Sometimes I stumble across the most interesting news items quite by accident. This one was a tacked-on paragraph — almost a footnote — to a story about an ICE prisoner, Canadian citizen Johnny Noviello, who died in custody in Florida while awaiting deportation.

A lawful permanent resident of the U.S. since 1991, he was convicted in 2023 of drug trafficking and racketeering in Florida and sentenced to 12 months in prison. Last month, he was arrested by ICE while at the Florida Department of Corrections Probation Office — assumedly complying with the terms of his release — and charged with “removability” because of his earlier conviction.

While in custody at the Miami Bureau of Prisons Federal Detention Center, Noviello, age 49, was found unresponsive, upon which — according to ICE — medical staff at the facility “responded immediately and began administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation, automated external defibrillator shock and called 911.” He was pronounced dead within the hour; the cause of death remains under investigation. [William Vaillancourt, Daily Beast, June 26, 2025.]

I’m not yet sure, based on the limited information available, what to think of Noviello’s case. Yes, he was a convicted criminal. But he was in the country legally; he was not undocumented; he had served his sentence, even earning early release for good behavior; and he was properly reporting to the probation office when he was scooped up for deportation. So to my mind, the hypothetical “jury” is still out on this one.

But then the last three paragraphs of the article caught my eye. I quote:

“According to ICE records, at least seven other individuals have died in their custody since Jan. 20, when President Donald Trump was inaugurated.

“The Trump administration has also been detaining migrants at Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. military base in Cuba, while sending others to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison.

“Additionally, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced this week that the administration will use funds from the gutted Federal Emergency Management Administration [FEMA] to spend on an ‘alligator Alcatraz’ detention center on a remote Everglades airfield.” [Id.] [Bold emphasis is mine.]

*. *. *

The first two quoted paragraphs make me wonder what sort of conditions and treatment these prisoners are being subjected to, when seven have already died . . . and whether the causes of their deaths are being properly investigated and reported.

But equally important is that brief mention, highlighted above, of a projected “Alligator Alcatraz.” Just some of the questions incubating in my mind are:

— Is this facility intended to take the place of the previously-proposed restoration of the real Alcatraz off the coast of San Francisco? Has that one proven to be too expensive? Or are we to have a coast-to-coast archipelago of prison camps — our very own GULAG — like the one Vladimir Putin inherited from his predecessors and continues to utilize as housing for his political and other prisoners?

— Since the proposed renovation and expansion of the original Alcatraz (aptly nicknamed “the Rock” for its isolated island location) is estimated to take a couple of years to complete, is this new project being undertaken because it will be faster to implement? If so, what are we talking about: solid structures, or some sort of “tent city”?

— And why on a treeless airfield in the middle of steaming Florida Everglades swamp country? I don’t suppose anyone has factored in the cost of air-conditioning. What new kind of hell is envisioned for these people, most of whom have done nothing worse than come to America to build a new, better life for themselves and their families? Even the actual criminals among them deserve better than that.

— And finally, is this what DOGE had in mind when they decimated FEMA, the government agency that for nearly half a century has saved countless lives and helped victims of disasters put their lives back together? So that Trump could have enough money to destroy thousands of additional lives?

I ask you: What in the name of all that’s holy is wrong with these people??!!!

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
6/27/25

UPDATE: Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs has said that “Canadian consular officials are urgently seeking more information from US officials,” adding that further details will not be provided in order to respect the family’s privacy. [Emma Tucker, CNN, June 26, 2025.]

There’s always someone willing and able to make a small fortune out of someone else’s tragedy. In Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, it was the innkeeper / grave robber, M. Thenardier, who descended into the sewers below Paris to rob the dead of their jewels and gold fillings following the unsuccessful students’ uprising. After all, they were dead; they didn’t need their valuables any longer . . . or so he rationalized.

