Let’s look at the facts as we know them:

1. Hungary’s elections are scheduled on April 12th, just five days from now.
2. Incumbent Viktor Orban — the hard-right, Putin-friendly autocrat who has served as Prime Minister for the past 16 years — and his Fidesz Party are lagging further and further behind the opposition Tisza Party, led by Peter Magyar.
3. Vladimir Putin has not hidden the fact that he is making every effort to support Orban’s reelection . . . even to the point of trying to stage a fake attempt on Orban’s life, for which the opposition could then be blamed.
4. On Sunday, April 5th, Serbian military and police officers found a cache of explosives and detonators near a pipeline that carries Russian natural gas from Turkey to Hungary. The two backpacks were located “a few hundred meters” from the Balkan Stream pipeline in Kanjiza, near the Hungarian border in northern Serbia. [RFE/RL’s Balkan Service, April 5, 2026.]
5. Serbia’s president, Aleksandar Vucic, is another right-wing autocrat friendly to both Russia and China, while also favoring his country’s accession to the EU.
   

So what does all of this mean? Were the explosives, when detonated, intended to cause harm to the Serbian regime? To halt or delay Russia’s gas exports? To point a finger at Ukraine, whom Orban has accused of delaying repairs to its Druzhba pipeline since it was damaged in a fire caused by Russian attacks on Ukrainian facilities?

Or was it meant to lay blame on Orban’s opponent, Peter Magyar?

According to Vucic:

“We have clues. … I just finished talking to Viktor Orban. It’s obvious that geopolitical games will not leave us alone.” [Id.]

Praising Serbia’s intelligence agencies, Vucic added:

“We think we know which group the individuals who were supposed to take that final step in activating the explosives belong to. The intention was to send a political message. We will severely punish anyone we catch.” [Id.]

Orban, who has already alleged that Ukraine is trying to trigger an energy crisis ahead of Hungary’s elections, traveled to the border on Monday, April 6th, to inspect the infrastructure that he claims was the target of a foiled sabotage attempt, saying:

“Yesterday they wanted to blow up the gas pipeline. We are checking whether everything is in order on the Hungarian side.” [RFE/RL’s Balkan Service, April 6, 2026.]

And at an emergency session of Hungary’s Defense Council, he said that Ukraine had “for years been trying to cut Europe off from Russian energy.” [Id.]

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, denying involvement, said:

“This is most likely a Russian false-flag operation, as part of Moscow’s strong interference in the Hungarian elections.” [Id.[

To which Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov predictably responded that there was “no reliable evidence” as to who was responsible, but suggested that Ukraine might be involved in light of its past attacks on Russian energy infrastructure. [Id.]

But perhaps the most surprising comment came from Djuro Jovanic, Director of Serbia’s Military Security Agency (VBA), who said that:

“ . . . it is not true that Ukrainians tried to organize this sabotage. Based on the markings on the explosives, it is unmistakably clear that the manufacturer is from the United States. Now, will someone suggest that the United States would benefit from this situation at this moment?” [Id.]

Jovanic then claimed that an immigrant with military training was the likely perpetrator . . . which brought an immediate rebuttal from Srdjan Cvijic of the Belgrade Center for Security Policy:

“Our authorities do not dare to openly accuse Ukraine, so they invent some supposed migrants instead, conveniently fitting into Orban’s anti-migrant rhetoric”; adding that the incident smacked of “all the core narratives of Russian disinformation being promoted in this part of Europe”; and that the Serbian government’s handling of the matter. pointed to “an intention to help a friend — Orban — in trouble.” [Id.]

If you’re confused at this point, don’t worry — you’re not alone.

Someone obviously does know who was behind this, and whether the purpose was to detonate the explosives and do actual damage, or simply to create another political red herring. But with everyone lobbing accusations at everyone else, opening up so many possible scenarios, only the players themselves know for sure who is doing what to whom and why.

My money says it was politically motivated to help Orban; though whether instigated by him or by Putin — and whether Vucic was a willing accessory or an unwitting dupe — is, for the moment, at least, a mystery.

