I never thought I’d find myself saying this, but I seem to have a ridiculous number of topics to write about today, and I can’t decide where to begin. I just keep bouncing from one to another to another, unable to settle anywhere.

I even tried “eeny-meeny,” but didn’t care for the way it turned out and ignored it. I don’t like letting chance make my choices for me.

So I’m going to sleep on it; and considering that I’ve been running on four hours of sleep last night and a one-hour nap this afternoon, that’s got to be my best hope. Then perhaps I’ll be able to think straight and settle on something later in the day.

And talking about not being able to function without sleep has me thinking back to the days of yore — way, way back in yore — when I could get four or five hours of sleep, work at full speed all day, go out partying with friends after work, get home in time for another quick four or five hours of sleep, and do it all again the next day.

And I never had those telltale bags under my eyes. Because I was young. And foolish.

I know you know what I’m talking about. All the things we did that we knew weren’t good for us, but we did them anyway because we thought we’d live forever and had plenty of years to start making healthy choices when we were older?

Yeah, well . . . I’m still waiting to start. How about you?

Remember those years of dieting by loading up on red meat and no carbs? Do you want to talk about your kidneys now?

And the smoking? I never did — it just tasted horrible — but most of my friends were smokers. And I must have inhaled a ton of second-hand smoke over the years. Didn’t you?

And driving after having “just a couple” of drinks? Or always driving like an Indy 500 reject, drunk or sober. Lucked out on that one — especially since there were no seat belts in those old cars.

PHOTO

What I especially shudder at remembering is the number of horrific blind dates that my friends thought would be perfect for me. Thinking back, I’m sure at least a couple of them were axe murderers or sexual deviants. Why was I never murdered? And come to think of it, were those people really my friends?

Or simply spending the day at the beach without benefit of SPF-800 sunscreen. And I was a redhead!

And so on. The wonder of it all is that I did survive, and made it to the ripe old age of [deleted as a matter of principle — you never ask a woman her age or her weight].

But having accomplished the impossible task of survival thus far, I now need to get my eight to ten hours. I’m not 20-something anymore. So if you’ll excuse me . . .

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/22/24

I voted today — took advantage of early voting here in the State of Georgia, and very glad that I did. There were no lines, the volunteers were plentiful and helpful, and the machines worked with nary a hitch nor a glitch. I scanned my ID, then after I had entered my choices, I personally placed my printed ballot into the sealed box. No one else ever touched it.

There was no apparent way anyone could claim voter fraud — not at that location, in any event.

I had but one disappointment: Elon Musk wasn’t there beforehand to offer me a $1,000,000 check to sign his “pro-U.S. Constitution petition.” Damn! I could have used that money.

But then again, I’ve always been fussy about how I earn my income; I rather prefer it to be unquestionably legal, and those million-dollar gifts from Musk are . . . well . . . questionable, at the very least. So, as difficult as it would have been, I’d have had to say “no thank you” to Elon for his largesse.

In fact, after learning of this latest of his genius ideas in support of Donald Trump, I don’t believe I’d take the time of day from him.

Sorry, Elon; but it’s a matter of principle. You do understand what that means, don’t you? In this case, it means you can’t buy my vote. Because however you try to disguise it, that’s what you and your America PAC are doing. And it appears to be blatantly illegal, both for you and for the happy “winners.”

Actually, there was a sign over each voting machine that clearly reminded the voters of the law stating that anyone who “pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for registration to vote or for voting” is subject to a possible fine of $10,000, or a five-year prison sentence. So nope . . . not for a million bucks.

Oh, it’s been established as some sort of lottery, with one winner per day to be drawn from those who sign a petition pledging to support free speech and gun rights. That doesn’t sound terrible, until you consider that only registered voters in seven swing states — Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina — are eligible to enter. And they must provide personal contact information, subjecting them to possible later contact by America PAC regarding their vote.

So it appears that the uber-bright, newly uber-right, and always uber-surprising Elon Musk and I are not destined to become BFFs. And I’ll never have a million dollars.