That was in 19th century France. In today’s Russia, it’s the funeral industry that is capitalizing on the government’s “special military operation” against Ukraine. While official Russian combat casualty statistics are kept secret, estimated deaths are in the hundreds of thousands. And as the bodies of the dead are returned home, the demand for caskets, burial sites and funeral services has skyrocketed.

And so has the cost of all of those necessities — by an estimated 12.7% in the first four months of 2025 over the same period last year, according to the Russian newspaper Kommersant. [RFE/RL, June 26, 2025.]

Allegedly, families of the war dead are reimbursed by the government for funeral expenses up to a limit of about $650 in most regions, and around $880 in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Sevastopol (in Russian-occupied Crimea). The current average cost, nationwide, was $750 in 2024, and would obviously be higher now. Anything above the reimbursable amount would be the responsibility of the deceased’s family. [Id.]

That is, if there were actually funds disbursed to the families. Some have complained that the government’s promises are being ignored. One woman, whose father was killed in combat near Pokrovsk, Ukraine, said on social media:

“I paid for everything myself. There was no burial service, no death benefits. No one came, not even a representative from the military commissariat or the brigade where he served.” [Id.]

Russia’s average income per capita in December of 2024 was about $8,100 [ceicdata.com], with inflation running rampant. Many of the soldiers fighting in Ukraine enlisted only because they were offered substantial bonuses — money that was desperately needed to support their families. Under the circumstances, $750 is an astronomical amount of money to most of the country’s average citizens.

But the funeral industry is thriving. Nearly 200 new funeral-related businesses have opened this year alone, with the greatest number reported in Tatarstan, the Moscow region, and St. Petersburg. [RFE/RL, op.cit.]

While the funeral parlors and casket-makers themselves have doubtless seen their costs rise, the increased demand brought about by the devastating war in Ukraine has also provided an opportunity for a sizable amount of profiteering by a bunch of “entrepreneurs” . . . at the expense of their grieving friends and neighbors.

It may be business as usual . . . but it also seems a bit Ebenezer Scrooge-ish to me. Or maybe I’m just too much of an idealist.

C’est la guerre.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
6/27/25

The two-day NATO summit at The Hague ended satisfactorily for nearly everyone. Donald Trump basked in the glow of a bit of obsequious flattery from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and succeeded in convincing the European members to work toward increasing their defense spending to five percent of GDP.

The heads of the European allied nations were happy to hear Trump pledge his loyalty to the bloc and to the terms of Article 5 — the mutual defense clause stating that an attack on any one of the 32 NATO members is an attack on all.

And strong language was included in the final summit declaration, identifying Russia as a “long-term threat” to Euro-Atlantic security.

One person was not happy, however: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was present as an observer, and who had come to plead his case once more — not only for a path to NATO membership — but for continued support in the defense of his country against Russia’s unflagging onslaught.

But — unlike the tenor of the 2023 and 2024 summits — this one made no mention of potential membership for Ukraine . . . nor did the final declaration include language condemning Russia’s invasion. There was not even a NATO-Ukraine Council, and Zelensky was limited to attendance at side events and the main social event, the summit dinner with spouses.

There was, however, a brief passage stating that “allies reaffirm their enduring sovereign commitments to provide support to Ukraine, whose security contributes to ours, and, to this end, will include direct contributions towards Ukraine’s defense and its defense industry when calculating Allies’ defense spending.” [Rikard Jozwiak, RFE/RL, June 25, 2025.]

Well . . . Whoop-de-do!

Except for a brief sideline chat with Trump, Zelensky might just as well have stayed home.

In fact, for what they accomplished, they could all have stayed home and set up a Zoom call.

But then they would have missed a lovely dinner with the King and Queen of the Netherlands.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
6/26/25

Currently, 72 percent of Mexico’s total natural gas requirement comes from imports . . . almost all of it from the United States, and mostly via pipelines. The country relies on the fuel primarily to generate electricity and for industrial purposes.

