Not even at the eleventh hour, but shortly after midnight today, the U.S. Senate approved a budget bill passed only hours before by the House of Representatives, thereby narrowly averting a shutdown of the Government of the United States.

Don’t get too excited, though; it’s only another stopgap bill, funding the government into March of 2025, by which time a new president will have taken over occupancy of the Oval Office. So who knows what will happen then? But at least the Grinch will not have ruined this holiday season for those of us who live paycheck-to-paycheck.

I’ve already said my piece (yesterday) concerning the budget approval process, so I won’t belabor the point. Suffice it to say, I join in the collective sigh of relief to be heard across the nation this morning.

So Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Happy Kwanza, and — in the words of someone from that Seinfeld show that I never watched but friends of mine loved — Happy Festivus to the rest of us.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/21/24

No, it’s not the Winter Solstice that has me excited. In fact, I’ll be glad when the daylight hours become noticeably longer. But there is more to this date than just the “honor” of being the shortest day of the year.

For example, it’s National Crossword Puzzle Day. I do enjoy exercising my brain with a puzzle or two — they say it helps to ward off dementia, and . . . at the risk of jinxing myself . . . so far, so good. But that’s not it either.

It’s also National Coquito Day — honoring a yummy-sounding drink sometimes referred to as a Puerto Rican eggnog, but with condensed milk, coconut milk and rum, among other ingredients. I could easily get into that . . . but it’s not the big day, either.

National French Fried Shrimp Day sounds tempting as well . . . especially if accompanied by one or two of those coquito concoctions.

But I’ll get to the point. (“At last,” I hear you sigh.)

It’s National Short Girl Appreciation Day.

Did someone just say “So what?”

“SO WHAT??!!!” I’ll tell you so what!

So this: If you had topped off at 5 ft. 2-1/2 in. around age 18; if you had developed arthritis in your neck from always having to look up at people in order to speak to them; if you had always been stuck sitting in the front row in school, right where the teacher could keep an eye on you; if you always had to buy theater tickets in the first row of the first balcony so you didn’t get stuck behind a tall person in the orchestra seats; if you had spent your entire life apologizing to strangers because you had to ask for help reaching items on the top shelf at the super market; if you had to climb onto a step stool to put away the dishes anywhere above the first shelf in your kitchen cupboards; and if you had watched yourself for the past 20 years becoming even shorter as your intervertebral spaces shrank naturally with age . . .

. . . well, then, you might not be smirking now. Because being described as “petite” or “cute” just isn’t enough. Short women aren’t taken as seriously as our taller sisters. It’s hard to project an air of confidence or authority when everyone else is looking down at you, or when yo/u’re barely visible in a crowd.

And it’s a pain in the ass to have to take every item of clothing to a tailor to be shortened. Seriously . . . when did a 28-inch inseam classify as “petite”? I’ll tell you when: never! Not when your legs only measure 25 inches.

There are a few exceptions, of course. Like my idol, the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who never made it past 5’1”. But she was unique — a force truly to be reckoned with, by reason of her intellect, her personality, and her determination. There aren’t many like her in this world, unfortunately.

So I will celebrate my day today, and wish a very happy National Short Girl Appreciation Day to all of my fellow “shorties.” We’ll take all the appreciation we can get. Right, ladies?

*. *. *

Oh, and before I forget: For all of you vertically-challenged guys out there, don’t fret. Tomorrow is National Short Person Day.

Welcome to the club.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/21/24

Kyiv — the capital of Ukraine, and the historic center of ancient Kievan Rus’ — was set afire early this morning by Russian ballistic missiles and drones.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had launched the attack at Ukrainian military targets, writing on Telegram:

“In response to the actions of the Kyiv regime, supported by Western curators, this morning a group strike with long-range precision weapons was launched against the SBU [Ukrainian Security Services] command post, the Kyiv Luch design bureau, which designs and manufactures Neptune missile systems, Olkha ground-based cruise missiles, and the positions of the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system. The strike targets were achieved. All objects were hit.” [Maria Kostenko and Sophie Tano, CNN, December 20, 2024.]

