Monday Coffee…
Monday Coffee
Good morning Monday! I hope my readers’ weekend was just a great as mine (I survived!) and that now you are ready to face the ever-whackier world for another round of ‘let’s try to make it to Friday’ without the world destroying itself first. For those who like to plan ahead, there are still 3 weeks and 1 day before the US Election, and 3 weeks and 4 days before the start of the Carlsen–Karjakin match in NYC. And for those readers of mine who refuse to grow up, there are EXACTLY 2 weeks to go before Halloween..
Today’s good news is that this past weekend England’s new Foreign Secretary Boris (I wonder if he sees any irony with his recent anti-Russian rhetoric!?) Johnson has stopped talking about taking military action against Russia (WWIII) and is instead talking the sanctions game.
It appears to me that there must be a clear and imminent danger (to quote Clancy) of appointing a funky ex-London mayor as Foreign Secretary at such a critical juncture in England’s history. You can accuse Teresa May of a lot of things, but lacking a sense of humour is not one of them! Sort of like letting your 5-year old son take the steering-wheel at rush hour just for the fun of it…or am I being a tad too harsh, Boris ?! In anycase, you should stick to decaf while in office…
While we are on the topic of coffee and political (in)competence, we should NOT be too surprised that the American 2016 Election is spilling over (no pun intended) into the coffee world…
https://youtube.com/watch?v=MBxYH2EzQKc%3Fstart%3D03%26end%3D19Even more surprising, DID YOU KNOW that Trump has his own coffee brand? Hard to believe, I know, but this man is so versatile in business that coffee has not escaped his reach…
Not surprisingly, reviews have been rabid: one Amazon reviewer offers this astute assessment: “Trump coffee is so bad they should seize all of it, build a wall around it and set it ablaze.”
Starbucks does it again!
The less said about this ‘genius idea’ the better, but I could not resist including it today. Afterall, it is Monday, and Monday is the day of bad news…
https://youtube.com/watch?v=7CIspaZMIIE%3Fstart%3D03%26end%3D40
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WARNING
For those websites that will try to offer some sort of LIVE coverage of the Carlsen–Karjakin match, beware as Agon intends to actively pursue legal action, most probably in NYC, as legal counsel has already been retained. LINK
Q: What will happen if websites do not respect World Chess’s right to control the broadcasting of the match.
A: They will be sued. That is what happened in March at the Candidates tournament, when several Web sites did unauthorized broadcasts. Though it takes time, the lawsuits are making their way through the courts in Moscow, where the tournament was held. World Chess has already retained counsel in New York and plans to aggressively pursue claims against anyone who tries to circumvent the official broadcast.
Actually, I look forward to this match. Not so much because the players are young and have styles of play that I appreciate (which I do value) but because it ushers in a new generation of players into the often too-conservative World Championship.
On the otherhand, is the match REALLY going to take place in NYC? Given the growing frenzy of anti-Russian politics in the US, and a new round of sanctions about to be put into place against all things Russian, how secure is FIDE’s status in NYC? I bet 50-50 that the match might be moved at the last moment should the US Treasury decide to get downright nasty…We’ll just have to wait and see.
And lastly but not least NOT a single major US news service is even talking chess right now…
It is beginning! Sometime in the 48 hours every person connected with the organization of the NYC Carlsen — Karjakin match could very likely be arrested and charged with ESPIONAGEM…if the American government decides so.
IS THIS the world that George Orwell warned us about or not…I THINK it is!
