To M. Savage Jan 7, Sat. Orthodox Christmas

Doc,

Saturday, wee hours.
On Julian Calendar Christmas is today. Orthodox Christians around the world are celebrating birth of Christ, which is a high holiday. Some denominations are more stricter in their observances than others. For example Russian faithful keep 40 days fasting before the day.
"Birth of Christ symbolizes great new beginning, beginning of new hope in power of God and by celebrating it let's receive that hope into our hearts and minds to be able to change ourselves and things around us to better," said Patriarch of All Russia Kirill, at
1tv.ru/news/issue/2017-01-06/21:00#2.
Also at youtube.com/watch?v=n_KyIqs-hbQ (2h 7min.) with commentary in English.
Interiors decorated with white flowers symbolizes cleanliness of spirit and green trees symbolize life.

Putin met Christmas in Veliky (Great) Novgorod, at youtube.com/watch?v=g3ECtCzdD6w. 
Very interesting, deep, rich history and culture there.

Russian Churches are decorated with lots of bright colors and some of them are quite gorgeous.
Also Greek Cathedral is UES is very cute. Armenian churches are simpler in design, exterior and interior. They celebrated Christmas yesterday.
Moscow is freezing, -28C now in there, but look, still so many people went to church.
All over the country is anomaly of cold.
[Where is Al Gore when we need him?]

Russia is starting to cut down its military presence in Syria. Aircraft carrier Kuznetsov is going back, at 1tv.ru/news/issue/2017-01-06/21:00#3. 
[What a good news, it's time to go home. Too many casualties, too much sacrifice from Russians.]

3:20pm Evening news from Russia is out. I'll get to local news later.
Millions of faithful celebrated Christmas in churches and Cathedrals all over Russia and in cold but sunny weather in Moscow and St. Petersburg as the centers of sits for ruling clergy.
At 1tv.ru/news/issue/2017-01-07/21:00#1 report shows how simple people are happy for this holiday of good news and how they feel warmed up after they go to religious services to share the joy with others. In his address to people Patriarch Kirill called on people to be more attentive and loving toward each other and hive care to those who need it the most. Also He spoke with the crew of Space
Shuttle and wish them well.
In Paris Russians opened a new Church called St. Trinity by river Seine and had the first service in it at 3:40min. There were also French people who love Russian culture.
Holiday session is not over with Christmas. After 40 days of fasting before it, there is a period which called "svyatki," in English Christmastide. This is the time of kindness and giving. Giving gifts and helpful service, being hospitable and visiting each other. Also folk singing, dancing, doing good deeds with good will in general.
[It's a fun time to be there and participate. Unfortunately for me it's too far away and too cold.]

Faithful (he always have been no matter where and when he worked) Putin addressed the nation on Kremlin.ru website, at 1tv.ru/news/issue/2017-01-07/21:00#2. 

Yurievksiy Sobor, where he met Christmas, was built in 1119 AD, but was damaged and is in process of restoration, which he looked into afterwords, at 1tv.ru/news/issue/2017-01-07/21:00#3. 
People around him in that church were local fisherman and their families living in VN who he met last fall and joined for fishing. He was with PM Medvedev at that time, saw how things work, heard fishermen's concerns and had Ukha with them.
Putin also saw an old, abandoned, destroyed church of 13th century and promised to "find" money for its reconstruction.

[I'm not fan of sea food, but if Ukha, (fish soup), is made with Russian recipe it's delicious and I won't say 'no' to it any time of the day. My Godfather used to cook it back in old country and the taste is still in my mouth.]

Local news; NYSlimes today published articles trying to badmouth Trump's son-in-law's close involvement in the affairs of upcoming President's administration.
[I don't want even link it in here. It's so stupid. When Biden's son is making a fortune in oil business in Ukraine when his father running US taxpayer paid clown-show in there, dirty main stream media is not saying anything.

It's 21 degrees F which is -6 C, windy and snowing in NYC. My desire to go out and maybe visit The Mets is slowly subsiding.

Did you know that  Steve Job's mother, the real one, the one who raised him, was Armenian-American? Just found this article at
thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/04/23/apple-s-armenian-genocide-problem.html.

Last week were talking about those 4 racist black thugs who kidnapped and tortured a young mentally challenged white man, supposedly a friend of one of them, and MSM media played most despicable role using all sorts of cuckoo words to twist the normal consciousness of any human being and other vile people like themselves on TV to soften the issue of black racism against whites in this country. It got totally out of control under O and it's getting only worse.
If that t.r.r, yes, t.r.r, had not been broadcasted, they'd be getting off easily, believe me.
Black hatred, discrimination, racism is all over me every minute of every day wherever I live and wherever I go in NYC.
Cuckoo-thin-little-man-shepard-smith shut someone's mouth on his show when the guest mentioned BLM crowd and its impact on minority youth.
There is a man on Internet by the name Mike Dice @MikeDice.
He put this interesting clip on his site, at youtube.com/watch?v=-6nrGIEkLeA.
He's right, BLM is a black racist militant group.
[The name of it is so intellectually dishonest that makes me vomit. What does it mean? When black lives did not matter in this country? Even in the time of slavery they mattered. Nobody killed them out of fun, nobody. Entire human history is full of atrocities and instead of bickering, in 2017, after 8 years of black president, BLM crowd should rejoice and make the best out of their lives. I don't see anyone is going anywhere anyway. Nobody wants them in Africa. As far as I'm concerned they didn't leave anything in there and none of African governments sent them invitation to go back.]

I can't find anything about recovery work for Tu-154 at Black Sea. I'm sure it's continuing 24/7, but no coverage I guess.

It's always in my mind though. Those people who're gone and their families who go through these holiday season without them. I keep putting candles for their lost souls.

So long.