It’s the fencing bout that seems destined never to end. Vladimir Putin threw down the proverbial gauntlet in 2022 when he declared his intentions toward the “fair maiden” of his dreams: Ukraine.

Donald Trump took up the challenge — not because he wanted to win the hand of the fair maiden for himself, but because his claimed title of the “Peace President” and his fragile ego were at stake.

Day after day, month after month since then, one thrusts, the other parries, then they reverse positions to do it over . . . and over . . . and over again. Meanwhile, both prizes — Putin’s beautiful Ukraine and Trump’s precious ego — have suffered immeasurably.

And yet, despite our exhaustion and disillusionment, we continue to watch with unabated fascination because — like a train wreck in slow motion — the stakes are too high to allow us to look away.

Once again, the past two days have brought us through another exchange of challenges, yet no closer to a resolution. On Friday, October 24th, Kirill Dmitriev — Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, currently in Washington for three days of high-level meetings — said with regard to the war in Ukraine:

“I believe Russia and the US and Ukraine are actually quite close to a diplomatic solution.” [RFE/RL, October 25, 2025.]

Yet he offered no basis for his opinion. Instead, he blithely dismissed the adverse effects of the latest round of U.S. and EU sanctions, saying:

“So I think the real issue is how to continue a dialogue how to have a peaceful resolution to the crisis while having realistic solutions rather than put forward unrealistic solutions.” [Id.]

Typical diplomatic double-speak, signifying nothing — except possibly offering a clue that those sanctions are in fact proving more effective than his government is willing to admit.

His meetings in Washington are to wind up today, so we shall see what, if anything, Dmitriev has to add at the end of the day.

Meanwhile, on Air Force One . . .

Trump spoke to reporters while en route to Asia for meetings in Malaysia, Japan, and with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea. He said that, contrary to Dmitriev’s expression of optimism, he would not soon be meeting with Putin without an indication that some positive result was in the offing:

“You have to know that we’re going to make a deal. I’m not going to be wasting my time. I’ve always had a great relationship with Vladimir Putin, but this has been very disappointing. I thought this would have gotten done before peace in the Middle East.” [RFE/RL, October 26, 2025 CET.]

With the hoped-for Trump-Putin meeting in Budapest off the table, two U.S. officials told Reuters that an additional series of sanctions had been prepared against Russia’s economy, to be used if Putin again refuses to reach an accord. [Id.]

But Reuters also quoted another, also unidentified senior U.S. official as saying that Trump would prefer the next round of sanctions or tariffs to come from European nations. [Id.]

So once again, the question is: Does anyone really know what’s going on?

And my guess is that the answer is: Not really — considering that the two men wielding the epees in this fencing match are equally mercurial, unpredictable, stubborn, egotistical, and . . .

Well, please feel free to add your own adjectives here. I’m tired now.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/26/25

Andrei Sakharov was a Soviet physicist who spent most of his career working in the Soviet Union’s nuclear weapons program, receiving honors that included Hero of Socialist Labor (1953, 1956 and 1962); four Orders of Lenin; the Lenin Prize (1956); the Stalin Prize (1953) . . .

. . . and the Nobel Peace Prize (1975), which he was not allowed by the government to accept in person. (His wife, Yelena Bonner, was permitted to travel in order to receive the award on his behalf.)

After nearly a lifetime of working on the development of thermonuclear weapons, Sakharov became what one might call a conscientious objector. In later life, he was internationally renowned for his political activism on behalf of individual freedom, human rights, civil liberties, and reforms of the Soviet government.

In his own country he was deemed a dissident and persecuted for the remainder of his years. In 1980, he was stripped of all of his earlier awards due to his “anti-Soviet activities.” When Mikhail Gorbachev offered to reinstate them, Sakharov declined.

Sakharov died in December 1989. But he lived long enough to see the European Parliament (EP) establish the Sakharov Prize in his honor in 1988, which is awarded annually to persons or organizations dedicated to human rights and freedoms.

