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Search RuthAndJohn.com NOTE: click on the link then put your search words inside the quotes on Google

NOTE: Some of the links are to articles which are in French. Just right-click on the linked web page and select "translate". If you have any trouble with that please let me know and I will send you a translation.





Kitties

We took our cat Tommy to the vet yesterday. All his tests are solidly in the normal range now except for his chest x-ray. His heart is a little enlarged. Because his kidneys are doing much better the vet took him off the medication for that (which had given him some digestive system troubles). Tommy has been on one heart medication to date but the vet started him on a new one. Tommy is now quite used to living with the kit-kats although he still sometimes does his "get off my lawn" routine with them. He sometimes initiates play and he and one of the kit-kats (Buster) are now best buddies. In the early stages of his illness - before and soon after he was diagnosed with heart and kidney disease - he would hide. He quit doing that after a few months of treatment.

John plays videos of birds and squirrels for the kitties and they love it. When they get too rambunctious I put on the video and let it play and they settle down right away. Great toy/tool for calming cats.

Here's a helpful link if you find yourself having difficulty affording your pet: Veterinary and food assistance for pets.

A relaxed Buster Sweet Charlie Tommy at the vet.
Buster watching birds on Kitty TV via YouTube. Buster getting ready to pounce. Brothers keeping our home safe
from video birds.





Around Rennes

John took more pics of our neighborhood reflecting changes over time including boarding windows against protesters. The parks, art and buildings are, of course, as lovely as ever.

Two ducks making ripple V's in the river. Train graffiti on a building
across the river. 		This African rooster was crowing
the rising sun at Thabor Park.
The Colonne de Juillet and the Saint-Melaine church in the background at Thabor Park The green theatre of Thabor Park is closed during Winter. In the 19th Century it was where duels were fought. Cat totem at Oberthur Park.
Plywood boards protecting a bank's windows
for the French pension protests. 		Early morning duck. Basilica of Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle
in Saint Anne Square
Animal sculptings on Chapel of Saint-Yves de Rennes, a 14th Century building in historical quarter of Rennes. The French have clean public restrooms.





Covid

John and I got our 5th Covid vaccinations. This was the first time we got a multi-variant vaccination. We never had any side effects with the previous vaccinations but we did with this one. Maybe we're just getting old? Covid cases have dropped a lot in France during the first 2 months of 2023 to 1/10 the average over the last year and to consistently less than half the lowest point of 2022. So the rates are closer to what they were in 2020. Good news!





Politics

Fascism -
Europe and the United States are both struggling with a surge in fascism. Some good news for Europe is that a rising star in Italian Liberal politics is the recently elected vice-president of the right-wing Emilia-Romagna region, Elly Schlein, a very influential young woman known to some as the Italian AOC. She worked on both of Obama's presidential campaigns. "Schlein has just been elected secretary of the Italian Democratic Party. Her speeches in favor of the rights of women and LGBT people run counter to those of the far-right leader. She embodies the future of the Italian left. The young 37-year-old MP Elly Schlein beat this Sunday February 26 Stefano Bonaccini for the leadership of the Italian Democratic Party (PD). What makes her different from other Italian politicians is that, unlike most members of the progressive Democratic Party, Schlein is not concerned about maintaining an impartial or conciliating position on decisive and much discussed matters, and this may have gained her the sympathy of a big chunk of Emilia-Romagna's left-wing electorate." Right-click to translate this Huffington Post France article.

Protests -
In France the French are protesting Macron's moves to increase the retirement age in order to supplement the federal budget. Workers rights are better here than in the US but it is always a battle wherein the rights ebb and flow. In the US the federal government shuts down national transportation strikes whereas in France they wouldn't dare. The people strongly support the strikers especially when the strikes are against impoverishing seniors. In the US many Republicans propose cutting or ending social security and Medicare. Don't let them.

Spain -
Spain's new human rights laws: menstrual leave, abortion, trans identity. "Parliament adopts two laws on human rights. Spain has once again marked the spirits by voting this Thursday unprecedented laws in favor of women and trans people. If Spain has the image of a patriarchal country, it still demonstrates, nearly two decades after the opening of marriage to all couples, progress on the issue of human rights. Spanish deputies adopted several innovative provisions starting with a law allowing free change of gender from the age of 16, extends this right to 14-16 year olds, provided that they are accompanied in the procedure by their legal guardians, as well as to 12-14 year olds, if they get the green light from justice. It will therefore no longer be necessary to provide medical reports and proof of hormonal treatment followed for two years, as was the case until now for adults. Spain thus joins the few countries in the world authorizing gender self-determination via a simple declaration, like Denmark, the first country to have granted this right in Europe to transgender people in 2014."

Cigarettes -
The prices of cigarettes are still rising (now more than $11 USD a pack) in France and the number of smokers is dropping. Australia's cigarettes are $26 USD a pack and the percentage of Australians who smoke is among the lowest in the world.





European Defense

Air Defense -
"European leaders should devise a collective air defense against Russia, which has been free to build medium-range nuclear missiles since 2019", France's president said. The idea was recently proposed by Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz and picked up by Macron.

Spies -
In wake of Ukraine war, U.S. and allies are hunting down Russian spies (free link).
"Officials caution that Russia retains significant capabilities despite exposure of multiple operatives in Europe The Jan. 21 arrest of Arthur Eller - based largely on evidence that the FBI had assembled during the suspect's stay in Florida - was the latest salvo in a shadow war against Russia's intelligence services. Over the past year, as Western governments have ramped up weapons deliveries to Ukraine and economic sanctions against Moscow, U.S. and European security services have been waging a parallel if less visible campaign to cripple Russian spy networks. The German case, which also involved the arrest of a senior official in the BND, Germany's foreign intelligence service, followed roll-ups of suspected Russian operatives in the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Poland and Slovenia."





Carnival

Nice has the best and most famous Carnival in France. I loved going there when we lived in Nice and I want to go back soon. I love the style of the Nice Carnival - bright colors, lots of goofiness, satire and celebration. You can read details about the Nice Carnival here.

Menton, a small town near Nice just east of Monte Carlo has it's own Lemon Festival around the time of Carnival. Menton's festival has some spectacular parades and giant puppets too even though it is a small town.





Aurora Borealis

About every 10 years people in Northern France can see the Aurora Borealis light show from the North. The famous abbey of Mont Saint Michel staged some of the best scenes for photographing and videoing the recent Northern Lights in Northern France. Right-click to translate this Huffington Post France article.