by Cheryl Rofer
The New York Times reports that Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is meeting his counterpart, Gen. Nikolai Makarov, just outside Helsinki, on the Vantaa River. That's good news in some big ways; Russia and the United States need to be talking more, particularly on military matters.
It's good news in little ways, too. It gives me a chance to post some beautiful northern scenery (photo from Vantaa's website), and it's nice to see that the Times is using diacritical marks again.