Copenhagen Mall Shooting

Above, outside of the mall following the shooting. Screen capture by Armand Vaquer.

Proving once again that mass shootings aren't just a phenomena of the United States, a shooter yesterday opened fire and killed three and wounded several others. Oslo, Norway recently had a mass shooting on June 25 by an Islamic terrorist.

According to Fox News:

Authorities say the shooting incident in Denmark, where a gunman opened fire at a busy shopping mall in Copenhagen, leaving three people dead and at least three others injured was not terror-related.

The gunman likely acted alone and fired indiscriminately at random shoppers, Danish Police said Monday, the day after the shooting.

Copenhagen chief police inspector Søren Thomassen said the deceased victims included one Russian and two Danish citizens. The victims included a man in his 40s and two "young people," he said.

Thomassen said the suspect, identified only as a 22-year-old Danish man, was arrested at the scene and that the incident was not an act of terrorism. 

Since Asya is in Copenhagen, I checked with her to see if she was okay since one of the deceased was a Russian. She replied that she is in the countryside and thanked me for checking.

To read the full article, go here.

Russia Bans Flights From 36 Countries In Retaliation

Above, Asya is stuck in Denmark due to flight bans. Photo courtesy of Asya Lipovetckaia.

This afternoon, I was chatting with Asya on WhatsApp and she said her flight to St. Petersburg from Copenhagen had been canceled due to the sanctions imposed by European Union countries and others. She can't go back home now, she said.

Lousy timing.

According to Reuters:

MOSCOW, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Russia has closed its airspace to airlines from 36 countries, including all 27 members of the European Union, in response Ukraine-related sanctions targeting its aviation sector.

Some of the banned countries had already been identified, while others were named by the aviation authority Rosaviatsia for the first time on Monday following the punitive measures imposed over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The flight bans are expected to hurt airlines that fly over the world's biggest country to get from Europe to Asia. They are likely to force them to find new routes.

They said the countries affected are:

It listed the countries as Albania, Anguilla, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, British Virgin Islands, Germany, Gibraltar, Hungary, Greece, Denmark, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Jersey, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

The listed countries have previously banned all Russian airline flights. The U.S. hasn't made up its mind on what to do (great leadership, eh?). 

It's funny, I had mentioned to her a week ago that the invasion of Ukraine affected my investment accounts, which forced me to move my investments to a safe haven. Now it's her "turn" to be affected.

To read more, go here.

Even The U.S. Embassies and Consulates Are Screwed Up

Above, at the Odyssey Restaurant in October 2016 in Granada Hills, California.

It appears that besides everything else that His Fraudulency Joe Biden has touched, the U.S. Embassy and consulates have been screwed up. The "Midas Touch In Reverse" has hit the overseas embassies and consulates visa offices apparently. 

Asya has been seeing about getting a visa to visit me in New Mexico this summer. Since Vlad the Invader has ordered U.S. consulate offices in Russia to cut staff (and not allow non-Americans in Russia to be employed in them), so they aren't processing visitor visas in St. Petersburg and other places.

Since Asya is now in Denmark, it should be easier to get a visitor visa there. On paper and in theory, that is correct. 

Right now, Russians can apply for a US visa in any other country where there is a US embassy and can apply for non-residents. At the moment, the easiest way is to find the closest states to Russia.

Well, Asya checked and found this in regards to the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen (note the appointment wait times):

I have checked with the Denmark U.S. Embassy (via email) to see if the above is actually the case. They say they will respond in 1-3 days. We'll see. I suggested to Asya to go to the Embassy without an appointment and check with the staff there and see what can be done. She should be in the system already since she's been in the U.S. several times.

Those are ridiculous wait times, in any case. It looks like His Fraudulency's administration is screwing up everything. With COVID-19, there shouldn't such a huge demand for visitor visas to produce logjams like this.

As Richard Dreyfuss said in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, "This is nuts!"

Monocle Names Tokyo No. 2 "Most Livable City"

Above, the Tokyo Skytree from Kappabashi. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Tokyo and two other Japanese cities were named in the "top ten" list of the "Most Livable" cities in the world by Monocle, a global affairs and lifestyle magazine.

According to an article in Rocket News 24:

Everything has been coming up Tokyo lately. Recently ranked no. 1 on a Trip Advisor survey, Japan’s capital city has now come in at No. 2 on Monocle’s list of most livable cities for 2014. That’s two positions up from their ranking last year! 

Cities across the world were ranked based on criteria such as economics, society, functionality, as well as ease of everyday living and happiness of people. But it’s not just Tokyo that’s feeling the love recently – two more Japanese cities made it onto the list of great places to live! 

Monocle, a global affairs and lifestyle magazine, has been publishing a list of the “Most Livable Cities Index” since 2006. This list rates cities based on the aforementioned categories and also, but not limited to, crime rate, health care, public schools, public transportation, as well as access to nature, culture, sunlight/climate, number of electronic vehicle charging spots, and ease of starting a new business. And in 2014, they added tolerance as a new category.

Copenhagen, Denmark came in at number one on Monocle's list.

To see the other cities, go here.