Mid-May roundup

I know, "May you live in interesting times" is not a real Chinese curse but it probably should be.  No one can say the times are boring.

The war in Ukraine is going as well as can be expected, which is to say the invaders are getting kicked in the Donbas.  President Zelensky says Ukraine has re-taken territory and shot down at least 200 Russian aircraft, the worst losses since the early 1940s.  The Russian logistics ship Vsevolod Bobrov was burning in the Black Sea two days ago.  British intelligence reported an entire Russian tank battalion lost as they tried to cross the Siverskyi Donets River.  The Russians are retreating from Kharkiv.  Best of all, one of Putin's fellow robber-barons (oligarch is such an ugly word) was overheard telling someone he has "blood cancer" (presumably leukemia) and will undergo surgery (presumably a bone-marrow transplant).  

Nancy Pelosi visited Kyiv two weeks ago, so Mitch McConnell decided yesterday that it was safe for him to drop in on Zelensky with some of his colleagues (Susan Collins, John Cornyn and John Barrasso).  Always be seen with the winning side.  I assume McConnell explained why Rand Paul is being a manchin about the $40 billion aid package the Senate passed otherwise unanimously ("He's an asshole, Mr. President").  Then they posed for pictures at the gloriously named House of Chimaeras in the presidential compound.  

Ukraine triumphed on another front, winning the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin.  Of course, the European Broadcasting Union had banned Russia.  Zelensky (should I be spelling it Zelenskyy?) says Mariupol will be ready to host next year's event, which is pretty ambitious.

Pink Floyd (minus Rogers Waters) released a song last month in support of Ukraine, their first in 28 years.  Perhaps inspired by Pink, the original cast will join Rob Reiner for a sequel to This Is 'Spinal Tap,' scheduled for release in 2024.  New drummer, of course.

Mehmet Oz is Trump's hand-picked candidate for Pennsylvania Senator, but he's not the only Republican in this week's primary.  One opponent, Kathy Barnette, wrote in 2015 that "pedophilia is a cornerstone of Islam," and Oz, a Muslim, calls it "disqualifying."  Not much fun when the hate you live by comes back to bite you, is it, Donny?  It's important to stay focused on the big picture.  Like Melania, who gave an interview to Fox News and whined that Vogue has put Michelle Obama and Jill Biden on its cover but never her.  (In fact the cover featured her in 2005, wearing her wedding dress -- a day she understandably wants to forget.)

Even China is struggling to cope with the newest covid mutation, so it must be unimaginably bad for North Korea to admit there's a problem.  "Great turmoil" is the term used by Kim Jong-un himself, who may now regret turning down offers of vaccine from China and Russia.  At least there are no North Koreans refusing to be masked and yelling about "Freedom!"  Count on it.

From the WaPo:  "The Dallas police chief announced Friday that a recent shooting at an Asian-run hair salon that left three women wounded may be a hate crime and could be connected to a series of similar incidents at other local businesses run by Asian Americans."  Really?  The department has come along wonderfully since 1963.  Y'all keep it up now, y'hear?