I was a young adult in the ‘60s — old enough to avoid the lure of the “sex-drugs-and-rock-n-roll” mania, but young enough to enjoy the new sense of youthful freedom . . . and most of all, the peace movement.

That decade not only ushered in the age of rock; it also saw a resurgence of American folk music from singers like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins; and groups like the Kingston Trio, the Brothers Four, the Weavers, Simon & Garfunkel, the immortal Peter, Paul & Mary; and so many others.

I was listening to some of that great music the other day, and was newly moved by one of my favorites from those years: “Blowin’ in the Wind,” written by Bob Dylan but made famous by Peter, Paul & Mary’s recording of it. And it seemed so relevant, I thought I’d bring the lyrics back to you today . . . for those old enough to remember it fondly, as well as those too young to have heard it the first time around:

How many roads must a man walk down
Before they call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?

How many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they’re forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind,
The answer is blowing in the wind.

How many years must a mountain exist
Before it is washed to the sea?
How many years can some people exist
Before they’re allowed to be free?

How many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn’t see?
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind,
The answer is blowing in the wind.

How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
How many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?

How many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind,
The answer is blowing in the wind.

– “Blowin’ in the Wind,” Bob Dylan, 1963

Thanks to all of those minstrels of the ‘60s for the good times, and for their attempts at bringing the world to its senses. Unfortunately, we’re still waiting for the answer to the question . . .

“How many times?”

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/11/26

I once stayed up all night to finish reading Dan Brown’s blockbuster novel, “The Da Vinci Code.” (The Tom Hanks movie was also excellent . . . but then, I’d watch Tom Hanks if he acted in a Jell-o commercial.)

Recently, I decided to catch up on a couple of other books by Dan Brown that I had missed along the way, and am now about 100 pages into “Inferno.” Based on the title, you can probably guess that it references the epic poem of the same name written in the 14th century by Dante Alighieri as part of his immortal trilogy, “The Divine Comedy.”

And that started me thinking about all of the people alive today who would be the most likely candidates for consignment to Dante’s imaginary hell: murderers, rapists, most politicians, autocrats, oligarchs, co-conspirators of Jeffrey Epstein, an occasional insurance adjuster, and one or two ex-boyfriends.

But how to determine which circle each of the vile creatures belonged in? So I did a little reading and gave it some thought; and it turns out that the worst of them — the ones on my list, in any event — would actually qualify for multiple levels of eternal agony. So let’s play a little game: I’ll just identify the nine circles, and let you draw up your own list of sinners and reach your own conclusions:

• First Circle (Limbo): This is just for “virtuous pagans and unbaptized people” who cannot enter Heaven, but must experience eternal longing. (That might be good for those ex-boyfriends.)
• Second Circle (Lust): Souls are blown about by violent, hurricane-like winds, representing their being “swept away” by passion.
• Third Circle (Gluttony): Sinners wallow in freezing, putrid slush and rain, watched over by Cerberus.

• Fourth Circle (Greed): The hoarding and wasting of possessions causes souls to clash with huge weights.
• Fifth Circle (Wrath): The angry fight each other on the surface of the River Styx, while the sullen gurgle beneath the mud.
• Sixth Circle (Heresy): Those who challenged religious doctrines are trapped in flaming tombs.
• Seventh Circle (Violence): Divided into three rings for violence against neighbors (boiling blood), self (forest of thorns), and God/Nature (burning sand).
• Eighth Circle (Fraud): Known as Malebolge, this contains ten ditches for types of fraud, including panderers, flatterers, sorcerers, thieves, and hypocrites.
• Ninth Circle (Treachery): A frozen lake called Cocytus, where traitors are frozen in ice. It is divided into four zones: Caina (kin), Antenora (country), Ptolomea (guests), and Judecca (masters).
• Center of Hell: Where Satan himself is frozen waist-deep, eternally chewing on Brutus, Cassius, and Judas Iscariot.

*. *. *

Well, that takes care of my list. Who said online game-playing was a waste of time? I, for one, found it oddly therapeutic. Who needs Dungeons & Dragons when you’ve got Dante?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/11/26

For four years, valid criticism has been aimed at Vladimir Putin for, among many other things, his use of foreign military and paramilitary troops in pursuit of his war against Ukraine — troops from North Korea, India, Nepal, Cuba, and various African countries.

Now — in exactly the same style — Donald Trump is considering recruiting Kurdish groups located in Iraq who are opposed to the Iranian regime, arming them to deploy as “boots on the ground” in his illegal war against Iran, saying on March 5th:

“I think it’s wonderful that they want to do that. I’d be all for it.” [Kian Sharifi, RFE/RL, March 8, 2026.]

Tehran then intensified attacks on Iranian Kurdish camps located across the border in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, following which Trump quickly reversed position, telling reporters that he does “not want the Kurds to go into Iran [because the war is] complicated enough as it is.” [Id.]

