You may have read about a couple of low-life brothers, American-British citizens Andrew and Tristan Tate, presently under arrest in Florida while awaiting extradition to Great Britain on 59 criminal charges including rape and sex trafficking.

Their case is a complicated one involving the U.K., Romanian and U.S. governments. They were born in the United States, but spent most of their early years in England. In 2023, after moving to Romania, they were also indicted there on charges of violence, rape, human trafficking, and forcing women to participate in pornography. They spent several months under house arrest near Bucharest, but were somehow permitted to travel to the U.S. last year, despite the pendency of Britain’s extradition request.

The Tate brothers have not yet been tried in any jurisdiction; therefore, it would be inappropriate to speculate as to their guilt or innocence. But the question that immediately came to my mind was: How on earth were they allowed to leave Romania . . . and even more puzzling, how did they enter the United States with criminal indictments hanging over their heads?

Enter the Trump family.

Andrew and Tristan Tate are major influencers in the sleazy, misogynistic world of something called the manosphere, and are said to count among their followers none other than young Barron Trump. (JD Vance is supposedly another of their admirers, but that’s a whole other issue.) [Laura Esposito, The Daily Beast, July 19, 2026.]

It is reported that Andrew Tate contacted Barron through another manosphere influencer, Justin Waller, who has described himself as the Tates’ “third brother.” And following that conversation, the brothers’ passports were suddenly returned to them by a Romanian official who had recently visited Mar-a-Lago. [Id.]

Draw your own conclusions. The next thing anyone knew, Andrew and Tristan Tate were in the United States, crowing about being “free” and “back.” And just days before their arrest, they were seen at a party with Paolo Zampolli, Trump’s special envoy for global partnerships (whatever that entails). Their attorney, Joseph McBride, was of the opinion that Trump would step in on their behalf because — in McBride’s words — the charges against them were being fueled by “political persecution and communism” . . . terminology designed to trigger Trump’s righteous anger. [Jenni Fink, Newsweek, July 20, 2026.]

Yet, despite their supposed high-level backing, they’ve been arrested in Florida. According to McBride, the arrest was either ordered or enabled by “a low-level functionary at the Department of Justice” — another none-too-subtle hint to the Trump administration to intervene on his clients’ behalf. [The Daily Beast, op.cit.]

And here’s the ironic part: That two people accused of dozens of heinous sex crimes would turn for help to Donald Trump — the very man who has spent years denying his own involvement with Jeffrey Epstein, and who delights in lecturing the nation on Christian values.

I can’t wait to see how he’s going to handle this one.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
7/21/26

In the past two years, I have written several articles on the pronatalist movement underway in the United States, some of whose most prominent advocates are Donald Trump, JD Vance, Elon Musk, and the members of something known as the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC).

Basically, they promote unfettered procreation — preferably among White conservative Christians, of course — to jump-start a reversal of population decline. What they don’t tell you is how you’re supposed to afford all those new mouths to feed . . . but that’s a whole other issue.

One of the most vocal proponents of larger families is, as mentioned above, the Vice President of the United States, JD Vance. And — in a rare instance of actually following through on his own advice — he and wife Usha have just welcomed into the world their fourth child in nine years, son Alec.

And that’s great . . . for them. They clearly have the means to support and educate as many children as they would like to have. And any woman who can appear for a photo op just hours after giving birth, in full makeup and with her hair done, obviously has all the help she needs.

But for us mere mortals, it’s not that simple. The economy is, to put it mildly, so uncertain at present that few people can be confident of even having a job next week or next month. The cost of everything has skyrocketed, with incomes lagging far behind. The global environment is worsening, with record-breaking heat waves, violent storms, wildfires, droughts and floods making the daily news. And the stresses of the continuing political chaos have taken a huge toll on the emotional, and sometimes the physical, health of millions of citizens.

How can anyone justify bringing more children into circumstances such as these? Speaking for myself — and I know there are people who will take issue with this — if I were young and looking forward to starting a family, I wouldn’t do it. Not now. I would postpone that decision for at least a couple of years, until (hopefully) some semblance of sanity has been restored.

It’s easy for people like the Vances, the Trumps, the Stephen Millers, and the Elon Musks of the world to carry on as though everything were rosy — because for them, it is. But for the majority of us . . . well, not so much.

