Much to my regret, I’ve never actually been in France, other than a quick stopover at Charles de Gaulle Airport en route from Washington to Moscow back in the 1990s. (And by the way — apropos of absolutely nothing — the dinner on Air France was the best airline food I’ve ever had.)

But my point is, I have no personal experience of the country; yet I find myself thinking today that I could happily live there, if only because of the ruling of the judge who, in entering a verdict against presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen for embezzlement of EU funds, said that her actions had amounted to a “serious and lasting attack on the rules of democratic life in Europe, but especially in France.” [Todd Symons, CNN, April 4, 2025.]

Then the court sentenced her to a four-year prison term (with two years suspended, the remainder to be served under house arrest), plus a fine of $108,000, and — and this is the best part — blocked her from running for office for five years.

Absolutely proportional to her crime, not “cruel and unusual” by any means, but stern enough to make it quite clear — to Mme. Le Pen and to anyone else contemplating similar actions — that such criminal behavior will not be tolerated.

But who jumped right in to defend her, calling the court’s ruling a “Witch Hunt,” and writing on his own Truth Social account (in all caps, no less): “FREE MARINE LE PEN”?

Anyone care to guess?

Why, it was our very own felon-in-chief, Donald Trump, of course. And why wouldn’t he? After all, this ruling could set a precedent . . . or at least an example . . . for the rest of the world.

So, instead of just keeping his mouth shut for once, he decided to throw his support behind the leader of the far-right National Rally party founded by her own father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, calling the ruling a purely political decision and claiming the “rule of law [had been] completely violated.” [Id.}

Wait . . . what? The rule of law has been violated by upholding the law? That sounds, in all frankness, pretty damned stupid to me . . . even considering the source.

Still, he went on to elaborate:

“I don’t know Marine Le Pen . . .” — and yet he feels qualified to offer a supposedly reasoned opinion! — “ . . . but do appreciate how hard she worked for so many years. She suffered losses, but kept on going, and now, just before what would be a Big Victory, they get her on a minor charge that she probably knew nothing about. Sounds like a ‘bookkeeping’ error to me. It is all so bad for France, and the Great French People, no matter what side they are on.” [Id.]

Now, where have we heard those excuses before?

Sorry about all of this, Great People of France . . . you’re stuck with a judicial system that insists on punishing its convicted criminals — and keeping them out of high office — regardless of their political affiliation.

What is this world coming to?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/5/25

In a stunning move reminiscent of the way things are more commonly done in the Kremlin, Donald Trump has unilaterally swept aside three years of U.S. sanctions against Russia designed to force an end to the war in Ukraine, and issued an invitation — and a special visa — to Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s Presidential Envoy on Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation and head of the country’s sovereign wealth fund.

After a few days of hints from the White House that Dmitriev might be coming, followed by ambiguous statements from the Kremlin that nothing had actually been decided, we learned yesterday that he was already here.

Dmitriev told reporters on Thursday that he had met earlier in the day with members of the Trump administration, though he did not say specifically with whom he had spoken. What he did offer was this:

“I think [with] the Trump administration, we are now in [a] realm of thinking about what is possible, what can really work, and how we can find a long-term solution. Without doubt, we note a positive dynamic in our relations.” [RFE/RL, April 4, 2025.]

And then came that big Russian “but” . . .

“Of course, there are disagreements on various points, but there is a process, there is a dialogue, which in our understanding will help to overcome these disagreements. A series of meetings will still be needed for us to resolve all our differences. But the main thing we see a positive, creative attitude.” [Id.]

And he added on Telegram that restoring dialogue “is a difficult and gradual process. But each meeting, each frank conversation allows us to move forward.” [Id.]

So, once again — as the war drags on and more Ukrainian civilians are killed — we are left knowing nothing: not the people involved in the meeting, a general idea of what was discussed, or what next steps might be under consideration. He did say, though, that the unnamed members of the Trump administration conducted themselves “with great respect, ask a lot of questions, find compromises,” and that he “invited colleagues from the United States to visit Russia.” [Id.]

