Once more borrowing the words of the immortal William Shakespeare, I can only say:

“It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
(Macbeth, Act V, Scene 5)

I’ve been quoting old Will quite a lot lately; his words of 16th-17th Century wisdom are so often relevant to our 21st Century world. In this particular instance, I will give you the tale, and you will — I am absolutely certain — immediately recognize the idiot.

According to the unnamed moron, yesterday’s horrific collision between an American Airlines passenger plane and a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter over the Potomac River just outside of Washington, D.C., was the fault of . . . are you ready? . . .

The Democrats!

I scarcely know where to begin.

First, we have an unspeakable tragedy resulting in the probable loss of some 67 people.

Second, this just happened last night. The search-and-rescue effort hasn’t even become a recovery effort yet, so there cannot be an official count of the casualties.

Third, the investigation as to the cause of the accident is just beginning: whether there were mechanical difficulties on one of the aircraft, or pilot error, or a tragic mistake on the part of air traffic control, or wind shear, or . . . well, it could be anything at this point.

But — without a shred of evidence, or even a strong indication as to what might have caused the devastating incident — this individual has decided, and publicly declared, that it was the fault of the opposition party for not maintaining “the highest standards for those who work in our aviation system.” [CNN Breaking News, January 30, 2025.]

And then, in classic “It’s all about me” mode, he takes credit for having “changed the Obama standards from very mediocre at best to extraordinary.” [Id.]

Specifically, he blamed diversity standards established by his Democrat predecessors, alleging that people hired for air traffic control jobs were not always well qualified [BBC News, January 30, 2025] — thus placing the fault for yesterday’s tragedy on air traffic control when the flight data recorders (“black boxes”) haven’t even been recovered.

But if those standards have been so poor, how is it that there hasn’t been a crash involving a U.S. commercial aircraft since 2009 (in New York, due to pilot error), or any crash resulting in a fatality since 2013 (three people killed in the runway crash of an Asiana Airlines plane in San Francisco, also due to pilot error)?

*. *. *

At this point, one has to ask: How did this hybrid of the heartless Tin Man, the brainless Scarecrow, the cowardly Lion, and the duplicitous Wizard ever find his way from the Land of Oz to the pinnacle of power . . . not once, but twice?

I give up.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/30/25

Today is the penultimate day of only the first month of the year, and 2025 is already promising to be a total shitstorm: wars still raging in Ukraine and Gaza; wildfires still raging in California; antisemitism rearing its ugly head in Australia, of all the unexpected places; total chaos in America’s White House (not at all unexpected, really); and last evening, to cap it all off, a horrendous crash between an American Airlines passenger plane and a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter over Washington’s icy Potomac River.

With all of that, it’s no surprise that — already being in a thoroughly gloomy state of mind — I was drawn to a news item yesterday commemorating the 180th anniversary of the publication of arguably the preeminent work of that master of doom and gloom, Edgar Allan Poe.

I refer, of course, to none other than The Raven.

And it occurs to me that . . . while ordinarily I might have turned to Shakespeare to sum up the year thus:

“It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
(Macbeth, Act V, Scene 5) . . .

. . . Mr. Poe better expresses in a single word my view of the world’s loss of innocence, joy and honor, and the chances of their returning during my lifetime:

“NEVERMORE”

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/30/25

The last time I looked in on the Feenstras in Nizhny Novgorod, they were hard at work, both inside and outside their sprawling farmhouse. Today, however, I found them en route to Moscow for “a few days.”

Bright and early on a cold Monday morning, they all piled into the family van and headed out on the 365-mile trek to the capital, primarily to attend an agricultural exposition, but also to take a break from the farming and construction work and just “be tourists for a while.”

As they drove . . . and drove . . . and drove . . . Arend explained that they had “rented a little house” in Moscow, and would be there from that day (Monday) until Friday. There was no mention of how they had managed to make all the arrangements, or how a family of ten — still without a source of income and living on their savings from Canada for the past year — were able to afford five days in expensive Moscow.

I marvel at their ability to navigate through life in a strange country, with an unfamiliar language, and strict — often ambiguous and contradictory — laws on every imaginable subject. It is obvious that they have all the assistance they need, as well as that ever-present photographer, who most likely also acts as interpreter and guide.

