Having a wonderful time reminiscing about all my past travel (and other) adventures. Hope you’ll share them with me in my blog, “All Roads Led to Russia.”
The caveat being that you cannot take as gospel everything — or much of anything — you read on the internet. And I can’t vouch for the accuracy of this particular bit of “information,” either. But I thought it was fun, though I was less than impressed by my knowledge of European geography/history.
I did recognize more than half of the old names, but that’s just barely a passing grade — and maybe not even that. Still, I think I can be forgiven for not having heard of Vardar or Rascia. (You may need a magnifier for those.)
Give it a try, then start Googling the names you don’t know. If nothing else, you might acquire another random bit of trivia to toss out next time there’s a lag in the conversation.
And it has been just that — a quiet week — in regard to Americans and other foreigners being held in Russian prisons for purely political reasons. But we must not become complacent simply because no new names have been added.
Ksenia Karelina – Just One of the Remaining Hostages
So, for the hostages remaining in Putin’s prisons, we continue to remember them and to fight for their return. They are:
David Barnes Staff Sergeant Gordon Black Marc Fogel Robert Gilman Stephen James Hubbard Ksenia Karelina Michael Travis Leake Daniel Martindale Robert Shonov Eugene Spector Laurent Vinatier Robert Romanov Woodland
And all of the others whose identities are not known to me. They are not merely prisoners; they are HOSTAGES, who must be brought home as quickly as possible.
I had never heard of “4B” before. To me, it sounded like a child’s shoe size, an answer to a multiple-choice question, or a compartment in the sleeper car of an Amtrak train. But it was none of the above.
It is, in fact, a women’s movement that originated in South Korea — a feminist movement in which straight women refuse to marry, have children, date, or have sex with men. It is the ultimate payback.
“Oh yeah? Take that!”
It was started around 2015 or 2016, mostly involving young women in their 20s as an offshoot of #MeToo and similar feminist movements, in protest of the rampant gender inequality in their country. While the movement has splintered over the years, in part due to disagreements about the role of queer and trans women, it did help to draw attention to gender inequality in a country where women are often abused, are paid about one-third less than men, and are only minimally represented in senior and managerial positions. [Harmeet Kaur, CNN, November 9, 2024.]
And now — since the election of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States last week — there has been a surge of young liberal American women on TikTok and Instagram, discussing the South Korean 4B movement. These women say that they are furious at the majority of American men who voted for a candidate found guilty of sexual abuse, and whose Supreme Court appointees were responsible for overturning women’s abortion rights protections. [Id.]
The Supremes
So they’re swearing off men, and encouraging others to join in the movement. Ashli Pollard, 36, of St. Louis told CNN:
“We have pandered and begged for men’s safety and done all the things that we were supposed to, and they still hate us. So if you’re going to hate us, then we’re going to do what we want.” [Id.]
“You asked for it!”
The name “4B” derives from four Korean words — bihon, bichulsan, biyeonae and bisekseu — which translate to “no marriage, no childbirth, no dating, no sex with men.” While there is no way to predict how far, or even if, it will spread in the U.S., it has already generated a good bit of online chatter among young women.
Ashli Pollard said that it has inspired her to “examine what a life looks like without centering men so deeply.” [Id.] She is able to support herself, and her future plans include having a child alone. She says it is less about revenge, and more about putting herself first; and she wants other women to realize that they have options available to them:
“You push people far enough and they’re done. How will that affect politics? We’ll see . . . but I think that women and their joy is going to be something that can’t really be overlooked anymore. Women are choosing themselves in droves.” [Id.]
Another young woman, 27-year-old Abby K., broke up with her boyfriend over some dismissive comments he made about Trump’s sexual abuse history. When she posted a video about it, and about her decision to join the 4B movement, her DMs were flooded with death threats and hateful comments from men. About that, she said:
“It doesn’t exactly entice you to re-enter the dating pool.” [Id.]
A masterpiece of understatement, Abby.
*. *. *
It’s too late to un-elect Donald Trump. Those who voted for Kamala Harris are too civilized to storm the Capitol, or run through the streets screaming “Stop the steal.” But perhaps a movement such as 4B will finally have a positive effect on the futures of women who have had enough of being treated as chattels, serving at the pleasure of their menfolk.
