Remember Ocean’s Eleven? The original film was made in 1960, and starred the members of Hollywood’s infamous “Rat Pack”: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop, and more. The 2001 remake was technologically advanced and well done, but not quite as much fun for those of us old enough to remember the original.

Whichever version you choose to watch, you will be treated to a clever, fast-paced, sometimes suspenseful and often hilarious crime caper in which a group of con men (and one woman) devise the perfect plan to rob five Las Vegas casinos of a boatload of cash.

And for no apparent reason, I dreamt about that plot last night; only in my dream I was part of a gang of Robin Hood-style do-gooders planning to deprive the country’s corrupt oligarchs of their fortunes and retreat to our private island, where we would live — somehow safe from extradition or retribution — happily ever after.

I awoke smiling, most likely at the audacity of the concept. And then it struck me that I might possibly have stumbled upon the perfect solution to America’s current oligarch problem. We hire the originators of Ocean’s Eleven — the writers, producers, and directors — to apply their diabolical cleverness to concocting a real-life heist.

And we put the ogre-in-chief. and all of his multi-billionaire cohorts, out of business.

Just don’t ask me how to do it; I haven’t the foggiest notion. That would require minds far more clever (and devious) than mine, and some real-world technical advisors to back us up. My immediate thought is that we would need former Secretary of Labor and outspoken administration critic Robert Reich for his knowledge and expertise in trade and economic affairs; progressive Democrat, billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates for his financial wizardry; and for legal advice, if they would be willing, one or all of the three brave-and-true Americans on the Supreme Court: Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett.

Of course, I haven’t presented the idea to any of them — they don’t even know I exist — but they would be my dream team.

Then we would do unto the oligarchs as they have done unto everyone else: we screw them to the wall. Because without their billions, they are nothing. And without their political presence, we can truly make America great again . . . the way she was meant to be.

Yes, it’s a pipe dream. But it’s the best one I’ve had in a long while.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/23/25

The draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Tournament is to be held in Washington in December of this year, as announced yesterday by Donald Trump in the Oval Office, where he gathered with FIFA chief Gianni Infantino and members of the press.

The event is to be hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico (presumably, if they’re all speaking to each other by then – ed. comment).

Holding the golden (his favorite color) FIFA World Cup Trophy, Trump hinted that Vladimir Putin might also attend the World Cup, saying — with his customary clarity — that Putin “wants to be there very badly . . . [and] may be coming and he may not” . . . depending on the status of the war in Ukraine and the current peace efforts. [RFE/RL, August 23, 2025 CET.]

That, of course, led the reporters to the subject of the Russia-Ukraine negotiations, to which Trump said he would decide his position on the war in the next two weeks, but that he wants to see whether Putin and Ukrainian President Zelensky would meet first:

“I think I’ll know. I think I’ll know the attitude of Russia, and, frankly, of Ukraine. It takes two. Then I’m going to make a decision as to what we do and it’s going to be a very important decision. Whether it’s massive sanctions, massive tariffs, or both. Or I’ll do nothing and say, ‘This is your war.’” [Id.]

No! No! No!

Donald Trump will not — not in two weeks, not in two years, not in two centuries — know the attitude of Russia. Where an understanding of Vladimir Putin is concerned, Trump has his head so far up his own ass he can probably see his tonsils.

As Clifford May, founder of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), said in a recent interview with RFE/RL’s Current Time:

“His [Putin’s] mission, it seems to me, is very clear: It’s to restore the Russian/Soviet empire. And that requires that he drag Ukraine back into it. He also doesn’t like the idea of a free, independent, and democratic nation right across the border from him. A bad example for Russians, as he sees it.” [Current Time, RFE/RL, August 23, 2025 CET.]

And May added:

“Here’s what worries me most: Too few people understand that what Putin wants through diplomacy is not peace but victory. He wants to get through diplomacy what he hasn’t been able to achieve through war over the past three or so years. He has much of the Donbas but not all of it. He wants the rest of it. In particular, he wants what’s known as ‘the fortress belt,’ [which is made up of the] fortress cities he hasn’t been able to break through.” [Id.]

Zelensky has rightly accused Russia of “doing everything it can” to prevent a meeting between the two leaders. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that Putin was ready to meet Zelensky “when the agenda is ready for a summit, and this agenda is not ready at all.” He further accused Zelensky of saying “no to everything.” [Ruth Comerford and Kay Watson, BBC News, August 22, 2025.]

