At least one Russian, a champion chess player, has been banned from international competition for six months because of his support for Putin. He should be banned forever.
This is not a simple issue of mixing politics with sports or whatever. This is an issue of supporting a war criminal. Putin is really no different than Hitler. He is intentionally killing children and other civilians.
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The other side of this coin is that Putin has taken offense at Biden’s calling him a war criminal. Putin has threatened to sever relations with us and has summoned our Ambassador. I do not know enough to have a meaningful opinion, but on first blush, it seems to me Putin is a bigger loser than Biden because Biden is right.
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Went to the Central Market this morning. It was nice to see the people with whom I have been doing business for years. Almost everyone is extremely accommodating. agreeing to deliver everything free of charge so that I did not have to carry very heavy packages. My meat and poultry purveyor is about 10 th generation in Florence.
On the way back, I stopped to see my good friend Marco, who runs the nicest leather shop in Florence. His business is still way down, and, of course, the rich Russian trade has completely disappeared.
The talk is all about Russia vs Ukraine. Not surprisingly, no one knows what to think. Biden is well liked and highly respected. It is well known that he will be in Europe this week.
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I miss The Ed Sullivan Show. Actually, what I miss is the outstanding talents that were performing as I was growing up. Yes, there is still a lot of talent, most of it not my taste, but there are not that many superstars. Moreover, to the extent there are superstars, I do not see these superstars as being thought of as superstars in 100 years.
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I just read a headline that said “frail Liza Minnelli helped out of a wheelchair." How sad. Liza was a superstar. Her Mother Judy Garland was and will always be a true legend.
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The world continues to wait to see what madman Putin will do next. Chemical warfare? These are very, very serious times. How many of you realize this fact?
See you tomorrow, I hope.
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