Monday

I researched murders in Shenandoah and the lesbian murders were over 25 years ago, it went into the news again in 2020 because of a publication of a book about it. 

(The Utah murders were in 2021.)

I'm hoping to go car camping in Shenandoah multiple times this year as part of Milky Way shooting. 

I believe this is one of my friends but of course I can't tell the difference between them. 

Had a lovely conversation with my mother-in-law. We will go see Karen's parents on Saturday and she will cook lots of special dishes for me because .... she loves me best! Hey, what can I say. 

Ukraine will get the first tranche of EU financial assistance this week. 

Rinat Akhmetov, owner of one of Ukraine's most successful soccer teams, pledged $25 million to help the families of soldiers who defended Mariupol. 

The explosion of ammunition in Belgorod yesterday? A sergeant set off a grenade to "establish his authority."

Russian actor Artur Smolyaninov was the star of one of Putin's favorite films that took place in Afghanistan. He is often described as Russia's Rambo. Now he is in exile and in a recent interview said he was prepared to fight on Ukraine's side. A few days later, the Russian Ministry of Justice classified the actor as a foreign agent. He is thought to be in Latvia. He recently recorded a Soviet-era song -- Temnaya Noch (Dark Night) -- with reworked lyrics. It included the lines: 
"Take a look, occupier, 
How maternity homes are without power, 
How children sit in shelters. 
And how books are drowned. 
The Russian night 
Has reached schools and hospitals." 
The Russian Justice Ministry has added others to its list of foreign agents recently, including music critic Artemy Troitsky and several journalists. 

A first edition Ukrainian language copy of George Orwell's Animal Farm is being sold to raise money for a charity for Ukrainian refugees, Families 4 Peace. The Ukrainian translation is the only one to have a foreword from Orwell, written at the request of the publisher, who thought Orwell should introduce himself to the edition's intended audience - Ukrainians displaced by WWII. The donated 1947 copy of the book, dubbed the “refugee camp edition,” is now set to be sold by London antique bookshop Jarndyce for £1,850 on 20 January. Ihor Sevcenko, who translated the book, made the condemnation of Stalin more explicit by using the title, "A Collective of Farm Animals,” a reference to the Soviet Union’s collective farms that caused the deaths of millions of Ukrainians through famine.