This is the weekend edition of TheMarioBlog and will be updated as needed. The next blog post is Monday, November 5. Reporting from beautiful Vienna next week.

Sometimes a two-word headline (Beyond Hate) and a powerful illustration is all one needs to get the message of the story.

Such is the case with this TIME Magazine cover this week.

TIME’s cover is a special report about hate and healing in America. Contributors include Jon Meacham, Nancy Gibbs, Eddie Glaude, and Katie Couric. Per TIME, “the cover image is an original illustration from Edel Rodriguez, inspired by the mystical Jewish image of the Tree of Life…”

The cover story makes us all think and perhaps meditate a bit on the direction our country is taking.  The optimist that I am reminds me that there has always been hatred, but love and understanding have been stronger, especially among the people of the United States.

That’s my thought as the weekend begins.

Bravo for the winning Times

And an interesting fact about who reads the Times:

CEO Mark Thompson “said the company now has at least one reader from every member country of the United Nations, and Antarctica…”

As of Q3 2018, The New York Times has more than 4 million total paid subscriptions of which more than 3 million are digital-only. https://investors.nytco.com/press/press-releases/press-release-details/2018/The-New-York-Times-Company-Reports-2018-Third-Quarter-Results/default.aspx …

TheMarioBlog post #2940