MOTHER'S DAY, WAR, AND COLD WAR: MAY 8

MAY 8 

MOTHER'S DAY 

WAR 

& 

COLD WAR 

MOTHER & DAUGHTER 

NOVOSIBIRSK (RUSSIA), USSR, 1984 

May 8, 1945, is celebrated as V-E Day (May 9 as Victory Day by the USSR and now Russia) -- the end of World War II in Europe. 

On May 8, 1984, the Soviet Union announced that it would boycott the Los Angeles Olympics in the summer of 1984, ostensibly because it feared for the safety of its athletes. 

The real reason was generally understood to be retaliation for the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics. 

A couple of months later I was wandering around the USSR by myself ("wandering" meaning following an itinerary I had chosen for myself, but specified and paid for in advance) for seven weeks; in Siberia, in Novosibirsk, I took the photograph above. 

And why had the U.S. boycotted the Moscow Olympics, so dear to "Moscow's" heart?  Because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan on December 27, 1979 (with Soviet troops not withdrawing until February 15, 1989). 

On October 7, 2001, the U.S. invaded Afghanistan.  This war has already lasted longer than the Soviets'; with Bin Laden dead and 9/11 presumably avenged, what next? 

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY 

'LOOK, MUTTI': MOTHER & DAUGHTER IN KARSTADT DEPARTMENT STORE, GIESSEN, GERMANY, ONCE UPON A TIME

'LOOK, MUTTI' 

MOTHER & DAUGHTER 

PREPARING TO LUNCH 

in the 

Karstadt Department Store 

Giessen, Germany 

Once Upon a Time 

Karstadt was in the news earlier this month when its "billionaire owner," Nicolas Berggruen, was quoted as saying he was not interested in buying rival chain Kaufhof. 

IN HONOR OF CHRISTMAS

MOTHER & CHRIST CHILD

IN HONOR OF CHRISTMAS

CATHEDRAL BASILICA OF

ST. JOHN THE APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST

LIMA, PERU

MERKEL, "MUTTI," AND NOT-THE-MARK

MERKEL, "MUTTI," AND 

NOT-THE-MARK 

ANGELA MERKEL ON THE MOVE 

What to do about bearing gifts to the Greeks, especially when your own economy has unexpectedly slipped a bit? Chancellor Angela Merkel has to decide. 

German public opinion seems to be against anything smacking of a bailout. The New York Times has already run a headline proclaiming that "Germany, Forced to Buoy Greece, Rues Euro Shift." It is we-told-you-so time bemoaning the loss of the "beloved Deutschmark" (Financial Times). Yet what is to become of the European project "beloved" of former Chancellors? 

Will Merkel be Mutti (Mom) or Catherine the Great? 

(For a photograph of Angela Merkel and George W. Bush holding hands, see here.) 

A SUMMER DAY ON THE RIVER (NOVOSIBIRSK)

A SUMMER DAY ON THE RIVER

THE RIVER OB' 

NOVOSIBIRSK (RUSSIA), USSR 1984 

On a Sunday two-thirds of the way between Mother's Day and the Summer Solstice, a treat from a boat on the River Ob'. We have taken off from the city of Novosibirsk, the largest in Siberia, and a major node on the Trans-Siberian Express. 

MOTHER & CHILD & HORSE: LIMA, PERU

MOTHER & CHILD & HORSE

LIMA, PERU

PERU SCENES, the video-slideshow, is now up on YouTube.

From travels in LIMA, URUBAMBA, OLLANTAYTAMBO,

MACHU PICCHU, and CUSCO, PERU, at the time of the APEC Summit

1. The Ghostly General

2. Looking for the "Leader of the Free World" at the APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) Summit, Lima, Peru

3. Bring Me the Head of John the Baptist

4. Standing Guard over Machu Picchu

5. Mother & Christ Child

6. Mother & Child & Horse

7. The Lovers

8. Santa Claus & Mrs. Claus

9. A Family Dinner Out

10. Standing Guard over Lima at the Time of APEC

11. Playing Out the Leaders

12. Our Car & Their Car

13. A Stony Beauty

14. Night Falls in Machu Picchu the Town

15. Mt. Salcantay

More "PERU SCENES"