Tu Thanh Ha

YouTube video by violim Henryk Szeryng plays Bach's Chaconne ('live')

If that’s not the most amazing violin piece ever I don’t know what is

I grew up with Henryk Szeryng:

m.youtube.com/watch?v=c5YM...

How Pakistan shot down India's cutting-edge fighter using Chinese gear Just after midnight on May 7, the screen in the Pakistan Air Force's operations room lit up in red with the positions of dozens of active enemy planes across the border in India.

How Pakistan shot down India's cutting-edge fighter using Chinese gear reut.rs/4flaeGr

A reminder that Norm and Neil Macdonald grew up in 1960s Quebec City. It is unexpected and fun when a U.S. late night show hears references to the three wise men.

Jacques de Gatineau, also known as Jacques de Gauthier.

My colleague Laura Stone reports that Ford government says it will appeal the judgment.

War hero, spy and fugitive Jewish German: A man’s search for his father’s past. Reclaiming his family’s German citizenship this month is the last chapter in a Toronto man’s 20-year quest to rediscover his father’s enigmatic, adventurous youth.

... and so, in 2017, having documented his father's past, Marc Stevens applied for the German citizenship that the Nazis had stripped from his father.

www.theglobeandmail.com/news/peter-s... (paywall)

... he tried several times without success to escape from his POW camp. After the war, he worked as an intelligence officer in Allied-occupied Germany. Quite a story, and corroborated by archival documents...

... but he never showed up and became a fugitive. Finally in Oct 1941 police figured where he was -- he had enlisted in the RAF under a false name, Peter Stevens. But by now he was out of their reach, he'd been shot down during a bombing mission over Nazi-occupied Europe...

His father was born Georg Franz Hein, in a German Jewish family. Georg's parents sent him to England when the Nazis took power.
When the war started, Georg was 20 and in jail for petty theft. He was released and told to report to a police station because German aliens were to be detained...

It was quite a yarn actually.
Toronto resident Marc Stevens was told as a kid that his father, Peter, a decorated WW2 aviator, was born in Germany but adopted by an English couple. Then he discovered that his dad had a much more complex and heroic background...

Google AI overview states, erroneously, "Tu Thanh Ha, as a refugee who arrived in Germany at the age of 11 with his family, is eligible to apply for German citizenship after living there for at least five years..."

Hahaha. What AI nonsense. I've never been to Germany, not as a refugee, not even as a tourist.

I was Googling to find an article I once wrote about a man applying for German citizenship years after his father fled Nazi Germany.

Technically they could but notwithstanding declarations are only valid for 5 years and would have to be renewed, assuming whoever is in power in 5 years still want that.
Also, there's a political cost to using the clause if the aim isn't widely accepted by the electorate.

When Coke and Pepsi Fought for Soft Drink Supremacy in Space

Check out my piece in the @nytimes.com about the 1980s cola space race.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/s...

Worked with some great editors and a spoke with interesting people while I was working on this. Really pleased to see this published.

#space #nasa #spaceshuttle #challenger

‘I Swear, They’re Flying in Nobu Sushi for Their Kids’ The collision of influencer culture with elite sleepaway camp has resulted in a new set of norms for parent visiting day.

It would be impossible for me to love this story more, about visiting-day at sleepaway camp

What have we become

www.thecut.com/article/how-...

I don't know who else appreciates this post but I do as someone who's reported -- albeit at different times -- on biker gangs and classical music.

YouTube video by DR Koncerthuset Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (Claude Debussy) // Danish National Symphony Orchestra (live)

Twelve minutes of the most sensual, languorous woodwind music, especially the flute solos.
Claude Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJou...

It's a quote from the article, not me talking.

👍

Eu não escrevi esse artigo. É uma citação do artigo.

"Some of his clients are also facing cognitive decline, Lebow said, and only see their real estate agent as the guy trying to throw them out of their home.

'Believe me, I’ve been yelled at,' Lebow said."

Seniors don’t like downsizing, leaving fewer options for first-time buyers – here’s what could help Among the biggest factors motivating – or hindering – a move for seniors are cost and lifestyle

Realtor Barry Lebow: "In his work, it’s common to come across seniors with three- or four-bedroom houses and no children at home to fill them any more. More space than they need, in all likelihood, but no motivation to let it go."
www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/pe...

Un regard israélien sur la situation à Gaza | OHdio | Radio-Canada Écoutez l’extrait de l’émission Tout terrain : Un regard israélien sur la situation à Gaza

En Israël, les images de la famine à Gaza sont très peu véhiculées.
« Beaucoup d’Israéliens ne sont pas conscients, il faut les chaînes étrangères pour voir ces images incroyables » dit Daniel Bensimon, journaliste israélien et ancien député travailliste

ici.radio-canada.ca/ohdio/premie...

To be clear, this is a quote from someone interviewed in the article, not me talking.

Alberta Insider: Globe journalist targeted online Carrie Tait has been investigating allegations of political interference at the provincial health authority in Alberta

Globe reporter @carrietait.bsky.social was harassed online and followed and photographed.
This piece lists all the stories that Carrie and @alannasmith.bsky.social uncovered about Alberta's healthcare system, from the Turkish meds to the hockey tickets.
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alber...

People with passion happy to share their insight.

Nah, it implies no such thing. It's an interesting article and I'm sharing it. That's all.

@redvampire.bsky.social Did you not see the quote marks? It's. A. Quote.
I was quoting from the article. It's not me talking. Get it?

Why are you addressing me in that manner? Don't you see the quote marks? It's a quotation from a prof interviewed in the article.

The Nova Scotia beaches with free life jackets this summer This summer, free life jackets are being offered at Dominion Beach – and three others in Nova Scotia – as part of a new pilot program funded by the Nova Scotia government.

It’s a first at a beach that has been one of the most popular in #CapeBreton for decades.

This summer, free life jackets are being offered at Dominion Beach – and three others in #NovaScotia – as part of a new pilot program funded by the Nova Scotia government.

www.ctvnews.ca/atlantic/nov...