How nice! Ukrainian President Zelensky gets humiliation; Russia’s envoy gets great respect and compromises. Zelensky gets shown the door; Dmitriev invites us for a reciprocal play date on their turf.

We are now being referred to as “colleagues” from the United States. What’s next . . . “comrades”?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/4/25

So here we are — an entire world filled with people desperately trying to remain relatively sane while our brains process the daily reports of wars, earthquakes, tariffs, inflation, starvation, the coming hurricane season, and whether or not Taylor Swift really said she’s moving to Canada — and some genius comes up with the solution to all of the world’s problems: More babies.

Actually, it’s more than just one “genius” — it’s an entire fringe group, almost completely from the political right, who call themselves “Pronatalists.” And they’re telling us . . . typically for any extremist group . . . that what is right for them is right for everyone. They’re all about large families, so that’s what the rest of us should be doing as well.

Procreate, procreate, procreate.

Just pop those little humans out, year after year after year, whether or not you can afford to support them, or have room to house them, or are blessed with the patience to deal with them as they reach their teens and begin telling you what a shitty parent you’ve been all these years because you didn’t pay enough individual attention to each of the 12 little darlings.

And no, this is not the product of one of my weird dreams during those occasional moments of REM sleep. As evidence, meet the Collinses . . . whose picture, unfortunately, looks to me suspiciously like an AI creation, but who are apparently quite real. (No offense intended . . . but don’t you see it too?)

Anyway, when interviewed in their 18th-century cottage somewhere in Pennsylvania, mom Simone was conservatively dressed in a black pilgrim pinafore with a wide collar. The interviewer said that, at 8:30 a.m., Simone looked a little tired from running several businesses, juggling four small children, and being pregnant with a fifth. That, at least, is completely understandable.

Asked if she and her husband Malcolm planned to continue having children after this next one, Simone said:

“At least seven, and as many as I can physically carry — 12 would be even more brilliant.” [Stephanie Hegarty, BBC, April 1, 2025.]

Well, I don’t know about you, dear reader, but that doesn’t sound particularly brilliant to me. Simone and Malcolm are already 37 ad 38 years of age, and theoretically, they could be grandparents before their youngest children are out of elementary school.

Ah, but there is method to their madness . . . because they have offered themselves up as models for pronatalism, opening their home to interviews and photo shoots so that they might better spread the gospel according to the Collinses.

They believe that falling birth rates are a big problem for society, and that larger families are the solution. However, they do not go about this randomly. They have claimed that they “have used special technology, during the IVF process, to screen their embryos for traits such as intelligence.” In 2023, they told an undercover reporter — yes, an undercover reporter! — that “The studies let us know what our genetic predilection for IQ is. We will never choose a child who is less privileged in IQ than either of us.” [Id.]

At this point, I hear you screaming: “No, wait! This is some kind of insane April Fool’s joke . . . isn’t it??!!!”

Because that’s exactly what I thought. But no . . . dad Malcolm Collins went on to explain to the BBC reporter:

“The easiest way to [spread the word about pronatalism] was to turn ourselves into a meme . . . If we take a reasonable approach to things and say things are nuanced, nobody engages. And then we go and say something outrageous and offensive and everyone’s into it.” [Id.]

So maybe the IVF technology thing was made up . . . which is a great relief, because it was beginning to sound like something out of a Nazi horror movie — you know . . . selective breeding, and all that.

*. *. *

And now, for comic effect, let’s bring the U.S. government into it — or, at least, certain members of the administration: those at the very top of the food chain.

The Collinses are encouraged by Elon Musk — said to have fathered 12 or 14 children of his own by a variety of baby mamas — having called fertility decline “the biggest danger civilisation faces, by far.” (Right . . . definitely bigger than global warming, or nuclear holocaust.) He is reported to have donated $10 million to the Population Wellbeing Initiative in Texas, which conducts research into fertility, parenting, and the future of population growth. [Id.]