But what the hell . . . I’ve lived this long without either of them. I’m sure I’ll manage the rest of my life as well.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/21/24

Heading out to vote today. I thought I’d take advantage of early voting — not so much to avoid the last-minute crowds, as to get it over with before I decide to exercise my right not to vote at all for the first time in my adult life. And I really don’t want to do that.

Jimmy Carter hung on, less to celebrate his 100th birthday than to make it to the start of early voting in Georgia. That says something to me about old-fashioned patriotism, love of country, sense of duty, or whatever you choose to call it.

So my daughter-in-law and I are off — not to see the Wizard — but to the polling place, about a 12-minute drive from here, to earn our “I Voted” stickers.

I only wish Harry Truman were still on the ballot.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/21/24

If you subscribe to The Gospel According To Donald Trump, it is. You see, he has said that, if he were to return to the White House, China would not dare to provoke him because Xi Jinping knows he — Trump — is “crazy.” [Kayla Epstein, BBC News, October 19, 2024.]

But it’s important to know — and unfortunately he didn’t specify — whether he meant “crazy” as in “strip-naked-in-Times-Square-at-high-noon” crazy, or simply “say-or-do-whatever-comes-to-mind-regardless-of-the-consequences” type of crazy. Or perhaps both.

He definitely has proven his expertise in the second category. I’m just not sure it’s a desirable qualification for the president of any country.

What he said to the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board was that he would not have to use military force to prevent a blockade of Taiwan, because President Xi “respects me and he knows I’m [expletive] crazy.” [Id.]

He went on to say: “I had a very strong relationship with him. He was actually a really good, I don’t want to say friend — I don’t want to act foolish, ‘he was my friend’ — but I got along with him great. He’s a very fierce person.” [Id.]

And this particular self-described crazy person does admire “fierce” leaders. He went on to characterize his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin thus: “I got along with him great” — but admittedly not without a few hiccups.

He supposedly has told Putin:

“‘I’m going to hit you right in the middle of fricking Moscow. We’re friends. I don’t want to do it, but I have no choice.’ He goes, ‘No way.’ I said, ‘Way.’

”I said, ‘You’re going to be hit so hard, and I’m going to take those [expletive] domes right off your head.’ Because, you know, he lives under the domes.” [Id.]

Yes, those domes. We know.

*. *. *

I’m not here to pass judgment on anyone’s level of craziness; I barely understand my own. And this is not a political statement. I just felt it was interesting enough to share.

I mean . . . I don’t talk that way to my friends. And they’re not world leaders.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/21/24

Sound familiar? It should . . . because we were all subjected to that form of parenting early in our lives. They could have wine or bourbon, but we couldn’t. They could smoke, but it wasn’t good for us. They could use “cuss words” that were inappropriate for a child.

They could stay up late, see movies that we couldn’t, wear makeup, light matches, talk to strangers — all those exciting things that would magically become available to us when we were older.

It just wasn’t fair. But when the time came, and we were finally “old enough,” we realized that they were right — all of that stuff was bad for kids. And so we did the same to our children. In effect, we were telling them to do as we said, not as we did.

And that’s fine . . . for parents and children. But for countries? Well, not so much.

The problem is, no one has ever made that clear to Vladimir Putin.

How often have we heard from Putin and his minions that threat — sometimes subtle, sometimes more direct — of Russia’s ability and readiness to use their substantial supply of nuclear weapons to “defend” their country’s sovereignty against enemy attack (real or imagined)? He has even gone so far as to amend the nation’s protocol as to when such weapons might be used, including against non-nuclear nations if they are supported by nuclear nations.

But one word from Ukraine’s President Zelensky on the same subject, and Putin is . . . not to be funny . . . up in arms.

Referring to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in which the United States, Russia and the United Kingdom — in order to win Ukraine’s agreement to return the nuclear arsenal it had “inherited” from Russia at the time of the breakup of the Soviet Union and to accede to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons — pledged to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the inviolability of its borders, and to refrain from the use or threat of military force.

