His name is Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, and he takes himself very seriously . . . which is what makes him so freakin’ funny.

Medvedev, you may recall, was the titular president of Russia for four years from 2008 to 2012, keeping the seat warm while Vladimir Putin sat out the then constitutionally requisite one term before being able to run again. He then served eight years as Prime Minister before moving into his current seat as Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council — a very powerful position, considering that the Chairman is none other than Putin himself.

Medvedev, who presented himself in the early part of this century as a reformer, has turned out to be one of Moscow’s most virulent hawks. And he loves nothing better than to hear the sound of his own voice threatening the West with imminent doom.

He also occasionally comes up with comments that send me into spasms of uncontrollable laughter — like this one, reported by Interfax on Monday, January 12th, with regard to Greenland:

“Trump needs to hurry. According to unverified information, in a few days there could be a sudden referendum, at which the entire 55,000-strong Greenland could vote to join Russia.” [Lidia Kelly, Reuters, January 12, 2026.]

Based solely on that one remark, I’m betting he hasn’t seen any of these recent news reports from those 55,000 Greenlanders:

Get some rest, Dmitry. You have clearly lost the plot.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/14/26

Having newly discovered the satirical works of the late Ambrose Bierce, I find myself struggling to choose just one from a multitude of brilliant comments.

But since the upcoming midterm elections are such a hot topic of conversation these days, I’ve decided on this one for today’s quote. It is a definition from Bierce’s Devil’s Dictionary that is so on point, it needs no explanation:

“VOTE, n. The instrument and symbol of a freeman’s power to make a fool of himself and a wreck of his country.”

Thank you, Mr. Bierce, for pointing out what it has taken us far too long to figure out for ourselves.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/14/26

It’s almost as though someone in the Kremlin is listening in on my thoughts . . . or perhaps I’m anticipating theirs. Either way, it’s a somewhat spooky coincidence in timing.

Just an hour ago, I posted a piece that I had actually composed yesterday concerning the recent silence from the usual talking heads at the Kremlin. And then I read about this statement, issued on Monday, January 12th, by Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya:

“Until the leader in Kyiv comes to his senses and agrees to realistic negotiating terms, we will continue to resolve the issue militarily . . . with every day he wastes, the negotiating conditions will only worsen.” [Julia Struck, Kyiv Post, January 13, 2026.]

Nebenzya also said that discussions about deploying peacekeepers as part of post-war security guarantees would not be helpful to Ukraine, as — in Russia’s view — the advance of NATO forces toward Ukraine’s borders was unacceptable.

He further continued to advance the Kremlin’s absurd allegations that Russia had not caused Ukrainian civilian casualties — claims that have been debunked by irrefutable, multi-source, visual evidence.

The emergency UN session was convened after Russian forces struck Ukraine’s Lviv region with a multiple-warhead Oreshnik ballistic missile.

So there you have it: SSDD (Same Shit, Different Day). But at least we know they’re not asleep at the switch in the Kremlin . . . because those words would not have been spoken by Vasily Nebenzya without the instruction, or at least the authorization, of Vladimir Putin.

I’m afraid the Great Russian Bear is very much alive and awake after all.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/14/26

Has anyone noticed the silence? Not in Ukraine, of course, where the Russian missiles and drones continue to arrive by the dozens (or more) on a daily basis, damaging or destroying essential infrastructure, maiming and killing civilians, and leaving the survivors without heat, electricity, water, or proper shelter.

No, the silence is emanating — if silence can actually emanate — from the Kremlin. Why are we not hearing the customary daily rhetoric from Vladimir Putin, Sergey Lavrov, or Dmitry Peskov? While they’re inexplicably not bombarding the world with verbal threats of impending Armageddon, what the hell are they doing?

It is, of course, impossible to know what goes on behind the Kremlin gates. But beyond Russia’s borders — throughout Europe — Putin’s hybrid war has been continuing, bit by bit, incident by incident, in ways that provide Moscow with at least a semblance of deniability. Consider:

Drones over Europe. They’re not attacking; they’re simply showing up, violating NATO airspace, surveilling, and making Poland, Germany, Finland, Lithuania, and the rest of Europe . . . well, more than a little edgy.