But navigate they did, finally arriving at their rented house, in a gated residential community on the outskirts of Moscow.

After a night’s sleep in what they described as a terribly overheated house (actually a common thing in Russia), they headed out the next morning for the agricultural expo, which was the main purpose of the trip to the city. They had a long walk from their neighborhood to the nearest train station, but managed to find it, figure out the ticket machine, and board the train to their destination . . .

The Crocus City Hall??!!!

Wait just a minute, please. That was where the horrendous terror attack that killed 145 people took place on March 22, 2024. “How is this possible?” — I wondered. It is still closed, and a decision as to when — or even if — it will reopen has yet to be announced.

Well, a little research into the multi-purpose location shows that it is only the music venue that was affected and is still closed. The expo center is very much in operation, and was the site of the huge agricultural display that was right up the Feenstras’ alley.

This was something they obviously found very interesting. I, being a city girl, did not, so I skipped right over most of it.

*. *. *

The second video of their excursion takes us on a strictly-for-fun sightseeing tour of the Red Square/Kremlin area.

Though they did not make any reference to the Kremlin itself, they did wander at length through adjoining Red Square, taking in the architecture of St. Basil’s Cathedral, for whose creation the architect is said — according to legend — to have been ordered blinded by Tsar Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible), so that he could never recreate it or anything equal to it in beauty.

Along one long side of Red Square (which is actually a very long rectangle) is GUM shopping mall. Arend kept commenting on the beautiful architecture and interesting “monuments” and “memorials,” though apparently without knowing what they were (for example, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier outside the Kremlin wall); and he referred to the famous GUM as “some sort of indoor market.”

“Some sort of market,” indeed! In the days of my travels to Moscow (late 1980s to mid-‘90s), it was a musty old indoor mall, still lined with Soviet-era shops but beginning to upgrade to serve the new generation of Russian “biznessmen” and their arm-candy wives and girlfriends. Today, it is totally revamped and lined with high-end Western and Russian retailers, affordable only to the elite . . . though most of the Western shops have probably fled the country since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Next was a stroll down a long street lined with more upscale shops — probably Tverskaya Street (if memory serves correctly), followed by a leisurely lunch somewhere along the way.

Throughout the tour, I kept thinking that it was a shame they hadn’t been able to brush up a bit more on Moscow history before the visit, as they would have gotten so much more from the trip. But perhaps it all came about on short notice.

*. *. *

The oddest part of the story — and the one I find totally puzzling — was when the parents, Arend and Anneesa, went out that evening, sans children, for a “date night”: a musical performance of a Russian fairy tale. That entailed the long Metro/train/walk back to the house after sightseeing, getting the kids settled for the evening, and the parents then making the entire round trip over again — uncharacteristically leaving the children alone, in a strange and dangerous city, with . . . whom?

At any rate, they (Arend and Anneesa) did return to the city center and were able to find their way to the theater, where the sign read «Poslednyaya skazka» — “The Last Fairy Tale.” They filmed the outside and inside of the theater but not the performance (probably not permitted), and then . . .

End of story. Exiting the theater after the performance, Arend mentioned that it was about 9:00 or 9:30 p.m., and they were going to get something to eat before finding their way back to their family, because he was “starving.”

And that was it; tour over.

*. *. *

Some personal observations:

Central Moscow looks nothing like it did when I was last there (in 1994) — it’s all bright and shiny, clean and polished, and very expensive-looking. At least, the parts of it the Feenstras saw. It could be any European city: tall, modern, steel-and-glass buildings mixed in with the beautiful old architecture; flashy cars; expensive shops and gourmet restaurants; well-dressed people.

There was nothing shown of the lesser neighborhoods, the old Soviet-era apartment buildings, sad little shops, muddy sidewalks from the winter melt. But there wouldn’t be any purpose in showing those, would there?

As a matter of fact, other than the agricultural expo, there seemed to be no purpose in any of it. They’d been to Moscow before. They hate city life. The drive was long and tiring, and they lost five full days of work on their house and farm buildings, which are still works in progress.

As a piece of propaganda to attract more prospective emigre families, however, these videos could be useful. Is that what they are? Just another bit of the price Arend, Anneesa, and the eight little Feenstras are paying for being allowed to live and build their farm in the workers’ paradise?