November 9, 1938: Kristallnacht. The Night of Broken Glass.
It was the beginning — though no one could then have anticipated the horror of it all — the beginning of what would come to be known as The Holocaust.
Smashed Windows of Jewish-Owned BusinessesA Vandalized Jewish HomeA Burning Synagogue in Main, Germany
It lasted through the night and the next day: German Nazis smashing their way through the homes and businesses of the Jews of Germany and Austria, later dubbed “Kristallnacht” after the piles of glass from the countless broken windows to be seen everywhere. The rampage left around 100 Jews killed, some 7,500 Jewish businesses damaged, and hundreds of synagogues, homes, schools and graveyards vandalized. An estimated 30,000 — thirty thousand! — Jewish men were arrested, many sent to concentration camps for several months and only released when they promised to leave Germany. [This Day In History, November 9, 2024.]
Jewish Men Being Marched Through Berlin Streets
What was the reason — the excuse, really — for the sudden explosion of violence that night? It had begun with the deportation of tens of thousands of Polish Jews from Germany back to Poland. Among them were the parents of one Herschel Grynszpan, who took revenge by shooting to death a low-level German diplomat named Ernst vom Rath. [Id.]
Herschel Grynszpan
Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels took advantage of the situation and ordered his storm troopers to lodge “spontaneous demonstrations” against the Jewish population; local police and fire departments were instructed not to interfere. [Id.]
But that wasn’t enough for the Nazi regime. They blamed the Jews for the death of vom Rath. They were fined the equivalent of $400 million dollars (in 1938 money), their property seized to cover the payment of the “debt.” [Id.]
There were worldwide expressions of outrage, and some countries went so far as to break off diplomatic relations with Germany. But the Nazis escaped any serious consequences, and went on to commit the genocide now known simply as The Holocaust.
The rest, you already know.
*. *. *
And this is a reminder of the end of it: the Memorial To the Murdered Jews of Europe, better known as Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial. The ground there is intentionally not level; it rises and falls unexpectedly, creating a sense of disorientation, of trepidation.
As I walked among those nameless stones some 65 years after the fact, I tried to imagine six million of them — one for every Jewish victim of Adolph Hitler’s mad plan of extermination. But I couldn’t.
Holocaust Memorial, Berlin, Germany
It was the one painful day of an otherwise beautiful vacation trip. And it was the day I remember most clearly . . . as we should all remember that time in history.
So that we never forget. So that it never happens again.
Why, it’s Elon Musk, of course — already clinging to Donald Trump like a powdery mildew fungus on a crabapple tree — taking part in a seven-minute congratulatory phone call from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Trump following the U.S. election.
Musk was at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago mansion when the call was received, which — according to “a source briefed on the call” — was described as “positive and cordial.”
Well, isn’t that special!
Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and … oh, yeah … JD Vance
Actually, yes . . . a cordial conversation between Trump and Zelensky is a good thing, and a hopeful sign for Ukraine. Zelensky later said about Wednesday’s call:
“We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation. Strong and unwavering US leadership is vital for the world and for a just peace.” [Tara John, Victoria Butenko, Nic Robertson and Kristen Holmes, CNN, November 8, 2024.]
But why would Trump put the call on speaker phone so that Musk — not an elected official, or even an appointed anything as yet — could participate? Zelensky is said to have diplomatically thanked Musk for having provided the use of his Starlink internet service throughout the course of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelensky addressing U.S. Congress
But therein lies a problem. With all of Musk’s companies’ contracts with the U.S. government — and other dealings with foreign countries, such as the Starlink agreement with Ukraine — are there not likely conflict-of-interest issues to be considered and dealt with before he becomes privy to any potentially classified government information?
And as a simple matter of courtesy, did Trump even think to ask Zelensky if he would agree to have Musk join their conversation? Fortunately, this was a call from the president of a friendly country. What if it had been, say, Vladimir Putin on the other end of that call?
If this is a small sample of the way our country’s business is going to be conducted by the incoming administration . . . well, that makes me . . .
November 9, 1989: The day the Berlin Wall came a-tumblin’ down.
It had stood since 1961, ostensibly to prevent Cold War spies from West Berlin entering communist East Berlin . . . though in reality accomplishing just the opposite: keeping the captive East Berliners from fleeing to the free Western sector.