Baltic undersea cables being cut. Accidental? Once, maybe. But multiple incidents in the Baltic? Hardly.

Railway explosion. Poland has charged three people for the November explosion on a key railway route used to transport aid to Ukraine.

Explosive device in Lithuania. One of the three people charged in Poland has also been found guilty of detonating a device at an Ikea store in Lithuania in November.

Arson. A shopping center was set afire in Warsaw, Poland, in 2024.

Communications and transportation. The jamming of GPS systems used by airports in the Baltic region has been attributed to Moscow.

Graffiti and cyber propaganda. Anti-Ukraine sentiment is being stirred up in numerous countries.

Election interference. An old story, continuing unabated.

*. *. *

Several days ago, Germany’s capital city of Berlin suffered a five-day blackout when arsonists attacked a gas-fired power plant. An estimated 100,000 people were left without electricity and heat in the frigid winter weather; some schools were closed; and hospitals were forced to rely on emergency generators.

A radical far-left group — Vulkangruppe — has claimed responsibility. But were they indeed acting independently? Or might they be part of Russia’s newest assemblage of mercenaries, sometimes referred to as Russia’s “disposable” saboteurs?

In much the same way as they recruit young men to serve in the military by offering financial incentives, the Russian authorities are now using online messaging apps and cryptocurrency payments to recruit “disposable” agents for sabotage operations throughout Europe . . . including financially-needy Ukrainian refugees who may not be aware of who is paying them. [Marc Bennetts, Thetimes.com, January 14, 2026.]

A report by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a London-based think tank, said:

“The methods used to recruit and task saboteurs have shifted from Cold War-era reliance on trained intelligence operatives to a model characterised by remote, freelance and highly deniable assignments: the ‘gig-economy era’ of Russian sabotage.

“Low-level operatives are commonly recruited via encrypted messaging apps, such as Telegram, and paid small sums, often in cryptocurrency.” While most recruits are paid a few dollars for simple acts of vandalism such as graffiti, while others receive up to $10,000 for more serious crimes, the report stated that: “In several cases, saboteurs were not paid at all, underscoring their disposability.” [Id.]

One of the authors of the report — Kinga Redlowska, an expert on illicit finance and security — said that eroding support and creating fear and tension “is part of the logic of low-level [Russian] sabotage, even when the physical damage itself is limited. Europe has been relatively slow to recognise these incidents as part of a co-ordinated sabotage campaign. Money moves quickly, especially via crypto and informal cash services, while legal and cross-border co-operation processes move slowly. Even failed or low-impact attacks still achieve Russian objectives by creating fear, draining security resources and testing response thresholds.” [Id.]

*. *. *

Whatever else they may be up to inside those massive red brick walls, one thing is for certain: the Kremlin’s insidious work continues, albeit more quietly than usual. And that quiet is itself cause for concern.

Because the Great Russian Bear never sleeps.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/14/26

I suppose it’s still used from time to time, but it was more prevalent during the years of the Cold War: training attractive young Russian women to seduce foreigners whose jobs gave them access to strategically vital information. Euphemistically known as a “honey trap,” it was all part of the ongoing spy wars, and it netted a fair amount of otherwise unobtainable intelligence.

It also destroyed a great many lives . . . and ended more than a few.

That same methodology is being used by the Russian government today to recruit foreigners to fill the ranks of the military fighting in Ukraine. Instead of sex, however, the lure is money; and the targets are naive, desperately poor young men from Middle Eastern countries — mainly Syria, Egypt and Yemen.

In one specific case, Omar (not his real name) — a young, unemployed Syrian man — was approached by a Russian recruiter in Syria who was supposedly offering civilian work guarding oil facilities in Russia. Omar and a few other men jumped at the opportunity, but upon arriving in Moscow in March of 2024, they found that they had been scammed and were stranded at the airport with little money. One of their group searched online for help, and found a site offering work.

