Brazilians mourn soccer plane crash tragedy

Brazil has begun three days of national mourning for the players of Chapecoense FC and others – including several journalists – who died in yesterday’s plane crash in Colombia.

***

WORLD

***

MEDIA

***

AMERICA IN TRANSITION

Draining the swamp…

***

BUSINESS

 

Finally, Happy St Andrew’s Day

God help us

There will be no note tonight because I’ll be traveling. So before I leave, here’s a “special edition” – just an occasional snapshot of where the world is.

It’s not good.

on the upside…

Tensions grow in Dakota pipeline standoff

The Standing Rock protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline looks set to reach some kind of conclusion sooner rather than later after the Army and local law enforcement warned protesters to leave the site by December 5th.

CBS reports:

“We are just not going to allow people to become unlawful,” said Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier, a veteran of the North Dakota Highway Patrol and National Guard who was elected to his first term as sheriff about two years ago. “It’s just not going to happen.”

More than 525 people from across the country have been arrested during months of protests over the four-state, $3.8 billion pipeline, all here in support of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe that’s fighting the project because it believes it threatens drinking water and cultural sites on their nearby reservation.

***

WORLD

***

AMERICA IN TRANSITION

***

MEDIA

***

SPORTS

Cuba libre?

The leader of the Cuban revolution has died aged 90. One of the world’s most iconic and complex political figures, he outlasted ten US Presidents and survived numerous CIA assassination attempts. Predictably, his passing has divided opinion, prompting both celebration and mourning.

Had he succeeded in his aspiration to play professional baseball, the world would likely have been different.

Sublime to the ridiculous

It’s Black Friday, the start of a weekend of insanity and conspicuous consumption across the US and wherever stuff is sold. Appallingly, that now includes the UK, where anything up to two billion pounds is expected to be spent, thankfully most of it online.

Have a peaceful weekend.

***

WORLD

***

AMERICA IN TRANSITION

It begins…

***

MEDIA

***

BUSINESS

 

We can’t be forever blessed…

Happy Thanksgiving.

Have a wonderful, peaceful day with those you love.

 

americantune

 

 

Hammond sets out Britain’s post-Brexit economic stall

Chancellor Philip Hammond delivers his first Autumn Statement in the House of Commons on Wednesday – and the first since Britain voted to leave the EU – amid continuing uncertainty over the effect of Brexit on the country’s economy. A part of the focus is set to be on society’s so-called “jams” – those who are “just about managing”.

***

WORLD

***

MEDIA

***

TECHNOLOGY

***

BUSINESS

***

CULTURE

***

FINALLY…

Quakes rock Japan and NZ

Japan’s meteorological agency said that a powerful earthquake occurred near Fukushima off the coast of the north-east of the country, triggering an evacuation alert and warnings of a possible Tsunami. The alert was later cancelled as the impact appeared to be less than feared.

The agency said the 7.4-magnitude event was an “aftershock from magnitude-9.0 Great East Japan Earthquake, which struck on March 11, 2011.”

There was also a quake off the north island of New Zealand.

***

WORLD

***

MEDIA

***

BUSINESS

***

SPORTS

Merkel stays, Sarkozy goes

Europe continues to figure out what direction it will take over the next few years. It’s not an easy or predictable path.

***

WORLD

***

MEDIA

***

BUSINESS

***

CULTURE

***

SPORTS

 

 

 

Sudden huge upsurge in enquiries about being cryogenically frozen

I just can’t with this today…

***

AMERICA IN TRANSITION

Meanwhile…

***

MEDIA

Media types were abuzz last night over a midnight legal embargo on a story led to a number of British papers’ first editions appearing with teaser white space on their fronts.

only to be revealed as…