Well, I certainly hope he used his own money for that, and not the salaries of all the people who have just been fired from their government jobs.

*. *. *

And that guy with no first name — JD Vance — also told people at an anti-abortion rally in January that “I want more babies in the United States of America.” [Id.] (It’s not clear to me, from this one short comment, whether he meant children of his own, or other people’s. But no matter.)

Then, of course, he helped to put some of those prospective parents out of work as well.

*. *. *

There’s also the new Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, who boasts of having so many children (nine, at last count) that he sometimes loses count of them:

“If you look at what’s good for country and society, it’s to reproduce, to have kids. That shows that you’re healthy, you’re strong, and you’re patriotic.” [Casey Tolan, CNN, March 30, 2025.]

Otherwise, I presume, you’re an un-American weakling and need to be culled from the general population.

*. *. *

But let’s not forget Donald Trump’s contribution to the cause: an executive order signed on February 18th, improving access for IVF that recognized “the importance of family formation and that our nation’s public policy must make it easier for loving and longing mothers and fathers to have children.” [BBC, op.cit.]

Fine. Just don’t — whatever you do — try to have those kids vaccinated later.

*. *. *

Lest you think this Pronatalism movement is entirely about familial love and the warmth of a large family environment, be assured there is a political side to it as well. The Collinses, who describe themselves as former liberals who became disillusioned with progressive (i.e., “woke”) politics, consider themselves to be pragmatic and anti-bureaucratic:

“We are a coalition of people who are incredibly different in our philosophies, our theological beliefs, our family structures. But the one thing we agree on is that our core enemy is the urban monoculture; the leftist unifying culture.” [Id.]

Well, okay, then . . . I have a suggestion for the Collinses: Rather than continue suffering the “wokeness” of our “leftist, unifying, urban monoculture” (whatever that means), I know where you can get a really nice piece of farmland, at an unbelievably reasonable price, with neighbors who share your vision, in a place that is actively working to grow its population.

Just get in touch with the (formerly Canadian) Feenstra family in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia; they’ll help you through the immigration process.

*. *. *

At this point, I really don’t know what else to say, other than:

Please let this be another weird dream!

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/4/25

P.S. Because of the length of this article — not to mention the golden opportunity for a bit more wit and sarcasm — I am cutting it off here, and will be continuing with a second episode, tentatively to be titled, “Permission To Copulate … Not Merely Granted, But Actively Encouraged.” Stay tuned.

It wasn’t enough that they poisoned him, imprisoned him when he refused to die, and finally managed to end his life in a Siberian penal colony on February 16, 2024.

Or that they forced his family and colleagues to flee the country in order to avoid a similar fate.

Nor was it enough that they physically attacked a former member of his team, Leonid Volkov, in front of his home-in-exile in Lithuania just a year ago on March 12, 2024, beating him with a hammer and spraying tear gas in his eyes.

Now they — “they” being Vladimir Putin’s FSB goon squad — have gone after Volkov’s father: 69-year-old mathematics professor Mikhail Volkov.

In February, Professor Volkov was dismissed from his position at the Ural Federal University without explanation. And today (Moscow time), his home in Ekaterinburg, Russia, was searched — allegedly as part of an investigation into the financing of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), which has been classified by the Russian government since 2021 as an extremist organization. Claiming that the elder Volkov had contributed to the FBK, they confiscated electronic devices from his home, and he was detained for interrogation.

Though he was later released, he has been ordered not to leave the city, as a criminal case has officially been filed against him. [Merhat Sharipzhan, RFE/RL, April 3, 2025.]

Leonid Volkov has said that his father’s treatment is “revenge for the work I have been doing, am doing, and do not intend to stop.” [Id.]

