Ovi magazine; Sunday January 9th, 2022

 

The articles, the opinions, the stories, the poems and the cartoons Ovi magazine covers for Sunday January 9th, 2022 – National Apricot Day

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Therefore #ShortStory #fiction by Abigail George

Therefore, there is wisdom and truth in beauty. The conversation was heavy, so I went for a long walk on the beach, and wished I could find myself vulnerable, meeting the will of the divine wave.

I have lovers. I am pregnant. I have a husband, but he is gay, and I’m bisexual, and the child was conceived when both of us had too much to drink, and Blake was reading Rilke, and I was washing the breakfast rises, listening to Mahler. And I thought of the waves, the sea, the panting dog, the teenagers in their bikinis, how I was never brave like them, how I never had their graceful limbs, how nobody loved me when I was at that wonderland-age.

Yes, I smoke marijuana, and still have a death wish, and still have spells of despair, and deep hardship, and sometimes I swear I feel too much, and think too much, and obey very little, or not at all, and when I submit, I submit everything, everything, everything.

Continue reading HERE!

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Analysandly blind #poem by David Barger

“Roger dodger
       Came the call.
The lunatics have escaped!
     They hide within
     The closing walls.
    They crawl around
      Listening in wait.”

Continue reading HERE!

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Where did all the speeches go? by Joseph Gatt

I remember times when there were so many public speeches I had to catch up with that I didn’t have enough time. I literally had to sit through Sundays catching up with all the public speeches I had to catch up with from politicians, journalists, scientists, public figures, what have you.

Those speeches were a vital source for my job: through those public speeches I was able to identify the concerns, the gaps in reasoning sometimes, the unknowns, the problems to be solved but also what direction we were headed.

I used to take notes, write notes on what I thought were disagreements I might have with the speech, or perhaps clarifications on one aspect that seemed to puzzle the person who gave the speech.

Continue reading HERE!

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Ephemera #035 #cartoon by Thanos Kalamidas

For more Ephemera, HERE!

For more Ovi Cartoons, HERE!

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Lech Kaczynski legacy

It is very sad when somebody dies and especially in this tragic way and of course the Polish people have every right to mourn their president but is a tragic death enough to transform somebody into a hero and wipe out his past?

I mean, good old Lech Kaczynski and his brother weren’t exactly the most democratic figures in Poland. And their political rise was owned at first to Lech Walesa and then to their anti-Russian rhetoric. Rhetoric often unreasonable because you cannot blame a nation because a time in history its leaders suppressed your nation. If ii was like that very few nations today would have good relations if any.

And it wasn’t just that, some of the decision the twin brothers did while they were in control in Poland were pretty embarrassing for a modern democracy and especially a democracy that proud to be an EU member. Of course all that not ignoring the fact that the Polish people feel totally numb at the moment and they need some solace!

He says ... Euro-elections

Blaming USA

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused the US of provoking the conflict in Georgia, possibly for domestic election purposes.

Mr. Putin told CNN US citizens were “in the area” during the conflict over South Ossetia and were “taking direct orders from their leaders”. He said his defense officials had told him the provocation was to benefit one of the US presidential candidates. The White House dismissed the allegations as “not rational”.

And of course US blames Russia for …Kosovo!!!

Ovi today

The Politics of Philosophy within Neo-Conservatism in the US by Emanuel L. Paparella
To understand the mind-set of neo-conservatism in America, one needs to examine the origins of the classical, rationalistic, esoteric philosophy of the school of Leo Strauss at Chicago University.

Mugabe: Africa's serial killer by Thanos Kalamidas
Supporters of Robert Mugabe show their power by beating people in cities and villages of Zimbabwe, people who didn't go to vote or people who showed their support to the opposition, even people who were quiet in the name of their family's peace.

L’avenir de l’Union européenne ne s’inscrit plus dans les traités by Newropeans-Magazine
Le Non des irlandais n’en finit pas de faire pleurer les chaumières oui-ouistes européennes.

