Showing posts with label obituary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label obituary. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 06, 2026

Ted Turner (1938-2026), who shaped cable TV and launched CNN, died at 87.

R.I.P.

While he still owned CNN (until 1995), CNN was much better than afterwards!

Whether it was a good idea to donate $1 billion to the United Nations remains questionable!

"The high-profile media tycoon was also a sailor, a conservationist who was one of the largest U.S. landowners, and a major philanthropist who helped set a model for generous giving by billionaires. Turner was best known for turning the billboard-advertising company he inherited from his father into Turner Broadcasting System, an Atlanta-based TV and movie giant that he sold to Time Warner in 1995."

"... As a philanthropist, he gave $1 billion to create the United Nations Foundation, a public charity to broaden U.S. support for the United Nations. Turner served as chairman of the United Nations Foundation board of directors. Additionally, in 2001, Turner co-founded the Nuclear Threat Initiative with U.S. senator Sam Nunn (D-GA). NTI is a non-partisan organization dedicated to reducing global reliance on, and preventing the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. He served as co-chairman of the board of directors. ..." (Wikipedia)

Wall Street Journal What's news


Ted Turner


Monday, December 29, 2025

Sunday, December 28, 2025

Femme fatale and ballerina Brigitte Bardot passed away

R.I.P. She had pouty lips (Schmollmund) like few other ladies on screen and four husbands. She was a muse.

She embodied cherchez la femme!

Smoking by a young woman in public was never so sexy before!

"... After retiring from acting in 1973, Bardot became an animal rights activist and created the Brigitte Bardot Foundation. She was known for her strong personality, outspokenness, and speeches on animal defense; she was fined twice for public insults. She was also fined six times for inciting racial hatred for her comments on Muslims in France and calling residents of Réunion "savages". ..." (Wikipedia)



Remembering Lou Gerstner who turned around IBM

R.I.P. An American business leader icon passed away at age 83.

"... an American businessman, best known for his tenure as chairman and chief executive officer of IBM from April 1993 until 2002, when he retired as CEO in March and chairman in December. He is largely credited with turning IBM's fortunes around. Gerstner is chairman of Gerstner Philanthropies.

Gerstner was formerly CEO of RJR Nabisco, and held senior positions at American Express and McKinsey & Company. ..."

Remembering Lou Gerstner





Thursday, November 20, 2025

The Kessler Twins "I Say A Little Prayer" on The Ed Sullivan Show and obituary

Enjoy! Alice and Ellen Kessler both just died a few days ago at age 89 by assisted suicide on the same day!
Was this news kind of suppressed in Germany and the US because of the assisted suicide chosen by the twins?

Thursday, September 11, 2025

Tichys Einblick zur Ermordung von Charlie Kirk

Sehr empfehlenswert! Bravo! Ich habe mir erlaubt, die gesamte Stellungnahme von Tichys Einblick unten wiederzugeben!

"Attentat auf Charlie Kirk:
Das wahre Gesicht der Linken

Geistige Brandstiftung

Mit Charlie Kirk wurde nicht nur eine führende Stimme des US-Konservatismus erschossen, sondern ein Mensch, der sich in einer polarisierten Welt für Dialog einsetzte, der konkret vorlebte, was Meinungs- und Diskursfreiheit bedeuten, und wie man Debatten in einer von Emotionalisierung geprägten Zeit sachbezogen führt, getragen von gegenseitigem Respekt. Eindringlich warnte er davor, den politischen Gegner zu entmenschlichen, sah in freier Auseinandersetzung den besten Schutz vor Eskalation und Radikalisierung: ein Vorbild, sollte man meinen, für jeden, unabhängig von der politischen Positionierung.

Doch die politische Linke demaskiert sich angesichts dieses Attentats. Zahlreiche Reaktionen auf seine Ermordung bezeugen eine menschliche Verrohung und innere Verrottung, die ihresgleichen sucht.

In den sozialen Medien äußern nicht nur anonyme Nutzer unverhohlen Häme und Freude über den Tod des 31-Jährigen. ZDF-Drehbuchautor Mario Sixtus vergleicht Kirk mit einem Dealer, der an seinen eigenen Drogen stirbt – weil dieser für Waffenbesitz eintrat. „Wenn Faschisten sterben, jammern Demokraten nicht“, setzt er noch einen drauf, und auch da endet die Hasstirade nicht: Mit der Behauptung, dass „Waffen Leben retten“, habe Kirk ja womöglich recht gehabt, man wisse schließlich nicht, „was er noch angerichtet hätte“. Scham- und grenzenlose Verhöhnung eines Mordopfers. ...

Genau diese Entmenschlichung prangerte Charlie Kirk an, und genau diese Entmenschlichung ist es, die die Hemmschwelle zu Gewalt signifikant senkt.

Die nach außen hin propagierten „Werte“ der Linken erweisen sich als reine Lippenbekenntnisse. Die Fiktion, man trete für Gerechtigkeit, Menschenwürde oder Diversität ein, verhüllt nur unzureichend, dass Hass, Intoleranz und Grausamkeit Kern linker Ideologie sind, Enthemmung und zivilisatorischer Dammbruch das erklärte Ziel.