The FBK, of course, was the organization founded by Aleksei Navalny to investigate corruption within the Russian political hierarchy . . . and they found plenty of it. By designating it as an extremist organization, the Russian government ensured that its activities were banned, and that anyone contributing or connected to it — including journalists who merely covered Navalny’s court hearings — could face criminal charges. [Id.]

Since Navalny’s unexplained death a little over a year ago, members of his team — including his wife — have continued their work in exile. But Putin’s revenge knows no bounds; he continues to pursue the families of opposition leaders who have fled the country but left relatives behind.

*. *. *

In 2021, the father of another Navalny associate, Ivan Zhdanov, was convicted of a false charge of “corruption.”

The elder Zhdanov was given a suspended three-year sentence in December of 2021, but was then charged with alleged parole violation and sent to a penal colony in Archangelsk to serve out the sentence, despite the fact that the matter had not yet been finally adjudicated.

He was released from prison in November of 2023 . . . one of the lucky ones.

It is obvious that the crusade against all oppositionists — real or perceived — rages ever onward in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. And that it extends to the families and associates — and the families of associates — of those who threaten Putin’s absolute autocracy.

Even after death.

*. *. *

Mikhail Volkov, to my knowledge, is not yet in prison, though he is living under the shadow of criminal charges and travel restriction. And so I will not yet add him to our list of Putin’s political hostages. But based on the history of every other similar case, it can reasonably be expected that his will follow the predictable trajectory of detention, trial, conviction, sentencing, imprisonment, appeal, denial of appeal . . . followed by endless years of trying to survive in Dante’s Ninth Circle of Hell.

I hope I don’t have to begin a sub-list of Hostages-in-Waiting.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/3/25

They used to be the Feenstras of Saskatchewan, Canada, until they emigrated to Russia a little over a year ago.

They are Arend and Anneesa Feenstra and eight of their nine children (the eldest chose to remain behind): a conservative Christian family seeking to escape the “wokeness” of the West in exchange for the religious freedom and greater opportunities they believe to be available in Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

I’ve been following them on social media and writing about them since their arrival in Russia was first made public, at a time when they encountered serious bureaucratic difficulties and weren’t sure they’d done the right thing. But they quickly recanted the complaints they had initially aired on YouTube, and over the course of a year, the roadblocks have miraculously disappeared. They are now well on their way to establishing the flourishing agribusiness they’ve always dreamed of, on 280 acres of choice farmland in Nizhny Novgorod.

But — as those who have been tracking their journey with me already know — there are many questions that are not answered in their videos, particularly as to their sudden popularity, access to a variety of social media, ever-present camera crews, ability to travel, relatively easy acquisition of building supplies and farming equipment, and — most puzzling of all — whether they’re really as happy as they appear to be with their new life, or if they’re just really adept at smiling on cue.

And now, thanks to the folks at The Christian Science Monitor (CSM), I have answers to a few of the questions . . . but far from all of them.

In the interview with CSM, Arend Feenstra said that they believe their traditional, Christian family values are respected in Russia, and that the government promotes policies that favor private family farms, whereas:

“In Canada, rural people tend to be self-sufficient. Here they’re more collective. People seemingly have very little, but they’re more willing to give. Russians don’t necessarily go to church, but they hold to traditional values.” He admits that there is still a language barrier, but that they have nevertheless “made some good friends already.” [Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, March 11, 2025.]

That’s three “but”s in a row. But no place is perfect . . . right?

Arend also pointed out that it was becoming too difficult to make a living as a farmer in Canada due to rising costs and too many middlemen between the farm and the grocery store taking their share of the profits. [Id.]

When the family recently were granted their three-year temporary residency status in a well-publicized, formal ceremony in the government offices at Nizhny Novgorod, Arend spoke of the OKA Agency that had been of such invaluable help to them in working through the bureaucratic red tape associated with the process.