Reality check:

— “In response to the actions of the Kyiv regime . . .”?!! Vladimir Putin just can’t seem to get it through his thick skull that he started this . . . not Ukraine. Someone really needs to impress upon him the fact that Ukraine’s strikes against Russia are responsive, not offensive. But the only people in Russia with the courage to speak the truth are dead or in prison.

— The “strike targets” were not achieved, and “all objects” were not hit. What were hit — and not by the missiles and drones directly, which in fact were shot down, causing damage from the falling debris — were several foreign embassies, an office building, gas pipes, an historic church, and a building under construction, among other civilian structures. One fatality and numerous injuries were reported. [Id.]

The whole of Ukraine was under general air-raid alert for several hours. Included in the attacks on Kyiv, Kherson, and several other regions around the country were hypersonic Kinzhal missiles and Iskander/KN-23 ballistic missiles.

Hours later, Ukraine responded with a missile attack on the Kursk region of Russia, where at least five people have been reportedly killed and 26 others injured. [Id.]

* *. *

All of this comes just one day after Putin held his annual, tightly-controlled press conference, at which he suggested a “high-tech duel” over Kyiv, “to prove that Russia’s new hypersonic ballistic missile, dubbed Oreshnik, cannot be shot down by Western-supplied air defenses.” [as reported by RFE/RL, December 20, 2024.]

“It would be interesting for us . . . Let’s conduct this experiment, this technological duel, and see the results. I think it would be useful for both us and the Americans,” Putin said. [Id.]

To which Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky responded that, if Putin thinks Ukraine will negotiate with him under the current circumstances, he is “an old pipe dreamer,” living “in a different world,” “in his own bubble.”

“People are dying,” Zelensky continued, “and he thinks it’s ‘interesting’ … Dumbass.” [Id.]

*. *. *

Well, that about sums it up for me.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/20/24

. . . and Chanukah, which actually begins its eight-day stretch at sundown on Christmas day this year and takes us right up to 2025.

So, with just five days to go, let’s see where we are on our holiday checklist:

Shopping. Done, and all orders received in plenty of time. Thank you, UPS and Amazon. – Check.

Wrapping. Um . . . no, not so much. Hope to finish today or tomorrow. But since I discovered those wonderful drawstring gift bags a few years ago, it’s much quicker — and easier on my back! – Check.

The tree. It’s in the living room and beautiful as always. – Check.

The menorah. On the buffet in the dining room, ready for the first lighting on Christmas night. And our “Chanukah bush” — in reality, a beautiful Norfolk pine bedecked with blue and white lights — standing at attention. – Check.

Baking. Cookies are scheduled for tomorrow, though not by me. That honor now goes to the next generation down the line. But I’m very good at sampling. – Check.

Imbibing. Eggnog and hot apple cider, coming up! Take it with or without the hard stuff: your choice. – Check.

And so it goes, each year a little different, but somehow the same as we hope for the world to take a breather from all the hostilities and enjoy a season of this:

And look forward to a better year to come.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/20/24

Seriously. That’s your Christmas gift from Congress, if the U.S. Government actually does shut down today.

But why do we have to go through this every single year, sometimes several times during the year, as Congress placates us with yet another stopgap bill?

Why can’t the budget be kept separate from other, unrelated, special-interest issues?

Why can’t Congress be required to stay in Washington, in session, until a budget is passed by both Houses and signed by the President before the close of each fiscal year?

And why can’t we have a Constitutional amendment withholding their salaries until the job is done?

These are the people we voted into office. So why don’t we vote them back out in the next election? Quite simply, if they’re not representing our interests, they don’t deserve to keep their jobs.

In this country, we don’t need a revolution; we’ve already had one, and it has served us well for nearly 250 years. We just need to use our constitutional right — and responsibility — to elect people who will do the job they promised during their campaigns. And to hold them answerable to us if they don’t.

We need to use our brains.

It’s not rocket science.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/20/24

Once upon a time, there was an army general . . .