Anstand und Pietät würden es gebieten, den Tod eines jungen Familienvaters [der sich politisch engagierte] zu bedauern und zu betrauern – völlig unabhängig von inhaltlichen Differenzen. Wer sich dazu nicht einmal öffentlich durchringen kann, und sei es nur, um den Schein zu wahren, beweist damit, dass er die Grundlagen unserer Gesellschaft ablehnt und selbst zu minimaler Empathie nicht mehr fähig ist.

Medien üben sich derweil in Feindmarkierung und Framing. Nur einige Beispiele: Im Deutschlandfunk wird Kirk der Lüge bezichtigt, die Süddeutsche bezeichnet ihn als „rechtskonservativ“. Seine Bereitschaft, mit jedem in Dialog zu treten, wird von der Tagesschau als konfrontativ dargestellt und verwandelt sich bei n-tv in „Scharfmacherei“. Dass er ein „Trump-Unterstützer“ war, soll allzu großem Mitgefühl für ihn, seine Witwe und die zwei kleinen Kinder, die er zurücklässt, vorbeugen.

Ein sprachliches Husarenstück liefert die Zeit, die am frühen Donnerstagmorgen titelt, es habe sich um einen „Schusswaffenangriff“ gehandelt. Auch hier wird also der Boden bereitet, um Kirk aufgrund seiner liberalen Haltung zu Waffenbesitz – eine in den USA verbreitete und nicht auf Konservative beschränkte Position – eine Mitschuld an seinem Tod zu unterstellen. Damit führen die entsprechenden Medien nahtlos eine Desinformationspolitik fort, die man nicht anders denn als geistige Brandstiftung bezeichnen kann. 

Denn es ist das fortwährende hysterische Alarmgeschrei, das jede nur andeutungsweise konservative Positionierung als Faschismus betrachtet, das in verunsicherten, ideologisierten Menschen den Eindruck erweckt, dass sie Widerstandskämpfer seien, und dass die Situation Gewaltanwendung erfordere. Wer jahrelang Menschen einredet, eine faschistische Diktatur in den USA oder ein Viertes Reich von Weidels Gnaden stehe in Deutschland kurz bevor, der befeuert eine Haltung, die Mord als legitimes Mittel zur Verteidigung der „wehrhaften“ Demokratie betrachtet. ..."

Tichys Einblick Newsletter

Monday, September 08, 2025

An exploration of basic human values in 38 million obituaries over 30 years

What a study! However, obituaries are often templated/patterned and the deceased or their survivors often like to portray the deceased as bigger/better than life etc. There is a tendency to assume wishful legacies or to please the trends of the time.

I have my doubts about the effects of Covid 19 on obituaries as described in this study.

"Summary
Why this matters: 
  • Obituaries function as time capsules that reflect what people, at any given moment in history, understand to be a life well-lived. By studying how obituaries evolve across time and context, we can gain deeper insight into how societies define a worthy life, express loss and pass on values across generations. 
  • New MSU-led research takes a novel approach to the psychological study of legacy by focusing on how individuals are actually remembered by others instead of how they wish to be remembered. 
  • Legacy motivations influence a range of real-world behaviors, from charitable giving to end-of-life decisions.
...
Benevolence has experienced a decrease in obituary appearances since 2019 — just before the COVID-19 pandemic — and has yet to recover. ...

Two years and four years after the pandemic, tradition increased and did not return to baseline. There was a strong link between COVID-19 deaths and tradition: As more people died during the pandemic, obituaries tended to focus more on religion and social norms and less on conformity. ..."

From the significance and abstract:
"Significance
What signals a life well lived? We addressed this question by examining millions of obituaries over time, across cultural events, and exploring how legacies were modified by demographics of the deceased.
The most prevalent personal value in obituaries was tradition (e.g., focusing on religion).
Cultural events, like the COVID-19 pandemic, linked to changes in legacy reflections as well. For example, care for close others (benevolence) decreased throughout the pandemic and never recovered, even 4 y after its start.
Finally, legacies of women showed minimal fluctuations with increased age; legacies of men showed more dynamic and systematic age-related changes over time. Obituaries tell an important psychological and cultural story about how societies remember others and what constitutes a meaningful life.

Abstract
How societies remember the dead can reveal what people value in life. We analyzed 38 million obituaries from the United States to examine how personal values are encoded in individual and collective legacies.
Using Schwartz’s theory of basic human values, we found that tradition and benevolence dominated legacy reflections, while values like power and stimulation appeared less frequently.
Major cultural events—the terrorist attacks of September 11th, the 2008 financial crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic—were systematically linked to changes in legacy reflections about personal values, with security declining after 9/11, achievement declining after the financial crisis, and benevolence declining for years after COVID-19 began and, to date, not yet returning to baseline.
Gender and age of the deceased were also linked to differences in legacy:
Men were remembered more for achievement, power, and conformity, while women were remembered more for benevolence and hedonism.
Older people were remembered more for tradition and conformity than younger people.
These patterns shifted dynamically across the lifespan, with obituaries for men showing more age-related variation than legacies for women.
Our findings reveal how obituaries serve as psychological and cultural time capsules, preserving not just individual legacies, but also indicating what US society values collectively regarding a life well lived."


