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

We’ve all heard of the five stages of grief. These are not they. These are, rather, what I call the Nine Steps to Triumph, or The Gospel According To Vladimir Putin.

First, you Deploy . . . a gradually increasing number of troops on the Russia-Ukraine border, calling it a “Special Military Operation” — as though it were some sort of routine exercise.

Second, you Deny . . . when the world accuses you of planning an invasion of Ukraine, stating unequivocally that you have no intention of invading anyone.

Third, in the face of those accusations, you Dissemble . . . calling Ukraine “historically Russian lands,” and claiming that there is “no historical basis [for the] idea of Ukrainian people as a nation separate from the Russians.” You even go so far as to aver that Ukraine never had “real statehood,” and that the creation of modern Ukraine was a mistake. [Vladimir Putin, “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians,” July 12, 2021.]

Fourth, you Declare . . . in this case, war . . . against the sovereign nation of Ukraine. Only you still call it your “Special Military Operation” — as though that’s going to fool anyone when the tanks begin rolling across the border and people start dying.

Fifth, you Disclaim any and all accusations of aggression, offering a fairy-tale version of events to depict yourself as the savior of the Ukrainian people.

Sixth, you Denounce the legally-elected President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky — who happens to be Jewish — as a Nazi. That one isn’t even worth dignifying with a response.

Seventh, you Destroy huge swaths of the country you claim to be rescuing, in the process killing and maiming hundreds of thousands of people — both civilians and military . . . including your own Russian soldiers.

Eighth, you Demand that, in order to achieve a peaceful solution to the war that you yourself started, Ukraine will have to hand over to you some 20% of its territory; relinquish the right to any security guarantees; and elect a new president . . . one satisfactory to you.

And finally, when it appears as though you may have been backed into a corner by the rest of the world who really do want to negotiate a just peace, you Delay . . . again blaming Ukraine for wanting to use a proposed ceasefire in order to regroup and rearm . . . all the while continuing to Deny, Dissemble, Disclaim, Denounce and Demand.

The worst part of this whole wretched scenario is that, at least to some extent, it actually works for you. Not that anyone believes a single word that you say; you simply wear them down.

In all likelihood, you will have to compromise on some of the details; but you will end up winning more than Ukraine will be allowed to salvage. And the rest of Europe will continue to tremble, wondering who will be next in your sights.

Which is what you wanted all along . . . isn’t it?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/15/25

Gather ‘round, boys and girls, for a class in sex education that I guarantee will leave you feeling thrilled that you are Homo sapiens, and not octopi (or octopuses — it’s optional).

And for all of you equal rights enthusiasts out there, this lesson should also open up some interesting debates about the whole male-female dominance thing. So let’s get at it, and peek in on some octopi . . . well . . . getting at it.

Please do not ask me whether this is a picture of a male or female octopus, or which end is which. Or, for that matter, whether there even is an end, or if it’s just a big blob. I don’t know, and — not being a member of its species — I frankly don’t care. It is, however, important to other octopi.

What I have learned is that — like the praying mantis and some spiders — the female octopus, after mating, devours the male, thus getting even with him for disturbing her sleep, and putting an end to his further philandering.

Score one for the female of the species.

But it turns out that, over however-many years or centuries, Mother Nature stepped in and helped the hapless males of some species of octopi by giving them longer mating arms, so as to keep a safer distance from the females while still being close enough to . . . well, you know.

Now, for reasons unknown, the male blue-lined octopi (BLOs) have not been included in that lucky group, and still have to live with shorter mating arms. They do, however, have another, even more diabolical, built-in weapon: an extremely powerful venom known as tetrodotoxin (TTX), which — while dangerous, and sometimes even deadly, to humans — merely knocks out another BLO for a sufficiently long period of time to allow . . . well, you know.

Sort of an undersea Rohypnol.

So — being male and therefore inclined at times to think more with their reproductive organs than their brains — at some point one of them discovered that, if he first snuck up behind the lady of his choice and bit her in a specific area, thus injecting her heart with some of that venom, she would be temporarily immobilized . . . allowing him to have his way with her and escape without becoming her next meal.

And the word spread among his male colleagues, giving new meaning — at least in the world of blue-lined octopi — to the term “date rape.”

Score one for the guys.

