This week brings wonderful news!

On February 13th, five Ukrainian children, ages 4 to 15, were returned home from captivity in Russia and Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories.

Among them were:

> A seven-year-old boy who had been deported from a children’s home in Kherson during the occupation of the city;

> A six-year-old girl and her four-year-old brother, also kidnapped from the children’s home as infants, whom their mother has not seen for four years; and

> A nine-year-old boy who was taken to Russia with his mother. The mother died of illness in Russia, and the boy has been returned home to his uncle. [Interfax Ukraine, February 13, 2026.]

According to the Verkhovna Rada Human Rights Commission, a total of 1,985 children have been returned home to Ukraine since the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022. [Id.]

That is indeed cause for celebration. But that is still fewer than 10% of the total number of children — estimated at 20,000 — abducted from Russian-occupied territories and taken to Russia or held in Russian-controlled regions over the past four years.

And so the fight to retrieve Ukraine’s children continues, along with the efforts to win the release of all of the political prisoners throughout the world, including those on my list:

*. *. *

Victims of Greed:

The President, First Lady, and citizens of Venezuela

Europeans Under Threat:

The Nation and the People of Greenland
The people of NATO and EU member states

Prisoners of War:

The 19,500 Kidnapped Ukrainian Children
The People of Ukraine

Immigrant Detainees in Russia:

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

Endangered Exiles:

Mikita Losik
Yulia Navalnaya
Countless Journalists and Other Dissidents

Political Prisoners:

In Afghanistan:

Dennis Coyle (American)

In Azerbaijan:

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

In Belarus:

Andrei Chapiuk
Uladzimir Labkovich
Andrzej Poczobut
Marfa Rabkova
Valiantsin Stafanovic
Yuras Zyankovich

In Georgia:

Mzia Amaglobeli

In Russia:

The “Crimea 8”:
— Oleg Antipov
— Artyom Azatyan
— Georgy Azatyan
— Aleksandr Bylin
— Roman Solomko
— Artur Terchanyan
— Dmitry Tyazhelykh
— Vladimir Zloba

James Scott Rhys Anderson (British)
David Barnes (American)
Gordon Black (American)
Hayden Davies (British)
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
Leonid Pshenychnov (in Russian-occupied Crimea)
Nadezhda Rossinskaya (a.k.a. Nadin Geisler)
Sofiane Sehili (French)
Igor Sergunin
Dmitry Shatresov
Robert Shonov
Grigory Skvortsov
Eugene Spector (American)
Joseph Tater (American, disappeared)
Laurent Vinatier
Robert Romanov Woodland (American)

You have not been, and will not be, forgotten.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
2/15/26

* William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice,” Act II, Scene 2.

It may take a while. But if honest people persevere, Shakespeare’s prediction nearly always reestablishes its wisdom.

In this case, the true circumstances surrounding the sudden and mysterious death of Russian anti-corruption dissident Aleksei Navalny in February of 2024 have finally been established.

Following his death, Russia authorities delayed the return of Navalny’s body to his parents (his wife and children already then living in exile). But when the family was finally able to bury him, they also managed to smuggle biological samples out of Russia. And for two years, that critical evidence has been the subject of intense analysis by experts from five European countries: the UK, Sweden, France, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Their finding — that the cause of Navalny’s death was poisoning by means of a toxin known as epibatidine, derived from poison dart frogs native to South America and considered one of the deadliest on earth — was announced today by his widow, Yulia Navalnaya, who posted on social media:

“I was certain from the first day that my husband had been poisoned, but now there is proof: Putin killed Aleksei with a chemical weapon. I am grateful to the European states for the meticulous work they carried out over two years and for uncovering the truth. Vladimir Putin is a murderer. He must be held accountable for all his crimes.” [Rikard Jozwiak, RFE/RL, February 14, 2026.]

The official Russian autopsy report stated that hypertension and other diseases had caused a heartbeat disorder leading to Navalny’s death. But Aleksandr Polupan, an anesthesiologist-resuscitator, said in an interview with Current Time that it had been clear even before the European study that “Navalny had been murdered and that he did not die [a] natural death.” Polupan added:

“All that we know about [Navalny’s] abdominal pain, vomiting, and seizures, I don’t see any contradictions in [how the poison works]. Given that independent laboratories confirmed [the presence] of the same molecule, I’d say there’s no need to guess much further.” [Id.]

Following the announcement on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said that “there is a high possibility that Russia killed Navalny by poison. I think it’s a serious offense, and I hope that it will [show] the world that Russia is playing a dirty game.” [Id.]

And the joint statement by the five nations concluded:

“Russia claimed that Navalny died of natural causes. But given the toxicity of epibatidine and reported symptoms, poisoning was highly likely the cause of his death. Navalny died while held in prison, meaning Russia had the means, motive, and opportunity to administer this poison to him.” [Id.]

*. *. *

Any court or jury would be likely to consider the preponderance of evidence in Navalny’s case sufficient to warrant a conviction. But what is this likely to mean for Vladimir Putin?