Thanks to CSM, we now know that OKA was created at Nizhny Novgorod in response to a decree signed by Vladimir Putin last September, easing conditions for people from “unfriendly” Western countries to emigrate to Russia. Now, it is only necessary for them to declare, supposedly in their own words, that they have “shared values” with Russia in order to obtain this status . . . even waiving the previous requirement for some measure of Russian language proficiency.

This declaration was apparently no problem for the Feenstras, who say they agree with Putin that — according to the CSM article — “society should be built around conservative, declaratively religious principles that don’t permit what Mr. Putin’s decree called ‘destructive neoliberal ideological attitudes’ of Western nations.” [Id.]

So now we know how their residency status was fast-tracked . . . though it’s still not clear to me whether their initial, very public complaints about their treatment on arrival might have influenced the changes. Or, for that matter, whether those early, unhappy YouTube videos might actually have been the impetus that launched the family’s secondary career as social media propagandists for the Russian government.

In any event, some 12 foreign families have now moved into the Nizhny Novgorod region, and OKA says they have received hundreds more inquiries. The agency is now working with a local university to develop Russian-language immersion courses specially tailored for Westerners. As Jacob Pinnecke, head of OKA, says:

“You really should speak Russian. There are lots of good jobs available, but most local companies are not set up to deal with people who can’t speak the language.” [Id.]

So first you invite the people, and only much later does it occur to you that they need language lessons. That’s like building a city in the middle of nowhere without first considering the need for roads and utilities.

*. *. *

Another question in my mind has long been about ownership of the Feenstras’ 280-acre property, since foreigners are not legally permitted to own land in Russia. And the answer that CSM obtained from Arend Feenstra really bothers me. He said that he has established a company with a Russian partner whom he says he “trusts to buy the farm.” Refusing to disclose the price he paid, he did say that “in Canada land prices have gone crazy. Russia is a vast country, with lots of good, cheap land available. And they’ve got a government that wants farmers to prosper.” [Id.]

This is when a whole new bunch of questions sprang up. Who is this partner? How did they meet? Surely, someone had to facilitate the whole transaction — quite probably through OKA. How can Arend be sure he can trust this partner? They must have signed documents; but Arend doesn’t speak or read Russian so how does he know what he signed? Can he trust the English translation?

And, most unsettling: What’s to stop the government from waiting until the farm is up and running, and suddenly deciding to nationalize it?

Absolutely nothing.

*. *. *

The CSM article went on to discuss the Russian immigration policy in general . . . and that was when those little nerve endings at the back of my neck began to tingle, and not in a good way. Because the member of the Duma (lower house of Parliament) behind the campaign is one Maria Butina.

A member of Putin’s United Russia party, she engineered a quick entry into politics beginning in late 2019 upon her return home from the United States . . . where she had just served 14 or 15 months of an 18-month prison sentence, having pled guilty to felony charges of conspiracy to act as an unregistered agent of the Russian state under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 951.

Though maintaining that she was not a spy, she had attempted to infiltrate conservative U.S. groups, including the National Rifle Association, as part of an effort to promote Russian interests in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The Senate Intelligence Committee concluded that she had attempted to persuade the Trump campaign to establish a secret back-channel communication line with Russia. [Id.]

(There’s a great deal more information on Butina available online, and it is a tale worth reading.)

And this is the woman who says that, in heading an organization called “Welcome to Russia,” she is promoting people-to-people contacts through tourism and immigration. There have allegedly been about 3,500 immigrants arriving from “unfriendly countries” in the past two years, the largest groups being from Germany, Great Britain and North America. Butina says they pay their own way there, with no subsidies from the Russian government. [Id.]

“It’s mostly families who come, with three or more kids,” she states. “It’s not asylum we’re offering. People get visas with a note saying it’s based on a presidential decree. It’s not political, it’s humanitarian. If it doesn’t work out, if they don’t like it here, they can leave.” [Id.]

Well, of course, they can . . . with nothing but the clothes on their backs. As for that land they never really owned in the first place, the buildings, the crops, the animals . . . well, they can’t very well take any of those with them, can they?

