Well, the long-awaited phone call took place today as scheduled, and after more than 90 minutes of back-and-forth, the result is . . .

“We’ll talk some more.”

That’s oversimplification, of course. But — as anticipated — Putin gave up practically nothing when he agreed to call a 30-day halt to strikes on Ukraine’s energy sector and infrastructure. That is not the cease-fire that Trump was proposing; there is still plenty left for Russia to aim at, such as residential and commercial buildings, churches, schools, historical monuments, and individual civilians walking along the street.

On March 16th, I predicted that Trump’s post-call statements would be — my exact words — “We had a really good, really productive call. I am really very optimistic . . . really.”

In his actual comments on his Truth Social platform today, he described the call as — his exact words — “very good and productive.” [RFE/RL, March 18, 2025.]

No, I don’t claim to be psychic; he’s just so predictable in some ways.

He did go on to say, “We agreed to an immediate Ceasefire on all Energy and Infrastructure, with an understanding that we will be working quickly to have a Complete Ceasefire and, ultimately, an END to this very horrible War between Russia and Ukraine. Many elements of a Contract for Peace were discussed, including the fact that thousands of soldiers are being killed, and both President Putin and President Zelenskyy would like to see it end.” [Id.]

I’m sure he’s right about Zelensky wanting to stop the carnage; but Putin . . . well, that’s a whole different story. Because he immediately came forward with his usual litany of requirements, including an end to all military aid and intelligence sharing on Ukraine’s behalf, abandonment of Ukraine’s goal of joining NATO and/or the European Union, and a prohibition against all military presence in Ukraine from any NATO or NATO-friendly country.

Of course, Russia’s not being a member of NATO would leave the door wide open for their troops to set up camp wherever and whenever they choose, on one pretense or another.

The statement from the Kremlin included the following:

“It was emphasized that the key condition for preventing the escalation of the conflict and working towards its resolution through political and diplomatic means should be the complete cessation of foreign military aid and the provision of intelligence information to Kyiv.” They also said that peace talks would need “to take into account the absolute need to eliminate the root causes of the crisis, and Russia’s legitimate interests in the area of security.” [Id.]

In other words, the bully takes all.

*. *. *

Meanwhile, back at the war, Ukrainian President Zelensky reported continued attacks on infrastructure, including at least 40 drone strikes today alone.

So what did the marathon phone call accomplish? Thus far, it seems to be little more than an agreement to continue discussions.

Whoop-de-doo!

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/18/25

If he were speaking Russian instead of Hungarian, you would think you were listening to a speech by Vladimir Putin. But the inflammatory words were issuing from the lips of Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, reiterating his hard-line stance on what he calls a “shadow army” of political opponents and others allegedly working for foreign powers.

He compared his detractors to “insects [that have] survived for too long.” And he accused “politicians, judges, journalists, pseudo-NGOs and political activists [of taking] corrupt dollars” at the country’s expense, vowing to “eliminate the entire shadow army.” [Hanne Cokelaere, Politico, March 15, 2025.]

He also went on to reinforce his opposition to any further aid being given to the defense of Ukraine, or its consideration for entry into NATO or the EU:

“The rulers of Europe decided that Ukraine must continue the war at all costs, and it will get a fast EU membership in exchange, using our money. We can only have one answer to that: a Union but without Ukraine.” [Id.]

*. *. *

Orban’s sharp right turn toward Russia has been obvious for some time. But, since the last election in Hungary that returned his Fidesz Party to power, opposition has been growing, led by the Tisza party, ironically headed by a former Orban ally, Peter Magyar. On Saturday, some 50,000 backers of Tisza rallied in the capital city of Budapest, where Magyar said he would release a popular survey on twelve key economic and political issues in order to hear the “voice of the nation.” [RFE/RL, March 15, 2025.]

Some hours after Orban’s speech about the so-called “shadow army” of oppositionists, Magyar told the crowd:

“Those who cheat on their own nation should end up in the dustbin of history. Our time has come.” [Id.]

Magyar’s Tisza Party has gained in the recent polls, running neck-and-neck with Orban’s Fidesz Party at about 40 percent each. But there is still a year before Hungary’s next general election, and anything can happen before then.