And in truth, it’s just politics as usual.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/7/26

For the handful of people in the universe who may not already have seen or heard this — possibly including the crew of Artemis II, who are otherwise preoccupied, and anyone under the age of six or in a coma — here it is, verbatim, as posted on Easter Sunday morning for the whole world to marvel at:

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell — JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP

– Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump, 4/5/26, 8:03 AM

I can’t even . . .

Brendochka
4/6/26

There’s nothing like a new war to make people forget about the existing one.

Since Donald Trump invented a reason to invade Iran, his attention has been drawn away from Russia’s ongoing decimation of Ukraine, allowing him to foist responsibility for aiding an ally — a valuable, strategically-situated, democratic bulwark between Russia and the NATO countries of Europe — onto those European nations that are themselves at greatest risk of possible future aggression from Vladimir Putin if Ukraine should fall.

. . . not to mention upending the entire world’s economic, trade, and diplomatic structures.

The first and most obvious effect of his ill-conceived adventure was one that any idiot could have foreseen — except for the one idiot who was calling the shots. That effect, of course, was Iran’s immediate closing of the Strait of Hormuz, thereby cutting off access to some 20-25% of the world’s supply of crude oil. Second was Iran’s knee-jerk response, which involved attacks on U.S. and allied facilities in neighboring Mideast countries — despite Trump’s delusional belief that an earlier attack had “obliterated” their nuclear capability and more recent activity had wiped out their entire military.

We’ve all seen him scrambling to do damage control, insisting that our NATO allies step in to pull him out of his self-made mess — apparently oblivious to the fact that NATO is a defensive alliance, not responsible for helping its member states to wage an offensive war. Wisely, they have all refused, choosing instead to bolster their own (and Ukraine’s) defenses.

So, to whom did he turn next? Would you believe, his old friend Vlad?

Yes, the same Vlad who has been sharing intelligence with Iran to aid in their defense and counter-offensive against Trump’s madness. The same Vlad who can now say, when accused of war crimes against civilians in Ukraine, that his buddy Donald is doing precisely the same thing in Iran. And the very same Vlad who is benefiting financially from the closing of the Hormuz Strait by welcoming new customers willing to pay for that good Russian crude because their usual supply from Iran has been . . . well, you know. (Not incidentally, that extra money in Russia’s coffers is proving useful in financing the continuation of Putin’s war against Ukraine.)

What’s that? You think Trump wouldn’t turn to Putin for help?

Well, perhaps not directly. But what would you call it when he removes sanctions on three Russian-flagged commercial vessels previously linked to sanctioned Russian financial institutions involved in activities tied to that war in Ukraine?

Although a U.S. Treasury spokesperson said, “SDN [Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals] List removals are not indicative of a broader shift in US-Russia policy,” not everyone is buying that disclaimer. [Alex Raufoglu, RFE/RL, April 1, 2026.]

Because just days later, the Treasury Department’s website noted that sanctions had also been lifted against one Mikhail Zadornov, a prominent Russian banker and former finance minister who had been on the sanctions list since 2022. Coincidentally — that is, if you believe in coincidence, which I do not when it comes to politics — an unnamed U.S. official also said that Zadornov’s delisting . . . guess what . . . did not reflect a larger change in Washington’s position on Russian sanctions.

Sound familiar? It should. Without offering details, what this official said was:

“Like the imposition of sanctions, removal of sanctions on persons, or delisting, is a tool to realize U.S. foreign policy goals” . . . and that the goal of sanctions was not to punish but to “bring about a positive change in behavior” that is in the U.S. national interest. [Andrea Shalal, Reuters, April 3, 2026.]

So I guess that Mr. Zadornov has been deemed “rehabilitated,” and no longer a threat to U.S. interests. Like some petty thief who has found God in prison and is now eligible for parole. How nice for him!

In my world, that smacks of major sucking-up to Putin. My only question is: What is Trump getting in exchange for all of this largess?