*. *. *

Now are you beginning to understand my ongoing skepticism and concern for this family? While I continue to hope that everything works out well for them, I can’t help worrying about those eight lovely kids, and what their futures will look like.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/3/25

While that crowd in the White House continues to disgrace themselves — and all the rest of us Americans — by alienating every friend we’ve ever had, I’d like to go out on a limb and say a huge “thank you” to some of those very same friends for doing your best to stick by us. There are too many to name here: all of the NATO and EU countries, of course, plus so many others on every continent throughout the world . . . including the penguins in Antarctica.

For today, though, I’d like to concentrate on our British friends, to whom we owe so much: granting our independence after that little skirmish about 250 years ago; sending us Harry and Meghan, fish-and-chips, the Beatles; and something called Spotted Dick, which we can buy in a can (or “tin,” to you) over here but I’ve never been able to bring myself to try, for reasons better left unsaid.

*. *. *

On a more serious note, I remember as clearly as though it was yesterday, when our country had just been devastated by the 9-11 attacks on New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. My cousin had driven from her home in Rhode Island to D.C. to meet up with her daughter, who was flying back after having spent a student summer in Spain. She had managed to get onto one of the few flights coming into Dulles International Airport, arriving in the evening; and the entire Washington metropolitan area being on high alert, I told my cousin I wouldn’t let her go to the airport alone . . . as though I was going to be great protection for anyone. Still, I knew my way around the region, and she didn’t.

So off we went, and found ourselves in an eerily empty arrivals terminal . . . one that was normally crowded with people from all over the globe. We had arrived early, and were wandering aimlessly through the building when we spotted a group of about a dozen young men in military uniforms that were clearly not American.

Never having been known as the shy type, I approached them and asked where they were from. One young man said they had just arrived from England as part of a larger support group, to help their American friends in our time of need.

I wanted to cry. They were so earnest, so eager to be of help . . . something we Americans really aren’t used to; we’re normally the ones out there offering aid to others because we’ve been so damned lucky for so long.

All I could do was shake the young man’s hand, and — not knowing what else to say — I recall blurting out, “Thank you, and welcome back to the Colonies.”

So again . . . thanks for that, Great Britain.

*. *. *

But what brought on this uncharacteristic gush of sentimentality was actually the first really great belly laugh I’ve enjoyed in a long time — in fact, several of them.

I had started off yesterday afternoon, as I usually do, reading the news and thinking about subjects for my daily blog offerings. And what I saw were stories about Hungary inviting Benjamin Netanyahu to visit despite the ICC warrant against him; Bosnian leader Milorad Dodik defying a similar ICC warrant to visit Vladimir Putin in Moscow; apparent conflicts of interest involving, not only Elon Musk, but also national security advisor Mike Waltz and his wife; continued devastating attacks by Russia on Ukraine; the White House trying to sweep the “SignalGate” fuck-up under the carpet; China launching its biggest military “drills” ever around Taiwan as a warning; Germany warning Russia about this, Trump warning Putin about that, Putin warning everyone about everything . . .

Well, you get the picture. By the time I’d gone through all of that, I was thoroughly depressed. Worse, I didn’t know which story to attack first. And then I realized I didn’t want to write about any of them. It was too debilitating.

I needed cheering up. And since there was no one else at home at the time, I had to do it myself. So here’s where you British came into the picture.

Because a dear friend had given me the best Christmas gift ever in December: a year’s subscription to BritBox TV.

I have long been a fan of British mysteries and the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) nuances of British humor. Need I even mention Downton Abbey, Midsomer Murders, or anything by Agatha Christie? And for the past three months, I’ve been hooked on such delights as Lewis, Shetland, and the newer Ludwig.