In the meantime, Orban remains in power, comfortably seated between two like-minded — and powerful — friends:

And don’t let those “wings” fool you — they’re not his.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/18/25

Even before his phone call with Donald Trump — now scheduled to be held tomorrow, March 18th — Vladimir Putin has proven me (and a whole lot of others) right when we predicted that he would remain intransigent in his demands for any peaceful settlement with Ukraine.

He no more wants peace on reasonable terms than I want a boil on my rear end.

This morning (Moscow time), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko told state-aligned media outlet Izvestia:

“We will demand that ironclad security guarantees become part of this agreement. Part of these guarantees should be the neutral status of Ukraine, the refusal of Nato [sic] countries to accept it into the alliance.” [George Wright, BBC News, Mach 17, 2025.]

One would think the U.S. response to that would be, at the very least, a bit of tough talk about further sanctions or other counter-measures. But no-o-o-o-o . . . Instead, this is what Donald Trump had to say while jetting back to D.C. aboard Air Force One from his weekend at Mar-a-Lago (costing the American taxpayers . . . how much?):

“A lot of work’s been done over the weekend. We want to see if we can bring that war to an end. We will be talking about land. We will be talking about power plants.” He added that he was already discussing “dividing up certain assets” between Russia and Ukraine. [Id.]

It’s not clear who “we” are — the people who have been doing the discussing and the weekend work. But one thing is blindingly clear, even before the “official” discussion between Trump and Putin:

Ukraine has already lost this war.

Despite all of the support from its Western allies, the grit and courage of its people, and the sanctions and other measures taken against Russia over the past three years . . . in spite of all of that, Russia is on the verge of accomplishing what it set out to do in the first place (although it’s taken longer than originally anticipated). And that is to “reclaim” another portion of Ukraine’s sovereign territory as its own, leaving the door open to the next phase of its westward expansion.

*. *. *

One could argue that, throughout the history of mankind, wars and alliances have brought about geopolitical shifts: borders have been moved; nations have collapsed under their own weight, or fallen under the greater strength of other countries. And, hundreds of years later, it makes great reading for the student of history.

But not so for the current victims. Some may call it geopolitical reality; I call it gang rape.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/17/25

It’s the day of the year when everyone is a little bit Irish.

May you find your pot of gold today.

Just sayin’ . . .

O’Brendochka

No one actually speaks Shakespeare; in fact, only a small percentage of people truly understand it. Perhaps, in Elizabethan England, people went around rhapsodizing in sentences such as, “But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?” (“Romeo and Juliet”). But I doubt that line would get you many dates today . . . unless you’re looking for a quick trip to the funny farm.

However, if you know me at all, you’ve probably noticed that I have a tendency to quote other, far more eloquent personages than myself. And one of my favorites is old Will Shakespeare, who has provided us with such bits of wisdom as “This above all: to thine own self be true,” and “It [life] is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” I particularly like that last one.

So when I happened upon an article referencing other of the Bard’s original phrases — most of which I had heard, but had no idea of their origins — I immediately clicked on the link (shakespeare.org.uk) and was fascinated to learn just how much of today’s conversational English dates back to the late 16th and early 17th centuries, and to Mr. Shakespeare himself.

For example, how many times have you cleaned out a closet and discarded something that has “seen better days”? That one is from “As You Like It.”

And in the same play, we learn that there can be “too much of a good thing.” (Although, in the case of my favorite guilty pleasure — Haagen Dazs ice cream — I’m not sure that’s true.)

Have you ever thought there was “neither rhyme nor reason” (“The Comedy of Errors,”) why you “have not slept one wink” (“Cymbeline”). I certainly have — although there usually is a reason, like too much of that Haagen Dazs late at night.

“Hamlet” is just loaded with pearls of wisdom. In Act 3, Scene 4, Shakespeare talks about something we now call tough love . . . but he calls it being “cruel to be kind.” Perhaps he was criticizing someone’s apparel, because earlier, in Act 1, Scene 3, he commented that “People are judged by the way they dress.” I used to believe that; though seeing the way most people dress these days, “in my heart of hearts” (Act 3, Scene 2), I’m not so sure. I even wonder whether “my own flesh and blood” (Act 1, Scene 5) would agree with me.

Shakespeare was really on a roll when he gave birth to Hamlet!