The site belonged to a woman named Polina Aleksandrovna Azarnykh. Within hours of being contacted, she met the men at the airport and took them by train to a recruitment center in Bryansk, some 250 miles southwest of Moscow, where they were given one-year contracts — written in Russian, which they did not understand — providing for a sign-up payment equivalent to $5,000 and a monthly salary of around $2,500. [Nawal Al-Maghafi and Sheida Kiran, BBC, January 12, 2025.]

Thinking they had hit the jackpot, they signed the contracts and handed their passports over to Azarnykh, who promised to arrange Russian citizenship for them. She also said that they could avoid being sent into combat if they paid her $3,000 apiece from their sign-up bonuses.

Instead, Omar was given ten days of military training and sent into battle. When he refused to pay the $3,000 to Azarnykh, she burned his passport. When he complained to his commanders, they threatened to imprison or kill him. [Id.]

Omar later discovered another fact that Azarnykh had failed to mention: that a 2022 Russian decree allows the military to extend soldiers’ contracts automatically until the end of the war in Ukraine. His contract has since been renewed.

A BBC investigation of Azarnykh determined that she had previously run a Facebook group helping Arab students come to Moscow to study. In 2024, she started a Telegram channel through which she operated her recruitment activities, and is said by one source to have become “one of the most important recruiters” for the Russian army, allegedly receiving the equivalent of $300 from the army for each person she recruited. [Id.]

In mid-2024, her posts began referring to the fact that recruits would be “participating in hostilities.” In one video, posted in October 2024, she says:

“You all understood well that you were going to war. You thought that you could get a Russian passport, do nothing and live in a five-star hotel? . . . Nothing happens for free.” [Id.]

And in a voice message sent to the mother of a soldier, she accused the woman of “publish[ing] something horrible about the Russian army” and threatened the soldier’s life, further warning the woman, “I’ll find you and all your children.” [Id.]

The BBC World Service has identified nearly 500 cases in which Azarnykh has “invited” young men to come to Russia to join the military in (allegedly) non-combatant positions, obtained their passport details from them, and failed to mention that they would not be allowed to leave in a year. Twelve families have told of young men recruited by her who are now dead or missing.

While it is unknown how many foreigners have joined Russia’s war against Ukraine since it was launched nearly four years ago, studies suggest the number may be as high as 20,000 or more, including from countries like Cuba, North Korea and Nepal. [Id.] Basically, they are nothing more than cannon fodder, sent into combat with just a few days of training, in a language they can’t understand, to replace the hundreds of thousands of Russian casualties.

And “entrepreneurs” like Polina Azarnykh are earning a living by leading the lambs to their slaughter.

I have to wonder whether the governments of these targeted countries are taking steps to warn their young men of the truth behind these recruitments, and if not . . . why not?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/13/26

Ambrose Bierce was an American journalist and author of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, famed for both the volume and the wide variety of his literary output: he wrote realism, horror, poetry, fables, and satire.

He had fought in numerous battles of the Civil War (Union side), and in 1913, at the age of 71, he decided to depart Washington, D.C., on a tour of his old Civil War battlefields. He was last known to have passed through Texas and crossed into Mexico, which was then in the midst of revolution, but soon thereafter fell off the grid. He was last heard from around Christmas of 1913; the mystery of his disappearance has never been solved.

But he left behind a legacy of literature spread across several genres, of which my personal favorite is his gift for satire. And here is just one small sample, in which he artfully sums up the problem with politics as it existed then . . . and continues to plague us even now, more than 100 years later:

“In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, intelligence is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from the cares of office.”

– Ambrose Bierce

Indeed so, Mr. Bierce . . . indeed so.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/13/26

They’re incredibly beautiful, with pale fur and black faces, and described as very intelligent and social. But they’re native to Africa . . . not to Missouri.

Yet an unknown number of them — estimated between two and four, according to witness reports — are presently at large in St. Louis.