It stood for 28 years, during which time thousands of people did manage to escape. But 140 or more lost their lives while trying to get to the other side of the Wall, many of them shot by the East German border guards. [RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty, November 8, 2024.]
And then, finally — 35 years ago today — it was breached.
No Longer Divided: Berlin Wall – November 9, 1989
It was partially due to a misunderstanding by an East German spokesman of the new rules concerning issuance of visas to visit the West — rules that had been promulgated in response to increasing protests. The spokesman, Gunter Schabowski, was hastily handed the rules and had no time to review them before his press conference that day. What he read aloud was this:
“Private travel outside the country can now be applied for without prerequisites.”
Pressed by the shocked journalists for verification, he looked through his notes and said that as far as he was aware, it was effective immediately. [BBC, November 4, 2019.]
That was all it took for the crowds of East Berliners to begin heading for the Brandenburg Gate in the city center. The border guard in charge that night, Harald Jager, called his superiors frantically asking for orders, but they neither said to open the gate nor to open fire on the crowd. Fearing a stampede and a possible massacre, he gave the order to open the gate. [Id.]
The Brandenburg Gate, seen through barbed wire
Throughout that year, movements had been growing in other parts of communist Eastern Europe: in Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and the three Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. And the reformist General Secretary of the Communist Party in Moscow, Mikhail Gorbachev, decided not to use military force against the Eastern Bloc countries outside the Soviet Union itself, in order to avoid potential revolutions.
Mikhail Gorbachev
And history, as it had been known since the time of the Russian Revolution of 1917, reversed course. All of those Eastern Bloc countries (and more) regained their independence; and in just two years, in December of 1991, the Soviet Union itself splintered, creating fifteen additional separate nations. And so it has remained for 33 years.
Until now.
*. *. *
Because today, after three decades of political, economic and social reforms, there are ominous signs of backsliding in some of those Eastern European and former Soviet countries — a trend toward more authoritarian rule . . . toward strengthened relations with Moscow . . . away from Western democracy.
And, as history has so often shown us (if only we had been paying attention), it takes just one determined person, or a small handful of like individuals, to start the rebuilding of that Wall.
In 1930, a 12-year-old Russian peasant boy named Pavel (“Pavlik”) Morozov, became a hero of Soviet society by allegedly denouncing his father to the government authorities. (Two years later, he became a martyr of the Soviet state when he was purportedly killed by his family for his “patriotic” actions.) Statues were erected in his honor; he was the darling of the Soviet press, and a role model for Soviet youth for many years.
“Pavlik Morozov” Statue
The fact that the whole story was later debunked as propaganda didn’t never fazed Joseph Stalin. What mattered was “Pavlik’s” usefulness as a means of encouraging other youths to rat out their neighbors, friends, teachers, and even their own families for any perceived infraction of Soviet law or policy. Tragically, it worked.
40-Kopek Postage Stamp to “Hero-Pioneer Pavlik Morozov”
And now — nearly a century later — a 68-year-old Russian pediatrician is facing charges of dissemination of “fake news” about the Russian military, based solely on the questionable testimony of a seven-year-old patient and his mother.
According to the boy’s mother, Anastasia Akinshina, Dr. Nadezhda Buyanova made comments in the presence of her son to the effect that the child’s father — who had been a Russian soldier killed in the war in Ukraine — was a “legitimate military target.” The statement was allegedly made when Akinshina was explaining to the doctor that the boy was struggling with the trauma of having lost his father. [RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty, November 8, 2024.]
Dr. Buyanova, in Court
Buyanova denies having made any such comment, or even having discussed the boy’s father during the office visit. Her defense attorney argued that the case was based on “slander and deliberate fabrication,” and pointed out contradictions in the testimony of the seven-year-old — who, the attorney also argued, was too young even to understand terms he had used, such as “aggressor country,” “legitimate target,” or “special military operation.”[Id.]
Buyanova was dismissed from her job after Akinshina filed her complaint. However, she appealed the dismissal, and a court ruled in her favor in July, ordering her reinstatement.
Yet, having been arrested in February of this year, she has remained in “pretrial detention” ever since. She now stands trial under Vladimir Putin’s so-called “fake news” law, which targets critics of the government in general and the war in Ukraine in particular. The prosecution has requested a six-year prison sentence.
