Bookmarks:
In playground murder, 12-year-old boy charged as an adult • Homeless woman beaten by cop speaks out • Russian “aid” convoy in Ukraine • First steps in dealing with a problem drinker

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In playground murder, 12-year-old boy charged as an adult

Related: Choose your name.

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California woman beaten by cop speaks out: ‘I felt like he was trying to kill me, beat me to death’

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Carolyn Hax: Is my young cousin an alcoholic?

This is a really good introduction to the basic principles of Al-Anon.

“You can’t change people, you can change only the way you respond to them.

“So, the point … is to learn to let go of the impulse to control people and let go of the belief that you can fix a problem by changing someone else’s behavior.”

IOW, as per a slogan used in both Al-Anon and AA, “Keep the focus on you.”  If you manage yourself adequately, your life can proceed calmly even in the midst of vast turmoil.

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Friday 2014-08-22
Russian aid convoy enters eastern Ukraine; Kiev official denounces ‘invasion’
In short, this does seem to me to constitute an invasion. And it has seemed to me for weeks that Russia is seeking a pretext for a military invasion. Previous news reports and accompanying photographs have indicated that the trucks are, in fact, practically empty.

The article includes a good summary of the whole history of the affair.

Saturday 2014-08-23
Russian trucks leave Ukraine as Merkel arrives for talks aimed at easing tensions
I am skeptical of the notion that the trucks picked up munitions in Ukraine and took them back to Russia.  I am also surprised at lack of mention of the fact that the trucks brought in practically nothing.

(Originally posted 2014-08-25.)