*. *. *

How do I know all of this? Quite simply, through someone else’s hard work. An animal neurobiologist at the University of Queensland, Australia, Wen-Sung Chung, wrote of his team’s study of the mating ritual of the blue-lined octopus, during which they found — for the first time ever — evidence of a neurotoxin being used in mating, rather than for hunting or defense. [Jack Guy, CNN, March 13, 2025.]

I’m not sure how scientists decide that it’s important enough to raise a great deal of money to study some of the things they do, but I have confidence that somehow this golfball-sized mollusk is vital to the world’s ecosystem. In any event, Chung’s report made far more enjoyable reading than any of the political horror stories of the day.

And as for his conclusions, allow me to quote Chung himself:

“They have very strange mating behavior.” He further described the process as “an arms race between the sexes,” and added that “It’s a kind of survival skill.” [Id.]

Well, yeah . . . it would be, wouldn’t it?

*. *. *

All of which left me wondering which member of the copulating couple I should side with: the cannibalistic female, or the predatory male. And my conclusion is that they pretty much deserve each other.

If science has taught us nothing else, it is that Mother Nature usually knows what she’s doing . . . with the possible exception of us humans.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/14/25

I’ve never cared for beets personally . . . to me, they taste like the dirt in which they’re grown. But a great many people love them — particularly my Russian/Ukrainian ancestors, who might not have survived without pots full of borshch (yes, that is the correctly transliterated spelling — it’s not “borscht”).

But this article isn’t about the noble root vegetable; it’s about the ignoble war that has been underway in Ukraine for more than three years . . . and the new usage of the word “beetroot” that I came across in an article about that war, that made me feel sick to my stomach.

It is apparently not a new term at all . . . but it was new to me: “Beetroot mulch.”

It was contained in a CNN analysis on the subject of the United States’ attempt to open negotiations with Moscow and hopefully to bring an end to the carnage in Ukraine. A key point of the U.S. proposal presented in Jeddah on Tuesday was to start with a 30-day ceasefire to allow time to enter into substantive discussions . . . which was not at all to Vladimir Putin’s liking. He predicted that Ukraine would simply use that time to regroup and rearm.

The article read, in part:

“Putin cannot refuse a ceasefire, without losing the fictitious moral high ground. But it is what comes next — or during any pause in hostilities — that will define the outcome of the war.

“Firstly, it is a complete ceasefire, across all front lines, for an entire month. This is, in and of itself, a very big ask. Across hundreds of miles, both sides have for years used armor, then artillery, then drones to hunt each other viciously, amid what is now called ‘beetroot’ — the horrific mulch of corpses discarded in combat — on the zero line.” [Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, March 11, 2025.] [Bold emphasis is mine.]

“Beetroot — the horrific mulch of corpses.” The mental image conjured up by that phrase is almost too much to bear. More than any previous pictures of death and devastation from World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the decades of Middle East conflicts — even the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki — this one description most graphically summed up for me the unspeakable horror, and the waste of human life, of war.

And if Vladimir Putin continues to delay putting an immediate end to it . . . and, worse, if Donald Trump continues to make excuses for him . . . then there can be no question that the world’s future is in the hands of two of the most despicable individuals who ever lived.

And Heaven help us all.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/14/25

Well, that didn’t take long.

Two days ago, on March 11th, delegations from the United States and Ukraine met in Jeddah to discuss possible means of ending Russia’s brutal war against its neighbor. Following the meeting, it was announced that Ukraine had agreed “to enter into a ceasefire and enter into negotiations to end this conflict in a way that is enduring and sustainable.” [Paul Adams, BBC, March 11, 2025.]

Donald Trump added that, “Hopefully President Putin will agrees to that also.” And from Secretary of State Marco Rubio we heard: “The ball is now in Russia’s court.” [Id.]

A U.S. negotiating team — headed by White House envoy to the Middle East (and apparent Russia expert-come-lately), billionaire real estate developer and investor Steve Witkoff — was immediately scheduled to leave for Moscow.

A key provision of that agreement in Jeddah was a 30-day ceasefire to allow time for negotiations to begin between the U.S. and Russia. But today, barely two days after the Jeddah talks and while the U.S. delegation was en route to Moscow, the world heard from Yuri Ushakov — Vladimir Putin’s advisor on foreign policy issues and former Russian Ambassador to the United States — that Putin has rejected any temporary ceasefire on the grounds that it would only serve to allow Ukraine time to recover militarily:

“I have stated our position that this is nothing other than a temporary respite for the Ukrainian military, nothing more. It seems to me that no one needs any steps that [merely] imitate peaceful actions in this situation.” [RFE/RL, March 13, 2025.]