Dr. Nadezhda Buyanova
When asked before today’s hearing how she had survived the past months of pretrial detention, she replied, “My knowledge that I am innocent.” [The Moscow Times, November 8, 2024.]
*. *. *
Akinshina’s purpose in filing the original complaint against Dr. Buyanova is unclear. But — for the “justice system” of today’s Russian government — it is obviously sufficient cause to destroy a life.
Dr. Buyanova — and the world — now await the court’s decision on the rest of her life.
They’re not Americans, or from any Western country. They are Russian citizens; but that doesn’t make their victimization by Vladimir Putin’s regime any less of an abomination.
Engineer Danil Mukhametov and his wife Viktoria both worked at the Uralvagonzavod (Ural Tank Factory) — one of the largest tank manufacturers in Russia — located in the city of Nizhny Tagil, Sverdlovsk Oblast (Region), about 870 miles east of Moscow.
Ural Tank Factory, Nizhny Tagil, Russia
It is the same factory from which Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was falsely accused of gathering secret information — leading to his arrest in March of 2023, conviction on charges of espionage, imprisonment in a Russian penal colony, and to his ultimate release in a prisoner swap on August 1st of this year.
Coincidence? Well, lets see . . .
Also in March of 2023, Ural Tank Factory employees Danil and Viktoria were arrested by the FSB (formerly the KGB) and charged with having committed state treason by passing military secrets to Ukraine. They were held in detention for more than a year and a half before being brought to trial.
Danil and Viktoria Mukhametov, in courtroom prisoners’ box
Last month, Viktoria was convicted by the Sverdlovsk regional court of selling technical blueprints to Ukrainian officials for 100,000 rubles (just over $1,000), and sentenced to 12-1/2 years in prison. At her trial, she is said to have confessed to accepting the money, “just to live.” [Andrew Osborn, Reuters, November 5, 2024.]
And earlier this week, Danil was tried by the same court and sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security penal colony, after allegedly admitting guilt for passing unspecified technical military information to Ukraine’s intelligence services. [Id.]
Both “confessions” came after being held in custody for more than 18 months.
The judge who heard both cases — behind closed doors, of course — was the same judge who had earlier convicted Evan Gershkovich.
Evan Gershkovich, in courtroom prisoners’ box
Now tell me whether you still believe in coincidence.
Or so my grandmother always said — and she was never wrong. Which was why I wasn’t allowed to be friends with this one little girl down the street, because I was told her mother was not a nice woman . . . although Bubbe would never explain exactly what that meant. I have since figured it out, of course.
Well, if that rule applies to most of my generation — which is the same generation as Donald Trump’s, i.e., over the hill and sliding fast — shouldn’t it also apply to him? In which case . . .
What gives with these two?
Elon Musk: On Another Planet
Let’s start with the richest, or one of the richest, individuals in the world. He clearly knows how to make money, babies, and political waves. He also knows how to buy his way onto a candidate’s bandwagon and — for the tidy sum of $130 million — help to buy a presidency.
And of course, Donald Trump would wish to reward such generosity of spirit and money. In a victory speech that lasted about 25 minutes, nearly four of those minutes were dedicated to praise of Musk, culminating in a proclamation that “a star is born — Elon!” [Derek Saul, Forbes, November 6, 2024.]
That’s odd . . . I thought he was already a star. But if Trump wants to take credit for having created him, and Musk has no objection, then it’s fine with me . . . and certainly no surprise, coming from the man who takes credit for everything anyway.
In any event, it’s unlikely that Musk would take on an actual Cabinet or White House position, given the requirement of having to stash his multi-billion-dollar assets somewhere for four years. Not to mention the rigors of passing a high-level security clearance . . . and let us not forget approval by the Senate. But as a more informal “adviser,” he would have unrestricted access and influence, particularly in monetary matters, without having to change his lifestyle or endure a rigorous approval process.
He has already commented on his thoughts concerning government cost-cutting — no, cost-slashing — which are, in typical Musk fashion, dramatic in the extreme, and thus a little frightening in their lack of detail.
Then there’s that little matter of the legal actions being brought against him, alleging fraud in connection with his million-dollar attempts to buy votes in the days leading up to the election . . .