This year’s recipients are two political hostages whose names will now be added to our list:

Polish-Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut, imprisoned in Belarus since 2021, and sentenced to a term of eight years for his criticism of the dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko; and

Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli, serving a two-year sentence in Georgia for “resisting or using violence against a law enforcement officer” during a pro-European protest in 2024. She is reported to be in deteriorating health. [Rikard Jozwiak, RFE/RL, October 22, 2025.]

*. *. *

And so, sadly, our list continues to grow:

Immigrant Detainees in Russia:

Migrants from the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan

Prisoners of War:

The 19,500 Kidnapped Ukrainian Children
The People of Ukraine

Endangered Exiles:

Mikita Losik
Yulia Navalnaya
Countless Journalists and Other Dissidents

Political Prisoners:

In Azerbaijan:

The “Azerbaijan 7”:
— Farid Mehralizada
— Ulvi Hasanli
— Sevinj Abbasova (Vagifqiai)
— Mahammad Kekalov
— Hafiz Babali
— Nargiz Absalamova
— Elnara Gasimova

In Belarus:

Ales Bialiatski
Andrei Chapiuk
Marya Kalesnikava
Uladzimir Labkovich
Andrzej Poczobut
Marfa Rabkova
Valiantsin Stafanovic
Yuras Zyankovich

In Georgia:

Mzia Amaglobeli

In China:

Chenyue Mao (American)

In Russia:

David Barnes (American)
Gordon Black (American)
Antonina Favorskaya
Konstantin Gabov
Robert Gilman (American)
Stephen James Hubbard (American)
Sergey Karelin
Timur Kishukov
Vadim Kobzev
Darya Kozyreva
Artyom Kriger
Michael Travis Leake (American)
Aleksei Liptser
Grigory Melkonyants
Nika Novak
Nadezhda Rossinskaya (a.k.a. Nadin Geisler)
Sofiane Sehili (French)
Igor Sergunin
Dmitry Shatresov
Robert Shonov
Grigory Skvortsov
Eugene Spector (American)
Laurent Vinatier
Robert Romanov Woodland (American)

Stay strong . . . you are not forgotten.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/26/25

As I sit here writing this, I find myself pondering the definition of a simple English word — “peace” — and wondering whether I may have misunderstood it for my entire life. Because today’s news brought with it further disquieting — oh, hell, who am I kidding? It’s downright terrifying — news.

So I did what I always do: I consulted the experts.

And it turns out that my command of my native language is not faulty after all. According to Merriam-Webster, “peace” means:

1) a state of tranquility or quiet;
2) freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions;
3) harmony in personal relations;
4) a state or period of mutual concord between governments; and
5) used interjectionally to ask for silence or calm or as a greeting or farewell.

So what was that terrifying news that had me doubting my own mind? It was about the Pentagon — at the instructions of the Oval Office — having ordered the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS GERALD R. FORD, and its strike group of five destroyers to redeploy from their current positions in various parts of the world to the U.S. Southern Command in the Caribbean, allegedly to “bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States.” [Konstantin Toropin, AP, October 24, 2025.]

In other words, South and Central American drug dealers.

With more than 6,000 sailors and Marines aboard eight warships already in the region, the USS FORD would add nearly 4,500 more troops and nine squadrons of aircraft to the contingent — all, supposedly, to pursue the U.S. war against illegal drugs.

This, of course, comes on the heels of the tenth strike by the Trump administration against single small boats believed to be carrying drugs in the direction of the United States, in which at least 43 people have been killed.

Venezuela’s President Maduro has accused the U.S. of seeking “a new eternal [sic] [external?] war. . . . They promised they would never again get involved in a war, and they are fabricating a war.” [Kayla Epstein and Josh Cheetham, BBC Verify, October 25, 2025.]

But Trump, ignoring the accusation, offered this boast before leaving for Asia this morning:

“We stopped all drugs from coming in by sea. I will stop all drugs from coming in by land very shortly. You’ll see that starting.” [Id.]