But in January, Mexican sources revealed that they were accelerating plans to double the country’s strategic gas storage due to concerns that Donald Trump might use their dependence on U.S. gas as leverage. [Natalia Siniawski, Reuters, June 21, 2025.]

And that must have been music to Vladimir Putin’s ears.

Because on Saturday, June 21st, the Russian Embassy in Mexico posted on X that Russia is ready to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Mexico and to share oil extraction and processing technologies. This would no doubt include financial and technical assistance to Mexico’s state oil company, Pemex, in its efforts to reactivate many of its wells that have been closed due to lack of funding and an aging infrastructure. [Id.]

Ignoring, for the moment, the economic ramifications of such a deal, I would find it more than a little discomfiting — particularly as someone who lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 — to find the Putin government setting up camp on the territory of an adjacent neighbor that obviously is losing (or has already lost) faith in the United States as a long-time friend and trade partner.

Discomfiting . . . but not at all surprising.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
6/26/25

I have these friends — friends of my late sister, actually — lovely people with whom I keep in touch through the wonders of Facebook. They’re a close-knit family who love life — the widowed mother (about my age), a son and daughter-in-law, a daughter and son-in-law, and teenage grandchildren — and who never miss an opportunity to celebrate together and with their large circle of friends.

There’s always a reason to party: a birthday, anniversary, graduation, or some sort of holiday. There is a consistency to their festivities: they invariably involve good food, and plenty of it, in the time-honored tradition of breaking bread and sharing it.

And decorations. These folks know how to decorate, and definitely subscribe to the philosophy that says you can’t overdo a good thing. They festoon their respective homes, inside and out, with the joy of every season and every holiday, and — like their food — they share their happiness with the world.

Needless to say, Christmas is the big event. There is so much Christmas to be displayed, they have to start decorating early, way before Thanksgiving. I honestly don’t know where they store everything throughout the year, but they are obviously the most well-organized group of people you’re ever likely to run across.

But today they — or rather, the son — outdid himself by posting on FB a reminder that Christmas is exactly six months from today, and included a picture of an amazing (and amazingly large) new decoration that he had finally found after searching for it for ages.

In June. In 115-degree weather. And he’s out there “doing” Christmas.

And I’m in here, in the air-conditioned comfort of my undecorated home, thinking:

“Enough, already!”

No, I am not the Grinch. I love the spirit of Christmas, and all of the kitsch that goes with it. But I love it in December, when it’s cold (or at least cool) outdoors. Some of my fondest memories are of heading out on the day after Thanksgiving to begin the rounds of the newly-decorated stores, making lists (and checking them twice), baking cookies, decorating, partying, addressing cards, wrapping, hiding the gifts from prying eyes . . . all of it crammed into one spirited, fun-filled, exhausting month.

And I remember being sad when it was over for another year, but having something to look forward to for the next eleven months.

But then some fool came up with the idea of “Christmas in July,” and ruined the whole thing.

I want cookouts in July and August . . . not Christmas. I love a fall festival and trick-or-treat in September and October . . . not Christmas. And November should be about Thanksgiving . . . not some afterthought in the midst of Christmas preparations. I don’t want to be sick of Christmas before it even arrives.

But the merchandisers say otherwise. They’re not stupid . . . just greedy. They know that we’ll see the wisdom of getting a jump on our shopping and spreading the cash outflow over a period of several months. They also know that, by holding back the very best of their goods until November, we’ll buy even more. It’s diabolical!

But Santa and his elves need a break, for heaven’s sake! They need time to make all the toys and other goodies. And we recipients of their gifts need time throughout the year to celebrate other things, and to regain the wonder of that feeling of anticipation as summer eases into autumn, the nights grow chilly, and the holiday season begins in earnest.

So I say, screw Christmas in July. Grab some hot dogs and burgers, an ice cold lemonade (or a brewski, if you prefer), and head outdoors to enjoy a band concert or the fireworks on a sultry 4th of July evening. Stop wishing your life away, and celebrate the moment, the now.