But yesterday I went searching for something really light, and I landed on a multi-season comedy show called Would I Lie to You? . . . featuring, among others, my newly-discovered favorite actor/comedian from Ludwig, David Mitchell. So I decided to watch an episode, and by the time the day was over, I had intermittently (pausing for a meal and a couple of calls of nature) gone through an entire season and started on a second one . . . by which time, my stomach hurt so badly from laughing, I had to stop.

The three regulars, and their four weekly guests, are among the cleverest, wittiest, quickest-thinking people I’ve ever come across. And I can’t get enough of them.

So for this, too, I thank you, Great Britain. Your programming may not literally have saved my life . . . but you absolutely did pull me out of my funk.

The only problem is whether I can now drag myself away from the telly long enough to do anything else. If you don’t hear from me for a while, I’ll be curled up with a pint of Haagen-Dazs and my BritBox.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/2/25

No, not to Canada . . . just back to the farm in Nizhny Novgorod. Sorry if I got anyone’s hopes up.

After viewing Arend and eldest daughters Cora and Ariana roaming around Tbilisi, Georgia, for five days — plus a couple of very long travel days from their farm in Nizhny Novgorod and back — I’m still puzzled as to the reason for the whole trip. Other than a hint at the beginning that they were going to visit some friends and do some farm-related things, there was no explanation as to why they would take the time away from their farm for what turned out to be essentially a fruitless shoe-shopping excursion and, finally, a tour of a dairy farm with its own cheese-making facility.

(They did visit friends, but said they didn’t film that visit because the friends are conservative Mennonites and did not want to be photographed.)

The dairy farm tour was an adventure in itself. Once they left the city and headed into the countryside with their rented car and driver, the roads became impassable and they had to be rescued by someone with a four-wheel-drive vehicle. (I assume, from the depth of the snow as contrasted to the mild weather in Tbilisi, that they were somewhere in the Caucasus Mountains, or at least the foothills.)

They finally did make it, though, and we were treated to a walk-through of three large barns with more cows than I had ever seen, and poop drains that lacked automated cleaning systems and had to be shoveled out by hand several times daily. Fortunately, the hosts didn’t offer a demonstration.

The cheese factory, on the other hand, was modern and impressive, and the product looked delicious, though much of the work is still done by hand. Maybe that’s why it is so good; there are still some things that are better for having been created by humans, and not machines — things like food.

I was, however, left wondering whether there might not be dairy farms closer to Nizhny Novgorod that would have served as well for Arend’s fact-finding tour, and could have included more of the family members. But I have long since given up trying to figure out why the Feenstras do many of the things they do . . . and just chalk it up to their obligations to the government in return for being allowed to “live long and prosper” in Russia. As for understanding the Russian government’s reason for doing anything . . . well, good luck with that!

Still, I have to ask again: Why Georgia? What purpose did that whole trip serve? I’m stumped.

*. *. *

Upon landing in Moscow on the way home, Cora spoke to the camera for a moment, recalling their first arrival a little over a year ago, when everything had felt so strange . . . and comparing it to the present time, when she feels so much at home in Russia.

And again I wonder: whom are they trying to convince — their audience, or themselves?

*. *. *

At any rate, they traveled from Moscow to Nizhny Novgorod by train, returning home safely just in time to welcome a camera crew from Spaz-TV. No explanation was given; it just seemed to be a normal part of life on the farm in Russia: TV cameras, interviews, free trips, and all the materials and supplies a family of ten could possibly hope for.

They also had a visit from a new friend: an English-speaking gentleman whose identity was intentionally not revealed, but who is said to be in the process of establishing a farm similar to that of the Feenstras. He had somehow ended up with one too many egg incubators; and — having seen the Feenstras’ videos — decided to present them with the surplus one for their expanding chicken business.

While that may seem strange to some, considering that the two families had never met before, it really isn’t. When you’re an expatriate — particularly in a country so different from your own — you naturally gravitate toward people with whom you have a common bond. No matter how fiercely you embrace your new life, you never completely forget your roots.

Or was the timing all too perfect to be coincidental? Could it also have been a staged event?