Well, it took Russia only 20 years to blow off its commitments when it invaded and annexed Ukraine’s Crimean territory in 2014. And let us not overlook the invasion of February 2022 — the so-called “special military operation” that continues to this day and has created, according to one estimate, as many as one million total casualties, dead and wounded combined, on both sides. [Bojan Pancevski, Wall Street Journal, September 17, 2024.]

Did Vladimir Putin not think that the Ukrainian people would defend themselves and their country? Did he truly believe they would simply shrink back and allow Russia to stake its claim to their sovereign territory once again? Actually, yes — that is what he said would happen: that the people of Eastern Ukraine would cheer the arrival of his troops and the reinstatement of his Soviet-style rule.

And when they didn’t — when they fought back, and Ukraine’s allied Western countries eagerly gave their support — Putin labeled that as aggression by the West. And when the battle dragged on into its third year, he began to play the nuclear card more forcefully.

And the West wasn’t supposed to consider that as aggression, because he said it was to “protect the sovereignty” of Russia.

A classic example of “Do as I say, not as I do.”

So we have two countries standing toe-to-toe on a massive red line, and neither will give in to the other’s demands. Russia thinks it should be allowed to keep the territory it has stolen and forcefully occupied up to this time, including Crimea; whereas Ukraine, for some reason Putin just can’t seem to fathom, says it has a right to retain its sovereign lands. Ukraine has also made a bid to join NATO for its future protection; but Putin — who seems to suffer from acute paranoia with regard to the number of NATO countries on or near his borders — says that is unacceptable.

So on Thursday, speaking at the EU’s European Council summit in Brussels, President Zelensky suggested that if Ukraine were unable to join NATO, it would instead seek nuclear weapons. Referencing the 30-year-old Budapest Memorandum — which, remember, Russia has already breached — Zelensky said:

“Who gave up nuclear weapons? All of them? No. Ukraine. Who is fighting today? Ukraine. Either Ukraine will have nuclear weapons and that will be our protection or we should have some sort of alliance. Apart from NATO, today we do not know any effective alliances.” [Rebecca Rommen, Insider, October 19, 2024.]

Putin’s response on Friday was short and to the point:

“Any step in this direction will meet an adequate response. Under no circumstances will Russia allow this to happen.” [Id.]

Spoken like a true dictator.

Later, in a joint press conference with NATO chief Mark Rutte, Zelensky attempted to clarify that his statement was not intended as a threat:

“We never spoke about that we are preparing to create nuclear weapon or something like this. We don’t do nuclear weapon. Please, don’t move these messages.” [Id.]

Zelensky is not Putin — he does not toss empty threats around in order to intimidate. Reading his words, I sense his frustration, exhaustion, fear for his country, desperation for a solution, even righteous anger — but not a Putin-style “Piss me off and I’ll nuke you” threat. But that is how Putin chooses to interpret it, because he can then turn it to his advantage by labeling it as aggression calling for a nuclear response.

“Do as I say, not as I do.“

But a conscienceless, narcissistic despot wouldn’t know how to behave otherwise.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/20/24

Imagine it is the year 1812. You are Napoleon Bonaparte, and for numerous complex geopolitical reasons, you and 600,000 or so French soldiers have invaded Russia. And things aren’t going so well.

Mile after endless mile, you march across the vast expanse in the summer heat, fighting a separate battle against insect-driven diseases, only to find the villagers and farmers have fled . . . and worse, they’ve burned their buildings and crops behind them. There is no food, no source of supply for your army. And you keep advancing, through Smolensk, and on to Borodino where you win a somewhat indecisive and very costly victory against General Kutuzov’s army; then onward for the last 70 miles to Moscow, where food, shelter and supplies will surely be plentiful.

But they’re not, because the Muscovites have also fled, burning their beloved city on the way out. It’s now September, and in Russia, that means winter is not far away.