And what is Donald Trump’s latest word on the possibility of a bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelensky? Well, he said he’s been trying to make it work, but:

“ . . . that’s like oil and vinegar … they don’t get along too well.” [Id.]

Don’t tell Trump, but I think he meant “oil and water.”

And that’s the stable genius who’s running the show.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/23/25

From its inception, the United States of America has been a shining beacon of freedom and democracy to the rest of the world. We have been the place to which the world’s victims of tyranny have aspired to emigrate . . . as did countless millions, including my own grandparents.

We were the country that didn’t start wars, but never hesitated to send our troops to the defense of our allies against invasion.

We have been the first to condemn and sanction the despots, dictators, autocrats, violators of human rights in the darkest corners of the world.

We have been at the forefront of the United Nations (and its Security Council), and of NATO, in helping to keep mankind as safe as possible in an inherently unsafe world.

So how is it possible, as we approach the 250th anniversary of our nation’s birth, that we are now embroiled in controversy with the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the very sort of action of which we have been so critical for so long?

A little background: The ICC is a global court that has the power to bring prosecutions for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. It has, for example, issued a warrant against Vladimir Putin for his kidnapping and detainment of hundreds of Ukrainian children since the start of his war against Ukraine in 2022.

The United States — though an original signatory to the Rome Statute that created the ICC in 2000 — never followed through with the necessary Senate ratification. In fact, former President George W. Bush formally withdrew the country’s Rome Statute signature in 2002, on the ground that it might interfere with national sovereignty. Thus, the U.S. is not an ICC member, and is not bound by its rulings . . . which explains how Donald Trump was able to invite Vladimir Putin to Alaska without having to arrest him.

The Court also issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense chief Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the course of the ongoing Gaza conflict.

And Trump — being an avowed ally of Netanyahu and a behind-the-scenes buddy of Putin — has taken umbrage at the ICC’s actions. Three months ago, he issued sanctions against four of the Court’s judges. And now he has chosen two additional judges and two prosecutors as the latest victims of his sanctions in connection with the ICC’s actions against Israeli leaders, claiming — in a statement by Secretary of State Marco Rubio — “a national security threat that has been an instrument of lawfare” against the United States and Israel. [Humeyra Pamuk and Anthony Deutsch, Reuters, August 20, 2025.]

Rubio continued:

“[The] United States has been clear and steadfast in our opposition to the ICC’s politicization, abuse of power, disregard for our national sovereignty, and illegitimate judicial overreach. I urge countries that still support the ICC, many of whose freedom was purchased at the price of great American sacrifices, to resist the claims of this bankrupt institution.” [Id.]

The four sanctioned members of the Court, all of whom have been involved in cases linked to Israel and the United States, are from the member states of France, Fiji, Senegal and Canada. Both France and the United Nations have expressed anger at Trump’s action; the ICC called the move “a flagrant attack” against the independence of an impartial judicial institution, and warned that it could impede the functioning of the Court. [Id.]

But beyond that, it is an extension of Trump’s ongoing assault against his own country’s judiciary. He has stacked the U.S. Supreme Court with six (out of a total of nine justices) of his toadying sycophants; appointed more of the same to every vacancy that has arisen in the federal court system; and installed still more of his lackeys to take control of the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and the nation’s intelligence agencies.

So why not the ICC as well? In Trump’s world atop his gold-plated Mount Olympus, it’s the natural next step: If they don’t agree with him, he simply sets out to destroy them. The fact that the ICC is not an American institution, but an independent court of international jurisdiction, is meaningless to him; his reach knows no boundaries. He recognizes no authority above his own.

In his mind, he is Zeus.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/22/25

In terms of restful sleep, or even a bit of peace and quiet, the last three days have been . . . well . . . a test of my patience and perseverance.

Oh, who am I kidding? I’m living in auditory, sleep-deprived hell.

Our house is getting a new roof. It is one of those unfortunate inevitabilities of life that sneak up on you from time to time. While we humans, and our furry friends, spend our lives sheltered from the elements in abodes with walls, windows, doors, and a roof, those very structures that shelter us are themselves laid bare to the elements.

Here in the southern U.S., they’re exposed to scorching summers, windy winters, and year-round rain of biblical proportions — not to mention the apocalyptic thunderstorms accompanied by falling branches and miscellaneous wind-borne debris. Through all of these, the roof naturally catches the worst of it.