*. *. *

So I ask you: How can an individual who has labeled himself “the Peace President” justify carrying out what should be an internal battle against illegal drugs by preemptively attacking and killing suspected foreign criminals outside U.S. territory? According to Secretary of Defense — or, as he prefers to be called, Secretary of WAR — Pete Hegseth:

“If you are a narco-terrorist smuggling drugs in our hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat Al-Qaeda. Day or NIGHT, we will map your networks, track your people, hunt you down, and kill you.” [Id.]

Note the terminology:

“Narco-terrorist.” “Terrorists” are what Vladimir Putin labels any groups or individuals who oppose him . . . right before he has them arrested, imprisoned, or eliminated.

“In our hemisphere.” Not on our territory, or in our coastal waters. But anywhere in “our” half of the world.

“We will . . . hunt you down, and kill you.” Not arrest and prosecute . . . just hunt and kill.

But whom do they think they’re kidding . . . these preachers of “peace” who travel the world, ordering others to stop the fighting and invading and slaughtering?

This isn’t about drugs; we have the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for that. This is the excuse they needed to justify launching an all-out invasion in order to overthrow the existing Venezuelan regime.

Which places them squarely in the same league as this butcher:

Welcome to the new America.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/25/25

Suppose, for a moment, that Kim Jong Un were to begin blasting American boats out of international waters because he suspected they were trying to smuggle narcotics into North Korea.

Or that Xi Jinping decided that Memphis, Tennessee, which currently has the highest rate of violent crime in the United States, should be bombed off the map in order to get rid of its Hamas-style criminal gangs . . . and then declared that China would take over the territory and turn it into a Riviera-style resort.

Or that, say, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney decided that his country needed to take possession of the United States for security reasons.

Or that Vladimir Putin sent undercover agents to the U.S. to interfere with our elections and destabilize our government because . . .

Oh, wait . . . that’s not hypothetical; that actually has happened. Never mind.

But you get my point, which is that Trump would never sit back and let another country’s leader attack our citizens or appropriate our territory without staging one hell of a retaliation — just as Ukraine has defended itself for nearly four years against Russia’s invasion of its land.

So what in the name of all that’s holy makes Trump believe that he has the right to commit those very crimes against others?

. . . to blast boats from Venezuela or Colombia out of international waters because they may be smuggling drugs into the U.S.?

. . . to allow Israel to continue demolishing Gaza for two years in retaliation for an attack by the terrorist Hamas group . . . and then to tell the Palestinians that it is no longer their land?

. . . or to tell Canada, or Greenland, or any other country that they should hand over their property to him because he wants it?

Who does he think he is . . . Genghis Khan??!!!!

Well, come to think of it . . .

Maybe that is exactly what he believes.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/25/25

Well, all right — that’s a slight exaggeration. There’s still Mar-a-Lago, an equally gaudy penthouse in New York, and who-knows-what-other residences she may share with that guy she married all those years ago when she was a young emigre in search of U.S. citizenship.

But First Lady of the United States Melania Trump is, officially and quite literally, without office space for herself and her staff of five. The East Wing of the White House — a portion of it first used as a base of operations by Eleanor Roosevelt, and later officially designated as the Office of the First Lady by Rossalyn Carter — has been demolished.

In most marriages, taking away the wife’s private domain — be it an office, a sewing room, or the kitchen — would be grounds for divorce. But a First Lady doesn’t just pack a bag and walk out the front door . . . or, better yet, throw hubby’s clothes out the window and change the locks. And if hubby also happens to be an all-powerful megalomaniac and pathologically vindictive . . . well, you can see her problem.

Thus far, Mrs. Trump has remained silent on this startling new development. Some have said it’s because — as also evidenced by her recent absences from the public eye — she doesn’t really care what her husband does, or how this particular action will affect future U.S. First Ladies. But I’m not so sure about that.

From 1937 to 1954, there was a radio program eponymously called “The Shadow,” about a crime-fighting vigilante whose identity was never revealed. The opening line of each program — initiated by the great Orson Welles — was this:

“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!”