*. *. *

Now we come to “Henry IV,” which I confess I’ve never even tried to read. It introduces characters with names like Falstaff, Hotspur, Mistress Quickly (the less said about that, the better), Nym, Bardolph, Pistol, and someone called Doll Tearsheet . . . which makes me wonder what Shakespeare had been smoking during that period of his life. But he did come up with one lasting phrase when one of his characters complained that someone “hath eaten me out of house and home.”

To me, the highlight of “Julius Ceasar” is Marc Antony’s soliloquy at Caesar’s funeral, which is just dripping with sarcasm worthy of the harshest of today’s political commentators. But there are a few others that have stood the test of time, such as “a dish fit for the Gods,” “It’s Greek to me,” and being made of “sterner stuff.”

And my personal favorite — “Macbeth” — brings us such immortal phrases as “the be-all and the end-all,” and “What’s done cannot be undone” (when Lady Macbeth goes completely off her trolley).

“Othello” is certainly worth reading, as it talks of “Jealousy is the green-eyed monster,” “[a] foregone conclusion,” and someone who “wear[s] my heart upon my sleeve.” And in “The Merchant of Venice,” we learn that “All that glitters isn’t gold,” and how to recognize “a blinking idiot” (by the blinking, I should think).

The list goes on and on, so I’ll just close with a few more and leave it to the more curious of you to check out others for yourselves:

“The world is my oyster” (“The Merry Wives of Windsor”)
”Short shrift” (“Richard III”)
“A tower of strength” (“Richard III”)
”Star-crossed lovers” (“Romeo and Juliet”)
”Wild-goose chase” (“Romeo and Juliet”)
”Break the ice” (“Taming of the Shrew”)
”Brave new world” (“The Tempest”)
”Melted into thin air” (“The Tempest”)

*. *. *

Whew! I’m exhausted just from reading all of this; I can’t imagine how much effort must have gone into coming up with that much original thought and wisdom.

And I am gobsmacked (British slang, mid-20th century) at how many of our most common colloquialisms date back 400 years — and all to one man with ink-stained fingers, who really knew how to turn a phrase.

And so, with that, “I shall say good night till it be morrow.”

(“Romeo and Juliet,” of course.)

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/17/25

There are probably no more unpredictable individuals on the international scene these days than Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. While one speaks and acts spontaneously — from the gut, as it were — the other schemes and plots quietly before making his move, much like a chess player thinking a dozen moves ahead.

Either way, trying to prepare for what will come next is nearly impossible. But I’m going to give it a try anyway.

It is anticipated that the two will have a conversation this week on the subject of Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, and how to end it with a minimum of further death and destruction and a maximum of face-saving for both Putin and Trump . . . Ukraine’s “face” seeming to be of minimal concern to either of them.

Based on the three-year history of the war thus far, and the recent preliminary meetings in Saudi Arabia and Moscow, I am going to go out on a limb and predict the following rough scenario. While this may seem foolish and even a bit risky, I figure I have as much chance of being at least partially right as anyone else at this point. So here goes nothing . . .

Setting the scene: A time for the call will have been established — taking into account the seven-hour time difference — when Trump will not be on the golf course and Putin will be in the mood to talk. Interpreters will be in position, and aides will have made the phone connection.

Vying for dominance: Both Trump and Putin will try to delay long enough to force the other one to pick up the phone first. (I’ve seen this done by lawyers trying to negotiate a settlement on behalf of their respective clients, and it’s really quite comical.) To avoid this awkwardness, I would suggest that the aides do a countdown — three, two, one, now — and hand their respective bosses the phones at the same instant.

Behind the scenes: In the Kremlin, seated at the far end of a long table with Putin but distant enough to avoid breathing any germs in his direction, will be the likes of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, a couple of security gurus, and the ever-present (and ever-charming) Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov.

In the White House, standing next to Trump’s desk and wearing his signature tee shirt and baseball cap (which apparently have been deemed dignified enough for the Oval Office), will be the ubiquitous expert-on-everything Elon Musk, most likely with four-year-old son “X” on his shoulders or hanging onto his leg.

Substance: Now, here is where it gets a big murky because, as I said, you never know what to expect from these two. But Vlad will no doubt reiterate — for perhaps the hundredth time — his preposterous demands that Ukraine give up everything, while insisting that he really does want peace . . . but on his terms. Donnie will then repeat — I’ve lost count of the number of times — his half-hearted threats of sanctions . . . although assuring Vlad that he really doesn’t want to resort to such drastic measures.

