Quinn te Samil May 9th.

 “The Past Is Never Dead”*

This week, history stirred beneath the surface—its echoes louder than the headlines.

In London, Westminster Abbey filled with solemnity as King Charles and Prime Minister Starmer honored the 80th anniversary of VE Day. A ten-year-old descendant of Churchill lit a candle of peace, while across Europe, ceremonies unfolded under the shadow of new wars. Germany, for the first time, declared May 8 a public holiday, even as its president condemned Russia’s revisionist narratives. In Ukraine, the past and present blurred—survivors of WWII now sheltering from Russian drones. The Guardian+5The Guardian+5The Scottish Sun+5

At the Vatican, white smoke rose. Cardinal Robert Prevost of Chicago became Pope Leo XIV—the first American pontiff. His message: bridge-building in a fractured Church. A symbolic shift, perhaps, as Europe grapples with its own spiritual and political realignments. ABC News+1Global News+1ABC News+3CBS News+3Global News+3

Meanwhile, President Trump and Prime Minister Starmer unveiled a “major” US-UK trade deal, slashing tariffs on steel and cars. Markets rallied, but the fine print revealed digital tax concessions and political posturing. The pound held steady; mid-cap stocks surged. Reuters+1Reuters+1flynntownc.pages.dev

In South Asia, old animosities reignited. India and Pakistan exchanged missile fire over Kashmir, marking the worst escalation in two decades. Flights were grounded. Markets trembled. The world watched, weary of familiar patterns. The GuardianYouTube+16The Scottish Sun+16StartUs Insights+16The Guardian

And in the skies, a Soviet-era spacecraft—lost for 53 years—plummeted back to Earth. A relic of Cold War ambition, returning uninvited. CBS News

The past is never dead. It waits, patient, beneath the surface.

—Quinn te Samil

Thanks to Fogy for keeping the lights on.

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"Tensions Eternal" — Monarchy meets politics, religion confronts modernity, and ancestral rivals stare through the fog of history. Overhead, a forgotten machine falls back to Earth. The present is crowded with ghosts.