I’m sorry to say, that’s what it seemed to be. I hope I’m wrong.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/30/25

P.S. As I was finishing this piece, I took another look at the day’s news and saw that several regions in Russia — including Nizhny Novgorod — had been struck yesterday by Ukrainian drones. In Nizhny, a drone apparently fell onto a fuel and energy complex in an industrial area, but no injuries or major damage were reported.

Luckily for the Feenstras, they live in the countryside, away from any likely targets. But Putin’s war against Ukraine is drawing return fire, and getting too close for comfort.

I wish the family well.

I’d undoubtedly declare bankruptcy . . . but only because suicide, to me, is not really an attractive option.

But to have had sufficient income to actually owe that much in taxes, besides being a mind-blowing prospect, would certainly make all the difference in my reaction. I might not want to part with that much money; but at least I could afford to do it without going broke.

And that seems to be the situation in which Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich finds himself. In what is obviously an extremely complex series of commercial transactions and financial maneuverings, leaked documents show that Abramovich’s companies have been involved in investments valued at some $6 billion that were routed through the British Virgin Islands, but were managed from the UK. And Britain is now saying its government is owed VAT (value-added tax) at the standard rate of 20 percent. [James Oliver, Harriet Agerholm and Will Dahlgreen, BBC News, January 29, 2025.]

I foresee a long, convoluted legal battle between the UK government and Mr. Abramovich’s legal team, as he continues to hop-scotch on his merry way from one of his residences — in Russia, Türkiye and Israel — to another, enjoying life as only a multi-billionaire can do. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

And as I watch the game from the bleachers, I will be giving thanks that I will never in my life have to deal with that kind of problem. There are, after all, advantages to being ordinary.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/29/25

Earlier today, I wrote that the portrait of General Mark Milley, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had been summarily removed from its place of honor in the Pentagon — an obvious, snarky action ordered by the new occupant of the White House in retribution for past disagreements between the two.

But that was just a hint of worse to come. Today, Trump’s new Defense Secretary, the totally unqualified Pete Hegseth, removed General Milley’s security detail and revoked his security clearance in a blatant strike against an individual who had the courage to speak out in defense of the truth.

In addition, Hegseth has directed the Defense Department’s Inspector General to launch an investigation into General Milley’s alleged “conduct” with a view toward determining whether his rank (four-star general) should be reviewed — all without specifying what “conduct” he was referring to. [Oren Liebermann, CNN, January 29, 2025.]

Another of Donald Trump’s victims — a man who has spent a lifetime serving his country with honor — punished for daring to have an opinion. How long are we going to remain silent in the face of this intolerable, Putin-esque behavior?

I weep for my country.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/29/25

It’s as old as history itself. We know what Cain did to Abel. What Henry VIII did to a great many people, including a couple of wives. What Lenin did to Nicholas II and his entire family. What Stalin did to his generals. What Hitler did to six million Jews and a great many other perceived “undesirables.”

And in today’s world, we know what Vladimir Putin has done and is doing to those who have dared to oppose him: Boris Nemtsov, Aleksandr Litvinenko, Anna Politkovskaya, Boris Berezovsky, Aleksei Navalny, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and countless others — dead, or locked away in Siberian penal colonies.

We see Putin’s protege, Aleksandr Lukashenko, following suit by eliminating his detractors in his own manner. When asked whether the past weekend’s presidential election in Belarus had been free and fair,

“ . . . Lukashenko has explained that his political opponents had ‘chosen’ prison or exile.” [Reuters (citing The Guardian), January 27, 2025.]

Right . . . the ten political prisoners in Belarus about whom I have written recently — and who knows how many others — no doubt have always dreamt of being locked up and tortured for voicing their opinions.

We’ve seen it, heard about it, reacted to it with expressions of horror and disbelief. But those things happened — and keep happening — in other countries . . . far-away places, ruled by dictators. We Americans have always believed it couldn’t happen here.

But it can . . . and it has.

No, not to the same degree, certainly. People are not being assassinated, or hidden away in an Arctic archipelago of penal colonies. But they are being targeted, simply because they have in some way displeased the person currently in authority.