And today, Putin himself held a news conference in which he said he has “reservations” about any such short-term ceasefire. While he described the U.S. proposal as “great and correct,” he went on — not unexpectedly — to say:

“We agree with the proposal to cease hostilities but we have to bear in mind that this ceasefire must be aimed at a long-lasting peace and it must look at the root causes of the crisis.” [Lauren Kent, Anna Chernova, Daria Tarasova-Markina, Ivana Kottasova, Katharina Krebs and Matthew Chance, CNN, March 13, 2025.]

Obviously, he continues to identify Ukraine as the “root cause” of his “special military operation,” as well as the earlier 2014 invasion and continuing occupation of the Crimea Peninsula — a territory both geographically attached to Ukraine and ceded to it by then-Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in 1954.

*. *. *

Putin expressed particular concern about the effect of any ceasefire on the Russian region of Kursk, a small part of which has been occupied by Ukrainian forces since August of 2024, and which Russia has been fiercely — and with some success — attempting to reclaim. He asked:

“What will we do with this area in the Kursk region — if we stop military actions for 30 days, does this mean that everyone who is there will leave without a fight? Should we release them from there after they have committed a lot of crimes against civilians?” [Id.]

Notably missing from his comments was any mention of the atrocities committed by Russian forces against Ukrainian civilians over the past three years. But . . . oh, well . . .

And he continued:

“[Kursk] is completely under our control and the group that invaded our territory was completely isolated. . . . How will other issues be resolved along the entire contact line, which is almost 2,000 kilometers [1,240 miles]?” [Id.]

And then — never to be sidelined for long — in rushed Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov with a clarification, assuring the world that Ushakov’s remarks about a ceasefire should not be seen as Russia’s rejection of the U.S. proposal, but that Moscow is awaiting further, direct information on the proposal before coming to any decision.

Don’t these people talk to each other before going public?!!

*. *. *

Of course, the subject of NATO is also still on the front burner, with Moscow continuing to insist that the presence of troops from NATO countries in Ukrainian territory — whether under their individual countries’ flags or the flag of NATO — would be an impossibility. In the words of Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova:

“For us, it is absolutely unacceptable to deploy units of the armed forces of other states in Ukraine under any flag, whether it be a foreign contingent, military bases, or some peacekeeping operations . . . [and Russia would respond] with all available means.” [Id.]

And in an equally enigmatic tone, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, when asked on Wednesday about the possibility of European troops acting as peacekeepers in Ukraine, responded:

“There’s different ways to construct a deterrent on the ground.”

*. *. *

So, in a nutshell, it’s politics as usual. As for the negotiations . . .

“Let the games begin.“

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/13/25

No, not this Pie (unfortunately):

This Pi:

I thought I’d spend part of today trying to figure out why 3.14 is so important, other than its use in calculating the circumference of a circle — which doesn’t seem all that crucial to me unless you need to know how many inflated balloons will fit into your minivan. But then, I’m not a mathematician, so I really don’t care.

However, there are a few interesting facts about Pi that came up during my very brief research today, such as:

It is universal. Pi is the same everywhere in the universe. And I’m sure that all of the people on Alpha Centauri are relieved to know that.

It is irrational. Yeah, well . . . so am I. But Pi is an irrational number, meaning — according to my Google source — that it has an infinite number of digits that never repeat.

Wait . . . what? There are only, to my knowledge, ten digits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. So how can there be an endless stream of them without ever repeating? I’m going to need clarification on that one.

It is transcendental. That does not mean that it meditates — for those who are old enough to remember the 1950s transcendental meditation craze introduced by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. What it does mean is that it’s not algebraic. Whatever.

It is ubiquitous. Well, so is Elon Musk. But Pi — unlike Elon, who is useless except as a creator of chaos — is used in many areas of math and science, including trigonometry, calculus and geometry.

And finally — and, to my mind, most significantly — Pi is . . .

A pop culture icon. In addition to appearing in documentaries and books, it once made a debut in the Star Trek episode, “The Wolf in the Fold.” Now, that’s important.

*. *. *

If the foregoing has you wondering why I’ve wasted an hour of my life writing about Pi, you’re not alone . . . I’ve been asking myself the same thing. Well, the answer is simple: I couldn’t find another news item I felt like discussing today. It was all, as usual, just too depressing.

And, as it turns out, this little detour into the realm of nothingness did bring back to mind one other fact about the number 3.14 — and that is, that minus the decimal point, it was the number of my apartment in Virginia for some 33 years.