Unfortunately, this is not a fairy tale; there is no handsome prince or beautiful princess, no magical frog, and no “happily ever after” ending. Instead, there is a middle-aged man who headed the radiological, biological and chemical forces of Russia, and had been charged in Ukraine, in absentia, with having used chemical weapons on that country’s military as part of Russia’s continuing war of attrition.

And the day after he was convicted of those charges in Ukraine, he was dead . . . killed by a remote-controlled bomb planted in a motor scooter that had been parked outside his apartment building in an upscale neighborhood in Moscow, awaiting his exit. The bomb also took the life of Kirillov’s aide, Ilya Polikarpov.

Shockingly, Ukraine immediately claimed “credit” for the killing of the man they call a “legitimate military target.”

Or is it really so shocking that a country that has been invaded without justification; seen its civilian population, its cities and infrastructure decimated by bombs, missiles and drones for nearly three years; and lost tens of thousands of its fighting forces, would seek to fight back in its own defense?

Russia, of course, immediately jumped into action with the usual outraged recriminations and threats of retribution:

Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council: “Law enforcement agencies must find the killers in Russia and everything must be done to destroy the perpetrators who are in Kyiv.” [Maria Kostenko, Victoria Butenko, Nectar Gan, Christian Edwards and Darya Tarasova, CNN, December 17, 2024.]

Konstantin Kosachev, Chair of the Federation Council’s Foreign Relations Committee, was “shocked” by the “irreparable loss” of Kirillov: “The murderers will be punished. Without a doubt and without mercy.” [Id.]

Andrey Kartapolov, member of the State Duma: “[Those involved] will be found and punished.”

Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry: “[Kirillov had been] systematically exposing the crimes [of the West for many years, including] the deadly activities of American biolabs in Ukraine.” [Id.] She added that: “All those who welcome terrorist attacks or deliberately keep their silence are accomplices … the silence of the UN Secretariat is an obvious sign of corruption.” [Id.] And: “The terrorist attack in Moscow was a continuation and development of the spiral of approval by the West of the war crimes of the militants of the Kyiv regime.” [RFE/RL, December 17, 2024.]

Sure . . . blame the West, as always. Never mind that it was Russia that began the war on February 24, 2022, when its armed forces crossed the border into Ukraine, without provocation. Or that Kirillov specifically was accused of having used chemical weapons — an estimated 5,000 times — against the Ukrainian military. [Id.]

*. *. *

My first thought upon reading of Kirillov’s death was to question whether picking off individuals assassination-style is a legitimate tactic in modern warfare. This is, after all, the fourth killing of prominent military figures on Russian terrritory in the past two months.

And then I read about the Russian drones that have been tracking down — hunting, if you will — individual civilians, in Ukraine. There are verified videos of drones aiming at specific vehicles, a man standing by the window inside his apartment, and a woman walking along the street who was followed by a drone that finally caught up with her and blew her foot apart. [RFE/RL, December 17, 2024.]

So, yeah . . . if Ukraine’s civilian citizens are being hunted down like so many helpless animals, then I suppose you could justify taking out a member of the opposing military.

“All’s fair . . .”

*. *. *

But Vladimir Putin can’t just sit back and appear to accept this act as one of the spoils of war. Aside from blaming the West, he needs a victory of his own. He needs to apprehend a perpetrator.

And in record time — just one day after the death of General Kirillov — a 29-year-old man named Akhmad Kurbanov from Uzbekistan was arrested and charged with the crime. Russia’s Investigative Committee said he had been recruited by Ukraine’s SBU security service and had acted on its instructions. In return, he had allegedly been offered a reward of $100,000 in cash and a new life in a European country.

The Committee said that he had “received a homemade explosive device and placed it on an electric scooter which he parked at the entrance to the residential building where Igor Kirillov lived.” They claimed he had rented a car and fitted it with a surveillance camera that was monitored by his Ukrainian bosses in Dnipro, who remotely detonated the bomb when they saw Kirillov and his aide leave the building. [Anna Chernova, Christian Edwards and Edward Szekeres, CNN, December 18, 2024.]

But who is this mysterious Uzbek man? Where are the details and the pictures of his arrest? Is he a scapegoat? Is he even real?