. . . followed by a rather ominous, deep-throated laugh.

In the present-day White House, Melania Trump would be the most likely person to know the answer to that question . . . and many others. And maybe it’s not that she doesn’t care. Maybe she’s just smart enough to keep her mouth shut.

Or both.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/24/25

Ninety-six years ago today, and over the following three days, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped a total of 25 percent, from 305.85 to 230.07 points, ushering in the decade of the Great Depression. Thousands of major investors lost billions of dollars, due — in the simplest of terms — to a combination of rampant speculation, excessive debt, and an overvalued market. (If they thought that was overvalued, I wonder what their reaction would be to today’s numbers!)

The Depression lasted for ten years, from 1929 to 1939. In what we would today call a perfect storm, it coincided with the Dust Bowl of the 1930s — a disastrous, prolonged drought in America’s agricultural heartland that wiped out thousands of farms and farm families.

The U.S. economy was finally revived by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal, and by the industrial upsurge necessitated by the onset of World War II.

One of the few memorable things to come out of that era was a popular song called “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” For those who have never heard of it, here is just the first verse:

Once I built a railroad, made it run,
Made it race against time.
Once I built a railroad, now it’s done.
Brother, can you spare a dime?

There are a lot of Americans scrounging for coins now, nearly a century later . . . but for different reasons. And it’s not the wealthy who have lost their fortunes. The stock market is high; individual industry and business leaders are raking in billions; and the White House is getting a new 300 million dollar ballroom and a “free” Qatari Boeing 747-8 jet plane that will cost an estimated 500 million to a billion dollars to retrofit for use as Air Force One.

Rather, it is this century’s everyman who is suffering: losing jobs, insurance benefits, educational opportunities, access to proper health care — all of the basic necessities of life that have always been the reward for years of honest work and paying their fair share of taxes.

There is no Depression to blame today. There is, instead, an oligarchy; a theft on a scale so monumental it defies description; a redistribution of the wealth from the millions of honest workers into the hands of the greedy few . . . the “Robber Barons” of today.

People are angry, frightened . . . and depressed. And this depression is different from the Great Depression. In the 1930s, people pulled through the difficult times by working together and helping each other. But our 21st-century society is already so divided, so fragmented, so distrustful, and so politically contentious that it’s impossible to envision our ever replicating the sort of unity that brought this country out of those earlier times of trouble. And there is no Franklin Delano Roosevelt to pull us out of this one.

To top things off, just when we could all use the services of a good psychiatrist to help us deal with the pain, we can’t afford one because our insurance — if we still have insurance — won’t cover it.

I was not alive during the Great Depression. But from what I’ve read, and stories that I heard from my parents, I think — given a choice — I would prefer that one to what we are seeing now. Because our country was united then, and it was still a democracy — led by a man who, though himself wealthy, cared more about his country and its people than himself.

FDR led us out of the Great Depression, and safely through the horrors of World War II. Who is there to guide us through this one?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/24/25

Tonight I will light a candle for you: my big sister, the one who taught me to read when I was just three years old, with whom I fought incessantly as we were growing up, and who became my best friend when finally we were older and wiser.

I can’t believe it’s been eight years . . . eight years since I sat next to your bed in hospice, when most of the time you didn’t even know I was there, or who I was. And eight years since the day you struggled to get out of that bed, saying, “I have to get up now, I have to go.” As I gently eased you back against the pillows and asked, “Where do you want to go?” you frowned and said, “I don’t know. But it’s time. It’s time to go.”

And you were right; somehow, you knew. The next day, as I was getting ready to visit you again, I received the call. It had indeed been time for you to go.

Wherever you are, know that there will be a candle burning for you for 24 hours, as there has been every year.

And that I miss you.

Just sayin’ . . .

“Brendy”
10/23/25

My blog site sends its members a daily question or challenge, which can range from naming your favorite author to asking what you would do if you had a million dollars to spare. They’re always fun, usually thought-provoking, and often give rise to serious introspection.

