Events to Remember. Famous Photography. And Stuff.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

EVENTS to REMEMBER. Fall of the Berlin Wall: October 3, 1990. West Germany and East Germany ended 45 years of postwar division, declaring the creation of a reunified country. The Berlin Wall or Die Berliner Mauer was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Photo credit: The Guardian. ☮️🇩🇪☮️

FAMOUS PHOTOGRAPHY. In the years after the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and the ouster of the Taliban regime, Associated Press photographer Rodrigo Abd spent months on assignment there and learned how to use a traditional Afghan “box camera,” a handmade street camera and darkroom in one. He returned this year to document how Afghan life has changed in peacetime, for better and worse, since U.S. troops left and the Taliban returned to power. (Text: Associated Press.) 🇦🇫🇦🇫🇦🇫

FAMOUS EVENTS. Oktoberfest is a beer festival held annually in Munich, Bavaria in Germany. Running from mid- or late-September to around the first Sunday in October, the boozefest attracts more than six million international and national visitors. Locally, it is called d'Wiesn, after the colloquial name for the fairgrounds, Theresienwiese. Oktoberfest is an important part of Bavarian culture, having been held since the year 1810. 🍻🇩🇪🍻

MOMENTS in HISTORY. Old trains and railway tracks. Those old, old trains that we often see in movies are very mystifying. An early (1500s) railway in Austria’s Hohensalzburg Fortress used wooden rails and hemp haulage rope and was operated by human or animal power, through a treadwheel. The line still exists and remains operational. The U.S. railroad mania began with the founding of the first passenger and freight line, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1827. 🚉🚂🚉

PEOPLE and CULTURE. Bollywood refers to the majority Hindi language film industry based in Mumbai, India. Bollywood is a part of the larger Indian cinema, which also includes South Indian cinema and other smaller film industries. The most popular genre is masala, which is generally musical melodrama or mix of action, comedy and romance. On average, Indian cinema produces 1,900 feature films a year, which is clearly bigger than Hollywood’s 500 movies annually. 🎥🇮🇳📽

TRAGIC MOMENTS to REMEMBER. Attica Prison Riot. At the state prison in Attica, upstate New York. The riot started on September 9, 1971, and ended on September 13 with the highest number of fatalities in the history of United States prison uprisings. 43 men died: 33 inmates and 10 correctional officers and employees, mostly by gunfire. The Attica Uprising has been described as a historic event in the prisoners' rights movement. (Photo credit: NPR.) ☮️☮️☮️

FAMOUS PLACES. Bleecker Street is an east–west street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is most famous today as a Greenwich Village nightclub district. The street today is very popular for music venues and comedy, and a center for bohemia. The street is named after the family name of banker Anthony Lispenard Bleecker and writer Anthony Bleecker, through whose family farm the street ran. My favorite night spots at Bleecker: The Bitter End. 🎼🎤🗽

MOMENTS to REMEMBER. On August 29, 2005: Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast near Buras, Louisiana, bringing floods that devastated New Orleans. The devastating Category 5 Atlantic hurricane caused 1,836 fatalities and damage estimated between $97.4 billion to $145.5 billion. In the image above, taken by David J. Phillip of the Associated Press, floodwaters from the hurricane fill the streets near downtown New Orleans. 🌬💨💦

FAMOUS EVENTS. Every last Wednesday of August, revelers hurl tomatoes at each other in Spanish town’s “La Tomatina.” Some 15,000 people, including many tourists, pasted each other with tomatoes per Spain’s annual “Tomatina” street battle for entertainment purposes. The festival is held in the Valencian town of Buñol, in the east of Spain. Since 1945, it has been held on the last Wednesday of August, during a week of festivities in Buñol. Ole! 🍅🇪🇸🍅

FAMOUS PLACES. Banaue Rice Terraces. Terraces that were carved into the mountains of Banaue in Ifugao province in the Philippines, by the ancestors of the Igorot people. Occasionally called the "Eighth Wonder of the World,” the terraces is were built with minimal equipment, largely by hand, located approximately 4,900 feet above sea level. These are fed by an ancient irrigation system from the rainforests above the terraces. (Photo: Lux Travel DMC.) ⛰🇵🇭⛰

MY THOUGHTS on News.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

Associated Press: “The Supreme Court rejects Biden's plan to wipe away $400 billion in student loans.” A sharply divided SC ruled that the Biden administration overstepped its authority in trying to cancel or reduce student loans. I agree. Meanwhile, budget cuts in federal programs loom per debt limit issue. It’d be unfair for govt employees to lose jobs as 20 percent with student borrowings are “forgiven.” Why not waive the majority’s mortgage, car, and credit card debts? 