So enjoy your new son, JD and Usha. But keep your hare-brained advice to yourselves. You simply haven’t a clue — nor do you care — what life is like for the other 99 percent.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
7/20/26

On Saturday, I quoted these hilariously disingenuous lines from Russia’s Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov:

“Russia has never interfered in the domestic affairs of other countries. We expect that no one will attempt to interfere in ours.”

At the time, he was referring to Donald Trump’s accusations of Russia’s (and other countries’) alleged interference in upcoming U.S. midterm elections.

But there are many ways of “interfering” in other nations’ domestic affairs. Such as aiming missiles and drones at passenger trains:

Or medical facilities, aid stations, and even rehabilitation centers for children and disabled persons:

And let us not overlook this weekend’s five-hour ballistic missile attacks on Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv and other locations, leaving at least six people dead, dozens injured, and massive damage and fires:

Ukrainian officials reported that Kyiv had been struck with around 40 Iskander-M and hypersonic Zircon missiles. And these were not strikes on military-related targets; they were specifically aimed at residential and commercial areas, and even caused the collapse of a ceiling inside a metro station being used as a shelter.

Kyiv’s military administration reported on Telegram:

“According to preliminary information, one person was, sadly, killed as a result of the attack.” [Luke Harding, The Guardian, July 19, 2026.]

That there were not more fatalities is nothing short of a miracle. But it is impossible to overstate the horror and loss that the people of Ukraine have lived with for four and a half years — and continue to live with on a daily basis.

So I trust you will understand why I refuse to give any credence to Dmitry Peskov’s statement about not interfering in other countries’ affairs . . . or, for that matter, to anything else he says. Talk is cheap; the pictures tell the real story.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
7/20/26

Today’s quote is from American writer, cartoonist, songwriter and musician Shel Silverstein, perhaps best known for his immortal children’s book, “The Giving Tree.”

His words from another work perfectly illustrate some thoughts I’ve been having lately about the circle of life, and need no explanation:

“Said the little boy, ‘Sometimes I drop my spoon.’
Said the old man, ‘I do that too.’
The little boy whispered, ‘I wet my pants.’
’I do that too,’ laughed the little old man.
Said the little boy, ‘I often cry.’
The old man nodded, ‘So do I.’
’But worst of all,’ said the boy, ‘it seems
Grown-ups don’t pay attention to me.’
And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.
’I know what you mean,’ said the little old man.”

– Shel Silverstein, “The Little Boy and the Old Man”

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
7/19/26

Here we go again. This time they’re not foreigners being held as collateral for a future exchange, but Russian citizens opposed to Vladimir Putin’s war of attrition against Ukraine, now being detained as a warning to others who might also have the courage to speak out.

Yesterday, I reported on the arrest of opposition politician Boris Nadezhdin. Just as his court hearing was being held, word was received of the detention of a former Putin loyalist, blogger Ilya Remeslo, who has recently done a 180-degree turn and become one of Putin’s most vocal critics.

In March, Remeslo published a manifesto on Telegram, titled “Five reasons why I stopped supporting Vladimir Putin,” in which he called the Russian leader “a war criminal and thief,” among numerous other unflattering appellations. [Yuliya Talmazan, NBC News, July 17, 2026.]

The day after that posting, Remeslo found himself in a psychiatric hospital, where he was held for several weeks. Following his release, he bravely — but unwisely — continued publishing his criticisms on social media, and gave a lengthy interview in which he said that his hospitalization had been “the price” he had to pay for his outspokenness. [Id.]

On Friday, July 17th, Remeslo was taken into custody in St. Petersburg, charged with spreading false information about the armed forces — a commonly-cited offense that could result in imprisonment for up to ten years. He is to be transferred to Moscow for a hearing to determine what action will be taken pending his eventual trial.

*. *. *

So this week we add both Ilya Remeslo and Boris Nadezhdin to our list of Russians being held in prison on purely political charges, while we continue to wait for word of any progress in negotiations toward the release or exchange of any — or all — of them.