Tragically, nothing. The Kremlin, which has not yet commented on the finding, will ultimately issue a standard denial. Perhaps the International Criminal Court will see fit to consider charging Putin; but the ICC already has an outstanding warrant against him for war crimes in connection with the kidnapping of thousands of Ukrainian children, which has only served to limit his international travel to friendly countries that agree not to arrest him. In Putin’s world, it is nothing more than a slight inconvenience.

Monday will mark the second anniversary of Navalny’s death in a Siberian prison camp. What, if anything, Yulia Navalnaya will choose to do with this new information is not yet known. But the verification of her suspicions might at least provide a measure of closure for the family and friends of a good man taken too soon.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
2/14/26

It’s Valentine’s Day, so today’s theme presented itself without any effort on my part.

But, as we all know, there are many types of love besides the romantic: love of family, friends, our fur babies, nature, and — perhaps the most difficult to maintain — love of mankind as a whole.

On that note, today seems like an appropriate time to recall these words of the late Martin Luther King, Jr., which need no embellishment:

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

– Martin Luther King, Jr., “A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches”

*. *. *

Happy Valentine’s Day to one and all. I wish each of us a life of peace, love, and brotherhood.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
2/14/26

Only 50-somethings and older will understand the reference when I say that the world has become like a 33 r.p.m. record being played at 78 r.p.m. speed. For the younger generations, suffice it to say that keeping up with the daily news from every corner of the globe (yes, I know: globes don’t have corners) has become exhausting.

So today I decided to ease off a bit, and catch up with my favorite Canadian residents of Russia, now RV-ing their way through the southeastern quadrant of the United States.

I’m afraid I’ve been neglecting the Feenstras lately; but as it turns out, there isn’t much to report. They and six of their nine children took off as planned from Ontario about three weeks ago and have been RV-ing south-southeast through the United States in their old motor home.

Having watched just portions of their travel videos, it appears that they’ve all adjusted nicely to living in close quarters and spending hours on the road each day. I don’t know what sort of magic Arend and Anneesa work on their children, but those kids are troupers. During the long hours of driving, they find plenty to keep themselves busy — school work, games, even crocheting.

The trip itself, while well planned, has also allowed for flexibility. When they see something of interest — a nature conservancy, a beach, or a museum — they stop to check it out. One day, when Arend had a headache and needed a rest, Anneesa took the older children to the beach while the youngest ones napped with Dad. And when the state of Georgia got hit by a surprise snowstorm, they postponed a visit to friends there and revised their route accordingly.

I caught up with them as they were headed through Alabama toward Florida, Arend mentioning that he was particularly impressed with the U.S. interstate highway system and the ease of travel. Score one for the USA!

They breezed through Tampa and finally arrived in St. Petersburg, where they found a Russian Orthodox church and attended Sunday services — something they had not yet done in Russia because of the language difficulty. This church, however, offered a service conducted half in Russian and half (including the sermon) in English.

Meanwhile, teens Cora and Wesley are back in Ontario, working at their summer jobs and becoming young adults. More on them another time. For now, it’s good to know that everyone — including the old motor home — is doing well.

*. *. *

At this point, I switched to a video from the tenants, Justin and Anita Pulley, keeping things running back on the farm in Nizhny Novgorod. I found them buried in snow — another foot had fallen just the day before — where most of their time, when they’re not tending to the animals, is being spent shoveling paths, clearing doorways, and trying to keep the batteries in the farm equipment from freezing in the minus-22 (C) weather.

Justin and Anita keep trying to smile through it all, though it occurs to me that their faces may just have frozen that way. I’m sure they’d much rather be in Florida for the rest of the winter . . . and so would the cows, from the look of things.

So there you have it. The Canadian Feenstras are in the U.S., while the Australian Pulleys take care of business in Russia. I don’t know when they’ll be back together again, but I do know one thing: They’ll all be happier when spring arrives.

Including the cows.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
2/14/26

Not surprisingly, Shakespeare said it first — or his ill-fated King Hamlet did . . .

. . . though most of us probably associate the phrase with the much more recent Agatha Christie’s beloved crime-solving character, Miss Marple.

To me, however, those three little words perfectly describe what has happened to the English language during my lifetime.

From the time I entered the first grade at the age of five, we were taught the basic “three Rs” — reading, (w)riting, and (a)rithmetic. And I mean, we were really taught. We learned addition and subtraction tables in a time before hand-held calculators; and to this day, people of my generation can add and subtract in our heads, without benefit of so much as paper and pencil.

As for English, it was almost a religion: grammar, spelling and punctuation were the Holy Trinity, and a misspelled word or a misplaced comma could cost you that coveted “A” on a test paper.

We knew the difference between subjects and objects, verbs and adverbs, plurals and possessives. Quite simply, by the time we were in the third or fourth grade, we were literate.

So what happened? It would be easy to blame the internet, progenitor of email and texting, with its entirely new dictionary of abbreviations and acronyms. IDK who first thought of it, but IMHO, it’s the work of the devil.

Yet the whole decline into gibberish began long before the advent of the internet. In watching reruns of my favorite TV sitcoms from the 1980s and ‘90s, I have detected such slips as, “Her and I were just good friends,” and, “Me and him had a real fun time.”