Yesterday’s question, though, was simply one that required me to search my memory:

“What major historical events do you remember?”

Well, for someone who has lived as long as I have, that can be a long list: the Korean War, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, the Kennedy assassination, 9/11 . . . a plethora of mostly horrific events. But there were also some good ones: the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the breakup of the Soviet Union, and the end of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” for example.

But coincidentally, History.com also reminded me yesterday of an event that occurred 63 years ago that I remember in excruciating detail: the announcement by then President John F. Kennedy of the discovery of Soviet missile bases in Cuba, ushering in a week in hell that felt like a year and became known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.

On October 22, 1962, I was living in Washington, D.C. — ground zero for any first strike by the “main enemy”: the Soviet Union. And on October 14th, U.S. spy planes had spotted missile sites under construction and nearing completion on an island less than 100 miles from Florida, and within easy striking distance of the nation’s capital. But it wasn’t announced to the public until the 22nd.

For the next six days, the world held its breath while President Kennedy stood toe-to-toe with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, first setting up a “quarantine” (in reality a blockade) of Cuba to prevent more Soviet ships from transporting additional weapons to the island, and demanding that the bases be dismantled and the existing missiles removed.

As U.S. military forces went to DEFCON 2 — the highest military alert ever declared in the postwar era — U.N. Secretary General U Thant sent private messages to Kennedy and Khrushchev, urging them to “refrain from any action that may aggravate the situation and bring with it the risk of war.” [“This Day In History, History.com, October 22, 2025.]

Then Khrushchev called for the U.S. to dismantle its missile bases in Turkey (now Turkiye).

In order to bring the world back from the brink of a nuclear holocaust, Kennedy and his advisers ultimately agreed to that demand in exchange for Khrushchev’s doing the same in Cuba.

In the end, cooler heads prevailed, all-out war was prevented, and people around the world slept peacefully for the first time in a week. Wisdom had won out over politics, hostility, spite, greed and ego.

Those were the years when statesmen governed the United States: John Kennedy, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. They weren’t safer times, and people were no more perfect than they are today. The difference was that the decision-makers were possessed of intellect and patriotism. They loved their country; they knew what was best for it; and they did their utmost to ensure its survival.

And we are all here today because of them.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/23/25

After being played yet again by Vladimir Putin’s stalling techniques, Donald Trump has finally taken that further action he’s been promising for so long: he has issued sanctions against Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil.

Hallelujah!

Following the announcement that Trump would meet with Ukrainian President Zelensky in Washington on October 17th, Putin jumped the gun and called Trump on the 16th, offering to meet with him, possibly in Budapest. Trump happily agreed, and announced that a meeting would take place within the next couple of weeks. There was even a follow-up discussion between Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Rubio.

But something went wrong, and Trump announced that he had cancelled the meeting with Putin because he “didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get.” [Jennifer Hansler, Kit Maher and Kaitlan Collins, CNN, October 22, 2025.]

Yes, something went wrong, all right. In the Lavrov-Rubio call, Lavrov made it clear that Putin’s demand that Russia be given Ukraine’s Donbas region as a non-negotiable part of any ceasefire arrangement had not changed. And for Ukraine, that has always been a non-starter.

In the Oval Office today, Trump explained that he “felt it was time” to impose the sanctions, and that he had “waited a long time” to do so. He added that he still hoped “they won’t be on for long,” remaining optimistic that the war would soon come to an end. [Id.]

And Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued a statement saying that it was “time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire. Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine. Treasury is prepared to take further action if necessary to support President Trump’s effort to end yet another war. We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions.” [Id.]

Eddie Fishman, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told CNN:

“So far what’s come out is these primary sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, but the key then will be if there’s a threat of secondary sanctions on banks, oil refineries and traders in third countries who are dealing with Rosneft and Lukoil.” [Id.]