Knowing of Russia’s well-developed skill at playing the blame game, anything is possible. I can imagine several credible scenarios; but they would amount to nothing more than speculation at this point, so I’ll keep my imaginings to myself for the time being.

But Russia’s Uzbek and other Central Asian populations are understandably nervous right now, recalling Chechnya and fearing a possible coming purge of their own ethnic groups.

And who can blame them?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/19/24

I had my regular flu shot, as always, back in September or October. But I was debating whether to get another Covid booster this year . . . until I heard from a neighborhood friend that she had been diagnosed with it and was laid up at home.

And off I went to my local pharmacy for my injection today, which took less time than filling out the required form and wasn’t nearly as annoying. (I hate filling out forms — just a personal thing.) As with the previous Covid shots, I haven’t felt the least bit sick . . . just tired. So I took a nap, and all is well.

Am I a “pro-vaxxer”? Yes, I am. My mother made sure my sister and I got all of our shots when we were little, though there weren’t as many then: Smallpox (which has been virtually wiped out, thanks to the vaccine), and a three-in-one DPT — diphtheria, pertussis (a.k.a. whooping cough), and tetanus, as I recall. And a little later, the miraculous Salk polio vaccine . . . another hideous disease now pretty much a thing of the past.

And so I passed her wisdom along to my children when they were small; and I have continued to look after my own health as well. Now that I’m older . . . lots older . . . yes, I have a few health issues. But they’re due to the passage of time, not to any preventable illnesses.

Obviously, I’m not proposing that everyone run right out and get themselves and/or their children injected with every serum known to mankind. It’s a personal choice, of course.

I’m not on a crusade. I would just hope that most people are able to keep an open mind, do their research (pro and con), and talk to their doctors before making an informed decision . . . “informed” being the operative word.

Okay . . . not necessarily that informed. But you get my point.

And now, since I’m still feeling a little dragged out, it’s off to bed, where I will sleep better for having said my piece, even though no one asked for it. But that’s what free speech is all about, right?

Stay well, everyone. And happy holidays!

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/19/24

It’s taken two years, but today I’ve reached a sort of millennial landmark: an even 1,000 posts to my blog.

Time to celebrate!!

And no, this does not mean I’m quitting. It’s on to the next 1,000 . . . as long as the news keeps coming, and my fingers (and brain) keep working reasonably well, I’ll be here at brendochka.com.

But for now, I think I’ll take the rest of the day off, help myself to a slice of cake and a nice cup of herbal tea, put my feet up, and have a snooze. I’ve earned it.

Or, as they would say on my favorite Brit flick, Midsomer Murders:

“Well done, me.”

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/18/24

Looking back at historic events, as is my wont, I often wonder what the people involved in those events would have thought if they had been able to foresee the eventual fallout from their actions (or inactions). For example:

Would it ever have occurred to the Wright Brothers — Orville and Wilbur — back then on December 17, 1903, that a little over a century later, there would be such a thing as a Stealth bomber? Or that things called drones would be fighting our wars, and causing panic along the U.S. eastern seaboard among people ready to believe they were being propelled by Chinese-Iranian-Martian invaders?

Or . . .

On December 17, 1777, while the newly declared United States of America was fighting its war for independence from Great Britain, France formally recognized the U.S. as a sovereign nation and joined in the fight against the British, helping to win our freedom. Who would then have anticipated that, just 107 years later — on July 4, 1884 — France would also be presenting the U.S. with the Statue of Liberty, or that the outsized “Assembly Required” sculpture would become the enduring symbol of the young country? Or that the United States would go on to be the political, industrial and economic world leader that it is today?

Or . . .

On December 17, 1892, when the first issue of Vogue magazine was published, that it would still be around in 2024?

Or, for that matter, that there would even be a year 2024?

Or . . .

On December 17, 1991, when Boris Yeltsin announced that the Soviet Union would cease to exist as a political entity by New Year’s Eve, giving rise to a new era of hope and optimism amongst the peoples of that country and, indeed, of the world . . . who would have believed that it would take less than a decade for a then unknown and insignificant individual to take the reins of power and bring it all crashing down again?

