by Gracie Connell

Your humble scrivener had an Uncle Leo growing up. He was an agreeable enough chap, married to my mother’s sister, Beatrice. The word “leo” of course means “lion” in Latin, and, and as our astute readership knows, that in turn derives from the Greek “λέων,” also meaning “lion.”
Come to think of it, your scrivener doesn’t think he ever saw his Uncle Leo roar. He was more of the quiet, unassuming …

George on Friday: Ukraine War Peace Talks Begin, A New Take on Schrödinger’s Cat, Nation’s Third Largest Commuter Rail System Goes on Strike, Parade to Honor the 250th Anniversary of the U.S. Army May Cost as much as $45 Million

by Jonathan Spira

Good morning! Today is Friday, the 16th of May, 2025. In this issue, George looks at the cost of the massive parade to honor the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, which are proceeding better than many officials had projected, the strike of the nation’s third largest commuter rail system, and the death of Charles Strouse, composer of “Annie,” “Bye Bye Birdie,” and “Those Were the …

George on Thursday: ‘Nothing Will Happen’ at Ukraine War Peace Talks Says Trump, Harvard’s Copy of the Magna Carta is No Copy, Republican Senators Raise Concerns Over Qatari Boeing 747-8 Gift to White House

by George

Good morning! Today is Thursday, the 15th of May, 2025. In this issue, George looks at what President Donald Trump said about the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian peace talks in Istanbul, how Harvard ended up with an original Magna Carta when it thought it was buying a copy for under $30, what Republican senators think of Qatar’s gift of a 13-year-old Boeing 747-8, and Donald Trump’s response to a suggestion for changing the …

George on Wednesday: Trump Visits Qatar, Which Then Orders 210 Boeing Airplanes; Former Uruguay President José Mujica, Noted for His Humility, Dies at 89; Max Rebrands to HBO Max; Apple Releases Important iOS Update

by George

Good morning! Today is Wednesday, the 14th of May, 2025. In this issue, George looks at President Trump’s visit to Qatar, the lifting of sanctions on Syria, the death of former Uruguay President José Mujica who was noted for his modest lifestyle, Burberry’s downsizing, and Max’ Rebranding to HBO Max.
 
@IN BRIEF ON WEDNESDAY
Continuing his Middle East tour, U.S President Donald Trump arrived in Qatar on Wednesday, after which the White …

George on Tuesday: U.S. Forms ‘Strategic Economic Partnership’ with Saudi Arabia, Inflation in U.S. Fell in April, India Will ‘Retaliate on its Own Terms’ if Pakistan Attacks, Germany Bans Far-Right Reichsbürger Group

by George

Good morning! Today is Tuesday, the 13th of May, 2025. In this issue, George looks at Germany’s just-banned anticonstitutional revisionist group, the Reichsbürger; the “strategic economic partnership” that the United States ie embarking upon with Saudi Arabia; what India said it would do should Pakistan attack again; and the prospects for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.
 @IN BRIEF ON TUESDAY
The United States entered into a “strategic economic partnership” with the …

George on Monday: U.S and China to Ease Tariffs for 90 Days, Soviet-Era Spacecraft Returns to Earth, Leaders from India and Pakistan Hold Talks, Germany Turns Away Asylum Seekers, Heathrow’s Third Runway

by George

Good morning! Today is Monday, the 12th of May, 2025. In this issue, George looks at the peace talks between India and Pakistan, news that the United States and China wil briefly tap the brakes on sky high tariffs, the return after 53 years of a Soviet-era Spacecraft, Heathrow Airport’s potential third runway, and how under Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz the German government is turning away asylum seekers at European borders.
@IN …

Kanye West’s New Song ‘Heil Hitler’ Glorifies the Führer, is Blocked by Major Streaming Services

by Jonathan Spira

Perhaps it should have foreshadowed what was to follow: In early February 2025, Kanye West, who has taken to referring to himself as “Ye,” took back the apology he made in 2023 for past antisemitic statements in a series of social media posts that might have gone unnoticed by many at the time they were made. Among the many disturbing statements that he made during an hours-long rant was one …

Mr. Crawford’s Music Appreciation Class: American Classical Orchestra’s 40th Anniversary ‘Magnificently Mozart’ (and Beethoven, too) Concert at Alice Tully Hall

by Jonathan Spira

The hands on the clock read 7:30 p.m.  and some stragglers are still streaming into the music classroom at Alice Tully High School for Mr. Crawford’s music appreciation class.
What, you say? There is no such thing, I hear you cry. Perhaps so, but most concerts are the in-person equivalent of putting the phonograph needle gently down on the record or pressing play in the Apple Klassik app for classical music. …