So on Wednesday, the roofers arrived shortly before 9:00 a.m. to begin what was supposed to be a day-and-a-half job.

I know I’ve made it quite clear in the past, but for those who missed my personal revelations, allow me to explain once again: I am a night owl. My body clock is totally screwed up. I am wide awake and at my most productive at midnight, when the vast majority of people are sound asleep. I generally get to bed around 2:00 or 3:00 a.m., sometimes lying awake — my mind aswirl with totally unrelated thoughts — until 4:00 a.m. or later. Then I sleep until noon.

So, although I was prepared for the morning invasion of the roofers, I had not realized that my wake-up call would consist of a battalion of drillers trying to break through the ceiling of my bedroom. Or so it seemed.

And that attack was, of course, accompanied by the ferocious barking of our dog Dixie, who — though in reality a loving creature — thinks she is protecting us by announcing the arrival of any stranger (or vehicle) within 100 yards of the house. And she is relentless.

So when the strangers in question don’t simply walk or drive past the house, but stick around to set up camp in the back yard and actually attack the house with their ladders, large tools, and roofing tiles . . . well, Dixie goes ballistic.

And that pillow over my head? Useless.

So on that first day (Wednesday), I decided it would be the better part of wisdom to get up and stay up, rather than lie there waiting for the roofers to drop through the ceiling onto my bed. I could always take a nap in my cozy den a little later, right?

Wrong. Because once I was up and about, Dixie quieted down and parked herself — atop my feet — in her “I really need a massage” pose in front of my easy chair. The noise from above never abated, but somehow my presence (not to mention 20 minutes of my gentle ministrations) managed to soothe her.

Unfortunately, there was no one available to do the same for me, and I spent the remainder of Wednesday — until around 5:00 p.m. — listening to a cacophony of sounds alternating among drilling, scraping and hammering. I tried listening to music, but it was only halfway effective; and somehow, the rhythmic noises from upstairs never quite synchronized with the strains of Shostakovich’s Waltz No. 2.

Even my old Dukes of Dixieland CDs weren’t loud enough. Some heavy metal might have done the trick, but that would just be trading one form of ear-splitting noise for another.

Anyway, I survived Wednesday — without a nap, I might add — and slept pretty well for about five hours that night . . . until 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, when the team arrived, allegedly to finish the job. Again accompanied by Dixie’s barking, they set to work for what should have been another half day, but turned out to be longer . . . until one of those southern afternoon rains arrived to put a merciful end to it.

And that evening, my son delivered the rest of the bad news. Upon returning home from work, he had climbed up to the roof to check on the progress that had been made, expecting it to be a fait accompli. But, as he put it, it was a mess. He estimated that — while we were indeed safe from that day’s rain — the job appeared to be only about half done.

Now it is Friday. For the third day in a row, I am running on about four hours of sleep; trying to ignore the guy just above me hammering tiles into place (at least, I hope that’s what he’s doing); and wondering what time today’s thunderstorm will arrive to delay things further, and whether these clowns work on the weekend.

*. *. *.

I know I shouldn’t complain. I read every day about people living in the hell of war-torn Ukraine, Gaza, and our own Florida Everglades abomination known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” And I am truly thankful to be where I am.

But I could really use some sleep.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/22/25

P.S. Following a wi-fi delay caused by a router outage — now rectified by my tech-genius son and daughter-in-law — I am able to report that the afternoon storm is upon us, and the roofers have fled. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Or is it just the other way around? With Donald Trump’s and Vladimir Putin’s governing methods so closely mirroring one another lately, it’s nearly impossible to determine who is inspiring whom.

I’ve been to the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. It was in February of 1993, and it was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I’ve also been to the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, back when it was still known as the Kirov and the city was called Leningrad. And I’ve spent countless hours at Washington’s Kennedy Center, National Theater and others, immersing myself in all sorts of entertainment, from ballet and opera to musical comedy to drama to jazz and pop music to . . . well, you name it. It’s all art, and it’s all wonderfully enriching and soul-satisfying.

To see it politicized is, to my mind, the ultimate degradation of the best that humanity has to offer: music, literature, drama, painting and sculpture. But it has happened in the past, and it is happening again.

