March 2014 has been interesting ...
Back in The USSR, Playing Chess - The Ukrainians, at least those living in and around Kiev, decided their future should involve closer ties to the West and not Russia, so they forced out their elected leader who'd chosen to spoon with Russia instead. Looked good for a brief moment for the Ukraine and its people, but like many moves on a chessboard it appeared superb only until the opposition made its move. 'Pro-Russian' (but NOT Russian, they exclaimed) troops, masked and without discernable insignia, and strangely well-organzied for a sudden opportunistic action, quickly surrounded all Ukrainian military bases in the Crimea. Then also very quickly the Crimean parliament (the region was semi-autonomous, like Scotland only without kilts and the inscrutable accents) arranged a referendum for Crimea to declare itself independent, while at the same time petitioning Russia (aka Vladimir Putin) to take them in. Whew! That's more action in a short time than the US Congress could ever manage, even with advance planning. No wonder our government was caught on the back foot by this speed of action. Before we knew it, the game was over, no moves left for us that could win, left to angle for a draw instead of conceding abject defeat. This tale has one caution to the Crimeans and one moral for us: be careful what you wish for, because it might come with borscht-induced gastritis; and, never play chess with a Russian, unless you are built of silicon and your name is Deep Blue.
Mystery Over Malaysia - In our modern tracked-from-birth-to-death world, where radar pings every moving thing above 500 feet and satellites can spot a medium sized truck from space, we just don't expect to lose something as big as a Boeing 777. So how on earth could we possibly lose track of Malaysian airlines flight MH370 and its ill-fated souls? The mystery of where this giant of a plane went has dragged on for weeks now, reaching the point where some less credible pundits are suggesting alien intervention or some Bermuda-triangle like event. Evidence suggests the plane was deliberately diverted from its planned course, but why? Nobody who might have a real clue is talking, so its left to the rest of us to wonder and to fervently hope for the innocent people caught up in this nightmare.
Rumble and Choke - Our leaders here in California tell us we are in a drought, but not so bad yet that we need mandatory water rationing. I don't know, but its been pretty damned dry this 'Winter', and last year was no deluge either, but, hey, we'll take the relaxed attitude for now and watch our lawns wither, and our skies fill up with smoke from the inevitable fires. And maybe some dust kicked up by the recent March earthquakes (biggest so far of 5.1) rumbling around parts of Orange County. The cluster of quakes sit on one fault in a web of faults that criss-cross the state, feeding into and out of the Mother Fault, the San Andreas. When the ground shifts, dust rises into the air. Consumption be done about it? Of cough not! (apologies Woody).
This March we could basically forget about the Ides and focus instead on the whole enchilada. It's been an interesting lesson in the chessiness of World Politics; a reaffirmation that mysteries can still happen (sadly in the case of Flight MH370), and a reminder that those who live in Paradise will eventually feel the Earth move - and not in a good way. Happy April, everyone!
Back in The USSR, Playing Chess - The Ukrainians, at least those living in and around Kiev, decided their future should involve closer ties to the West and not Russia, so they forced out their elected leader who'd chosen to spoon with Russia instead. Looked good for a brief moment for the Ukraine and its people, but like many moves on a chessboard it appeared superb only until the opposition made its move. 'Pro-Russian' (but NOT Russian, they exclaimed) troops, masked and without discernable insignia, and strangely well-organzied for a sudden opportunistic action, quickly surrounded all Ukrainian military bases in the Crimea. Then also very quickly the Crimean parliament (the region was semi-autonomous, like Scotland only without kilts and the inscrutable accents) arranged a referendum for Crimea to declare itself independent, while at the same time petitioning Russia (aka Vladimir Putin) to take them in. Whew! That's more action in a short time than the US Congress could ever manage, even with advance planning. No wonder our government was caught on the back foot by this speed of action. Before we knew it, the game was over, no moves left for us that could win, left to angle for a draw instead of conceding abject defeat. This tale has one caution to the Crimeans and one moral for us: be careful what you wish for, because it might come with borscht-induced gastritis; and, never play chess with a Russian, unless you are built of silicon and your name is Deep Blue.
Mystery Over Malaysia - In our modern tracked-from-birth-to-death world, where radar pings every moving thing above 500 feet and satellites can spot a medium sized truck from space, we just don't expect to lose something as big as a Boeing 777. So how on earth could we possibly lose track of Malaysian airlines flight MH370 and its ill-fated souls? The mystery of where this giant of a plane went has dragged on for weeks now, reaching the point where some less credible pundits are suggesting alien intervention or some Bermuda-triangle like event. Evidence suggests the plane was deliberately diverted from its planned course, but why? Nobody who might have a real clue is talking, so its left to the rest of us to wonder and to fervently hope for the innocent people caught up in this nightmare.
Rumble and Choke - Our leaders here in California tell us we are in a drought, but not so bad yet that we need mandatory water rationing. I don't know, but its been pretty damned dry this 'Winter', and last year was no deluge either, but, hey, we'll take the relaxed attitude for now and watch our lawns wither, and our skies fill up with smoke from the inevitable fires. And maybe some dust kicked up by the recent March earthquakes (biggest so far of 5.1) rumbling around parts of Orange County. The cluster of quakes sit on one fault in a web of faults that criss-cross the state, feeding into and out of the Mother Fault, the San Andreas. When the ground shifts, dust rises into the air. Consumption be done about it? Of cough not! (apologies Woody).
This March we could basically forget about the Ides and focus instead on the whole enchilada. It's been an interesting lesson in the chessiness of World Politics; a reaffirmation that mysteries can still happen (sadly in the case of Flight MH370), and a reminder that those who live in Paradise will eventually feel the Earth move - and not in a good way. Happy April, everyone!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment