The Northstar Journal: The Magazine With Heart
News & Commentary; From The Shores of the Salish Sea ~ Why I Fly AMTRAK; Meade Fischer Travels & Other Travel News; Good Examples; Bad Examples; Northstar Interactive; Our Science Section Abridged; The Green Agenda; Health; Lifestyle; Thought of the Week; Best Of The Net; From Northstar; All Creatures Great & Small; Northstar Endorses; You Guys Think We Make This Stuff Up; About Us
JAMALA SINGS OF 1944, AND EUROVISION WEEPS
Hi Mishka:
Last week, Eurovision’s annual talent contest was won by the participant from Ukraine. Her stage name is Jamala, who is well-known in our country for her fantastic opera voice and eccentric look reminiscent of Lady Gaga. After her victory Jamala was awarded by the President of Ukraine a “People’s Artist of Ukraine” status.
For Ukraine, whether the 2017 Eurovision contest is held in Kiev, Odessa or Lviv it means more tourists will come next year which is very favourable for the country.
Jamala’s song “1944” reminds us about dramatic events of World War II. Two regimes ~ NAZIs and Communists ~ were fighting in ultimate combat and in the end, ate up each other. Both failed in their goals but the sacrifice of peoples were enormous.
Being of Tatar origin, Jamala sings on behalf of those deportated from the Crimean Peninsula. From May 18 – 20, 1944, about 200,000 were taken when all Tatar people were unlawfully accused of collaboration with the NAZIs.
For us, World War II times are hard to recall without tears as almost every family was affected. I know and feel compassionate that your family too, Mishka, faced the injustice of war.
My great-grandmother and her sister ~ being of German roots ~ were taken, in their eighties, after being accused of collaboration with the NAZIs. Their only “crime” was that the local headquarters of fascists during occupation chose their house to stay.
Now I ask you, what else could they do, with young grandchildren about 5 years old with them to look after while all men of the family were on the frontline? Definitely being of German origin didn’t help in the eyes of the commissars when the city was won back.
The past cannot be changed but from it, conclusions can be reached and lessons can be learned. The most important lesson we need to learn is how to prevent wars, with their inevitable injustice and crimes.
And to me, if song contests can be a stage for countries to represent their messages, why not? It is not enough just to sing beautifully, great attention is paid to feelings and meaning of what broadcasted.
And despite this headline in the American Washington Post, Russia And Ukraine Are At It Again, this time over a Eurovision song, the two nations actually inspired one another and voted for the other in the contest itself. The Ukrainian people gave 12 points of twelve possible to the Russian representative and Russian gave 10 points to Jamala.
That’s it for this week. Stay safe, my cousin Mishka.
Olya Bereza, European Editor To comment for publication, email her c/o minstrel312@aol.com
THE NEWS
As a world community, we need to address this before they take over the planet. Superbugs To ‘Kill Every Three Seconds’
And how, exactly again, do we spell “g u t s”? Three Years Ago, He Lost His Leg To War. Now He’s The First Combat Amputee To Reach The Top Of Mt. Everest.
Good! FDA Issues New Nutrition Label. Here Are 10 Key Changes
INTERNATIONAL HEADLINE NEWS
Thin On Influence, World Humanitarian Summit Will Tackle Aid Crisis
ASIA
Obama In Vietnam Will Focus On Future, Rather Than The Past
China Ignores Revolution Anniversary
India To ‘Divert Rivers’ To Tackle Drought
US Raises China Steel Taxes By 522%
Mitsubishi Motors President Steps Down
Japanese Economy Avoids Recession
Thailand Suspends Uber Motorcycle Taxis
Record 51 C/123.8 F Heat Hits India
Decapitated Churches in China’s Christian Heartland
In China, Government Workers Push Rosy, Diverting Views Online
Rebels Kill 6 Indian Soldiers Near Border With Myanmar
AFRICA
Video: Egypt Aviation Ministry News Briefing
Egypt Finds Missing Plane’s Debris, Passengers’ Belongings
Video: Egyptair Crash: What The Evidence Tells Us
After Years of Distrust, U.S. Military Reconciles With Nigeria to Fight Boko Haram
Oscar Pistorius to Be Released From Jail on Oct. 20
Yoweri Museveni and Other African ‘Presidents for Life’
Suicide Bomber Kills at Least 6 in Northeastern Nigeria
MIDDLE EAST
The Saudi Citizens Seen Targeted In Video Live In The Hotbed Of Shia Opposition
Benjamin Netanyahu Seeks Ultranationalists For Coalition In Israel
When Cultural Heritage Is Caught In The Cross Hairs
Reza Zarrab, Charged With Violating Sanctions On Iran, Seeks Bail Deal
Senate Passes Bill Exposing Saudi Arabia To 9/11 Legal Claims
EUROPE
Norwegian Fund To Sue Volkswagen
Russia And Ukraine Are At It Again, This Time Over A Eurovision Song
Uk-Built Qashqais ‘Cheated Emissions’
Egyptair Flight Crashed – Hollande Announces
Tycoon On The Run Hopes Russia’s Reach Stops At The French Riviera’s Edge
How Do You Move A City? Ask Kiruna, Sweden
Turkish Parliament Approves Stripping Lawmakers Of Their Immunity
Celebrities, In Open Letter, Urge Britons To Stay In E.U.
CANADA
Fort McMurray Residents May Be Allowed Back Even As Fire Rages
Justin Trudeau Elbows Lawmaker In Parliamentary Quarrel In Canada
Fort McMurray Wildfire Upends Plan To Restart Oil Sands Operations
Canada Moves To Ban Discrimination Against Transgender People
UNITED STATES
A Plan To Flood San Francisco With News On Homelessness
In Sharp Reversal, California Suspends Water Restrictions
Transgender Americans See Their Personal Battle Become A National Showdown
Children Of Heroin Crisis Find Refuge In Grandparents’ Arms
University Of Miami Establishes Chair For Study Of Atheism
LATIN AMERICA
Mexican President Moves To Legalize Gay Marriage Nationwide
Colombia And Farc Rebels Reach A Deal To Free Child Soldiers
Dying Infants And No Medicine: Inside Venezuela’s Failing Hospitals
Mexican Officials Take Steps To Counter ‘The Trump Emergency’
El Salvador Throws Out Gang Truce And Officials Who Put It In Place
Susana Malcorra Of Argentina Becomes Candidate For U.N. Secretary General
OCEANA & POLYNESIA
‘Cover-Up’ Row Over McDonald’s Fish
Melbourne University Lecturer Dies On Everest Descent
Thousands Of Young Voters Missing From Electoral Roll As Deadline Looms
‘Getting Out There’ Shorten’s Strategy, Turnbull Maintains ‘Sterile’ Approach
TOPICAL HEADLINE NEWS
CLIMATE CHANGE AND WEATHER
Ontario’s Climate Change Action Plan: Here’s How The Spending Breaks Down
‘Fundamentally Unstable’: Scientists Confirm Their Fears About East Antarctica’s Biggest Glacier
‘Climate Change Is Going To Drive A Lot Of Change In The National Parks.’
Climate Crowdsourcing
Stuck On Hot: Earth Breaks 12th Straight Monthly Heat Record
Climate Change Doubters Really Aren’t Going To Like This Study
ESPIONAGE AND TERRORISM
How Kosovo Was Turned Into Fertile Ground for ISIS
Afghan Intelligence Says U.S. Drone Killed Taliban Leader In Pakistan
Islamic State Group Leader Urges Attacks In Europe And US
IMMIGRATION AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Jolie Pitt: Refugee System Breaking Down
Cubans Trying To Reach U.S. End Standoff In Lighthouse Near Key West
Migrant Crimes Add Volatile Element To Austria’s Election
FROM THE SHORES OF THE SALISH SEA
WHY I FLY AMTRAK
Hi again, gang, from the shores of the Salish Sea. Well, several items drew our attention this past week.