Let’s hope the U.S. follows through with the complete package of sanctions. As Russia continues to blast away at multiple regions of Ukraine, killing and maiming its innocent civilians and destroying its infrastructure in order to inflict maximum suffering during the coming winter, let Putin see how his people like living with the effects of fuel shortages.

I’ve been in Russia in February, and it’s no picnic. To compensate for the minus-20-degree temperatures, the buildings were overheated. How will the people react when their domestic fuel supplies are cut short in order to keep Putin’s “special military operation” supplied?

I don’t often have an opportunity to give props to the current U.S. administration, but today’s action deserves praise. My fingers are crossed that Trump doesn’t back off again.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/22/25

During my years of travel to the Soviet Union (1988) and to the downsized Russian Federation (1992-94), I was privileged to experience many of that ancient country’s wonders: the White Nights of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg),; the lush Black Sea resort of Sochi; the Winter Palace (now the Hermitage Museum); the Summer Palace at Petrodvorets (or Peterhof); the writers’ colony at Peredelkino; the inside of Petrovka 38, better known as Moscow’s Militia Headquarters; performances at the illustrious Bolshoi and Mariinsky (Kirov) Theaters; countless museums, cemeteries, galleries, and ethnic restaurants . . . and of course, the Kremlin and adjoining Red Square.

But I was never able to tour the inside of St. Basil’s Cathedral; it was always “na remontе” — under repair.

But this week, I was at last able to see what the remont had been leading up to when I took a vicarious tour, via the wonders of YouTube, with Canadian transplants Arend and Anneesa Feenstra.

For whatever reason, the charming couple from Saskatchewan left their farm in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, and their eight children, in order to spend a couple of days by themselves in the big city. They traveled by train and Metro — a total of four and a half hours each way — to Moscow, where they had booked a small rental apartment for the overnight stay.

But instead of a tour of the city, they walked along a high-end shopping street, past the Bolshoi Theater, and directly onto Red Square. Although Arend said that they were in the Kremlin, he was mistaken; they never entered the Kremlin grounds, but instead strolled along the entire perimeter of the massive fortress, outside its red brick walls — a distance of some 8,200 feet. (A mile is 5,280 feet long.)

Entering Red Square, they ignored the Historical Museum and Lenin’s Tomb; briefly pointed out, but didn’t enter, GUM Department Store; and headed directly for St. Basil’s, which is now open to the public. And I was thrilled to find that they were able to photograph the interior, which is now a world-class museum of Russian history and magnificent 16th-century architecture.

It may have taken the better part of 30 years, and unknown amounts of money, but the end result was clearly worth it.

As they filmed their way through the labyrinth of rooms and hallways, Arend refrained from offering his usual running commentary, instead focusing on the architectural and religious wonders before his eyes. While he spent a good deal of time reading the explanatory signs alongside the glass-enclosed exhibits — which, to my surprise, were printed in both Russian and English — I was more taken with the architecture.

The history of St. Basil’s is fascinating. Briefly, it was commissioned by Tsar Ivan IV — more popularly referred to as Ivan the Terrible — in the mid-1500s, to celebrate a military victory. It is said, though not proven, that when the cathedral had been completed, he ordered the architect blinded so that it might never be replicated. That may be no more than an urban legend . . . but knowing Ivan’s history, anything is possible.

As I watched — and envied — the Feenstras on their walk through history, I took some screen shots of their video, a few of which I will share with you now.

I never cease to be amazed by the dichotomy of a people who are so inherently capable of unspeakable acts of brutality, yet are also able to produce such a vast legacy of architectural, artistic, musical and literary splendor.

And now, I believe this calls for a shot of Stolichnaya vodka and an hour or so of Tchaikovsky.

*. *. *

They can’t hear me, but I thank the Feenstras for the unexpected tour that I was never able to take in person.

As for a description of St. Basil’s Cathedral itself, I can only offer a phrase recalled from my many years spent working in the legal profession: Res ipsa loquitur.

“The thing speaks for itself.”

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/22/25