Dr. Jane Goodall passed today, and the world is smaller. May her memory be a blessing.

This week’s nature photo was taken with my iPhone in Minneapolis this week.

www.lvivherald.com/post/the-ren... Another piece from the Lviv Herald about how Iran sanctions impacts the Ukraine war, (since Iran is large supplier of Russian drones and other military supplies).

Great summary and suggestions from a Canadian journalist.

bsky.app/profile/gtco... It seems Melania’s staff is as unconcerned with plagiarism as she is.

www.lvivherald.com/post/two-mor... An interesting read; from the Lviv Herald.

www.threads.com/@edspellman9... This is why the USA should be funding basic medical research. This promising study was done in the UK.

This week’s nature photo of the appropriately named red-wing blackbird was taken in Minneapolis.

Clearly Trump has prioritized tax cuts for the wealthy (over $1 trillion) over the nations health; since he has significantly cut back on cancer research, and reduced all funding for ObamaCare, Medicaid, and Medicare by over $1 trillion, (to fund tax cuts). William Mayo was correct.

This week’s animal photos were taken in Olympic National Park with my iPhone.

This week’s animal photos were taken with my iPhone in a butterfly garden in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia last year.

www.lvivherald.com/post/from-ne... An interesting article about how Ukraine’s defense industry may evolve into an export power-house.

open.substack.com/pub/robertre... Seems our tariff policy is designed to help offset the tax cuts for the extremely wealthy. Downside is tariffs increase prices, create trade wars with our alliances & reduce demand. That makes employers pull back on investments. The US was healthier under Biden.

bsky.app/profile/mark... Destroying USAID and removing funding for GAVI (both of which save the lives of tens of thousands of poor people), so he can continue to provide tax breaks for the ultra wealthy is a moral cesspool. This administration is turning America into a kleptocracy. Cruel & stupid.

These guanaco photos were taken while visiting Patagonian Chile in 2017, with my iPhone.

www.lvivherald.com/post/late-au... A status report on the Ukraine war from the Lviv Herald.

This week’s wild animal photo of a cape buffalo was taken from a blind with my iPhone near a waterhole in Kenya.

This week’s wild animal photo was taken on Wednesday with my iPhone in Rochester, MN. I first saw a wild turkey in Great Smokies National Park many years ago, and stopped my car to look at it; but now they are much more common.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/... Another problem caused by an anti-science administration. Defunding GAVI will kill tens of thousands. Scaring Americans so they avoid vaccinations will kill thousands more and put anyone who is immune compromised at risk.

This week’s animal photo was taken with my iPhone in Minneapolis.

www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2... From 5000 drones/year to 4,000,000/year is a huge leap. Almost all front-line drones (which do 85% of the killing) are manufactured in Ukraine now.

www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2... I am worried about the Alaska meeting this week. Trump has always acted like a Russian asset, and my worry is that he’ll impose a “deal” without input from Ukraine. The author of this piece is a friend; and lives in Kyiv.

www.lvivherald.com/post/the-fin... I must admit to enjoying Ukrainian wines (from Odesa Oblast) and have returned with some (or vodka or brandy) on most of my 7 recent trips; but I never sampled wines from Kherson, Mykolaiv, or Dnipro. This review is so well written it made me cry (from laughter).

This week’s wild animal photo was taken with my iPhone. This elephant lives in a sanctuary in Thailand, right on the border with Burma/Myanmar. We walked him to the river and gave him a bath in the border river, near Mae Sot.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/h... When numbskulls run the government, we all pay…

Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/07/w... Evil and stupid. Rather than allow an NGO to distribute these for free; some toady in the Trump administration has decided to destroy them for $160,000.

www.lvivherald.com/post/victory... An interesting article about how Ukrainian drone development has altered the future of all warfare.

open.substack.com/pub/robertre... Shoot the messenger…

Shot this photo of a raven with my iPhone while at the Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle.

This week’s animal photo was taken with my iPhone while in Taiwan last year.

open.substack.com/pub/ukraines... A really interesting read, especially since 75 - 80% of the casualties in the Ukraine War are now caused by drones.

This week’s animal photo was taken with my iPhone last year when I was in Taiwan.

Today’s wild animal photo was taken in Mombasa, Kenya on the beach next to the Serena Hotel.

news.stanford.edu/stories/2025... What an amazing machine, with an interesting backstory. Glad this has found a forever home.

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan... I want to thank David Lovinger for bringing this article from the Lancet to my attention. USAID has been responsible for saving over 90 million people in the last 20 years. Ending USAID is estimated to cause 15 million preventable deaths by 2030.

This week’s wild animal photo was taken in Uganda before Covid with my iPhone.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/u... Grift….

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/30/u... Seems real reason that El Salvador agreed to take US deportees was so MS-13 gang leaders jailed in USA could be returned to El Salvador where they made deal with Bukele.

This week’s wild animal photo was taken in Kampala, Uganda with my iPhone.

www.lvivherald.com/post/fightin... Most of the Ukrainian drones are now made in Ukraine. Tactics and weaponry has continued to evolve during the conflict.

www.lvivherald.com/post/civilia... An article from Ukraine about life in the front-line cities.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/22/o... Another great essay. Just yesterday Israel attacked the Shahid drone factory in Iran that has been supplying Russia with one of its most effective precision weapons. This impacts both Russia & Iran wars, especially since Ukraine attacked Russia’s Shahid factory.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/21/o... Another great essay about one of the cruelest and most stupid Trump “accomplishment”, killing thousands of poor children to save funds for tax relief.

www.lvivherald.com/post/odesa-a... Both of my grandmothers’ families came from Odesa. It is a wonderful city, and very beautiful. Lots of great food also!

www.lvivherald.com/post/ukraine... An interesting read about the evolution and complexity of the Ukrainian air defense. I have delivered pizzas to some of the defenders.

This week’s wild animal photo was taken with my iPhone in Uganda. Happy Juneteenth!