Bearded Fail, Russian Adventurism, Buoyed by End

Well, Shit!

I’m not going to dwell on the late night spent watching the initial game of the Bruins playoff series with Montreal.  It went double overtime and did not end the way it should have, but it was an awesome game and why hockey really is the only major sport that hasn’t lost the true spirit of competition.  These guys obviously care and that makes such a huge difference to old fogies like me who fondly remember the days when professional athletes actually seemed to worry more about the outcome of the game than where their next endorsement dollar was coming from.  Looks to be a great series but my beard needs to start working its magic soon.

Ex-Ukrainian Military Helicopter

Putin’s had to slow down a little with his plans for Ukraine but obviously felt emboldened by nostalgia yesterday on May Day.  Two Ukrainian helicopters were shot down by shoulder fired missiles.  This undercut Putin's claims that the well-orchestrated seizure of eastern Ukrainian cities was done by armed locals.  Local militias don’t wander around with this type of sophisticated weapon.  This was another step towards goading the Ukrainians into securing their own territory so Putin can rush in to save the poor oppressed Russian speaking population.

Putin's spokesman said the Ukrainian attempt to secure their own territory "effectively destroyed the last hope for the implementation of the Geneva agreements" that aimed to defuse the crisis. A day earlier Putin warned Ukraine not to move against the insurgents and said it should withdraw its military from eastern regions.  Seems a whole like what we used to call “setting conditions” prior to a military campaign.

It’s interesting to see Putin’s reinitiated the old Soviet tradition of May Day parades and sad that such a great people are so poorly led.  A country can never move forward if they’re constantly looking to the past.  Putin’s treasured memory of the failed and thoroughly discredited communist system will hurt Russia in the long run.  As I’ve said before it’s also sad because I’ve always thought the Russians would be better and more natural/reliable allies for the US than the Europeans.

Russians On Parade

We have a shared need to wipe out radical Islam amongst other endeavors.  Looking fifty years down the road I think Islam will control most of Europe and it’ll be the US, Russia, India, and Australia allied to confront them.  Putin needs to look forward instead of the failed past.  It will be fascinating to watch the results of the meeting today between the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Obama.  We’ll learn if Putin’s economic ploys hit home enough to back the Germans off supporting the freedom of Ukraine.  A tepid response will doom the precarious situation in Eastern Ukraine and hold incredibly important long term importance to the viability of NATO.

On a much lighter note, I received a text last night from my son in law which I didn’t read until this morning.  Apparently all of his time in Minneapolis hasn’t been spent in the recording studio.  He reported a fellow band member and he visited no less than three breweries to sample their wares.  He opined that I would have been proud of him.  True that.

My Son in Law At "Work" Yesterday

My son will join us for First Friday of the Week celebrations this afternoon in Worcester which combined with my son in law’s Midwestern efforts should have us all ready for the summer pub crawling season.   We’re all aiming towards a truly epic tux fitting episode in late May.  Something tells me we’ll be ready.