Back in the days of the Cold War, when Russian artists from the Bolshoi, the Kirov and others performed outside of their country, they were accompanied by a cadre of KGB minders whose job it was to keep the performers from defecting. Sometimes they failed, as with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rudolf Nureyev and Natalia Makarova. But for the most part, they were able to keep their charges in line.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, it became possible for Russian citizens simply to move to another country if they so desired . . . though there seemed to be less reason for them to do so as restrictions were lifted.

But I wonder how long that will last. News has now been received that employees of the Bolshoi will hereafter be judged and monitored — not only for their artistry and technical excellence, as always — but also for their interest in, and views on, Russia’s war in Ukraine, which it still refers to as its “special military operation.”

In accordance with a contract between the Bolshoi and a Russian software company called Andek, the company’s “InfoWatch Traffic Monitor” software is being installed to examine email correspondence for obscene content and discussions about theater management. But it will also include filters to detect “political views” and “interest in the SVO” (the Russian acronym for “special military operation”). [RFE/RL, August 22, 2025.]

In addition, the Bolshoi’s general director, Vladimir Urin, was fired after signing a petition in 2022 expressing his opposition to the war. In his place, the theater’s operations are now under the direction of famed conductor Valery Gergiev, who — because of his vehement support of Vladimir Putin — has been shunned in a number of Western countries, the most recent being Italy. (See my post, “7/13/25: The Politicization of Culture.”)

This being the Putin era in Russia — a regime of ever-increasing repression and persecution — these developments are not especially surprising. But what do they have to do with Donald Trump or the Kennedy Center?

Everything. Because Trump, less than a month after re-ascending the throne in the newly-gilded Oval Office, fired several Kennedy Center board members deemed not sufficiently subservient to him, replaced them with his own loyalists, and installed himself as chairman of the board. At the time, he wrote on Truth Social:

“At my direction, we are going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., GREAT AGAIN.” [Alexandra Marquez and Nnamdi Egwuonwu, NBC News, August 13, 2025.]

(Washington theatergoers have always been of the opinion that it was already great, but that’s obviously of no interest to the new chairman.)

Since then, he has made personnel changes, stricken programs that he considered too “woke,” and talked about renaming it after his wife Melania — which would be a violation of the Act of Congress that created the Center in 1964. [Id.]

And earlier this month, he announced that he would host this year’s Kennedy Center Honors ceremony — a glittering event that has always been emceed by show business headliners such as Queen Latifah and David Letterman. He claims he was reluctant to host when first asked to do so, saying:

“It’s going to be a big evening. I’ve been asked to host. I said, ‘I don’t care. I’m president of the United States. I won’t do it.’ They said, ‘please.’ I didn’t want to do it? OK? They’re going to say, ‘He insisted.’ I did not insist. But I think it will be quite successful.” [Id.]

Right . . . suddenly he’s reluctant to take center stage. And the moon is made of cheese.

Since Trump’s changes have been instituted, the Kennedy Center has lost numerous long-time subscribers, and a number of performers have refused to appear there. Washington, D.C. — the nation’s capital — is in danger of losing its preeminent cultural center.

Taken alongside his alterations to the revered Smithsonian Institution’s exhibits and programs in his frenzy to eliminate any indication of DEI — even, in fact, attempting to rewrite history by erasing any mention of the negative aspects of our past and present — it is not difficult to draw a comparison between Trump’s and Putin’s actions.

It’s all about control and personal satisfaction. Because that’s what autocrats do.

And it’s scaring me to death.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/22/25

And another demonstration of Vladimir Putin’s true intentions, i.e., to take control of as much Ukrainian territory as possible while trying to convince the world that all he really wants is peace, love and harmony, and that this whole “special military operation” is really Volodymyr Zelensky’s fault.

Only today, he may have screwed up.

Because in launching more attacks on multiple regions — the largest of this month so far — he hit U.S.-owned, non-military infrastructure.

The facility is a manufacturing plant that has no military application whatsoever. It is located in Mukachevo, in the Carpathian Mountains region of far western Ukraine, abutting the borders of NATO/EU member countries Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and Romania. It is owned by Flex Ltd., whose public relations director, Conor Phillips, described it as “strictly focused on civilian consumer manufacturing,” producing household goods such as coffee machines. [RFE/RL, August 21, 2025.]

The plant was hit by two Kalibr missiles; the resulting fire spread over an area of 7,000 square meters. Phillips said that “A few employees and contractors were injured, and six individuals remain in hospital and are receiving medical care.” [Id.]