So — having lost about 250,000 troops at Smolensk and Borodino, and without sustenance for your remaining men — you do the only thing you can do: you retreat. And on the long march back to France, it begins to snow.

That winter is recorded as one of the earliest and most brutal in Russia’s history. Men and horses died by the thousands, of exposure and starvation. Eventually, the great Napoleon Bonaparte left his last 100,000 soldiers in someone else’s charge in order to make a mad dash for home and save his own skin. The surviving troops were left to make it back as best they could.

Not a pretty story, particularly from Napoleon’s point of view. The Russians do love it, though. *

* [NOTE: Precise, detailed historical accuracy in the foregoing narrative is not guaranteed, as it is written from memory; but I believe I came close — though maybe not close enough for my long-ago Russian History professor, who was a stickler for detail.]

*. *. *

Now, let’s play “What If.”

What if the Russian people hadn’t been resourceful enough to lay waste to their own homes and land, leaving the French troops without sustenance?

What if the winter hadn’t come on so hard and fast that year?

What if Bonaparte hadn’t been so fucking stupid?

Well, for one thing, Vladimir Putin would not now be sitting in the Kremlin, waging war on Ukraine, plotting his “New World Order,” arresting anyone and everyone who dares to oppose or criticize him.

Tchaikovsky would never have composed his 1812 Overture, thus depriving the Washington National Symphony of a rousing climax to its annual Fourth of July concert.

And there would most likely be no Russian “mafia” or oligarchs, because everyone would be too busy drinking fine French wines and eating escargots in little French bistros; watching the can-can dancers at the Moscow branch of Le Moulin Rouge; and making love in the morning, the afternoon, and all through the night.

And everyone would be speaking French, instead of having to pronounce words with eight consecutive consonants and figure out which prefix to use with which verb of motion. (Please don’t ask; you really don’t want to know.)

And life in today’s Russia would be tres bon.

If only . . .

*. *. *

David A. Bell, Princeton University professor of history and author of The First Total War: Napoleon’s Europe and the Birth of Warfare as We Know It, has said:

“Charles XII tried it, Napoleon tried it, Hitler tried it. It never seems to work out invading Russia.”

With another winter approaching, that makes me worry even more about present-day Ukraine’s retaliatory foray into Russian territory. Perhaps after three strikes, the fourth time won’t result in another disastrous failure. One can only hope.

Just sayin‘ . . .

Brendochka
10/20/24

Laurent Vinatier, 48, a French citizen, is a researcher for Swiss-based conflict mediation organization Humanitarian Dialogue (HD). While routinely researching military-related information in Russia, he was arrested and charged with failure to register as a foreign agent, and “collecting military information of value to foreign intelligence services.” (See 10/16/24 post.)

Vinatier and HD have vehemently denied that his work is in any way connected with, or useful to, any foreign intelligence service. But having admitted to the collection of information in the performance of his research work, he was sentenced to “only” three years in prison.

It will be interesting to see how long it will take Vladimir Putin to make the first overture toward a possible swap of Vinatier for Russian-born Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegram messaging service, currently being detained in France for refusing to cooperate with French authorities’ investigations of some of Telegram’s customers.

Sadly, in the meantime, Mr. Vinatier is one more for the hostage list.

*. *. *

And, as always, we remember those others who have already been convicted and imprisoned on spurious political grounds. In no particular order, they are:

No longer a hostage, Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, age 27, died while in Russian custody on September 19th under unexplained circumstances; her family was not notified until nearly a month later. (See 10/13/24 post.) Her circumstances are under investigation by Ukrainian authorities, and we pay homage to her courage and integrity by keeping her on our list of hostages for a while longer.

*. *. *

Stephen James Hubbard, 72, who was teaching English in Ukraine. In April of 2022, he was charged with fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine in its defense against Russia. Following a closed-door trial, he was sentenced on October 7th to six years and ten months in a maximum-security prison.

A 72-year-old English teacher! Is there no limit to the depth of Vladimir Putin’s corruption?

