While Trump stomps on US, Putin attacks Ukraine

The war in Donbas has been stepped up. The Russians began shelling on Sunday and haven't stopped. This is a test. A test to see how far they can push Trump. If he does nothing, as he is apt to do, then they will know they have the freedom to push hard into Ukraine.

Theresa May has stood fast with Nato in supporting the cease fire and sanctions. Trump has not. Let's see what happens next in this deadly game of chess.

America in decline: the cycle of growth and survival of a culture

By Daria Blackwell

written May 2016

Much has been written about corporate life cycles and survival of the mature corporation.  In my view, a country goes through the various life cycle stages much like a corporation does, from start-up to maturity and decline. My contention is that America is in its late stages of decline.

An article in Harvard Business Review suggests that there are four stages in corporate development:

Stage 1: Youth and Enthusiasm

Stage 2: Adolescence and Ambition

Stage 3: Maturity and Best Practice

Stage 4: Change and Struggle for Survival

Trump's America

Yesterday was the most bizarre day of the post apocalyptic era yet.

The entire senior state department staff resigned, Trump put a gag order on all govt. social media communications, spawning a plethora of altgov sites like altEPA, altNPS, altNasa, altNWS etc on Twitter. There have been no tweets on any of the official govt sites -- yesterday the National Weather Service was tracking a massive storm in the Gulf of Maine with 27 foot waves -- today nothing. The country's scientists are uniting and organizing a march on Wash DC -- hundreds of thousands already signed up. A petition on the White House website demanding release of Trump's financial data to satisfy emoluments constitutional requirement has more than 300,000 signature. The President has an insecure private android phone but no one is investigating his emails, his daughter and 2 senior staffers are registered to vote in more than one state, and he's going to investigate voter fraud by US citizens but not by Russia. Orwell's 1984 -- the originator of "alternative truths" as a tactic -- is an instant bestseller again. A White House staffer started tweeting the truth about a madman in office and was shot down. 

But the resistance is underway.

Flight MH17 shot down by a Russian Buk Missile

More than two years after the fact, the investigative team looking into the cause of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crash concluded that it was a Buk missile brought in from Russia and returned to Russia after the incident that brought the plane down. We all knew that in 2014, but the fact that an international investigative team has no shadow of doubt cements the result. Here is the CNN report.  Here is the BBC report.

Ukrainian Diaspora Survey Extended to March 13, 2016

I just completed a survey of the Ukrainian diaspora about interest in the creation of an investment fund targeted at helping Ukraine get back on its footing.  It's interesting.  It is only open until March 13, so if you have the ability to give them your input, please do.  All the information you need follows.

21 Strange Communication Challenges Bilingual People Experience

Being bilingual, or more accurately bi-cultural, can be a confusing state of mind. You find yourself constantly choosing one or the other cultural norm depending on the situation. Sometimes, the norms are vastly different. Sometimes there are no parallels, which makes it very hard to explain.

Found Ukrainian Documentary

A Time to Remember

A long lost Ukrainian-Canadian CBC documentary dating back to 1988 was recently rediscovered in a library. The now ancient video tape was preserved and posted on YouTube. The story documents 100 years of immigration from Ukraine to Canada. It was produced in tribute to 1000 years of Christianity in Ukraine -- at a time when the Soviet Iron Curtain prevented those still in Ukraine from practicing their faith, and even emigrating at will.