Christmas will be here soon enough.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
6/25/25

On Monday, I reported on the release of political prisoners by the government of Belarus. In my excitement over the good news, I accidentally included the name of one hostage — Ihar Losik — who had not actually been released. For that, I offer my sincerest apologies.

I always strive for accuracy in my writing. But, like all humans, I am imperfect. My biggest regret in this instance is that this retraction has to bring such sad news.

Ihar Losik, a reporter for RFE/RL’s Belarus Service, remains in prison . . . now in the fifth year of a 15-year sentence for allegedly “organizing mass riots, taking part in mass disorder, inciting social hatred,” and several other charges that remain unclear. [RFE/RL, June 25, 2025.] He was tried and sentenced in December 2021 along with two men who were released this week: Siarhei Tsikhanouski and Ihar Karnei.

RFE/RL reports that Losik has not been heard from in about two years, except for a scripted appearance before a camera on a Belarusian state TV propaganda program. [Id.]

So the vigil continues, for Ihar Losik and the hundreds (if not thousands) of political prisoners remaining in Russian and Belarusian prisons and penal colonies.

If only the vigil weren’t necessary . . .

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
6/25/25

If the CREC has its way, we should begin saying our farewells to Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Shintoism, and every other “ism” you can think of. Because the members of the CREC (Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches) are determined that this will be a Christian world, opposed to religious pluralism or political points of view other than their own. [Samuel Perry, Baylor University, The Conversation, June 20, 2025.]

*. *. *

And Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is an active member of one of the CREC’s churches. Even before his confirmation hearings in January of this year, his membership became an issue because of prominent members of the CREC churches who identify as Christian nationalists, and because of its positions on issues such as gender, sexuality, and the separation of church and state.

More recently, there was substantial media coverage of Hegseth and his pastor, Brooks Potteiger, leading a Pentagon prayer service in which they praised Donald Trump as having been divinely appointed. [Id.]

The CREC’s co-founder, Doug Wilson, began building his network of churches, schools, and media outlets in his home town of Moscow, Idaho; his stated desire was to”to make Moscow a Christian town.” The CREC now claims to have more than 130 member churches throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia. On its website, the CREC says it is “committed to maintaining its Reformed faith, avoiding the pitfalls of cultural relevance and political compromise that destroys our doctrinal integrity.” [Id.]

CREC churches also adhere to a strictly patriarchal and conservative interpretation of Scripture. Wilson has said, for example, that in a sexual relationship, “A woman receives, surrenders, accepts.” [Id.]

Why am I hearing echoes of the Sabine Women?

While obviously finding that personally disgusting, I am even more concerned with their contention that the government, and everyone serving in it, should be Christian . . . as they define it. Researcher Matthew Taylor stated in an interview with the Nashville Tennessean:

“They believe the church is supposed to be militant in the world, is supposed to be reforming the world, and in some ways conquering the world.” [Id.]

The CREC’s Logos Schools, through its own Logos Press, has created — both for their own use and for sale to private schools and home-school families — a curriculum designed to develop their “biblical worldview,” and to help parents “raise faithful, dangerous Christian kids who impact the world for Christ and leave craters in the world of secularism.” [Id.]

Logos press asserts that “education is warfare.” [Id.]

Wilson has also founded Canon Press, which produces books, podcasts, and a YouTube channel, as well as assorted merchandise including apparel and weapons, such as a flamethrower. Their YouTube channel has over 100,000 followers. Their published books include children’s picture books, books on warfare, and manuals on masculinity, in addition to a number of books on Christian nationalism.

In 1996, Wilson published a book that offered a positive depiction of slavery, and claimed that slavery cultivated “affection among the races.” [Id.]

Yeah, right . . . like the affection those six million Jews felt for the Nazi regime as they were marched to the crematoria.