*. *. *

U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Gordon Black, who was stationed in South Korea when he fell into a classic Russian “honey trap.” He was on his way back to his home in Texas, on two weeks’ leave, when he was lured to Vladivostok by the Russian girlfriend he had met in Korea. He was arrested in May of 2024 on charges of alleged larceny and murder threat, and sentenced the following month to a prison term of three years and nine months.

* . *. *

Marc Fogel, a schoolteacher from Pennsylvania, was arrested in August of 2021 for possession of 0.6 ounce of legally-prescribed (in the U.S.) medical marijuana. In June of 2022 he was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

*. *. *

Ksenia Karelina, dual U.S.-Russian citizen, recently convicted of espionage and sentenced to 12 years in prison for contributing $51.80 to an American charity providing aid to Ukraine.

*. *. *

Robert Romanov Woodland, a dual US-Russian citizen, was teaching English in Russia when he was arrested in January of 2024 for allegedly attempting to sell drugs. In July, he was sentenced to 12-1/2 years in a maximum security prison.

*. *. *

Robert Gilman, already in jail in Russia serving a 4-1/2-year sentence (later reduced to 3-1/2 years on appeal) for kicking a police officer in 2022, found himself facing added charges in 2023 of punching prison staff in the head, and later also attacking a criminal investigator and another prison guard.

*. *. *

David Barnes, an American citizen and resident of Texas, was arrested in January of 2022 while visiting his children, who had been taken to Russia from Texas by his Russian wife. He was charged and sentenced in the fall of that year to 21 years in prison for child abuse (allegedly occurring while in Texas), on his wife’s accusation. I really wish I knew more of this story!

*. *. *

Eugene Spector, a dual US-Russian citizen already serving a four-year sentence handed down in June of 2021 on a bribery conviction, received additional charges of suspicion of espionage in August of 2023. No other details have been found, as the evidence is labelled “classified.”

*. *. *

Michael Travis Leake, a rock musician and former paratrooper, was sentenced in July of this year to 13 years in prison on drug charges — specifically, suspicion of selling mephedrone, and organizing a drug trafficking business “involving young people.”

*. *. *

And again I ask: Are any of these prisoners actually guilty of the charges leveled against them? I don’t know. But I do know that the recent timing of a number of the arrests, and the speed with which they were brought to trial, is a clear indication of Russia’s intentional roundup of American citizens to be used as (what I call) Putin’s Pawns.

What they are, quite simply, are HOSTAGES. And they will not — MUST not — be forgotten. Let’s shorten this list to zero.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/20/24

. . . and under the covers.

Picked up a bit of a bug yesterday — not the six-legged kind — so I’m taking some time off from writing today to watch old movies and drink all kinds of herbal tea, starting with chamomile. But I’ll be back soon.

I think everyone should do this now and again — bug or no bug. It’s good for the soul.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/19/24

Well, the word from the darling of the Moscow press corps (what’s left of it) — Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov — is that it most certainly is the case.

Unfortunately, he doesn’t offer any facts to back it up.

It was, however, suggested by him on Wednesday that a number of European countries were facing difficulties in regard to the assistance being provided Ukraine by their military-industrial industries. [Dmitry Antonov, Reuters, October 16, 2024.]

In response to a question regarding the French and German arms industries, and without himself naming any specific countries, he had this to say:

“This mobilisation of capabilities for ephemeral goals is contrary to the interests of the economic development of these countries, and clearly the capacities of these countries are not designed for such efforts. In time, we hope, an understanding that such spending is unnecessary will become sharper and will sink in among more and more of the political establishment of these countries.” [Id.]

Conversely, French President Emmanuel Macron had said only last week that France’s work was continuing in regard to supplying arms to Ukraine; and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced his country’s provision of a $153 billion military aid package for Kyiv by the end of this year. [Id.]

So where is the Kremlin getting its information? Or is it just being made up to support some “ephemeral goal” — or more long-term purpose — of its own? Are they simply playing mind games with Europe’s leaders? They are very good at that, after all. And the illustrious Kremlin spokesman does not throw words around just for the fun of it.