"desert sands" by Bohdan Yuri
"I would as soon write free verse as play tennis with the net down." - Robert Frost

Ovi magazine today

London, the Mayoral Race and Boris by Binoy Kampmark
With a degree of desperation, The Guardian newspaper rolled out its arsenal to compel voters in London not to vote for the conservative candidate Boris Johnson, the bumbling, error-prone Etonian

Beauty or the beast: Notes on glorified anorexia by Alexander Mikhaylov
You know what? I think there is something wrong with my head. I came to this poignant conclusion when I realized that...¦ Well, come on! Let us say it aloud, like a brave guy: I DO NOT LIKE THIN WOMEN!

Jari Martikainen: Vol. 3 by Jari Martikainen
Finnish aircraft mechanic Jari Martikainen offers a third selection of his photography.

Escape of People of Burma through the Tunnels of Death by Rohingya Human Rights
On April 10, 2008, fifty-four Burmese migrants suffocated to death in a cold storage container while being smuggled to Thailand to escape appalling conditions in Burma.

Another nail in Labour's coffin

Gordon Brown says it has been a "bad and disappointing" election for Labour, as the party suffers its worst council results in at least 40 years.

BBC research suggests Labour won 24% of votes cast in England and Wales, behind the Tories on 44% and Lib Dems on 25%.

Surely the voters expressing their dissatisfaction in volumes and we can only hope that is another nail in Brown's political coffin.

Ovi magazine today

1969: Earth's Epic Year by Thanos Kalamidas

Earth Day is a time to raise all these questions and motivate us all to recognise our collective responsibility and do something to change the situation starting with our own home and lives.

Environmental conscience by Asa Butcher
Earth Day is supposed to make us stop for a moment and inspire awareness of and appreciation for the Earth's environment... well, I don't know about you, but I appreciate the Earth's environment every day.

Sahara occidentale: Le legittime ragioni del popolo saharawi by Luis Portillo, Ph. D.
Sono gia passati piu di 32 anni da quando il Marocco ha espulso la Spagna dal Sahara Occidentale, sostituendosi ad essa, con sangue e fuoco, nel ruolo di potenza coloniale e paese occupante.

Ovi Cartoonary by The Ovi Team
In 1843, 'Punch' magazine revolutionised cartoons as a piece of art in modern print media. 164 years later, Ovi magazine gives a nod of thanks and promotes their very own long-established cartoon section - it even has a nymphomaniac ant.

Brown to calm economy fears

Gordon Brown has said the UK is well placed to deal with global economic crises, after figures showed sharp decline in house prices.

The prime minister said a 2.5% fall in March, recorded by the Halifax, should be seen in the context of 10 years of big increases and low interest rates. He added that the government was not a "spectator" and was "always vigilant" on global economic difficulties. He insisted the UK was in a much better position than in the early 1990s.

The next question is... Gordon what to you take, because the man is under strong illusions!

Donors’ money

I think it was natural one day questions start, you see at least another $10bn (£5bn) in aid promised to Afghanistan has still to be delivered. Also two-thirds of aid is not spent through the government and 40% goes back to donor countries in consultant fees and expatriate pay.

On top of that the prospects for peace in Afghanistan are being undermined because what has been donated is not being used effectively. "Western countries are failing to deliver" is the clear message and it shows a disparity between what has been promised and what has been delivered.

And the way in which the money is used is also criticized. 'Poor security' is one thing spends in corrupted hands is another but then …different countries have different ways of spending.
Some countries channel donations through the government to help their civil service manage and decide on the funding of development programs but two-thirds of the international aid misses out the government altogether.

The biter truth is that Afghanistan remains a country under siege with the Taliban sound and alive and the people suffering in an often midlevel environment.

Olympic ceremony

A ceremony is due to be held in Greece to light the torch that will be carried to Beijing for the Olympic Games. Hundreds of police will be on patrol around ancient Olympia, where the games originated almost 3,000 years ago.

Security is tight to prevent disruption by activists, who have vowed to protest over the violence in and around Tibet. The head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) defended the decision to hold the Games in China saying there was "no momentum" for a boycott.

"The major political leaders don't want a boycott," said IOC president Jacques Rogge said ahead of Monday's ceremony. The torch is to travel through 20 countries - and scale Mount Everest - before the Beijing Games open on 8 August.

He’s running out of excuses as well, what does it mean the major political leaders don't want a boycott? If I remember well from the past USA was a major power but boycotted Moscow Olympics and the Russians did the same in Los Angeles, the thing now is who’s going to be the first, the rest will just follow!