       News adds: “The 6-3 decision, with conservative justices in the majority, effectively killed the $400 billion plan, announced by President Joe Biden last year, and left borrowers on the hook for repayments that are expected to resume by late summer.” (Art: Vox.) 🏦🗽🏦

New York Times: “With Resounding Win in Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis Tightens Grip on Power.” And adds: “His party’s election victory comes as the country experiences strong economic growth.” Whatever the political leaning, economics decides elections. Industrial output rebounded in annual terms in the quarter, while inflation fell and the labor market tightened. But Greece’s public debt is still 196.6 percent of GDP, the highest in Europe. Mr Mitsotakis gotta work more. 

       Greek voters chose to look past scandals and disasters that have tarnished Mitsotakis’ government. But as I pointed out, Greece is still magnificently mired in debts. The most  indebted economies in the euro zone: Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, France, and Belgium. Kyrios Kyriakos’ leadership must sustain (or improve) the economic growth to keep up repayments. 🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷

New York Times: “U.S. Charges 4 Chinese Firms With Selling Chemicals to Make Fentanyl.” And adds: “The indictments are part of a strategy attacking every stage of the supply chain for the opioid, which kills thousands each year.” Again, the Chinese are blamed. Most APIs or “active (or main) pharmaceutical ingredients” in a medicine that cause the desired effect are imported from China, true. But the manufacturer of the finished product is U.S./European Big Pharma. 

       Back in history, opium poppy gave birth to morphine, codeine, heroin, oxycodone etcetera. “Black powder” that was used by old China for festivity fireworks evolved into gunpowder. And so on and so forth. Science and technology of the West developed these as consumer products. China et al had the raw materials that the West needed until commercial expansionism, excessive capitalism, and unabated consumerism evolved into mass production. Yet when we get addicted, we blame the Chinese. 🩹🩺💊

Time: “Inside Zelensky's Plan to Beat Putin's Propaganda in Russian-Occupied Ukraine.” The drama thrillers seem to punctuate this war. Nord Stream 2 bombing, grains deal sabotage, drone strikes in Moscow, Nova Kakohvka dam incident, and now Wagner Group’s failed coup? Collateral damage in body bags pile up and property rubbles litter. But who is really winning in the propaganda war? And how much taxpayer money the U.S. has already wasted in this war? 🇷🇺☮️🇺🇦

New York Times: “How Fox News (Yes, Fox News) Managed to Beat ‘The Tonight Show’.” And adds: “Greg Gutfeld has installed his brand of insult conservatism as the institutional voice for the next generation of Fox News viewers..” Well, late night (talk) TV is all about insult vs. insult. Viewers seem to relish bad, dirty jousts. Yet Fox News remains as the most watched cable news network in the United States. MSNBC, second; CNN, third. Insult is also profitable. Wild, wild America. 🗣📺🙉

New York Times: “Days after the deadliest shipwreck in the Mediterranean in years, an E.U. official said that Greek authorities continue violating the rights of migrants.” According to UNHCR, annual deaths and missing since 2014 were estimated at 3,231. I think, more. Yet the answer to this tragedy isn’t asylum or inclusion. End of wars and continuous trade negotiations for common economic progress are. Which superpowers and regional alliances can do. 🏃‍♀️🛶🏃

New York Times: “Biden Administration Engages in Long-Shot Attempt for Saudi-Israel Deal.” White House is pressing an aggressive diplomatic effort as Riyadh makes significant demands in exchange for normalization “... including a nuclear deal and a robust U.S. security pact.” Hopeful here. China brokered a Saudi Arabia/Iran handshake. The U.S. takes the cue. But Riyadh has tough negotiating leverage. But peace is possible. That is, if Mr Joe doesn’t say anything untoward again. 

       Saudi Arabia and Israel have never established diplomatic relations. In 1947, Saudi Arabia voted against the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, which aimed to split the territory of British Palestine into an Arab state and a Jewish state. As of 2023, negotiations to establish diplomatic relations were ongoing. I concur with this initiative. 🇸🇦🇺🇸🇮🇱

Time: “Japan Sends Male Minister to Lead G7 Meeting on Women's Empowerment.” Japan vaulted as the world's second largest economy (behind the U.S.) in 1968; in 1973, the nation was added to the group then known as “Group of Five.” Obvious reason. But Japan possesses a distinct cultural persona from its G7 pals. So Tokyo is expected to toe the line on issues such as women, war, politics etcetera to stay neutral, without alienating G7’s rival, BRICS. 