Duration: Unknown. It all depends on who gets pissed off and slams down the phone first.

Outcome: Statements will immediately be issued from both sides of the Atlantic. Trump will say something like, “We had a really good, really productive call. I am really very optimistic . . . really.” And Putin — or possibly his mouthpiece Peskov — will say that Ukraine doesn’t want peace, they want the death and destruction to continue, as evidenced by their refusal to simply hand their country over to Russia. And then Putin will order up another missile launch on Kyiv to show the world what a peace-loving s.o.b. he really is.

Prognosis: Turkish President Erdogan and China’s Xi Jinping will each step in with an offer to negotiate a truce between Putin and Trump, because . . . from their positions as Guinness-Book champion fence-sitters . . . they’re the only ones who can truly bring peace to the world.

And Ukraine will continue to fight for its life.

*. *. *

I repeat . . . this is all just a wild guess. But somehow, it almost sounds plausible, doesn’t it?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/16/25

A gloomy Sunday down here in the Southland, and I’m feeling like this:

Gonna let the world spin without me for a while, watch a movie or two, and maybe come up for air and check the news a bit later.

It’s not an indulgence; it’s more of a survival technique that I highly recommend to everyone now and then.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka

P.S. In case you’re wondering about the picture, I do not have six toes on one foot and four on the other. The magic of AI. 😂

While there has been more than enough news out of Moscow this week on a variety of issues, none of it has concerned the political prisoners being held hostage throughout Russia, which is a mixed blessing: While there is no word of new arrests, neither is there news of any further releases.

So I will use this quiet moment to mention once again Nika Novak, a Russian journalist who has been held for more than a year on bogus charges of “confidential cooperation with a foreign state, international or foreign organization.”

Last week I reported that she had been transferred to a prison in Novosibirsk, which was described as worse than any of the other facilities she has been held in to date. Since that latest transfer, she has been sharing a noisy and chaotic cell with ten other inmates facing a variety of criminal charges, and has stopped eating as a result of stress and fear . . . despite having been recognized by Russian human rights group Memorial as a political prisoner.

Novak’s lawyers have filed a motion to have her moved to a different cell, on the basis of provisions of Russian law stating that prisoners like Novak should be kept separate from others accused of serious, non-political, often violent crimes including murder.

The appeal of her sentence is scheduled to be heard in Novosibirsk on March 24th. In the meantime, she is packed in with hardened criminals pending a decision on her attorneys’ motion.

I have seen no updates on her situation during the past week, but will be watching closely for word of the result of her appeal eight days from now.

*. *. *

In the meantime, we remember all of those on our list of unjustly held hostages in Vladimir Putin’s GULAG of penal colonies:

David Barnes
Ales Bialiatski (in Belarus)
Gordon Black
Andrei Chapiuk (in Belarus)
Robert Gilman
Stephen James Hubbard
Ksenia Karelina
Ihar Karney (in Belarus)
Vadim Kobzev
Uladzimir Labkovich (in Belarus)
Michael Travis Leake
Aleksei Liptser
Ihar Losik (in Belarus)
Daniel Martindale
Farid Mehralizada (in Azerbaijan)
Nika Novak
Marfa Rabkova (in Belarus)
Igor Sergunin
Dmitry Shatresov
Robert Shonov
Eugene Spector
Valiantsin Stafanovic (in Belarus)
Siarhei Tsikhanouski (in Belarus)
Laurent Vinatier
Robert Romanov Woodland
Vladislav Yesypenko (in Crimea)
Yuras Zyankovich (in Belarus)

*. *. *

And — like a broken record — I again offer this plea to Donald Trump in the White House . . . though I fear it will likely continue to fall on deaf ears, as it has thus far:

“Amidst all of the hubbub of your new administration, it is imperative that these innocent men and women not be forgotten. Negotiations for their safe release have been underway for some time. President Joe Biden succeeded in bringing home 16 innocent people on August 1st of last year, and you have added two others to that list. But you should be trying to do even more. Whatever else you do, this should be high on your list of priorities. The people you promised to represent are counting on you.