They have been identified by the St. Louis Zoo’s primate expert as Vervet monkeys, but no one knows where they came from or how they got loose . . . except, of course, their most recent owner, who hasn’t as yet come forward, most likely because they know it is illegal for individuals to own primates or other exotic animals in Missouri.

These little cuties are obviously smart enough to have evaded capture despite several sightings, and presumably they are finding food and shelter somewhere. I’m relieved that ICE agents haven’t managed to track them down, as they are clearly illegal immigrants — which also means they are in danger of being classified as domestic terrorists if they try to defend themselves.

I, for one, hold out hope that they will find their way to Washington (perhaps following in the footsteps of the Buddhist monks), where they — the monkeys, not the monks — will invade and take control of the White House, send its present occupant via oil tanker to Venezuela, and return a semblance of sanity to the federal government. After all, we could do worse than having a couple of monkeys running things.

Oh, wait . . . we already have.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/13/26

It’s a matter of public record that the epicurean delight we know as the sandwich was named after one John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, in 1762. That nobleman is said to have been an inveterate gambler — so much so that he did not appreciate having his card games interrupted by anything as mundane as mealtime. So he ordered his servants to arrange some meat between two slices of bread, enabling him to hold onto his cards with one hand and his food with the other, without getting either of them greasy.

Of course, the sandwich as we know it today has evolved to the point where it wouldn’t be recognizable to the Earl — usually consisting of many layers of a variety of ingredients, often slathered in some sort of dressing, rendering it impossible to hold with one hand while doing anything else with the other except perhaps wiping one’s chin . . . thus defeating the Earl’s original purpose.

And what, you may be asking yourself, led me to this discussion of 18th-century British nobility and the equally noble gastronomic concoction we all love and consume by the truckload? Well, it was, of course, something I stumbled across while surfing the net.

As it turns out, Montagu did not originate the idea of convenience food; he merely popularized it. In fact, it had existed for centuries in one form or another, such as the Middle Eastern wrap made with flatbreads, and the highly improbable — and seemingly impossible — “Hillel sandwich” devised by the Jewish people who were not allowed to eat leavened bread during the eight days of Passover.

I say the Hillel sandwich seems impossible because what they had to use in place of the usual bread was unleavened matzo, which, as you may know, is as stiff as a board and crumbles into crunchy little shards when you touch it. So how, I wondered, would one eat a matzos sandwich? And I concluded: Very carefully.

But of course that wasn’t enough for me, so I went on a search for more information, and found actual AI instructions for a matzo wrap, described as “a versatile meal or snack made by gently softening a sheet of matzo so it becomes pliable enough to fold around various fillings like a tortilla.”

And I wondered what my grandparents would have thought of a Jewish tortilla, because I know — I am absolutely positive — that I never saw anything like that when I was growing up.

Oy!

But having lived nearly half their lives in 19th-century Russia (the part that is now Ukraine), they had to be clever in order to survive. So perhaps such a thing did exist there, and they simply preferred to leave it behind them when they came to the promised land of America in 1905.

Anyway, in the certainty that I have aroused the reader’s curiosity, I will share with you an abridged version of the instructions I found:

1. Dampen the matzo: Briefly run a square of matzo under cool water for about 20-30 seconds, ensuring the entire surface is wet.

2. Soften it: Immediately wrap the dampened matzo in a clean kitchen towel and let it sit for about 7-10 minutes. It should be flexible enough to fold like a tortilla or wrap around fillings.

3. Fill and fold: Add your desired fillings. [Here AI goes on to describe a “tortilla hack” fold. If you really care, you might just Google “matzo wrap” and give it a try.]

4. Cook (optional): [This contains instructions for a “warm, crispy wrap,” using an oven, air fryer, or skillet.]

So now, after you’ve gone to the considerable trouble of softening the matzo to make it pliable, they’ve just told you how to make it crispy again. Don’t ask . . . just assume it’s an old-world Jewish thing. That’s what I always do.