But it may not matter what Trump wants. According to Wladimir van Wilgenburg, a Dutch author, journalist and analyst specializing in Kurdish affairs, the Iranian Kurdish groups are cautious about becoming involved in the U.S.-Israel war on Iran because of their past experience in Syria. [Id.]

After aiding the U.S. in the fight against ISIS, the Kurds were abandoned in 2019 by the first Trump administration — much as the Mujahideen had been left to their own devices in Afghanistan in 1989 after working with the U.S. to topple the Soviet occupiers. Now, van Wilgenburg believes, if an approach were to be made by the U.S., the Kurds would insist on guarantees of political recognition in exchange for their assistance — guarantees that Trump would likely not be able to deliver. [Id.]

So the whole issue may be moot. But the point is, here we have Trump once again displaying thought processes exactly mirroring those of his friend Vladimir Putin.

Speaking of whom . . .

It was no surprise to anyone when Putin gloated over the opportunity, dropped into his lap by Trump’s disastrous attack on Iran, to increase Russia’s oil sales in the wake of the near-total shutdown of exports from the Middle East.

And Putin must be doing a dance of joy as Trump announces that he is giving serious consideration to lifting some sanctions on Russia to allow increased exports, in order to ease the worldwide surge in fuel prices and the imminent oil shortage that he himself created when he decided to invade Iran.

Of course Putin is thrilled! Why wouldn’t he be? And how does he thank Trump?

Well . . . Putin being Putin . . . he turns around and provides Iran with intelligence on the locations and movements of U.S. troops, ships and aircraft, much of it in the form of imagery from Moscow’s overhead satellites.

Meanwhile, with the money to be gleaned from the new demand for Russian oil, Putin continues his own assault on Ukraine . . . all while claiming that what he really wants is peace.

You just can’t make this shit up!

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/10/26

I thought I had caught up with the Feenstra family on their driving tour of the southeastern United States last week, but I was mistaken. It turns out that recent posts by Arend Feenstra had actually been filmed a couple of weeks earlier, as revealed in a surprise YouTube “Short” video featuring wife Anneesa yesterday.

Facing the camera, she tells us that she realizes they haven’t kept their viewers updated as regularly as usual, and that some of their videos have been delayed. She then explained — well, perhaps “explained” is overstating it — that Arend is not presently with them, and hasn’t been for two weeks.

Happily, my initial concern that he might have been taken ill or injured was proven wrong. Anneesa said that he has been “working hard,” and that she is with the younger children at a campground — though she wouldn’t disclose exactly where.

At the time of filming, they were on a nature hike. From the looks of this little guy (below), encountered along their stroll, my guess would be somewhere in Florida.

Anneesa offered one final statement, that they were looking forward to being back on their farm in Russia “very, very soon,” and that was it.

As I’ve said before, this whole trip has been somewhat mysterious. Not that the family are required to share every detail of their lives with their viewers — it would be intrusive to expect them to do so. But from the beginning, when they arrived in Russia two years ago, they have been very open, sharing their happy events and their difficulties as though they were chatting with their closest friends. And suddenly — although they have brought us along with them on this journey — there has been an obvious reluctance to discuss the how and why of it, other than the initial visit to family in Ontario.

At any rate, as I’ve said before, I’ve grown very fond of the Feenstra clan and look forward to following the next chapters in their lives. Keep those videos coming, guys.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/10/26

You know the old saying: “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”

Listening to the recent Congressional testimony of various members of the Trump administration, that much-repeated truism has become even more relevant. Shame on all of us for continuing to allow ourselves to be ruled by a band of charlatans the likes of which even Shakespeare never imagined!

Some 400 years ago, French mathematician, philosopher, scientist and logician Rene Descartes said it far more eloquently:

“It is only prudent never to place complete confidence in that by which we have even once been deceived.”

– Rene Descartes, “Meditations on First Philosophy”

Once again, the wisdom of the ancients has proven prescient. When will we begin to pay attention?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/10/26

As I wrote earlier today about the recent death of a Russian man revealed to have been named in the Epstein files, I thought about how little we humans truly know each other, and how easily we are deceived . . . especially by those in positions of prominence and power.

And this quote from the ancient Greek scholar and author of nearly 100 tragedies, Euripides, seems particularly relevant:

“When one with honeyed words but evil mind / Persuades the mob, great woes befall the state.”

– Euripides, “Orestes”

And now, two and a half millennia later, his words have lost none of their meaning.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/9/26

His name was Umar Dzhabrailov. A 67-year-old Chechen/Russian legislator and businessman, he was found dead on March 3rd with a gunshot wound to the head, a Luger pistol lying beside his body, in a luxury apartment in central Moscow.

And he had a “thing” for Ghislaine Maxwell.

Though there was no suicide note, police initially called it a “suspected” suicide. Nevertheless, an investigation was launched.