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said the Mukachevo attack had caused serious damage and casualties, and — in a masterpiece of understatement — that the strikes were “contrary to all efforts to end the war.” [Id.]

As of this writing, I have not seen a reaction from the White House to this attack on U.S. property. There should be, at the very least, an expression of outrage and a demand for some form of restitution. But we’ll see what Washington’s response is.

In the meantime, while Zelensky pleads for a ceasefire and a U.S.-European agreement on post-war security guarantees; and Donald Trump says we’ll see what Putin comes up with in the next couple of weeks; Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said today that any presence of European troops in Ukraine would be “absolutely unacceptable” and would be considered a “foreign intervention in some part of Ukrainian territory.” [Id.]

Lavrov also said yesterday that the issue of security — which was the principal subject of the multinational meeting at the White House on Monday — cannot be discussed without Russia.

That meeting included a 40-minute phone call between Trump and Putin, in which Trump pushed for direct meetings between Putin and Zelensky. But the Kremlin continues to insist that such a meeting cannot be held until certain issues are first resolved. And one of those issues — which has served as a major delaying tactic by Putin — is his specious assertion that Zelensky has not been the legitimate president of Ukraine since 2024, when the regularly scheduled elections were postponed due to a constitutional provision that freezes elections during times of war.

In today’s statement, Lavrov had this to say on the subject:

“Of course, I hope when and if it comes to signing future agreements, the issue of the legitimacy of the person signing these agreements on the Ukrainian side will be resolved.” [Id.]

“ . . . when and if . . .”

So . . . Russia will not negotiate an end to the war as long as Zelensky remains in office; but Ukraine cannot legally hold a new election until the war is over.

Stalemate.

Yet Donald Trump has previously said that Zelensky could end the war now if he wanted to. Which makes me wonder in what parallel universe the delusional occupant of the White House really lives.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/21/25

It’s not the proliferation of spin doctors that has me feeling dizzy . . . though goodness knows, there are more than enough of them to go around. But no . . . instead, it’s the frequency and speed of the 180-degree turns in what passes for U.S. foreign policy these days.

I never would have imagined that someone carrying as much bulk as Donald Trump could be capable of completing even a single pirouette, much less a constant succession of them. But when it comes to his frantic attempt to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine before the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize is announced in December, he just keeps twirling on those little toes with an agility that would make Mikhail Baryshnikov turn green with envy.

In all fairness, he is dealing with the most evil spin-master of them all: Vladimir Putin. And that requires more than just agility and flexibility; it also requires an understanding of the adversary, which is something that Trump never has had, and likely never will have. Perhaps it’s because they’re so alike in so many ways, and Trump lacks the introspection to understand himself, much less anyone else.

Add to that the well-known Kremlin tactic of making ambiguous statements, and the next day claiming that the entire world had misheard or misinterpreted what had clearly been said, and it’s no wonder we’re all feeling a bit light-headed.

One would think — or at least hope — that a Trump-Putin summit on Friday, August 15th, followed by a multi-lateral White House meeting on Monday the 18th that included Trump, Ukrainian President Zelensky, five other European heads of state, and the leaders of the EC and NATO, would have yielded some concrete results.

But no, it was not to be. Perhaps it’s the recent rainy weather, but the concrete simply refuses to harden. While everyone seems to have been in agreement that post-war security guarantees for Ukraine are of primary importance, Trump can’t make up his mind as to the extent of U.S. involvement in any such guarantees. One day he’s in, the next day he has reservations.

And then there was his 40-minute phone call with Vladimir Putin from the Oval Office while the European contingent waited in the meeting room. Trump later posted on Truth Social that his discussion with Putin had covered the possibility of a bilateral (Putin-Zelensky) face-to-face, and/or a trilateral (Putin-Zelensky-Trump) meeting, and that “This was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years.” [RFE/RL, August 18, 2025.]

And he was pushing for the first such meeting to be held as quickly as possible, preferably within a few days.

The following morning, that idea was blown out of the water by Russian foreign affairs adviser Yury Ushakov, whose statement to the press made it quite clear that Putin’s attendance at such a meeting was not engraved in stone, and that they had merely “discussed that it would be worthwhile to explore the possibility of raising the level of representatives from the Ukrainian and Russian sides — that is, those representatives participating in the mentioned direct negotiations. Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump agreed to maintain close contact with each other on the Ukrainian issue and other pressing topics on the international and bilateral agenda.” [Lidia Kelly, Reuters, August 18, 2025.]