*. *. *

Prisoners of War:

The 20,000+ Kidnapped Ukrainian Children
The People of Ukraine

Immigrant Detainees in Russia:

Migrants from the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan

Endangered Exiles:

Pavel “Pasha” Talankin
Mikita Losik
Yulia Navalnaya
Oleg Orlov
Countless Journalists and Other Dissidents

Political Prisoners:

In Afghanistan:

Mahmoud Habibi (Afghan-American)
Paul Overby (American, missing since 2018)

In Azerbaijan:

The “Azerbaijan 7”:
– Farid Mehralizada
– Ulvi Hasanli
– Sevinj Abbasova (Vagifqiai)
– Mahammad Kekalov
– Hafiz Babali
– Nargiz Absalamova
– Elnara Gasimova

In Belarus:

Andrei Chapiuk
Uladzimir Labkovich
Andrzej Poczobut
Marfa Rabkova
Valiantsin Stafanovic
Yuras Zyankovich

In Georgia:

Mzia Amaglobeli

In Russia:

The “Crimea 8”:
– Oleg Antipov
– Artyom Azatyan
– Georgy Azatyan
– Aleksandr Bylin
– Roman Solomko
– Artur Terchanyan
– Dmitry Tyazhelykh
– Vladimir Zloba

James Scott Rhys Anderson (British)
Aleksandr Andreyev
David Barnes (American)
Yevgenia Berkovich
Gordon Black (American)
Hayden Davies (British)
Yury Dmitriyev
Anastasia Dyudyaeva
Antonina Favorskaya
Konstantin Gabov
Robert Gilman (American)
Stephen James Hubbard (American)
Sergey Karelin
Timur Kishukov
Vadim Kobzev
Darya Kozyreva
Artyom Kriger
Michael Travis Leake (American)
Aleksei Liptser
Mikhail Loshchinin
Grigory Melkonyants
Boris Nadezhdin
Nika NovakSvetlana Petriichuk
Leonid Pshenychnov (in Russian-occupied Crimea)
Ilya Remeslo
Nadezhda Rossinskaya (a.k.a. Nadin Geisler)
Lev Schlossberg
Sofiane Sehili (French)
Igor Sergunin
Dmitry Shatresov
Robert Shonov
Grigory Skvortsov
Eugene Spector (American)
Joseph Tater (American, disappeared)Karina Tsurkan
Laurent Vinatier
Robert Romanov Woodland (American)

You have not been, and will not be, forgotten. Stay strong.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
7/19/26

There is an art to it, you know: flat-out lying with a straight face, and with such apparent sincerity that the listener might be tempted to think the speaker actually believes the crap they’re delivering.

Russian politicians have long been masters of the skill; and in today’s regime, no one does it better than our favorite Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov.

Donald Trump — no slouch himself when it comes to peddling unadulterated drivel — told the world on Thursday that the upcoming U.S. midterm elections were in danger of foreign interference. He specifically named Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea as bad actors . . . even claiming that there was new intelligence supporting his accusations.

Naturally, both Russia and China were quick to deny the allegations. Chinese authorities called the claims “totally fabricated and a malicious smear,” and Moscow said that the so-called intelligence was “unattributed, unsubstantiated information.” [Kyiv Post, July 17, 2026.]

But at a press conference on Friday, the Kremlin’s Peskov didn’t stop there. Never one to miss an opportunity to leave me ROFLMAO, he offered this additional comment:

“Russia has never interfered in the domestic affairs of other countries. We expect that no one will attempt to interfere in ours.”

“Russia . . .” WAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! . . . “never interfered . . .” HAHAHAHAHAHA!! . . . “other countries . . .” HAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Oh, Dima, cut it out . . . you’re killing me!

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
7/18/26

More than two years ago, I posted a piece about Russian oppositionist Boris Nadezhdin, titled “2/8/24: I Hate To Say I Told You So, But . . .”

It began as follows:

“I called this one. And I really can’t brag about it, because it was pretty much of a no-brainer. Boris Nadezhdin has now been warned by the Election Commission that they have found ‘flawed’ signatures on his petition for approval as a candidate for the presidency of the Russian Federation in next month’s election.

“Well, color me surprised . . . NOT!

“On February 1st, I expressed my concern for this courageous man who has already managed to develop a substantial following, and gathered more than twice the number of signatures required to support his petition for inclusion on the ballot. I also wondered whether the Election Commission would still find a way to block his inclusion. And that may just be what is happening now. They have two more days in which to announce their final decision.”

Needless to say, he was ultimately barred from running by the Central Election Commission, which claimed to have found “irregularities” in the signatures supporting his candidacy.

*. *. *

I heard no more about Nadezhdin until July 2025, when it was reported that his 2024 campaign manager, Dmitry Kisiyev, had had his citizenship revoked by the Russian government on an accusation of having committed “actions posing a threat to national security.”

Nadezhdin has continued speaking out against the Putin regime and the war against Ukraine, and has recently been campaigning for a seat in the Russian Parliament in the upcoming September election. But last week he was designated a “foreign agent” — a label held over from Soviet times suggesting spying activities. [Lucy Papachistou, Reuters, July 17, 2026.]