Perhaps someone should have asked Peskov for clarification. But in all likelihood, there was no one from the remaining independent media in attendance . . . and no one from the state-controlled media with the guts to do it.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/19/24

It was just yesterday that I made mention of a law being bandied about in Russia’s Parliament that would make it illegal to promote what they call a “child-free ideology . . . that threatens the country’s traditional values” — the purpose being to promote a baby boom and reverse the disturbing decline in Russia’s population.

And — given the eight-hour time difference between my location (U.S. Eastern time) and Moscow — it may have been at the very same time that the Duma, the lower house of Parliament, was giving its speedy approval to that bill.

Now, that doesn’t mean it’s been passed yet. There are still two more readings required in the Duma, plus “vetting” by the upper house, before it gets sent to President Putin for signature. But, given that this bill was his idea in the first place, we can reasonably assume that no time will be wasted in passing it to his desk, where it will immediately be signed into law.

Putin speaks. Parliament acts. And BAM! It’s done.

That law, by the way, is an abomination — another individual right subjected to Putin’s heavy-handed, authoritarian control. And to justify it, he purports that it is necessary because of “Western efforts to weaken Russia by encouraging population decline.” [Associated Press, October 17, 2024.]

Yup — it’s all our fault for being too liberal.

In keeping with Putin’s “Year of the Family” hooplah, the bill has been presented by one of its authors, Elvira Aitkulova, as intended to “cleanse the information space from destructive content . . . [and] create a favorable information environment for our families.” In other words: censorship. And before submitting the bill to a vote — which, by the way, received unanimous approval — she added, “This is a strategic bill for the sake of a strong, productive and healthy future.” [Id.]

The Speaker of the Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, said that the bill is a part of the country’s efforts to protect its “traditional values,” and — in answer to critics who fear it would impinge on citizens’ freedom of expression — that “we are defending children, families and our values.”

And that was that. The women of Russia are now urged to get busy producing at least three, and as many as eight, offspring. And don’t speak out against it . . . or else.

*. *. *

So that’s how it’s done, in Russia. There’s a war raging in Ukraine, economic fallout from Western sanctions, and Islamists staging terror attacks at odd moments. But if the boss wants women turned into baby-making machines, then that is where Parliament must turn its attention. And so they do.

But why? How does this magically happen? What are their justifications? Their incentives?

Well, if they behave as expected, they can hope for rapid career advancement, perhaps a sudden cash windfall, or assurance that a past misdeed will be overlooked. And if not . . . actually, it’s probably best not to speculate on the worst that can happen. Just look at the history of the sorts of misfortunes that have befallen Putin’s adversaries.

*. *. *

Now, in the U.S. Congress, we have wheeling and dealing, special interests, party rivalries, filibustering, and all sorts of nonsense that can cause agonizing delays in getting important legislation passed through both houses. Hell, they can’t even agree on a budget for the fiscal year that is already 18 days old!

Is that frustrating to the nation’s people? You bet it is. It’s beyond frustrating — it can adversely affect people’s employment, their financial situations, or their very health. It’s an imperfect system that could use tweaking. But is there a better alternative without going to the extreme of amending the Constitution? I suppose it’s possible . . . and if there is, I’d like to know about it.

But one thing I do know is that it’s not the Russian way. No single individual should have the power to rule over an entire nation. Even the best of people can be corrupted by power and money, or by a delusional belief in their own infallibility. And when the person in command is corrupt to begin with, you have a recipe for disaster.

We Americans need our system of checks and balances. We need our Senators and Congresspersons arguing the fine points of proposed bills before voting on them. And we need our separate branches of government overseeing each other.

There will be individuals within the system who are less than perfect. But the system as a whole has worked for nearly 250 years, and it has become a model for most of the rest of the world. It may need a few bandaids, but it’s not in need of major surgery.

Personally, I’ll take slow and frustrating over fast and dictatorial, any time.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/18/24