“Other pressing topics”?? With half of Europe’s leadership waiting in the next room to tackle one urgent issue — Ukraine — Donnie and Vlad were discussing . . . what? Increased trade? Easing of sanctions? The price of vodka and caviar?

But what about the f*cking war??!!!

Well, on Tuesday the 19th, Trump finally admitted that this conflict has turned out to be “a tough one” to resolve, and that it was possible that Putin has zero interest in ending the war in the foreseeable future. His comment:

“We’re going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks. It’s possible that he doesn’t want to make a deal.” [Laura Gozzi, BBC News, August 20, 2025.]

Welcome to reality, genius.

So now, after a frantic week of hastily-arranged meetings, overseas flights and multiple phone conferences, we’re back to a “couple of weeks.” Which means we’re essentially back to square one. Only now, Putin has not merely bought himself more time — during which, not incidentally, he has continued to bomb the hell out of Ukraine — but has also emerged, bright and shiny, from the political purgatory he brought on himself when he invaded Ukraine.

Yes, Vladimir Putin is back . . . large and in charge. And Trump doesn’t know which way to turn.

I could offer a suggestion, but it wouldn’t be nice.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/21/25

One question has been eating away at me since February 24, 2022 — the day Russian troops invaded eastern Ukraine and began stealing mile after mile of Ukrainian territory, claiming it as rightfully belonging to Mother Russia. And that question is:

If Russia is ultimately allowed to keep the territory it has succeeded in occupying, what will happen to all of the Ukrainian people living there who will suddenly find themselves the newest residents of Russia? What, if any, options will they have?

Much, of course, will depend on the terms of the final peace treaty; perhaps there will be a provision allowing those who wish to leave to do so. But where will they go? And what will it mean to them to be uprooted from the homes and the lives they have built?

In the Donbas area, for example — which encompasses the Donetsk and Luhansk Regions — there are quite a few Russian sympathizers who will choose to remain under Russian rule. But they constitute a minority of the total population (currently estimated at 6.5 million). It is difficult to imagine a mass exodus of that magnitude.

So, for the millions who are unable or unwilling to leave, but who oppose the Putin regime, what will the future hold?

First, of course, will be the “award” of Russian citizenship and the issuance of Russian passports.

The Russian language will become dominant; eventually, speaking Ukrainian may become illegal.

The children will quickly be “Russianized.” New school curricula will be instituted immediately, teachers retrained, and children’s “clubs” formed to augment the indoctrination process, similar to the Soviet Komsomol and Pioneer groups. They will be trained for future military service. Their young, vulnerable minds will be molded to form the next generation of good Russian citizens.

Young adults will become eligible for conscription into the Russian military, possibly sent to fight their own Ukrainian people in some future conflict.

Communications — the press, TV, internet — will be restricted in accordance with Russian laws.

Friends, relatives, neighbors, co-workers will be encouraged to report any expressions of political dissidence or resistance, creating an endemic atmosphere of suspicion and fear.

I shudder to think of what will happen to the Ukrainian Orthodox churches in those regions, the historic Ukrainian monuments and memorials, and the libraries filled with Ukrainian books.

Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

*. *. *

These are the images — in addition to the relentless death and destruction — that keep me awake at night.

I see my grandparents, and millions of others — honest, decent, hard-working people — fleeing the tyranny and the pogroms of the tsar in the early 1900s, courageously coming to a strange land to learn a new language, a new way of life.

But the doors that were open to their generation are being slammed shut today; there is no longer any room for them, any “promised land” to run to . . . not in those numbers.

That lamp has been extinguished.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/20/25

Behind the big smile, and the handshakes, and the assurances that he’s just joking, you never know what really is going through Donald Trump’s mind.

One of the major sticking points in Russia-Ukraine negotiations has been Vladimir Putin’s assertion that Volodymyr Zelensky is no longer the legitimate president of Ukraine, his term having run out in May of 2024, and therefore has no standing to negotiate peace terms. But the Ukrainian Constitution provides that no presidential election may be held while the country is at war . . . which, of course, it has been since the Russian invasion of February 2022. So Putin’s claim is specious at best, and merely another stalling tactic.

But during this week’s meeting at the White House, the subject was raised by a journalist, and Zelensky assured Trump and the others present in the Oval Office that, once the war was over, his country would definitely hold a proper, legal, democratic election.