I wonder: Does that make me universal, transcendent, ubiquitous, and iconic? Or simply irrational?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/13/25

I don’t actually remember them, because they took place between 1933 and 1944. But I’ve heard about them — those “fireside chats” delivered over the radio wires by then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. They carried the country through the Great Depression and World War II — some of America’s toughest years. And they began on this date in 1933, just eight days after Roosevelt began his first term in office.

He walked into the world’s most difficult job that month, inheriting from Herbert Hoover the leadership of a country in an economic crisis unlike anything ever before experienced. And he set about uniting the country — not dividing it — by delivering facts, not lies; offering hope, not despair; and thinking first, last and always about the average American people, and not just the wealthy.

His first radio address to the nation began simply:

“I want to talk for a few minutes with the people of the United States about banking.” There had been a run on the banks, and to prevent a total collapse of the banking system, he explained to the people that the banks would be closed — just for a one-day “bank holiday” — to put a stop to it and safeguard their money. He called on the American people to have “confidence and courage,” and concluded with these words:

“Let us unite in banishing fear. Together we cannot fail.” [“This Day In History,” history.com, March 12, 2025.]

Inspirational words . . . not excuses, not anger, and not hate-mongering.

*. *. *

An educated man from an aristocratic family, FDR nonetheless spoke to the people in terms that everyone could understand, using anecdotes and analogies to explain the complex issues of the day.

Over the next years, he created the New Deal, putting people back to work; and he used his fireside chats to explain the details to them . . . despite opposition from — not in collusion with — big business. And when the bombing of Pearl Harbor forced the United States into World War II on December 7, 1941, Roosevelt took to the airwaves the following day to deliver the immortal “Day of Infamy Speech,” beginning:

“Yesterday, December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”

FDR delivered straight talk to the people. And — through grit, determination, and honest communication — he brought the nation safely through those critical years and into the unprecedented prosperity of the post-war era.

He spoke of unity, not division; of courage, not fear; of patriotism, not hate.

Now, that’s what I call a President.

Sadly, they don’t seem to make ‘em like that anymore.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/12/25

It’s well known that when Vladimir Putin staged his “special military operation” in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, he expected it to be the shortest military event in history — a few days, maybe a couple of weeks at the most. He saw himself as the savior of the Ukrainian people, who needed to be rescued from their “nazi” regime and thus would welcome him with open arms.

Instead, he found a nation of people who have been very happy with their freedom and independence; who love and are proud of their country; and who are willing to fight to keep it out of the clutches of Putin’s totalitarian rule.

So it has dragged on for three years — not a “special” operation at all, but a war of attrition that has resulted, not only in the death and destruction of large portions of Ukraine, but in the loss of hundreds of thousands of Putin’s own military troops . . . not to mention incalculable damage to Russia’s economy and its world standing.

And now — in a total reversal of fortune, though not for the first time in its history — war has come to Moscow.

As long as Ukraine’s incursion into the bordering Kursk region of Russia remained localized, Putin was able to downplay its effect and its strategic importance. But when drones started striking apartment and other buildings in the Moscow Oblast itself . . . well, it became a bit more difficult for the state-controlled media to explain away.

People are being killed and injured — just a few so far. But that’s a few too many, of course . . . especially in the minds of the Russian people, for whom the war is suddenly real, and the fear palpable.

In one area near Domodedovo Airport , three men working at a distribution center were killed when their building was hit by drone debris. Dozens of vehicles in the car park were destroyed, and a nearby supermarket was badly damaged. [Jaroslav Lukiv & Rachel Hagan, BBC News, March 11, 2025.]

In another suburban Moscow area, a drone smashed into the upper floors of a high-rise apartment building, damaging seven apartments. And in a third neighborhood, a block of apartments was hit. [Andrey Borodulin, AFP, March 11, 2025.]

Compared to the devastation wrought in Ukraine over the past three years, the damage in Russia thus far has been minimal. But it is real; and it is bound to play havoc with Putin’s credibility.

Just as he never considered the likelihood of the Western nations pulling together in defense of Ukraine as they have done, so does he seem to have overlooked the possibility of his own territory being affected by any sort of counter-insurgency.

But it has happened. And maybe it will prove to be an incentive for him to drop some of his more outrageous demands, and come to the negotiating table in a more reasonable state of mind.

And hopefully before things escalate any further.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/12/25