Consider, for example:

— Losing your job because you did your job: It has happened to more than a dozen Justice Department officials who participated in the criminal investigation of then private citizen Donald Trump.

— Losing your Secret Service protection, despite ongoing threats resulting from having done your job: It has happened to former White House national security adviser John Bolton, and to former chief medical adviser to President Biden, Dr. Anthony Fauci.

— Losing your security clearance — and thus potentially your source of income — for having said the “wrong” thing about the Hunter Biden investigation: It has happened to dozens of former national security officials.

— Having your picture removed from the wall of honor — in effect, your history erased — where you honorably did your job: It has happened to former U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley.

— Being threatened with prosecution for having won the 2020 election: It is happening to President Joe Biden.

— Being threatened with 50% tariffs, and ultimately forced into capitulation, because you initially refused to go along with some mad deportation scheme: It has happened to the President and the entire population of the South American nation of Colombia.

— And who knows what punishment awaits the person who dares to be wealthier, more successful, more charismatic, and much much smarter than the guy in charge, and doesn’t give a crap what anyone thinks of him? It could even happen to someone like Elon Musk.

All of that was in just one week . . . and does not include the actions being taken against entire categories of people — government agencies, recipients of government funding, ethnic groups, immigrants — simply because they do not comport with a single individual’s preferences.

If it all sounds too familiar, that is because it is history repeating itself. It is the echo of rumblings once heard in pre-Revolutionary Russia, and in 1930s Germany.

And don’t kid yourself into thinking that we’re so very different . . . because we’re not. It CAN happen here.

But only if we let it.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/29/25

Forget, for the moment, the pandemonium being unleashed by the new occupants of the White House.

Every now and then — a little too often, lately — I decide I can’t take much more of the news emanating from there and from the rest of the world, and I need a bit of happy to get me through the day.

And what could be happier than a couple of playful animals . . . in this case, the pair of Chinese giant pandas at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. They have just been introduced to the public after becoming acclimated to their new surroundings, and Panda-mania has once again descended upon our nation’s capital.

So, without further ado, here are the true toasts of the town: Bao Li and Qing Bao.

Please don’t ask me who’s who, because I have no idea. But it only matters to them, really . . . and to the lucky staff members at the zoo who have the great pleasure of caring for them.

I just thought their pictures might make a few people smile today — it certainly worked for me.

They are far more fun to watch than that pair on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/28/25

Actually, it’s a good news / odd news day.

This rather strange story comes, not from Russia, as one might expect, but from Belarus, where politically-motivated arrests have been on the upswing in recent years.

Word has been received that American citizen Anastasia Nuhfer was released from detainment in a Belarusian prison on January 26th. That’s the very good news.

The odd news is that no details of her arrest, imprisonment or release are available at this time . . . because Belarusian officials had never publicly disclosed her name. Who she is, what she was doing in Belarus, why she was arrested, why it was kept quiet, and why she was suddenly released all remain unknown, for whatever reason.

What has been made quite public, though, is the immediate claim of credit by the current U.S. administration for having (allegedly) engineered Ms. Nuhfer’s release. Admittedly, it is difficult to judge, when no details are available; but it seems logical that the Biden administration must initially have been involved, as the U.S. State Department said on Sunday that Ms. Nuhfer was detained in early December of 2024. Thus, it would have been more than a month before the current administration stepped in to pick up any ongoing negotiations.

I can’t help but think back 44 years to January 20, 1981, when President Jimmy Carter was deprived of the full credit he deserved for the release of 52 American hostages held in Iran for 444 days . . . on the very day of Ronald Reagan’s inauguration . . . after more than a year of intense negotiations. As a result, the historical records show that the prisoners technically were released during Reagan’s administration, despite the arrangements having already been concluded by President Carter and Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher.

And now, in a classic instance of “deja vu all over again,” brand-new Secretary of State Marco Rubio has posted this smirking bit of self-aggrandizement:

“Thanks to @POTUS leadership, Belarus just unilaterally released an innocent American, ANASTASSIA [sic] Nuhfer, who was taken under JOE BIDEN! @ChrisWelbySmith from our team did a great job on this. PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH” [RFE/RL, January 26, 2025.]

Sickeningly reminiscent of the Tweet-fest that emanated from the White House between 2017 and 2021, it would seem that either Secretary Rubio has been studying his boss’ writing style, or the boss is doing his writing for him — misspelling, all caps, and exclamation point included.