Now, we’ve all heard Trump’s suggestive comments about finding a way to run for a third term, despite the U.S. Constitutional limitation of two presidential terms. So it comes as no surprise that he would jump on the opportunity to respond to Zelensky, in front of the assembled press corps:

“During the war, you can’t have elections? So let me just see, three and a half years from now, if we happen to be in a war with somebody, no more elections? That’s good.” [C-Span, August 18, 2025.]

Then he laughed. But somewhere in the back of his mind, might a seed have been planted to the effect that perhaps, in the next three and a half years, he could manage both to push through a similar Constitutional provision and start a war, leaving him free to remain in office?

Extreme? Certainly. And if it weren’t for his previous suggestions, this could easily be dismissed as a joke. But Trump’s friend Vladimir Putin has done it — not just once, but with two Constitutional amendments, a couple of wars in Chechnya, and an ongoing one in Ukraine.

So why not . . . ?

*. *. *

Conversely, it can also be dangerous to take Trump at his word when he is at his most serious. Case in point:

In that same Oval Office meeting on Monday, August 18th, when asked by a reporter if a failure to reach a peace deal would mean “the end of the road” for U.S. aid to Ukraine, Trump replied:

“I can never say that, it’s never the end of the road.” [Zac Anderson and Francesca Chambers, USA Today, August 18, 2025.]

And when pressed further for an answer as to whether he would be willing to send U.S. peacekeepers to Ukraine as part of post-war security guarantees, he replied that, while European nations would be the “first line of defense . . . we’re going to help them out also. We’ll be involved.” [Zac Anderson, USA Today, August 19, 2025.]

But in a Fox News interview the very next day, August 19th, he said that U.S. troops would not be involved in any peacekeeping effort in Ukraine after the war. And he was asked specifically:

“What kind of assurances do you feel like you have, going forward, past this Trump administration, that it won’t be American boots on the ground defending [Ukraine’s] border?” And his response was:

“Well, you have my assurance, and I’m president.” [Alayna Treene and Kevin Liptak, CNN, August 19, 2025.]

Well, that’s reassuring as hell!

*. *. *

What’s the old saying? . . . “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”

I’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve already been “fooled.”

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/20/25

After weeks of watching the Feenstras building the little guest house on their farm in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, preparing for the arrival of unnamed visitors, the so-called big reveal came yesterday . . . only it was something of an anti-climax after all the build-up.

Toward the end of another of Arend Feenstra’s laborious workdays, we were told that guests had indeed moved in. But it wasn’t until breakfast the next morning that they actually made an appearance, and were shown being welcomed by their host family in the kitchen of the main house, where the long table was set for what appeared to me to be a small army. But when you’re already a family of ten, what’s another six people?

The new arrivals were the Pulley family, consisting of an attractive young couple and four small children. But that’s all we know so far.

There was no information as to where they came from, other than a later comment by Arend that they had arrived “from Altai, Russia, via Australia,” and were there to “work for” the Feenstras while building their own new lives in Nizhny Novgorod.

(My guess is that Arend had it backwards, and that they had actually arrived from Australia via Altai; but we’ll have to await clarification of that.)

We were not told anything more about their backgrounds . . . Are they Australian? Perhaps Canadian? American? I thought I heard them greet each other in English, but the words they exchanged were off-mike and unclear. They were never actually introduced to the viewing audience, though Arend Feenstra did say, at the very end of the video, that they would be arranging an interview at which the Pulleys would explain their motivation for moving to a muddy farm in Nizhny Novgorod and their hopes for the future.

Whatever their origins, it appears that the Pulleys are another of Vladimir Putin’s new wave of young, multi-child immigrant families; and the Feenstras — ever anxious to serve their adopted country — have been selected to help them assimilate . . . all in view of the ever-present cameras, of course. In return, the Feenstras receive the benefit of two extra pairs of hands to help with the never-ending work on their growing farm.

And speaking of growing, at the beginning of the video we learned that there were more new arrivals expected, though they’re now a couple of weeks behind schedule: some cows and sheep for the nearly-completed, big red barn.

The Feenstra Farm may still be awash in mud, but it is obviously prospering . . . which goes to show what can be accomplished with a lot of hard work, the right contacts, and a willingness to live under — and proselytize for — an autocratic, tyrannical regime.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/19/25