An exploration of basic human values in 38 million obituaries over 30 years | PNAS (no public access)

Saturday, September 06, 2025

Hundreds pay last respects to Italian fashion icon Giorgio Armani

R.I.P. I believe, I never had or wore any of Armani clothes, but as a young man I liked to wear one of his perfumes.




Friday, July 04, 2025

Burial in space turned into a burial at sea for 160 paying deceased individuals

R.I.P. Life is stranger than fiction! Sometimes, the best laid plans of mice and men can go wrong. 😊

"More than 160 people who paid to have their ashes launched into orbit as a final resting place instead had their ashes lost at sea after the Nyx capsule’s parachutes failed and it crashed into the Pacific."

Friday, July 4, 2025 - Join The Flyover







Saturday, May 31, 2025

Former NYPD Commissioner Bernie Kerik dead at 69

R.I.P.  The last 20 or so years of his life were marred by some controversy.

"The "broken windows theory," developed by James Q. Wilson and George Kelling, posits that visible signs of disorder, like broken windows, create an environment where more serious crime is likely to occur. Bernard Kerik was a prominent figure in implementing this theory in New York City, particularly in the subway system, under the direction of then-Police Commissioner William Bratton. " (Google Search)

"... Kerik, whose high-profile career was peppered with success and controversy, shot to prominence when he was named the Big Apple’s top cop by former Mayor Rudy Giuliani in 2000 and presided over a 63% drop in violent crime.

The 40th police commissioner was also dubbed the “beat cop commissioner” for his hands-on leadership style, making five arrests during his 16-month tenure as commissioner, including one involving two ex-convicts in Harlem driving a stolen van. ...

Mayor Eric Adams, a former NYPD captain, mourned his friend of three decades. “It was just this afternoon that I stopped by the hospital to see Bernie Kerik, my friend of nearly 30 years, before his passing,” [Mayor Adams] said. “He was a great New Yorker and American. Rest in peace, my friend.” ...

His legal troubles worsened in 2009, when he pleaded guilty to eight federal felonies, including charges that he evaded taxes on a $255,000 gift for home repairs and made false statements to federal officials while being considered for the Homeland Security post.

Kerik served four years in federal prison before he was pardoned by Trump in 2020 during his first term in the White House. ..."

Exclusive | Former NYPD Commissioner Bernie Kerik dead at 69




Friday, March 07, 2025

In memoriam: Frits Bolkestein

I have to admit I do not remember his name!

Apparently, he was one of the drivers of the open, competitive free market European Union.

"LI’s former President Frits Bolkestein passed away yesterday at the age of 91. A prominent Dutch liberal who led his party, the VVD, he served as the 9th president of Liberal International between 1996-2000.

A critical liberal thinker who shaped liberal politics in the Netherlands and around the world, he served as Minister of Defence (1988-89), leader of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (1990-98) European Union commissioner (1999-2004). ..."

In memoriam: Former LI President Frits Bolkestein - Liberal International

Tuesday, March 04, 2025

Monday, February 24, 2025

Roberta Flack: Killing Me Softly singer dies aged 88

R.I.P.

"... But she didn't score her first hit until she was in her 30s - when her recording of Ewan MacColl's The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face was used to soundtrack an explicit love scene in Clint Eastwood's 1971 film Play Misty For Me.

It was subsequently named song of the year at the Grammys. Flack won the award a second time the following year, for Killing Me Softly With His Song.

After topping the charts again in 1974 with Feel Like Makin' Love, Flack took a break from performing to concentrate on recording and charitable causes. ..."

Roberta Flack: Killing Me Softly singer dies aged 88







Wednesday, January 08, 2025

Image of the day

The catwoman Jocelyn Wildenstein passed away at age 84! Plastic surgery gone wild!



Friday, July 26, 2024

Ukraine Strives to Keep Memory of Athletes Who Died Fighting Ahead of Paris Olympics

May the Olympic Games begin in heir memory! May the 2,900 years old tradition of the Olympic Truce be honored!

"This year’s Olympic Games in Paris features the smallest Ukrainian delegation in the history of the Olympics’ summer games - with only 140 athletes participating.

According to a British parliamentary press release on July 24, more than 487 Ukrainian athletes, including past and aspiring Olympians, have been killed since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Among them are Stanislav Hulenkov, a 22-year-old judoka who died defending Ukraine in the Donetsk region, and Anastasiia Ihnatenko, an acrobatic gymnastics coach who died alongside her husband and their 18-month-old son in a Russian missile strike, and many others. ..."

Ukraine Strives to Keep Memory of Athletes Who Died Fighting Ahead of Paris Olympics

Saturday, July 13, 2024

The author of Sex for Dummies passed away at 96

Update: I just learnt she was also trained as a sniper and joined the Haganah in the 1947-49 Israeli War of Independence. She was a Holocaust survivor.

R.I.P. and sex!

Dr. Ruth Westheimer, famed sex therapist, dies at 96