*. *. *

There’s more information available on the CREC website, but I find I haven’t the stomach to delve deeper into it at this moment. From what I have read, though, this much is obvious:

Like any extremist group — left or right, religion-based or otherwise — they are dangerous. This particular organization has all the earmarks of a latent 21st century religious-political Crusade. They fancy themselves to be warriors. And the U.S. Secretary of Defense — by his actions with regard to gender identity, banning trans people from military service, and holding group prayer sessions in the Pentagon and the White House — obviously adheres to at least some of their beliefs.

I think I’ve said enough.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
6/25/25

He never does what you expect him to do. In the middle of an action, he delights in pulling a 180, just to keep people on their toes. And sometimes it seems he’s genuinely confused, not sure why he said or did something in the first place, and simply denies it ever happened.

That can be totally frustrating for his immediate circle of friends and family. But when it carries over into the running of a country, or the balance of power of the entire world, it’s more than upsetting . . . it’s potentially cataclysmic.

But that is Donald Trump’s modus operandi. Somewhere in the years of his youth, he must have heard the lyrics to the old popular song, “I’ve Got the World On a String” (Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler, 1932), and taken it literally.

We’ve seen it in his treatment of Vladimir Putin: threatening one day, best friends the next.

He virtually excoriates Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office in front of the entire world, threatens to cut off aid to Ukraine . . . and then reconsiders.

When Israel and Iran begin lobbing missiles at one another, he jumps in to help Israel, then screams at Netanyahu not to escalate by retaliating when Iran violates the ceasefire he, Trump, has just brokered.

He threatens to pull the U.S. out of NATO, calls it useless, then takes over the summit as though he owns it.

And those are just a few of the highlights of the past five months. It’s the way he operated his businesses and his TV “reality” show . . . and it’s the way he operates on the world stage.

Needless to say, he runs the U.S. government the same way. During his first administration, the White House was said to have a revolving door. He seems to delight in hiring people for their professed loyalty rather than their qualifications for the job, only to fire them for the slightest infraction, real or imagined. He signs executive orders, then retracts them. He has his pseudo-governmental agency, DOGE, cut the staffing and funding of vital departments to the bone, only to have to reverse course when — to his great surprise — things stop working properly.

And he very publicly breaks up with his BFF over a difference of opinion, then reconsiders . . . sort of.

*. *. *

To say his methodology is inefficient would be the most extreme of understatements. It is tearing the country apart, and destabilizing virtually every nation in the world. It’s also making us a laughing stock.

So why does he do it . . . in fact, why has he always done it? Is he diabolically evil? A little sadistic? Clinically schizophrenic? Perhaps, as it often seems, he simply lashes out in anger when things aren’t going his way, or when he needs to divert the public’s attention from other matters.

Any of those scenarios could prove disastrous for the leader of the free world. Imagine his being so uncontrollably angry one day that he blurts out, on live TV, that Israel and Iran “don’t know what the fuck they’re doing.”

Oh, wait . . . you don’t have to imagine it. He did that, today, again for the whole world to see and hear on live TV.

That is a sign of an individual on the brink of losing control . . . if he hasn’t already lost it.

And that individual is the man pulling the strings.

Which is keeping me — and a lot of other people — awake at night.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
6/24/25

The entire world knows that Vladimir Putin’s word means nothing.

He pays lip service to human rights, then imprisons, tortures and kills journalists and dissidents who criticize his regime. He calls for meetings to negotiate a peace agreement with Ukraine, then reiterates and increases his impossible demands. He claims his troops only target military facilities, then destroys apartment buildings, hospitals, schools, and historic landmarks.

And he swears (though not on a bible) that it is not, never has been, and never will be his intention to invade another country after Ukraine.