According to reports, Dzhabrailov’s name had surfaced a few weeks earlier in the stack of Epstein files released by the U.S. Department of Justice in January. There were emails written by him to Jeffrey Epstein’s paramour and fellow trafficker, Ghislaine Maxwell, whom he had been known to refer to as his “soulmate.” One such email from 2001 read:

“Dear Ghislaine, I’m back from London, planing [sic] 2 B in Moscow. Really want 2 C U, but I need 2 know exactly when U arive [sic], cause I want 2 take care of U and arrange welcoming things. Wishing U all the best! Umar.” [Safia Samee Ali, News Nation, March 3, 2026.]

There is also a reply from Maxwell reading:

“Umar Sorry that we did not come last week. Got side tracked and ended up in France. However we Jeffrey Tom and I are coming next week arriving Fri. Will you be around and can we get together? Let me know Hope you are wel [sic].” [Id.]

Dzhabrailov’s daughter has rejected the suggestion of suicide, posting on Instagram:

“He got silenced because of his implication with Jeffrey Epstein and Trump.” [Post by “Sci-Fun Fiction, Facebook, March 3, 2026.]

*. *. *

It was also reported that Dzhabrailov had earlier attempted suicide in 2020. So — assuming the above information is accurate — here are my questions:

> First and foremost: Was it indeed suicide, or was it murder?

> Second: If suicide, was it the revelation in the Epstein files that pushed him over the edge?

> Third: If he was murdered, was it because of something he may have known about others connected with Epstein and/or Maxwell?

> Fourth: How deeply involved with the Maxwell gang was he? Was he just a facilitator — a pimp — for higher-ups in the Moscow elite? (If so, and if his elimination was ordered by a member of the Russian inner circle, we will likely never know who was responsible.)

Whatever the answers, this is yet another indication of the long reach of the late Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators. Their slimy tentacles have now been seen to stretch across borders and oceans, revealing a truly incomprehensible level of degradation among some of the world’s most wealthy and influential citizens, and cover-ups at the highest reaches of government.

It is so deeply embedded that wars are now being started in order to distract attention from it; people’s lives are being upended by mere association with anyone connected to it; and — if Umar Dzhabrailov’s death did result from it — more lives may be in jeopardy as the revelations keep coming.

*. *. *

Thomas Payne famously wrote in 1776: “These are the times that try men’s souls.”

He had no idea.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/9/26

It is known as the February Revolution, because of Russia’s use of the old Julian calendar at that time. But according to the modern Gregorian calendar, it began on March 8, 1917, in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg), Russia.

The people were fed up with the excesses and corruption of the Tsarist regime, the rampant poverty and starvation of the masses, and most of all, Russia’s involvement in World War I. Workers — some 90,000 of them — had been on strike, and were joined by other demonstrators in clashing with Petrograd’s police and the local army garrison. After several days, the troops began to defect en masse to the side of the demonstrators, and what became known as the Petrograd Soviet was formed.

In the face of overwhelming opposition, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated the throne in favor of his brother Mikhail. But when Mikhail said “thanks but no thanks,” centuries of tsarist rule in Russia came to an end, and a provisional government was established.

Meanwhile, a man known as Vladimir Ilyich Lenin — leader of the Bolshevik Revolutionary Party living in exile in Switzerland — saw his golden opportunity. Traveling secretly across enemy lines in Germany as the war raged around him, he returned to Petrograd and began his campaign to establish his party as the ruling party of Russia. By November 7th (October 23rd on the Julian calendar) of that year, he had succeeded in overthrowing the Provisional Government in a nearly bloodless coup — now known as Russia’s October Revolution — and creating the world’s first communist-style government. [“This Day In History,” History.com, March 8, 2026.]

On March 8, 1918 — exactly one year after the workers’ march on Petrograd — the Bolshevik Party formally changed its name to the All-Russian Communist Party. It would rule the country — soon to be known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) — for another 73 years, until its final dissolution on the day after Christmas, December 26, 1991. [Id.]

*. *. *

For those who pay attention to history, there is an obvious lesson to be learned here . . . not only in Russia, but in other autocratic countries as well: That the people of any nation can only be pushed so far. Eventually, unable and unwilling to accept any more of tyranny and deprivation, they will begin to push back. Whether by revolution or by a majority vote is dependent upon the existing laws and traditions of the particular country. But, one way or another, they will dethrone their oppressors and reclaim their lives.

Count on it.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/8/26

So as not to be accused of partiality, I offer two quotes today — one from a woman, and one from a man — on this day of recognition of the so-called “fairer sex,” “weaker sex,” or “little women,” as we have so disparagingly been labeled by the misogynistic men of yesteryear.

First, from a great lady:

“A woman is like a tea bag — you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.”

– Eleanor Roosevelt

And from a self-confident man:

“In our society, the women who break down barriers are those who ignore limits.”

– Arnold Schwarzenegger

Thanks to both of them: Mrs. Roosevelt for setting the example, and Arnold for being man enough to say it out loud.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/8/26

We’ve seen what a mess men have made of this world. Don’t you think it’s time we women showed them how it should be done?

We’ve come a long way . . . don’t stop now!

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/8/26