I can hardly wait to find out . . . if we ever do.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/6/26

Good news from Moldova — but not for Vladimir Putin.

In 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, an inter-governmental bloc known as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was formed in its place, ostensibly to foster cooperation in economic, political and military matters, and to exercise certain powers related to the coordination of trade, finance, lawmaking, security, and the prevention of cross-border crime.

Eleven of the 15 former Soviet Republics signed on as full members of the CIS, with one more (Turkmenistan) becoming an associate state. The former Baltic Republics — Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia — refused to join; and Georgia formally withdrew its membership in 2008, with Ukraine following suit in 2018.

And last week it was announced that Moldova was also leaving the CIS, choosing instead to fully align with the West. It is already a candidate for EU membership, and, while retaining constitutionally neutral status, maintains cooperation with NATO.

Though a small country, Moldova is strategically significant by reason of its location between embattled Ukraine and EU/NATO member Romania. Its formal move away from the Russian sphere of influence and toward a Western alliance is vital to its own defense, and to Europe’s constant struggle for the survival of democracy, as Vladimir Putin continues his attempt to push westward.

Congratulations to the people of Moldova and to their President, Maia Sandu, on this truly momentous occasion. Welcome to the West.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/5/26

With the wars in Ukraine, Iran and Gaza occupying so much of everyone’s thoughts these days, it was refreshing to stumble upon a witty definition of what war actually boils down to. At least, this is how it was defined by the late American author and journalist Ambrose Bierce, on whom I can always count for a little irreverent humor:

“War is God’s way of teaching Americans geography.”

And I dare anyone to argue with that. Seriously.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/5/26

It may seem inappropriate to label as a “hostage” an individual who has just won an Academy Award for best documentary film of the year, and is living his best life somewhere in a European Union country. But Pavel (“Pasha”) Talankin, for all of his recent success, is the perfect example of what I call an “endangered exile” from his Russian homeland.

Since escaping Putin’s watchful eye, and having his contraband videos produced as a documentary revealing the regime’s propagandizing of Russia’s educational system, Pasha has been living in hiding. But with the presentation of his Oscar at the Academy Awards ceremony on March 15th, his work was immediately banned in Russia — to the surprise of no one, and least of all Pasha himself.

He has said that he only wonders why it took Putin so long, issuing the ban only after the award was announced. As to its effect, he says that the ban is actually “brilliant public relations,” as it renders the film of even greater interest to the people of Russia. [RFE/RL Interview, April 4, 2026.] And knowing the ingenuity of the Russians, I am quite certain they will find a way to access it.

But of course, Pasha misses his home, his family, friends and students. And, since he was declared a “foreign agent” by the Russian government on March 27th, he has no idea when, if ever, he will be able to return. Certainly not while Putin is in power.

So today, we add Pasha Talankin to our list of Putin’s hostages. Hopefully he — and his fellow exiles — will remain safe and comfortable until they are able once more to return to the country they love . . . under a new, more free and democratic government.

*. *. *

And of course we continue our watch over the political prisoners still incarcerated in Russia and elsewhere. Here again is the list of those known, which sadly is only a fraction of the total:

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
Countless Journalists and Other Dissidents

Political Prisoners:

In Afghanistan:

Dennis Coyle (American)

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)
David Barnes (American)
Gordon Black (American)
Hayden Davies (British)
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
Grigory Melkonyants
Nika Novak
Leonid Pshenychnov (in Russian-occupied Crimea)
Nadezhda Rossinskaya (a.k.a. Nadin Geisler)
Sofiane Sehili (French)
Igor Sergunin
Dmitry Shatresov
Robert Shonov
Grigory Skvortsov
Eugene Spector (American)
Joseph Tater (American, disappeared)
Laurent Vinatier
Robert Romanov Woodland (American)

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

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/5/26

Today’s quotation is not, as may have seemed obvious from the header, taken from Charles Dickens or from any of my other usual sources of inspiration. It is, rather, an utterance by a modern-day Scrooge so horrific, so blatantly cruel, so beneath contempt (even for him) that I could not allow it to pass unnoticed or unremarked.