But wait . . . there’s more. The bots (or whatever they are) at AI go on to offer suggestions for fillings, including hot dogs (kosher, no doubt); beef brisket; eggs and cheese (hold the bacon); pizza sauce with cheese and veggie toppings; and a tuna, cheese and sliced tomato combo for those who can’t go eight days without a tuna melt.

And there are other sites with recipes that actually look delicious. But I’m getting hungry just thinking about them, so I’m going to close now, try to forget about food, and get some actual work done. If you’re interested, though, feel free to start scrolling.

Also, if you’re up for a little extra-credit research, check out the history of why we don’t eat bread during Passover. It obviously took a great deal of ingenuity to keep up with God’s requirements in biblical times.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/12/26

In 1997, New Line Studios released a film titled “Wag the Dog” — a political satire in which a Hollywood producer (played by Dustin Hoffman) and a spin doctor (Robert De Niro) are hired by the U.S. government to fabricate a war with Albania in order to distract the public from a presidential sex scandal expected to break just weeks before an election.

If you think the plot sounds vaguely like art imitating life, you’re not wrong. But that’s just the beginning; check out these lines from the script, as spoken by Dustin Hoffman’s character:

“It’s all, you know, thinking ahead thinking ahead. . . . Yeah, it’s like a plumber: do your job right and nobody should notice. But when you fuck it up, everything gets full of shit.”

Or this . . .

“Look at that! That is a complete fucking fraud and it looks a hundred percent real. It’s the best work I’ve ever done in my life, because it’s so honest.”

. . . and my particular favorite:

[gunshot]
“Oh, god, he’s dead. Oh, my god . . . oh, my . . . oh . . .”
[opens door]
“Wait a minute, wait a minute, he’s not dead. He’s all right . . .”
[second gunshot]
“Strike that.”

*. *. *

That’s more than just art imitating life; it’s real life being played out on a screen 28 years before it actually happened, with only the names changed to protect the guilty.

I really need to watch that movie again. Care to join me?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/12/26

No . . . it isn’t likely that Marco Rubio would ever inherit the presidency of the United States, as he is fourth in the line of succession. Although, if Congress were to impeach and convict Donald Trump, JD Vance, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, that would leave only 92-year-old President Pro Temp of the Senate Chuck Grassley between Rubio and the Oval Office . . .

But seriously, the odds are slim. However, there’s always Cuba.

No, wait. This is not a joke. It’s also not my idea. A little background:

In his mania to realign the entire western hemisphere, Donald Trump has threatened Cuba with a complete cutoff of oil from its main source — Venezuela — screaming in ALL CAPS on Truth Social yesterday:

“Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela. In return, Cuba provided ‘Security Services’ for the last two Venezuelan dictators, BUT NOT ANYMORE! THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO! I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” [George Wright, BBC, January 11, 2026.]

Typically, he didn’t offer specifics of any deal he might have in mind, or the possible consequences in the event of Cuba’s refusal. (By the way, he also failed to mention the 32 Cuban nationals who were reportedly killed during his little invasion of Caracas . . . but they had most likely slipped his mind as being of no importance.)

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez responded that his country had the right to import fuel from any exporter that would sell to them, “without interference or subordination to the unilateral coercive measures of the United States,” and that, allegedly unlike the U.S., Cuba does not lend itself to “blackmail or military coercion against other States.” [Id.]

How quickly they seem to have forgotten the Castro years, the decades of control by the Soviet Union, and that little matter of the Soviet missiles on their island aimed at the U.S. mainland in 1962. But never mind . . .

Then, as tends to happen on social media, some clown who obviously finds the threat of war amusing posted a message suggesting that Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, might become president of Cuba. And Trump saw this as a great idea, re-posting that bit of idiocy with the comment:

“Sounds good to me!” [Id.]

*. *. *

Setting aside for the moment the complete absurdity of the idea, I have a serious question: Has Trump — or anyone else in his administration, for that matter — ever considered what his immigration policies would have meant a generation ago for people like the parents of Marco Rubio, Usha Vance, and Kash Patel . . . or, even more recently, for his own wife Melania?

Nah . . . I didn’t think so.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/12/26