But it may already be too late to stop the “welcome-Elon-to-the-family” party from being held. Judging from this Trump family photo posted on X by Trump granddaughter Kai, Elon has already been adopted. Here he stands, at the right end of a line of Trumps, holding his own son (the one named “X AE A-12”).
The New Trump Family Assemblage
But wait . . . what’s this? Where is Melania?
Okay, let’s not jump to conclusions, though you must admit . . .
*. *. *
And next we have a member of America’s “royal family” of Democrats: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Now a Republican, and recently himself a presidential hopeful, he realized the futility of running against Trump, and instead jumped onto the Trump Train in hopes of landing a comfortable spot with the new Washington power elite.
While it hasn’t yet been decided what position would be offered to him, it has been reported by the Washington Post that he may be appointed a sort of “health czar” — also, like Musk, avoiding the Senate confirmation required for an actual government agency job. [Conor Murray, Forbes, November 6, 2024.]
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.: In a Parallel Universe
Did someone say “health czar”? Hmm . . . let’s see, now. Isn’t this the guy who recently said that fluoride should be removed from the nation’s drinking water because it’s a health hazard? He’s also an outspoken anti-vaxer, claiming that some vaccines are responsible for causing autism, among other things. A member of Trump’s own transition team has said that Kennedy is talking about pulling vaccines he deems “unsafe” from the market. [Id.]
During his brief presidential campaign, he became well known for spouting some of the weirdest tales of the political season, such as admitting — to Roseanne Barr, of all people — that a decade ago he had found a dead bear that had been struck by another driver in New York City, and deposited it in Central Park with the intent of skinning it later and “[putting] the meat in my refrigerator.” And he wasn’t kidding. [Isabella Ramirez and Irie Sentner, Politico, August 23, 2024.]
But he may also have presented the world with a logical explanation for his illogical ramblings when he said that what he had originally suspected was a brain tumor in 2012 might actually have been “caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died.” He claimed to have been experiencing severe memory loss and mental fogginess. [Id.]
Yup . . . that could explain it, all right.
An Actual Brain Worm
But brain worm or no brain worm, the jury’s still out on Bobby Jr.’s place in Washington. I just hope and pray he’s not the one chosen to wield final authority over our nation’s health system — at least, not until he earns an actual medical degree.
*. *. *
It’s early days in the choosing of the new administration’s support team, so there’s no need to panic yet. And I clearly recall the “revolving door” days of Trump’s first term, when we had just barely learned the name of one staff or Cabinet member before he or she was out job-hunting again.
So, at this point I would just say that perhaps Trump should be more careful in choosing his people this time around. I’m remembering the likes of Giuliani, Cohen, Manafort, Stone, Bannon . . .
. . . Or, more likely, his speech writer came back from lunch and finished his notes for the boss’ address to the Valdai Discussion Club at the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
Putin at Valdai Conference
Wherever the words came from, Putin finally managed to congratulate Donald Trump on winning the U.S. presidential election, and indicated that he would be open to talks with the president-elect:
“I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate him on his election as president of the United States of America,” he offered, adding that he was impressed with the way in which Trump had handled himself immediately following the assassination attempt at a campaign rally in July, describing him as “a brave man.” [RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty, November 7, 2024.]
Trump, Slightly Wounded But Defiant
Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had stated that he was “not aware” of any plans by Putin to congratulate Trump, as relations with Washington were at “an historic low.” But when asked by journalists today whether a possible communication between Putin and Trump before the inauguration on January 20th was “off the table,” that agile, quick-on-his-feet press secretary did a supersonic 180 and replied — apparently in reference to earlier statements made by Trump:
“Why? It is not ruled out. [Trump] said that he would call Putin before the inauguration. Those are his words.” [Id.]
Peskov was also asked whether there had been any official contact between Russian authorities and Trump’s campaign following the election, to which he offered a brief, somewhat snarky-sounding response:
“No. Why should we contact them?” [Id.]
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov
Wow, Dima! You’ve really been working on your obfuscation skills, haven’t you?
*. *. *
And so, as another day draws to a close, we are once more left without any idea as to where the on-again-off-again bromance between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin stands at present. But what the hell . . . we’ve got four more years to figure it out.
The Blog About Everything … and Sometimes Nothing 