       In 1973, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank proposed the addition of Japan to the informal gathering of the world’s advanced economies (the U.S., U.K., West Germany, and France). The group was then known as the "Group of Five.” Later, Italy and the European Union were added. In 2010, China dislodged Japan as world’s #2. Then came BRICS (Brazil Russia India China South Africa). Meanwhile, China is Japan’s top trading partner. Almost 95 percent of Japan’s fuel is imported from Saudi Arabia, a BRICS buddy. 🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵

New York Times: “Competing Accounts of Justice Dept.’s Handling of Hunter Biden Case.” Ah Washington primetime drama and political paradoxes. Trump was impeached for withholding military aid to Ukraine and his fervent call to investigate Hunter’s role in Kyiv’s natural gas industry. Meanwhile, President Biden throws billions$ of taxpayer money to Ukraine, hence war continues. Something’s weird here. Just weird. 🏦🗽🏦

       News adds: “An I.R.S. investigator’s testimony describing strains over the inquiry into President Biden’s son is at odds with the version laid out by Attorney General Merrick Garland.”

New York Times: “With Reversed Hind Legs and a Loose Tongue, a New Ugly Dog Champion Is Crowned.” What hypocrisy! It is incorrect to call a human being ugly yet we frolic on a national contest about the ugliest dog? Is there such a thing as an ugly dog, or animal, oh really? “Ugly” pertains to humanity; not an animal fact. Besides, would you want to organize an “Ugliest Man, Ugliest Woman, or Ugliest LBTQI” contest? Do you want to be shamed forever? 🐕🐩🐕‍🦺

MOMENTS in HISTORY, and Other Stuff.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

MOMENTS in HISTORY. The Great Purge, also known as the Year of '37, was Soviet General Secretary Joseph Stalin's campaign to solidify his power over the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the state; the purges were also designed to remove the remaining influence of Leon Trotsky as well as other prominent political rivals within the party. It occurred from August 1936 to March 1938. (Photo: CTTO.) 🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺

FAMOUS MOMENTS. Woodstock. Music festival held from August 15–18, 1969 on Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, New York, which was 40 miles southwest of the town of Woodstock. The event attracted more than 400,000 attendees. The festival has become widely regarded as a pivotal moment in popular music history as well as a defining event for the counterculture generation. Woodstock inspired my Traveling Bonfires and “Bonfires for Peace” concert events. ☮️🎼☮️

FAMOUS PEOPLE. Sacheen Littlefeather was booed at the Oscars in 1973 after she refused the best actor award on Marlon Brando's behalf in protest of Hollywood's depictions of Native Americans. Sacheen was born Maria Louise Cruz in 1946 (d. 2022) Salinas, California. Ms Littlefeather repeatedly claimed that her father had White Mountain Apache and Pascua Yaqui ancestry. Yet others claim she was of Spanish-Mexican ancestry. Her racial identity is still a mystery though. 📷📸📲

FAMOUS EVENTS. On 28 August 1963, an estimated 250,000 participants gathered for the March on Washington DC for Jobs and Freedom. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic rights of African Americans. At the march, final speaker Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech in which he called for an end to racism. (Photo credit: Warren K. Leffler or Associated Press.) ☮️☮️☮️

FAMOUS PLACES. Washington Square Park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood in New York City. The land was once divided by a narrow marshy valley through which Minetta Creek ran. In the early 17th century, a Native American village known as Sapohanikan was nearby. By the mid-17th century, the land on each side of the Minetta was used as farmland by the Dutch. The Dutch gave the land, then outside the city limits (Wall Street) to Angolan residents of the colony. 🗽⛲️🗽

MY THOUGHTS on News.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

New York Times: “Biden Expresses Confidence on the Economy. Voters May Be Skeptical.” Ah. Here are the numbers. Prior to Joe Biden’s presidency and the coronavirus, GDP increased by an average of 2.3 percent annually from 2016 to 2019. When Biden took office, the annualized rate was 1.4 percent. Inflation peaked at 9.1 percent in June of last year; presently, 5+ percent. It was 2+ percent av before 2021. Price per gallon of gasoline? Google it. You want another 4 years of Joe? 

       News adds: “President Biden believes that focusing on the economy will help his campaign for a second term, despite inflation and high interest rates.” The cause of much of the high inflation, which began accelerating in 2021 and peaked last year, has been a rise in the price of energy that led to gasoline prices topping $5 a gallon nationally last summer. Although prices were rising from the recovery from coronavirus, they spiraled upward following the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Yet Biden continues to support the war via a $113 billion Congress-approved aid to Ukraine, in favor of peace negotiations that could lead to end of armed hostilities. In fact, he even picks a fight with China with Taiwan as rationale. 🏦🗽🏦

Time: “China Says Biden Calling Xi a Dictator Is 'Provocation'.” What really is wrong with the President? Of course, China hit back after President Biden referred to President Xi Jinping as a "dictator,” saying the remarks were absurd and a provocation. Joe’s whacked snide (sic!) follows attempts by both sides to reduce friction. Now, it appears that Biden's comments could undermine the “progress” that was made by State Secretary Antony Blinken. (Photo credit: Reuters.)  🇺🇸☮️🇨🇳

