for Black and Latino voters.  Bad news for Texas racists.

A Tea Party Congressman and leading obstructionist lost his primary in Kansas.  Good news, period.

A current rumor is that Republicans are trying to get Rudy Giuliani and Newt Gingrich to do an intervention with Donald Trump.  That would be like trying to put out a fire with gasoline.

Looking for a consistent theme in all this?  Good luck!