I fear my innate cynicism is getting the better of me.

*. *. *

Their return home also coincided with Ariana’s 13th birthday, so there was a family party for her, complete with a cake and candles, gifts, and singing.

And then it was time to sign off, with a final message from Arend thanking the unnamed stranger once more for the incubator, and saying how glad he was to be back with his family, and to “get home to Russian soil.”

Be it ever so humble . . .

*. *. *

A final thought. It is strange — in a most disturbing way — for me to witness my country, the United States, suddenly developing rampant xenophobia when it has always been known as the land of opportunity for those seeking a better life and an escape from tyranny . . . while Russia, so long a closed society, welcomes with open arms families who wish to settle there and contribute to the economy and to society.

It’s a world turned upside-down.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/1/25

As if we, as a nation, weren’t already mortified enough . . . this is what the Oval Office of the White House looks like now.

And what was that about Ukrainian President Zelensky “disrespecting” the office by showing up in his official military garb, rather than a civilian coat and tie?

Are you telling me that this . . . this . . . this horror show is respectful? Just because it’s red, white and blue?

Now, I don’t know anything about this “Kid Rock” — he may be a perfectly nice guy. But what the hell is he doing hanging around the Oval Office as though he belongs there . . . and looking like an escapee from a Barnum and Bailey circus?

This appears to have taken place during normal working hours . . . not at an evening social gathering. Isn’t he distracting Trump from doing his job as Destroyer-in-Chief of the United States? Or has he been appointed to head some new, made-up government agency?

In the name of all that’s holy . . . what have we been reduced to??!!!

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/1/25

Maybe the world will wake up today and find that it’s all been one colossal, hideous April Fool’s joke.

But I wouldn’t bet on it.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/1/25

Nope . . . This has nothing to do with Christopher Columbus packing his bags and leaving for America. It does, however, have everything to do with Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. You’ll most likely remember them as the Spanish royal duo who provided the financing for Columbus’ westward excursion, because that’s what you were taught in your earliest history classes.

But did you know that there were other famous — or, rather, infamous — acts attributable to them? For example, on this date — March 31st — in that same year of 1492, Ferdy and Izzy issued an edict known as the Alhambra Decree, which ordered the expulsion of all practicing Jews from the Crowns of Castile (Isabella’s domain) and Aragon (Ferdinand’s) within four months.

What had the poor Jewish people done this time? Actually nothing, as usual, beyond existing. In this instance, the royals were afraid that the practicing Jews — those remaining despite the Spanish Inquisition (more about that below) — would influence former Jews who had already converted to Catholicism (thanks to the aforesaid Inquisition) to re-convert to Judaism. So of course, they had to go . . . right?

Of course, right. But no big deal . . . the Jews had had a lot of practice packing up and schlepping around the world since biblical times. What’s one more diaspora?

*. *. *

Now, about that infamous Inquisition. I know you’ve heard about it. It had been established some 14 years earlier, in 1478, by the selfsame Ferdinand and Isabella. It was a religious “court” created to combat whatever they deemed to be heresy, specifically targeting Jews, Muslims and Protestants — basically, all non-Catholics. And it lasted for more than three centuries, finally ending in 1834 . . . by which time some 150,000 had been prosecuted, of whom between 3,000 and 5,000 were executed by the most unimaginably grisly means.

*. *. *

Those clearly were not Spain’s finest years. But there are a few lessons to be learned from their experience . . . aside from the all-important one concerning religious tolerance:

First, that a little digging can turn up fascinating details that completely change our perception of history as we have always believed we knew it;

Second, that today’s actions can have far-reaching consequences . . . as, for example, the fact that Jews, even today, represent less than one percent of the population of Spain; and

Third, that all dark times — no matter how terrible — eventually come to an end.

Just, hopefully, in less than 300 years.

Or, as my beloved Bubbe would have said: From my mouth to God’s ears.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/31/25