Monday, February 24, 2020

Farewell to the flesh

Lent is getting off to a rocky start for that portion of the world which marks it.  A carnival parade in Volkmarsen, Germany, ended suddenly when a man appeared to drive a car deliberately at the marchers, many of them children.  In New Orleans, two people were run over and killed by Mardi Gras floats during the past week.  Haiti cancelled all celebrations after gunfire between soldiers, police and possibly others.  Coronavirus has curtailed carnevale in Venice and limited events like Fashion Week in Milan.  (Italy has the largest number of cases outside Asia.)

Meanwhile, all America -- possibly excepting a hotel concierge in Colorado -- mourns Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, whose funeral is being televised like that of a senior statesman.  By pure coincidence, this is the day the jury was finally able to agree on the last charges and convict Harvey Weinstein of rape.  His lawyer says he "took it like a man" (how would she know?).  Weinstein faces more charges in California and probably wishes he had been less generous to the Democratic Party.  A few million the other way and he could be in line for ambassador to Germany right now.

Trump's not pardoning any criminals today, as he and the First Escort visited the Taj Mahal.  Not since Princess Diana was photographed there alone has the place looked grimmer.  Then it was off to the enormous stadium for the cheering and the waving and the protestations of love for India and the comical mispronunciations, and the crowd leaving early like spectators at Dodger Stadium.  They're familiar with Modi's Islamophobia, they don't need to hear it every day even if some of them share it.  John Oliver's background is essential, as usual.  Oh, and the US is selling India $3 billion of weapons, the better to destabilize Kashmir.

I had to do some digging over at the New York Times to find the Trump Triumph, because the coronavirus and its baleful effect on the world's stock markets has been given precedence by the Fake Media.  Lou Dobbs and Stuart Varney on Fox Business are livid about it, too.  Their colleague Charles Payne is convinced that everyone is dumping stocks because Bernie Sanders won the Nevada caucuses and therefore capitalism is doomed.  Never have I seen such a vast and sinister conspiracy.  Say, where's George Soros today?

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