Our hearts of course go out to all those impacted by the loss of that EgyptAir jetliner. I hope the trip was really necessary in the first place. My grief is mixed with feelings of frustration at the apparent impotence of the international aviation industry to police itself better and to re-order its priorities so that passenger safety and comfort are at the top of the list.
I do not care what the insurance actuarians say about the statistical safety of this mode of transportation. If I am destined to die in a crash, I would just as soon not fall nine kilometers first.
This happens entirely too often and that it does strongly suggests that we need to re-think our priorities. If we want better aircraft, we need to stop acquiring parts and labor from the lowest bidders. If we are going up 30,000 feet and flying across a continent and an ocean, we need that plane made by the best in the business from the best materials in the business.
Until that happens, I’m flying AMTRAK across land and taking a cork-keeled Canadian crab boat across any body of water bigger than my bathtub.
You folks have a great week. And thanks again, then, eh, for the ear.
Rusty
To comment, email us at minstrel312@aol.com To contribute to the next edition, please go here.
MEADE FISCHER TRAVELS
Where has one of North America’s foremost kayaking photojournalists and writers been lately and who or what has he been shooting.
AND YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHECK OUT:
Can We Float To The Edge Of Space?
The Longest Train Journey In India
Mystery Of Wales’ Abandoned Hillforts
The Island Ready To Welcome The World
The Midnight Train To A Tokyo Tradition
GOOD EXAMPLES
I think this is pretty ingenious. Hotels Build Buzz For Eco-Efforts With Rooftop Beehives: Honey Used For Cocktails, Food And Spa Treatments
Outstanding. Amazon’s Hotel For Homeless Comes To Life
Looks like the Windy City’s doing some housecleaning. 140 Are Arrested In Gang Raids In Chicago
To comment, email us at minstrel312@aol.com
BAD EXAMPLES
I’d say this is a dramatic understatement. ‘It’s Gone Too Far’: 17 Ranking Female French Politicians Expose Rampant Sexual Harassment
Sigh. ‘Discrimination’? Canadian Woman Says She Was Told Not To Wear Tank Top At Gym Because Of Larger Chest
As if there is not enough in the world over which to quarrel. A Spa In Burger King? A Taco Bell Lounge? This Is The Future Of Fast Food.
NORTHSTAR INTERACTIVE
Save Belize
Saving An American Icon
Counting Arctic Seals And Polar Bears
To comment, email us at minstrel312@aol.com
OUR SCIENCE SECTION, ABRIDGED
This is intriguing. The Flying Machine In Your Back Garden
And this to me is amazing. Sharks’ Electricity-Sensing Organs Are Even More Powerful Than We Realized
“Incredible” fits this one. New Solar Plants Generate Floating Green Power
EARTH
New Planets, Artificial Skin And Other Science News You May Have Missed
Did You Know Earth Had A Boring Phase? Neither Did These Huge Fossils.
The Lost Gardens of Emily Dickinson
SPACE
Why Dying Stars Might Be A Good Place To Look For Alien Life
New Horizons Studies Its First Mysterious, Distant Space Object After Pluto
More Signs That Life Could Thrive On Jupiter’s Moon Europa
Video Feature: Seeking Pluto’s Frigid Heart
TECHNOLOGY
A Jet Engine You Can Print At Home
‘Tetris The Movie’: Coming Soon To A Theater Near You
Eske Willerslev Is Rewriting History With Dna
THE GREEN AGENDA
The Expiration Dates On Our Food Could Be Contributing To A Huge Environmental Problem — The Surprising Factor That’s Causing People To Throw Away Perfectly Good Food.