He was next fined a symbolic 1,000 rubles ($13) for allegedly displaying “extremist symbols” — referring to a recent social media post linked to a video that included a photo of murdered dissident Alexei Navalny. [Id.]

Under the circumstances, Nadezhdin had begun contemplating whether to stay and risk arrest, or flee the country. But before he could act, he was detained by authorities and questioned, and has been forbidden to leave Russia. [AFP, July 16, 2026.]

*. *. *

Obviously, Vladimir Putin — despite being mired in a war he is losing but doesn’t know how to end, trying to jump-start an economy in free-fall, and watching his popularity rating plummet as a result — still has time to monitor, pursue and eliminate his political opponents.

I wonder: Why does that sound like someone else we all know?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
7/18/26

There’s so much of it going around these days, I couldn’t resist this insightful observation on the subject of stupidity from the late science fiction author Robert Heinlein:

“Stupidity cannot be cured. Stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentence is death. There is no appeal, and execution is carried out automatically and without pity.”

If he was correct — that there is no cure for stupidity — I suppose we’ll just have to wait for nature to take its course on the current epidemic. We survived COVID; and we’ll survive this.

In the meantime, I hope the visual record of these years is being carefully preserved . . . because future generations are going to find it really hard to believe.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
7/17/26

Another of my go-to news sources has now gone the way of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The BBC, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, and so many others. They are no longer accessible online without a paid subscription.

We are living in a time when keeping up with daily events is vital to our very survival. Unfortunately, this is also a period of economic uncertainty and difficulty for so many people. Even the cost of TV service has become insupportable for a great many.

At the same time, with much of the print media — the daily newspaper dropped (or thrown) at your front door each morning — being replaced by moment-to-moment online programming, the providers do need to make up the lost income in order to remain viable.

I used to pay around $15 a month for my daily and Sunday Washington Post subscription, which was easily affordable. And I supplemented that with the regular newscasts on the three major networks: NBC, ABC and CBS. Those were the good old days.

But those were also vastly different times — the years of Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, Edward R. Murrow, Huntley and Brinkley, Barbara Walters, Peter Jennings, Woodward and Bernstein . . . newsmen and women who reported the news, without being influenced by their personal viewpoints. We could trust what they told us; we didn’t need multiple sources and a Ph.D. in political science to distinguish fact from opinion.

Today, many journalists find it difficult to leave their pre-existing beliefs and biases behind in order to present fair and objective reportage, instead giving us their personal slant and analysis based on how liberal, conservative, or middle-of-the-road they happen to be. And that requires us to consult numerous sources if we are to get a full and accurate picture.

But how many of us can afford half a dozen subscriptions when the bare necessities of life — food, shelter, health care, and gas — are sky-high and still climbing? Our cable or satellite TV, cell phones and internet fees already break the bank.

So what’s the answer to this dilemma? I wish I knew, because I feel lost and uninformed without my old standbys.

And please don’t tell me Fox News is still free, because that is not an option. I believe in the old adage: “You get what you pay for.”

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
7/17/26

On the night of July 16-17, 1918 — some eight months after the Bolshevik Revolution — Russia’s 300-year-old Romanov Dynasty met its ignominious demise in the basement of the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

Already having been forced by the Revolution to abdicate, Tsar Nicholas II was sent into exile with his family, where they were held captive by members of Vladimir Lenin’s Bolshevik party. On the night of July 16-17, they were taken to the basement of the large house on the bizarre pretext of having their photographs taken. But the “shots” in store for them were not pictures; they were bullets. Nicholas, the Tsarina Aleksandra, their son and four daughters, and their few loyal servants were simply mowed down — without trial, without explanation, without any opportunity to defend themselves.

The full history of events leading up to that horrific night and the seven decades of communism that followed is well documented, and makes fascinating reading for even the most stubborn non-students of history. The three centuries of the Romanovs’ reign were filled with more murders, uprisings, palace coups, underhanded double-dealing, extravagance, jealousy, hatred, and lust than an entire library of graphic novels could ever conjure.

And it all came to a screeching halt in a hail of gunfire, in a dingy basement, in the middle of the night.

But I am not here today to offer a lengthy history lesson. Rather, I see this anniversary as a cautionary tale, reminding autocratic rulers everywhere of how tyrants eventually meet their ends — not always by violent death, but at the very least in disgrace.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
7/16/26