“Perhaps this would be an appropriate time to remind you also of the oath you swore on January 20th:

“‘I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.’

“I’m sure there’s a copy of that Constitution lying around the White House. If not, you can Google it. This is what it looks like, in case you’ve forgotten.”

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/16/25

For one thing, it is the 108th anniversary of the day on which Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicated, leaving the largest country in the world in the hands of a provisional government that had no idea what it was doing.

But according to the records of 1917, that actually occurred on March 2nd. And they should know . . . right?

So what happened to those other 13 days? Was there some sort of time warp? Did extraterrestrials take over Earth and change things around? Did the whole world do a two-week Rip Van Winkle thing?

Nope — it was none of the above. It was just Russia being behind the rest of the world, as usual. While everyone else had long since caught up with the Gregorian calendar (introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII), Russia in 1917 was still using the old Julian calendar.

Thus, what we now refer to as the Russian February Revolution actually took place — according to the people who actually lived through it — from March 8th through the 12th.

Of course, those events led up to the ultimately successful Bolshevik Revolution of November (October?) 1917, ushering in the 70-plus years of hell known as the Communist era of the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics).

*. *. *

But what about the two-calendar issue . . . what was that about?

Well, the Julian calendar was introduced by — who else? — Julius Caesar in 45 B.C.E., and was based on the solar cycle, rather than the former lunar cycle calendar. And for some 1,600 years, it served its purpose . . . until some learned advisors of Pope Gregory XIII discovered an error regarding the leap years, plus an 11-minute glitch in the current year, adding ten extra days more than they needed by that time. [“Julian & Gregorian Calendar Systems,” Study.com.]

Considering that the Russians continued to use the Julian calendar for another 300-plus years, that probably accounts for the extra three-day difference. It was actually the Bolsheviks — finally doing something useful — who instituted the use of the Gregorian calendar in 1918.

I have to wonder, though: What happened to all those Russians whose birthdays fell during that 13-day gap? Did they lose out on the gifts and cakes? Did they celebrate twice? Or did they simply remain the same age for another year? My guess — based on the way the Bolsheviks did things — is that they were all issued new documents with revised birth dates . . . a process that undoubtedly took at least a couple of years, further complicating their family celebrations in the interim.

*. *. *

If you’re wondering precisely what the difference is between the two calendars that caused all of the hubbub, it’s two-fold:

Julian Calendar: The leap year occurred every four years, without exception; and the average year length was approximately 365.25 days.

Gregorian Calendar: The leap year rule was a bit more complicated. The years divisible by 4 are leap years, except for years divisible by 100 unless also divisible by 400. And the average year length is approximately 365.2425 days.

Now, aren’t you glad you asked?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/15/25

So sayeth the soothsayer in Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar.

It was a play based on an actual historical event: the murder of Caesar at a meeting of the Roman Senate in the Forum on 15 March 44 B.C. He was stabbed to death by a mob of as many as 60 conspirators, led by his supposed BFFs, Brutus and Cassius.

The story goes that he had been warned by a seer that harm would come to him on the Ides (midpoint) of March. On the 15th, on his way to the meeting at the Theatre of Pompey, he passed the seer in the street and joked, “Well, the Ides of March are come” . . . to which the seer replied, “Aye, they are come, but they are not gone.”

At that point, if Caesar had been at all superstitious, he would have turned around and headed back home. But he didn’t, and he met an untimely — and extraordinarily grisly — end that day.

As is always the case with major political events, this one changed the course of history, opening the final chapter in the crisis of the Roman Republic. It also, of course, gave William Shakespeare — some 1,600 years later — a heck of a plot for one of his greatest plays.

What is fascinating — to me, at least — is how a catchphrase from two millennia ago can still be in popular use today. While a great many people may not recall its origin, nearly everyone has heard about the Ides of March at one time or another.

And of course, there are those three famous words — reputedly the last words spoken by Caesar as he lay dying — that continue to be repeated when someone is accused of duplicity: “Et tu, Brute?” (“You too, Brutus?”)

In fact, I’ll bet those three little words are heard a great deal in the halls of the U.S. Congress these days.

But that’s a whole other story. For now, just remember — on this 2069th anniversary of that fateful day in Rome — to choose your friends carefully.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/15/25