Bizarro News Update

Americans march on Red Square, courtesy of wikipedia.org

I’ve been behind on my blogging as many of you have no doubt noticed with great anguish. But no worries, I am now catching up on life so I can let you guys catch up with me: I’ve been sick, sicker, then sickest in Abkhazia, working on radio pieces, story ideas, forgetting how to record proper audio, supervising video editing, cross-dressing and redoing radio pieces.

During this time that I’ve neglected blogging, I noted several various double-take-worthy news events including:

• The U.S. and Serbia signed a “Science and Technology Agreement” April 23. Serbian Deputy Prime Minister said at the signing “[O]n behalf of the Government of Serbia, I would like to express our deep gratitude and happiness for this signature today. It’s been 30 years since the United States and Serbia had a formal relationship in the area of science and technology.” No kidding, it’s only been a couple of years since we stopped the usual relationship of bombing Belgrade and recognizing its rebel territories as independent.
• Meanwhile in Moscow, Russians observed the grand major post-WWII tradition that is the May 9th Victory Day parade. May 9th in Russia is like the 4th of July in the States and the parade was the quintessential Soviet holiday ritual in the good old days. Our parents and grandparents all remember watching the party chairmen waving as they watched ICBMs and menacing looking troops file through Red Square. This year was quite different however. In perhaps a sign of Russia’s evolving view of itself as a regional power involved in multilateral peacemaking around the world, it invited American, Polish, French and British soldiers to the march in the parade, marking for the first time their involvement in the 1945 victory over Nazi Germany.
• I was busy participating in my own “red march” of sorts that day, taking part in the 2010 InterCaucasus Red Dress Run. To get a sense of what 2007 was like, click here.
• Most shocking however, is the fact that the Washington Nationals are above .500 more than a month into the season and are two games behind the Phillies for the division lead. Whaaa?
• There’s also been more public signs of American-Russian love and fist-fights on Georgian TV shows and all sorts of other fun, but more on that later.