I get these regular posts from Michael Lobo, a Mangalorean genealogy expert, scientist and publisher. Sharing an excerpt from one with you...
....dear readers, to mark April Fools’ Day, I would like to initiate a little diversion. In Lewis Carroll’s children’s classic *Alice in Wonderland*, Alice was asked a riddle by the Mad Hatter: “Why is a raven like a writing desk?” Alice – a talented and gifted child – was happy to take up such an intellectual challenge, but was finally forced to give up and ask for the solution. The Mad Hatter simply replied “I haven’t the faintest idea”. Alice was naturally displeased on being made to waste time and energy seeking solutions to nonsensical questions. She was somewhat in the position of having been made an April Fool. “Alice in Wonderland” – regarded by some critics as a political satire – was published in 1865, at a time when Central and Eastern Europe formed part of the three great empires – the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire. Most of the independent nations that form part of Central and Eastern Europe today were merely provinces of one of these three empires in the 19th century. Ukraine, in particular, formed part of the Russian empire under the Tsars. It would appear that the Russian government of today would like to resurrect the glory of the old Russian empire. Dear friends, I mentioned that I would like to mark April Fools’ Day with a little diversion. Following the example of Lewis Carroll’s political satire, it takes the form of a riddle: * “Should Canada feel grateful to Russia for invading Ukraine?” * Dear intellects on this forum, you may imagine that I am another Mad Hatter, but I can assure you that it is not my intention to answer with the words “I haven’t the faintest idea. Ha ha, April Fool”. I do have a legitimate solution to this riddle – and will elucidate in my next post to the forum. Conundrums may sometimes have more than one solution. For example, one answer to the riddle “What is old and new at the same time” might be “*Renewed marriage vows*” – which are obviously old but also new because they are ‘renewed’ (made new once again). But it is possible to think of several other answers that are equally palatable. Or let us consider Derek D’Costa’s title question “Who runs the world?” The posts on that thread might suggest the following answer: “*The world is being run by Indians who are no longer Indian.*” But another perfectly legitimate answer is: “*The hand that rocks the cradle runs the world*”. So too with my own conundrum: *“Should Canada feel grateful to Russia for invading Ukraine?” * If you can propose an answer of your own, you are welcome to share it with the forum. Who knows, it may turn out that your answer will be adjudged by the readers in this forum to be better than my own. On the other hand, if you regard this riddle as a distraction from more serious subjects, you are also welcome to continue with the current debates, or even initiate a new debate. In that case, in keeping with my own policy of avoiding having more than one discourse active on the forum at any one time, I will withhold my own solution to the riddle until the forum passes through a quiet phase of at least a day or two. Till then ... Michael Lobo [image: Mailtrack] <https://streaklinks.com/A_epkoYBQY0-HdmzywpQswK2/https%3A%2F%2Fmailtrack.io%3Futm_source%3Dgmail%26utm_medium%3Dsignature%26utm_campaign%3Dsignaturevirality11%26> Sender notified by Mailtrack <https://streaklinks.com/A_epkocHh6MKEw5QLAlony1N/https%3A%2F%2Fmailtrack.io%3Futm_source%3Dgmail%26utm_medium%3Dsignature%26utm_campaign%3Dsignaturevirality11%26> 01/04/22, 02:46:13 am ᐧ