In proposing a national budget for 2027 that would include defense spending of $1.5 trillion — an increase of some 44 per cent over 2026 — Donald Trump further proposed to reduce spending on non-defense programs by 10 per cent. According to Budget Director Russell Vought, “President Trump promised to reinvest in America’s national security infrastructure, to make sure our nation is safe in a dangerous world.” [Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking, Associated Press, April 3, 2026.]

Well, whoopee!

But it was what Trump himself said at a private White House event that made me want to put my fist through a wall:

“We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of day care. It’s not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare — all these individual things. They can do it on a state basis. You can’t do it on a federal.” [Id.]

Right. Forget about the fact that the Social Security Amendments of 1965 (the Medicaid and Medicare Act) have been the law of the land for the past 60 years. And forget about the fact that Medicare is funded by payroll taxes that we citizens pay throughout our working lives to help secure our own futures. Or that we continue paying premiums for the limited coverage it provides even after we’re retired. (For those too young to have thought about it, those premiums are deducted from our Social Security checks; they are not optional.)

Of course, the lives of the most vulnerable — the children, the elderly, the sick and disabled — mean nothing. Never mind “all these individual things.”

Forget about all of that; just dump the responsibility onto the individual states, which would have to raise taxes on those same citizens if they were to have even a hope of being able to shoulder the responsibility.

None of that matters, as long as Scrooge has enough money to fight those wars . . . the wars that he himself started.

HOLY . . .

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/4/26

Adolph Hitler did it; Josef Stalin did it; Vladimir Putin does it with aplomb. One way or another, all dictators surround themselves with sycophants, use them to do their dirty work until they are of no further use or make an unforgivable mistake, and then dump them. Sometimes they’re allowed to escape with their lives . . . what’s left of them.

Being an avid admirer of “strong men,” Donald Trump operates on the same wave length, and always has; he was, after all, the guy who delighted in telling people “You’re fired!” on his reality TV show, and in the operation of his many business undertakings. Why stop now, just because he’s in the White House and his “executive orders” run counter to the core principles, the laws, and the urgent needs of the nation he swore to protect and defend?

His two most recent victims, of course, have been former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi — both of whom have been shown the door because the tasks he assigned to them backfired when they turned out to be so blatantly illegal that even his rubber-stamp Congress could no longer look away.

And now that he’s on a roll — and since, to the superstitious, bad things usually happen in threes — we should probably be looking for at least one more head to roll in the near future. In that spirit, I have decided to place my bet (but no money) on D. John Sauer, Solicitor General of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Until this week, he was not a headliner in the same category as, say, Pete Hegseth, Bobby Kennedy, or Pam Bondi’s acting replacement, Todd Blanche. But Sauer was the unlucky person in the position of having to plead Trump’s case before the Supreme Court concerning birthright citizenship.

And he screwed up . . . royally.

I won’t attempt to go into the legal intricacies of the disastrous Dred Scott decision (Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1857)); the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (ratified in 1868) that rightly overturned that earlier Supreme Court ruling; the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924; or the Nationality Act of 1940 (54 Stat. 1137). Suffice it to say that, when Sauer stood before the Court on April 1st to argue Trump’s contention that not all children born in the United States are automatically entitled to become U.S. citizens, he was unprepared to tackle the thorny issue of Native Americans.

Briefly, Trump and his attorneys have maintained that children of native tribal members are not U.S. citizens in accordance with a 19th-century ruling of the Supreme Court (Elk v. Wilkins, 112 U.S. 94 (1884)), in which the Court held that Native Americans were not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States as specified by the 14th Amendment, because of their stated allegiance to their respective tribes.

