The Second Capitulation
open.substack.com/pub/frankpag...

"Shame about Ukraine but do check out the egg muffin recipe." - Carole Cadwalladr

An NYT front page for the history books

Um...what's going in the USA?

Komainu, a guardian dog often found at the entrances of Shinto shrines in Japan.
Komainu are usually in pairs, with one having an open mouth (Agyō) and the other closed (ungyō).

Inland Sea from the bridge to Shikoku Is, Japan.

Don't despair, pitch in to help those fighting back.

In Europe we stage two euro coins for the pay toilets and a five or ten note for the first legit panhandler. We give a lot, once per day.
You must pee before leaving, no telling if you'll encounter a functional 'loo.
In Japan there are no panhandlers and abundant clean public toilets.

Beppu is an artsy city. Manhole covers are just another canvas.

The Japanese place plastic water bottles outside their doors to ward off cats and evil spirits.
The cats are afraid of their reflections in the bottle.

Always bow before entering the torii gate as you enter from the mundane to the sacred. And leave the centerline for the gods, go to the left or right side. Exit the same way, turn toward the shrine and bow.

Sakurajima is a little island near Kagoshima with Japan's most active volcano. It's a great place to hike. Children walk to school wearing hardhats in case of an eruption. In uniform, too, of course.
Note the volcano puffing away in the background

I did my civic duty and reported a DEI hire to the OPM snitch line. (DEIAtruth@opm.gov) He's a "protected class" in employment decisions (ref the Age Discrimination in Employment Act).
But he's a convicted felon, found liable for sexual abuse and was indicted for violating the Espionage act.