One final thought: Perhaps neither administration deserves credit for this happy event, since both Rubio and Lukashenko have stated that the decision to release Ms. Nuhfer was a “unilateral” one. We might just be able to chalk this one up to the Belarusian tyrant’s sucking up to the new guy in the Oval Office.

So, please . . . can we all just rejoice, welcome Ms. Nuhfer home, and leave the strutting to the peacocks?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/28/25

Monday morning, January 27th, 2025, and this is how I’m feeling.

Someone please do me a favor, and wake me when it’s November 2028. Until then, I’ll be hunkered down, seeking solace with my fellow hairy frogfish, and counting the days ‘til the next election.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/27/25

** It’s not sci-fi or AI — it’s a real thing. Check it out.

Today is the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz Concentration Camp.

I read yesterday of an Israeli woman — Hila Weisz-Gut — who is the only Jewish resident in the town of Oswiecim, Poland (population 34,000). [Allison Gordon, CNN, January 26, 2025.]

Being part of a minority population is nothing new for Jewish people in many countries . . . though being the last one standing is rather unusual. However, what truly sets Hila Weisz-Gut apart is the proximity of the town in which she lives to that most notorious of the World War II Nazi concentration camps: Auschwitz.

Hila moved from Israel with her Polish husband to his hometown of Oswiecim in 2023, despite the fact that nearly every member of her grandmother’s family had been lethally gassed there upon arrival from Hungary in the 1940s. In fact, she can see from her bedroom window the very place where her grandmother managed to survive. [Id.]

While her decision to relocate has been met with derision on the part of many of her Israeli and other Jewish acquaintances, she says that her new neighbors have been welcoming and kind:

“I haven’t had even one altercation that connected to antisemitism,” she says. [Id.]

She should — and no doubt does — consider herself very fortunate, in light of the appalling rise in antisemitism being seen in many parts of Europe, including France and Germany. I cannot even imagine the level of inner strength and resolve it must have taken for her to face her family history and begin a new phase of her life in the shadow of the most unspeakable genocide in the history of mankind.

I know I could not do it, even though my family members were all safely ensconced in the United States long before the Holocaust.

*. *. *

In 2009, as part of a Baltic Cruise with my sister, one of our ports of call was Rostok (Warnemunde), Germany. We had chosen as our shore excursion a train ride to Berlin, a tour of the city, and a side trip by bus to the nearby town of Oranienburg — a town that I recall as resembling a picture postcard (if you’re old enough to remember those), with lovely little cottages sporting window boxes of red geraniums all along the route we took.

But we merely passed through the charming neighborhoods, not stopping, and after a short distance reached our true destination: Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. My sister was a long-time student of World War II history, with particular emphasis on the Holocaust.

Sachsenhausen was said by our tour guide to have been one of the “lesser” camps — not an abattoir like Auschwitz. There were no gas chambers, we were told; but there was a crematorium, and a “hospital” where medical experiments were performed on the inmates — a whole different type of horror — as well as a barracks that still held the sleeping quarters and toilet areas. A small museum contained exhibits detailing the overcrowded living conditions: freezing cold in winter and steaming hot in summer.

We were there on a pleasantly warm summer day, and although the windows and door were open to the fresh air, the rooms felt close and I was finding it difficult to breathe. As I read the descriptions of the horrific conditions that once existed, I could imagine hearing the groans and cries of those prisoners . . . and I suddenly knew I was about to be violently ill. I told my sister I needed air and rushed outside, gasping for breath but managing to keep from losing the large lunch we had enjoyed in Berlin.

My sister came after me, of course; and as I began to feel better, we strolled around the grounds for a few minutes, coming across a single gravestone close by the barracks. Whether there was actually anyone buried there, we had no way of knowing; there was no carving on the stone. But several people had laid pebbles on top of the marker, and we found some small grey stones with which to pay our respects to all those who had not survived that place of horror.

That was one of the most difficult days of my life: visiting the sites of Kristallnacht, the bunker where Hitler committed suicide, the remains of the Berlin Wall, and Sachsenhausen. After all of that, could I ever think of also visiting Auschwitz?

No . . .

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/27/25