And on Wednesday, when Justice Neil Gorsuch — a Trump appointee — questioned Sauer on the logical consequences Trump’s theory would have on Native Americans, all hell broke loose. Gorsuch asked whether, under Trump’s proposed test for birthright citizenship, Native Americans born today would automatically be citizens, Sauer at first said:

“I think so. I mean, obviously they’ve been granted citizenship by statute” — referring to the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 (43 Stat. 253). [Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, April 1, 2026.]

Gorsuch then told Sauer to set aside the statute, and asked, “Do you think they’re birthright citizens?” — to which Sauer, doing a verbal 180-degree turn, answered:

“No, I think the clear understanding that everybody agrees in the congressional debates is that the children of tribal Indians are not birthright citizens.” [Id.]

But Gorsuch, obviously perceiving the corner into which Sauer had painted himself, pressed for further clarification on the basis of the domicile of the parents, to which Sauer reversed himself again, responding:

“I think so, on our test. They’re lawfully domiciled here. I have to think that through, but that’s my reaction.” [Id.]

Somehow, Sauer seemed to have forgotten that “lawful domicile” is one of the cornerstones of Trump’s theory of qualification for birthright citizenship.

“Holy whiplash, Batman!!!”

At that point, Justice Gorsuch jumped in and said, “I’ll take the yes” [id.], thus rescuing Sauer from further embarrassment.

*. *. *

Okay, that’s a long explanation for my initial suggestion that the Solicitor General may be the next administration bigwig to exit the scene. But — while I wasn’t present and thus am not sure of the exact timing — it appears from reports I have read that it may have been at that point, or shortly thereafter, that Trump beat a hasty retreat from the Court, where he had inexplicably chosen to be present during the oral arguments. People who were there said he did not look happy.

Perhaps Sauer will be luckier than Pam Bondi, and survive the humiliation — especially if the Court should somehow rule in the administration’s favor (which, in my opinion, would be a horrific perversion of justice). We shall see.

And in the meantime, we can entertain ourselves by keeping an eye on the White House’s revolving door to see who actually will be next.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/4/26

Don’t be surprised if you see something like this pop up in the Washington Post or on ZipRecruiter:

“Position of U.S. Attorney General has unexpectedly opened up due to previous occupant’s sudden decision to return to private sector. Applicants (straight white Christians only) should have law degree and some actual legal experience; however, most important attributes are ability to work long hours, suck up to narcissistic boss, lie to Congress, hurl insults in place of answers to questions, and ignore the law and the Constitution, as well as willingness to sacrifice your own future in exchange for the honor of worshiping at the Temple of Trump and assisting in the destruction of a functioning constitutional democracy. Position offers excellent salary and benefits; but maximum tenure is two years and ten months, and may be terminated without notice on the whim of the Grand Poobah, so consider it a temporary job at best. Application should be submitted by posting on Truth Social, if you seriously want it to be read. Good luck, and thank you for your attention to this matter.”

For those in search of a job that offers a $250K annual salary but no security or future advancement — in fact, no future of any kind other than a wardrobe of orange jumpsuits and free room and board behind bars — this would certainly be an enticement.

Don’t you agree?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/3/26

Last week I had my regular medical checkup, and yesterday was my six-month appointment with my cardiologist. I am happy to report that everything is still ticking; both doctors said goodbye as though they actually expected to see me again; and I should be good for another six months, assuming a meteorite doesn’t choose my house as its landing pad.

But there’s always that little bit of anxiety before a medical appointment — and more so as we grow older — that starts you thinking about your own mortality, things you wish you had done (or not done) when you were younger, and what you might still do to make your remaining time more meaningful.

So, of course, I began my search for other, wiser people’s thoughts on aging, and I found this from one of my favorite authors (and no, it’s not Shakespeare, for a change):

“It’s very simple. As you grow, you learn more. If you stayed at twenty-two, you’d always be as ignorant as you were at twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. It’s growth. It’s more than the negative that you’re going to die, it’s also the positive that you understand you’re going to die, and that you live a better life because of it.”

– Mitch Albom, “Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lesson”

It would have been nice if I’d taken note of that when I was younger. But I suppose it’s never too late to do better.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/3/26