Yeltsin was as good as his word, and in fact brought it in ahead of schedule. On Christmas Day, December 25th, he unseated — quite literally, according to an eyewitness source — Mikhail Gorbachev . . . and the Soviet hammer-and-sickle flag was lowered at the Kremlin for the final time. Gorbachev was out; Yeltsin was in; and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was no more. Technically, at least.

Merry Christmas, Russia.

For eight years Yeltsin tried to carry on the reforms of his predecessor, and to build on them in order to bring his country into the late 20th Century before it rolled over into the 21st . . . sometimes with success, other times not so much. But he made one enormous, irreversible, utterly disastrous mistake, for which the world is still paying.

He brought Vladimir Putin from St. Petersburg, where he was working as Mayor Anatoly Sobchak’s “go-to guy,” to Moscow to be Yeltsin’s own jack-of-all-trades. And the rest, as they say, is history.

*. *. *

It makes you stop and think twice about your own actions, and about the future . . . doesn’t it?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/18/24

There she was, hiding out in the restrooms on a Delta flight from New York to Paris on November 26th . . . without a ticket or a boarding pass. Her name is Svetlana Dali, and she was, of course, discovered and taken into custody upon landing in Paris.

After one aborted attempt to return her to the U.S. on November 30th, in which Delta refused to carry her when she began raising a ruckus on boarding a return flight, she was finally brought back home on December 4th. She was charged with one count of being a stowaway on an aircraft without consent and released without bail . . . but with a number of conditions. These included not leaving a specified area, surrendering any travel documents, wearing a GPS monitor, abiding by a curfew, and submitting to recommended mental health evaluation and treatment. [Mark Morales, Taylor Romine, Aaron Cooper and Chris Boyette, CNN, December 16, 2024.]

The Russian national, who holds permanent residency status in the United States, said she had nowhere to stay. So a kind-hearted acquaintance from her church in Philadelphia — where she evidently had lived at one time — agreed to let her stay with him for the time being.

But it appears that Slippery Svetlana got the travel bug again, because on Sunday of this week, she managed to cut off her ankle monitor and catch a Greyhound bus headed for Canada on Monday. Her roommate, upon returning home and finding her ankle bracelet without an ankle in it, reported her absence to the authorities. She was later removed from the bus before reaching Canada, placed in the custody of the FBI, and was expected to be turned over to U.S. Marshals in Buffalo, New York today. [Id.]

No further details are available regarding her location and arrest, as the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, and Dali’s own attorney have thus far declined to comment. [Id.]

*. *. *

So where do we begin? My first question was why she had been released without bail on the stowaway charge. The judge in that case determined that she wasn’t a serious flight risk, because — after all — how many times can a person successfully carry off that kind of a caper . . . right?

Wrong. The judge did impose major restrictions on her movements. But ankle monitors — as now appears obvious — are not insurmountable obstacles for the highly motivated. And while Svetlana had learned her lesson when it came to sneaking onto commercial airplanes, the judge forgot to take into consideration good old Greyhound — cheap, accessible, anonymous, no-security buses to anywhere on land.

And this lady was motivated. She clearly wanted out of the United States. She had applied for asylum in France a few years ago, according to a Paris airport official. [Id.] I don’t know why she thought she needed asylum . . . unless it had to do with those two lawsuits she filed recently, claiming to have been a victim of military-grade chemical weapons and a kidnapping plot. [Id.]

Okay, sure . . . whatever. I once met a man in Kyiv — a coal miner from the Donbas region who was taking part in a demonstration — who wanted me to tell my government in Washington that the KGB had had his mother’s dentist implant a microscopically tiny transmitter in her denture so they could track her.

I try not to judge.

*. *. *

But seriously, what is this woman’s problem? I’m not a medical professional, but it’s painfully obvious that she has one . . . a problem, that is. Lacking details about her history, her family background, her life experiences, it’s impossible even to make an educated guess. But one thing is clear: she needs help.

And I hope she gets it . . . preferably before she heads for the Mexican border.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/17/24