May Day

For John, BLUF:  Not every May Day is the same.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

Today is May Day and a time to celebrate with a May Pole and Morris Dancers and a Queen of the May.  It is a festival that goes back into Celtic and Germanic culture and is pre-Christian. It is also a national holiday in Russia, descending from its celebration in the Soviet Union.  I wonder if President Putin and the others will be standing atop Lenin's Mausoleum this year, as was the custom in years past?

Speaking of Soviet Communism, I was surprised that when, about ten days ago, The New York Times celebrated all of its Pulitzer Prizes (The New York Times, Sunday, 21 April 2013, "Sunday Review", page 14, the whole page), no one commented on the fact that they included the Pulitzer for Reporter Walter Duranty.  It was their fifth, in 1932, for coverage of the news from Russia.  What a fraud.

Regards  —  Cliff