Dispatches from Vilnius

Ever since Belarus completed construction of its twin Ostrovets nuclear power plant near the border of Lithuania, we have periodically been issued potassium iodide (KI) capsules through the local pharmacy. The first packet got crushed in my wallet. The second I now house in a stainless steel pill tube attached to my key chain. The idea is that if we were to experience a nuclear explosion similar to Chernobyl, the tablets would buy us some time during evacuation. From what little I've read about KI , it is not really suitable for someone my age, but the state health department issued the tablets to everyone just the same, recommending 130 mg. for those over 12 years old. I suppose an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure in this case, especially after watching the HBO mini-series Chernobyl, which was largely filmed in Lithuania . No one really understood why Belarus needed this power plant. Russia financed and constructed the reactors for its vassal state, starting in 2013,...

After announcing his own chain of Trump-approved gas stations selling petrol at $3.47 a gallon, the 47 in honor of his presidency, petrol prices have skyrocketed again with these gas stations holding the bag. Interesting how long they keep these super low prices? I suppose his backers thought prices were coming down anyway, so they wouldn't have to eat too much with these special offers. But, and it is a might big But, Trump started the war all over again, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz once again, and oil prices have jumped to $85 a barrel.  Trump claims everything is under control but with more service men and women dead , as Iran hit American bases all over the Gulf States, you have to figure nothing is under control. This is a war spiraling out of control with few signs Trump will be able to rein it in, largely because his ego is too big to ever admit defeat. He gave us a good taste of that this past week as he re-litigated the 2020 elections yet again, claiming there was wi...

We tend to give persons a pass when they are terminally ill or dead out of respect, but do these two men deserve any respect? Mitch went out of his way to stack the Supreme Court, first by refusing to consider Pres. Obama’s nomination for Antonin Scalia’s vacant seat in 2016, despite his death coming in February with 11 months remaining in Obama’s second term. Then by stuffing the court with Amy Coney Barrett when Ruth Bader Ginsburg suddenly passed away in September of 2020. You can say this was just shrewd politics, but Mitch tried to justify his earlier position on Scalia by citing the “ Biden rule ,” and then turned right around and broke it when he saw a golden opportunity to have a 6–3 advantage on the Supreme Court. We all know what happened next . Lindsey is an equally smarmy character always sucking up to whoever is in power. For years, he was given a pass because of his close relationship to John McCain, whom many considered a man of great moral character. Lindsey hoped to ha...

It was bad enough Vanilla Ice got cancelled as a result of thunderstorms, but the whole party came down to a fireworks show that looked like a 6-second reel put on replay for 40 minutes. Trump, who promised to speak until 4 in the morning if he had to, lasted just shy of 40 minutes , turning the celebration into another one of his screeds as he railed against "communists" and other foul creatures raining on his parade. This celebration was doomed from the start but only got worse as it creeped closer to the big day. There was only a feeble attempt to rid the reflecting pool of algae. In the end, the park service put a big construction fence around the pool so that curious visitors wouldn't stick their hands into the toxic sludge that had already killed numerous ducks  thinking it might be a marsh. The massive quantity of hydrogen peroxide only served to further erode the special blue paint that flaked off in chunks, but authorities continue to claim someone went at it wi...