But on June 20th, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, he declared that the “whole of Ukraine” — not just the 20 percent presently occupied by his forces — belongs to Russia. In his words:

“Where the foot of a Russian soldier steps, that is ours.” [Zachary Schermele and Savannah Kuchar, USA Today, June 21, 2025.]

Which is why most of the NATO and EU countries bordering or close to Russian territory have been tightening their borders and increasing their defenses. Because they know that the feet of Russian soldiers are not far away.

And to reinforce his capabilities — in case anyone should still have doubts — yesterday he fired dozens of drones and missiles into Ukraine . . . demolishing a housing bloc, killing 10 civilians, and burying others beneath the rubble in Kyiv alone. [Stanislav Doshchitsyn and Ania Tsoukanova, AFP, June 23, 2025.]

The Russian army claimed it had used precision weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles to strike Ukrainian military facilities, saying that “All the designated targets were destroyed.” [Id.]

They lied.

And Donald Trump still believes he can negotiate with this man, or wear him down with threats of more sanctions. But Vladimir Putin is the embodiment of Shakespeare’s Richard III:

“And thus I clothe my naked villainy
With odd old ends stol’n forth of Holy Writ;
And seem a saint when most I play the devil.”

Everyone knows you can’t negotiate with the devil.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
6/24/25

Amongst the endless tales of war, spying, corruption, and countless other examples of man’s inhumanity to man, it would be impossible for me to pass up a rare opportunity to bring a bit of happy news to my readers. And I couldn’t wait to share this story, rather than save it for my next regular Sunday update on the Russian/Belarusian hostage situation.

Hours after filing yesterday’s post, I was thrilled to read that Belarus’ presumptive president, Aleksandr Lukashenko, had agreed to release 14 political prisoners, including three whose names have lingered on my hostage list for far too long: Siarhei Tsikhanouski, Ihar Karnei (or Karney), and Ihar Losik. And separately, one more from our list — Vladyslav Yesypenko — was also released. It will give me great joy to scratch through all of their names next Sunday.

The others who were freed, whom I have not yet seen identified, include individuals from Belarus, Poland, Latvia, Japan, and Sweden. They were all sent to Lithuania, where they are said to be receiving care and shelter. [Anastasiia Kruope, Human Rights Watch, June 23, 2025.]

Thanks to the government of Lithuania for their invaluable diplomatic and humane assistance!

*. *. *

Siarhei Tsikhanouski was detained in May 2020 after announcing his intention to run for president against Lukashenko. His wife, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, ran in her husband’s place following his arrest, but was forced to flee the country under threat of reprisals.

*. *. *

Ukrainian journalist Yesypenko spent more than four years of a five-year sentence in prison in Russian-occupied Crimea. He was charged with espionage and possession of explosives, which he denied. While imprisoned, he was tortured, including with electric shocks, to force a confession. [Sonya Bandouil, Kyiv Independent, June 22, 2025.]

*. *. *

Belarusian journalist Ihar Karnei was arrested in 2023 and sentenced to three years in prison on charges of “extremism” — an all-purpose appellation widely used in Russia and Belarus as an excuse to arrest individuals who dare to criticize government officials or policies.

*. *. *

Ihar Losik is a journalist for RFE/RL’s Belarus Service. He was arrested in June of 2020 and tried on charges including “organization of mass riots” and “incitement to hatred.” Following a five-month closed-door trial, he was convicted on December 14, 2021, and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Following denial of his appeal, he was transferred to the Navapolatsk hard labor colony, and added to Belarus’ terrorist watch list in 2022.

*. *. *

According to Belarusian human rights activists, the Lukashenko regime — which is considered illegitimate by the EU, U.S., Canada and other countries — continues to hold an estimated 1,100 political prisoners of various nationalities. So there remains much work to be done.

But the release of these 15 hostages brings great joy in the knowledge that the U.S. and other governments have not forgotten these victims of repression, and a ray of hope for the future release of each and every one of those still imprisoned.

A huge thank-you to all involved!

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
6/23/25