Mine Environmental Risk Grows With Big Coal Bankruptcies
Human Developments Are Wiping Out The West’s Natural Land
Seattle Now Fourth For Growth Among 50 Biggest Us Cities
California Allows Water Districts To Set Their Own Conservation Targets
HEALTH
Consumer Nightmare: Theranos ‘Voids’ Or Revises Tens Of Thousands Of Blood Test Results, WSJ Reports
‘Forest Bathing’ Is Latest Fitness Trend To Hit U.S. — ‘Where Yoga Was 30 Years Ago’
Simple Steps To Avoid Losing Your Sight
Exercise Tied To Lower Risk For 13 Types Of Cancer
Learning To Live With A Child’s Allergies
Opioid Prescriptions Drop For First Time In Two Decades
See also: ShareCare – Helping People Grow Younger Every Year
LIFESTYLE
The Long History And Slow Death Of A Word Once Used To Describe Everyone And Everything From Egypt To China As Well As Rugs
‘A Million Questions’ From Descendants of Slaves Sold to Aid Georgetown
Georgia’s Alleged ‘Dr. Death’, Prescriber Of Addictive Pain Medicines, Indicted On Three Counts Of Murder After 36 Of His Patients Die
Teen Killed His Girlfriend’s Parents And Celebrated With Sex. He’s Being Released After 5 Years.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK
“Take full account of the excellencies which you possess, and in gratitude, remember how you would hanker after them, if you had them not.”
Marcus Aurelius, 16th Emperor of the Roman Empire
To subscribe and experience Thoughts in their original, please contact Ame at SpringggRain@aol.com
BEST OF THE NET
Interactive Feature: Unearthing The Secrets Of New York’s Mass Graves
Video: Ride Along As A Rocket Lands
Remembering Morely Safer
MASHA & THE BEAR
FROM NORTHSTAR
A super power no longer, a resource hungry and repressive America faces a Latin American armada rampaging its west coast and a strong, silent and powerful Canada manning the North Wall. The fires of rebellion burn in the Pacific Northwest and it is into this crucible and forge that the cybernetic patrol boat Testament and her crew of three men and three women are thrust. Individuals of duty and conscience both, when they join the other side, all Hell breaks loose. A rollicking adventure for anyone who loves the sea, a good yarn and characters which spring to life even as Testament herself leaps the waves. Now available in both paperback and Kindle at amazon.com
NORTHSTAR MEDIA SERVICES
Advertising Copy ~ Classified and Display
Comedy ~ jokes, monologues
Ghost writing
Speeches
Editing ~ General and International
“Americanization” of International Websites
Online English Tutoring
Special Projects
ALL CREATURES, GREAT AND SMALL
I’d love to see an itemized list of what was served at this one. This Couple Loves Cats So Much They Invited More Than 1,000 Of Them To Their Wedding
Not in a bizillion years would I do this. Divers Experience Rare Swim With Five-Metre Whale Shark Off ‘Straddie’
Even for us, this is weird. Mini Microbes With Musical Tastes
SHORTS
Tropical Journey To See Wild Orangutans
City Bees Stick To A Flower Diet Rather Than Slurp Up Soda
Foot-Long Ancient Tooth Discovered On Australian Beach
YOU GUYS THINK WE MAKE THIS STUFF UP
This Canned Canadian Air Goes For $32 A Canister; The Washington Post Morning Mix Team Tested It Out
Seagulls On An Iceberg
Is This Future Terrific Or Terrifying?
ABOUT US
The Northstar Journal: The Magazine With Heart
Dennis Steussy – Associate Editor
Meade Fischer – Contributing Editor
Shannon Patricia Goddard (1962 – 2001) – Editor Emeritus
We are a reader-supported international news, commentary and general interest Internet weekly magazine reaching readers in 22 countries. They range in age from 12 – 93 and cross all demographics. If you like what you read and would like to contribute to the next edition, please go here. International currencies accepted. For more information and to receive us in your email if you currently view us on our website, contact us at minstrel312@aol.com
The Northstar Journal 