New York Times: “Putin Casts Mutiny as Proof of Solidity, as Belarus Opens Doors to Rebels.” And adds: “Belarus said it had taken in the mercenary boss Yevgeny V. Prigozhin and might welcome his Wagner troops, while Russia dropped a criminal investigation of him for the uprising.” The thing is, Prigozhin sought “refuge” in Belarus, a very close ally of Russia. If the guy escaped to London or New York City, then that’d easily tell us who paid Wagner Group for the failed coup. 🇧🇾☮️🇷🇺

New York Times: “The Supreme Court Is Wrong About Andy Warhol.” And adds: “The artist was never concerned about copyright. He cared more about the right to copy, as an artistic method and a design for living.” The right to copy as an artistic method? Laughably insane! And then he got famous? At the time of his death in 1987, Mr Warhol was worth $220 million. And counting to date. "Shot Sage Blue Marilyn," which is a Marilyn photo not his, fetched $195 million. 

       The Marilyn photo that Warhol used as basis for his previous silkscreen painting “Marilyn Diptych” was a publicity photo from the 1953 film “Niagara.” Andy copied the photo in the weeks after Monroe's death in August 1962. Same photo became "Shot Sage Blue Marilyn.” 🏦🎨🏦

New York Times: “At This Staten Island Garden, the Plants Are All Queer.” And adds: “The Alice Austen House is celebrating the complicated and diverse sexuality of plants.” Uh huh. Also, a group of academics assign he/she/they to inanimate objects such as table, chair, book, spoon etcetera. Not the neuter it/its/itself. In modern Tagalog, we Filipinos call objects “s’ya” and not “ito” (for things). But “s`ya” is either male or female, which is also used to ID all genders. 👈🏝👉

Time: “China Backs Russia's Actions to Maintain 'National Stability' After Wagner Group Revolt.” China favors peace and resumption of trade. Not a surprise. Yet if China is pulled into the fray and U.S./China trade breaks down? China would close its ports, as it did in the past. U.S. supplies of many products would run low, paralyzing a vast range of businesses. It would take a long time to restore the economy. Emergency rationing would be needed. Why do we have to go there? 

       Fact: China and Russia are members of BRICS, with Brazil, India, and South Africa. Fast-growing economies that emerged as 21st century strode in. Goldman Sachs predicts that BRICS would collectively dominate the global economy by 2050. BRICS occupies about 26.7 percent of the world's land surface and 41.5 percent of the global population. Brazil, Russia, India, and China are among the world's ten largest countries by population, area, and GDP (PPP), and the latter three are widely considered superpowers. ☮️☯️☮️

Associated Press: “The head of the Wagner Group is defiant in his first audio statement after the rebellion.” / New York Times: “Revolt Raises Searing Question: Could Putin Lose Power?” Many on Facebook favor a “regime change.” But then Russia is not Venezuela, Nigeria, or Myanmar. Russia isn’t the Soviet of old. Moscow is now a superpower with massive economic leverage and political influence. And it is a friend of China, Brazil, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. 

       As in the classic case, sponsors of a coup d’etat line up alternative Kremlin leadership. That’d be a no brainer. But given Russia’s current role in global economics and political power play, such a transition wouldn’t be so cool with Moscow’s current allies. These allies are huge and powerful as well. ☮️☮️☮️

New York Times: “A Wellness Chatbot Is Offline After Its ‘Harmful’ Focus on Weight Loss.” The artificial intelligence tool, named Tessa, was presented by the National Eating Disorders Association as a way to discover coping skills. “But activists say it veered into problematic weight-loss advice.” I don’t really believe food and eating work around a singular scientific/wellness measure. But certainly, Tessa The Influencer will sell what the corporate boss says. 🤖🍎🤖

Time: “How to Talk to Your Kids About Gender.” Many blame religion or Christianity for anything old-school, conservative, or naturally primal. Why is that? I am not religious. But how to talk to kids about gender? Linear: Male, female. But in case they evolve into or identify with LBTIQA+ (which I don’t even know what is, honestly) let it be. Just be happy. But must I alter my beliefs as support to them? Nope. I am happy as I am, they are happy as they are. Then we can all play Uno. 🫤😑🙄

Smithsonian: “What Did the Ancient Romans Smell Like?” And adds: “Scientists have analyzed the composition of a 2,000-year-old perfume unearthed in Carmona, Spain.” Per historical coolness, I bet the cost of that perfume when developed by Chanel or Dior would rival Shumukh by Nabeel ($1.5 million) and Golden Delicious by DKNY ($1 million). Anything for the rich. Don’t be surprised to read later the smell of dinosaurs or Viking warriors–as lotion and deodorants. 👃💋👃