First, some latest news: The war in Iran got a bit muddied yesterday, for there was a minor skirmish at Bandar Abbas, but the ceasefire is supposedly still holding.  Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that the peace deal is only a few words away from settlement, and President Donald Trump continues to send mixed signals about a deal, so the world awaits. Apparently, there are 1,500 ships stranded in the Persian Gulf, now for three months, and before this war, only 130 ships transited the Strait of Hormuz/day.  Plus, there will be the matter of cleaning up the strait of mines, so you can expect high gasoline prices to the end of the summer. In the meantime, considering the drop in support from voters, rebuff from the Congress, worsening economy and gasoline prices, continuation of those two wars, and looming Epstein consequences, the troubled mind of Trump is worsening.  However, a "perfect" physical exam at Walter Reed yesterday is his personal diagnosis. Trump's e...

Conde Nast  recently said  These are the Safest Countries in the World in 2025 .  They consulted the 2025 Global Peace Index.   1 is most peaceful, 5 is the least. Where was the USA?  #128!!! My impression was that  Conde Nast  and the Institute of Economics and Peace ( they report on that GPI)  likes cold weather countries.  Or maybe there is something about chilly conditions that keep people home to avoid danger. So anyway, the top ten. #10  Finland ( 1.42 )  Famous for also being the happiest country in the world. #9   Slovenia ( 1.409 )  Has extremely low crime rates and terrorism risk, with the best castles and lakes. #8  Denmark ( 1.393 )  Dropped six spots from 2024, having something to do with militarization. #7    Portugal ( 1.371 )  Is a beacon of economic resurgence and low crime rates.  Many from Europe retire there. #6    Singapore ( 1.357 )  The only Asia...

          From  Worldometer  (new  COVID-19 deaths yesterday):          DAY    USA    WORLD     Brazil      India      South Africa June     9    1093     4732         1185       246       82 July    22     1205     7128         1293      1120     572 Aug    12     1504     6556        1242        835     130 Sept     9     1208      6222       1136       1168       82 Oct     21     1225      6849         571       ...

I was just scrolling through Netflix to find more 100-rated series, and stumbled across one each from Germany and Iceland.  I've only watched the first episode of each, but will of course continue. Biohackers , rated  100/82 by  Rotten Tomatoes , into season 2, is a German techno-thriller about a freshman medical student at the University of Freiburg, there mostly to personally investigate the doings of a young female professor who, it turned out, was into illegal genetic experimentation.  Each of the seasons has six episodes of 45-minute duration.  If so inclined you can just about complete the cycle in two nights.   Wikipedia  provides a fairly complete explanation of each episode. Travel played a role in my identifying with this program, for it was a quarter century ago when I was on an around the world trip that I met Phil Bossert in Freiburg and visited this university, for, I think this is where he got his PhD.  However, we were there b...