Maybe we should look back to the ‘60s — that happy, slappy decade of sex, drugs and rock-and-roll — when the long-cherished standards of interpersonal behavior were swept aside by a sudden urge to be free of all restraints, and a generation of stoned teenagers decided they knew more about life than their parents did.

“If it feels good, do it” became a meme, which also meant that if it didn’t feel good, you could ignore it. Schools that had once been refuges of order and safety became battlegrounds. Teachers who had previously earned absolute respect suddenly found themselves in defensive positions, hoping just to get through the day without anyone being killed. Entire curricula were tossed out and replaced with free-thinking discussion groups. Grammar was of little importance.

By the time the internet came along, the world was ready for all of its wonderful new shortcuts, like spellcheck and autocorrect — two banes of my existence, because half of the time they don’t know what the hell they’re talking about. I have actually found myself screaming at my laptop or iPad:

“DON’T YOU DARE TELL ME WHAT I’M THINKING!!!!”

I have a sweatshirt that reads, “I Am Silently Correcting Your Grammar.” And most of the time, I am doing just that. But, like many people of my generation, I have learned to keep my mouth shut when I hear an otherwise intelligent adult say, “I already seen that movie,” or, “It was so fun, we decided to do it again.” Life in general has become more casual, and in many ways, that is not an entirely bad thing.

But what I find unacceptable — indeed, unforgivable — is the massacre of the written word. Forget about the internet — it is a viper’s nest of misinformation, disinformation, and flat-out bullshit.

Books, magazines and newspapers, on the other hand, are supposed to be sources of accurate information, designed to enlighten, educate and inspire us. But we can no longer rely on them, because the editors of those publications have become dependent upon computers and — God help us! — AI, to ensure their accuracy.

As we all know, “AI” stands for “artificial intelligence.” And “artificial” has many synonyms: “synthetic,” “unnatural,” “counterfeit,” “ersatz,” “factitious,” “manufactured,” “faked,” “false,” “imitation,” “mock,” “not genuine,” “plastic,” “simulated,” “substituted,” and so on.

It doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, does it?

Language is a beautiful thing, inexorably connecting us to our personal histories and national identities. It is meant to be descriptive, informative, enlightening, inspiring, moving. Think of the works of Shakespeare, Byron, Hemingway, Flaubert, Dostoyevsky. Think of the people who compiled the first dictionaries in all of the world’s various languages.

And then think about what impression our descendants will have of us, say 100 years from now, when they open a time capsule containing printouts of today’s emails and Facebook postings.

Come to think of it, things may have gotten even worse by then . . . though I’m really rather glad I won’t be around to find out.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
2/13/26

How many times have you heard me say that artificial intelligence scares the sh*t out of me?

Dozens of times, at least.

And while I tried to convince myself that my aversion to AI was simply a byproduct of having been born a generation ahead of the technology explosion of the late 20th century, somewhere in the hidden recesses of my mind a little voice kept telling me that I was correct: that AI was — or had the potential of becoming — inherently evil.

Now it seems that my gut was right. Mrinank Sharma, the former head of Anthropic’s Safeguards Research team, recently departed the company, posting as he left: “The world is in peril.” [Allison Morrow, CNN, February 11, 2026.]

And a researcher for OpenAI — also on his way to the exit — stated that AI technology has “a potential for manipulating users in ways we don’t have the tools to understand, let alone prevent.” [Id.]

At Elon Musk’s xAI, two co-founders quit in a 24-hour period this week. xAI has just completed a merger with Musk’s SpaceX, which will make it the world’s most valuable private company. Over the past week, five other xAI staff members have announced their departures.

Researchers have expressed concerns about safety issues, and about top executives focused solely on generating revenue. Others oppose the inclusion of pornographic content.

In late 2022, soon after ChatGPT came on the market, Geoffrey Hinton — known as the “Godfather of AI” — left Google and began preaching about his view of the existential risks posed by AI, including “massive economic upheaval in a world where many will ‘not be able to know what is true anymore.’” [Id.]

That was what immediately struck me when I first heard the term “Artificial Intelligence” years ago: the fearful prospect of not being able to differentiate between fact and fiction . . . between truth and lies . . . between reality and what some unknown person wants you to believe.

And with the controls in the hands of someone like Elon Musk, that fear becomes abject terror.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
2/13/26

Umberto Eco was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political/social commentator, perhaps best known for two of his novels, “The Name of the Rose” and “Foucault’s Pendulum.”

In 2015, he warned of the dangers inherent in the rapid evolution and the potential misuse of the internet.

And in one sentence, he managed both to predict and explain the enigma of a man who one day would be pacing in the Lincoln Bedroom of the White House in the wee hours of the morning, spewing his verbal venom across that very same internet for the entire world to see:

“Nothing gives a fearful man more courage than another’s fear.”

Nailed it!

Just sayin’ . . .

Bendochka
2/13/26

Vladimir Putin would have you believe that the Russian military and economy are as strong as ever after four years of a “special military operation” in Ukraine that he originally predicted would be over in no more than a couple of weeks.

But, as his war machine now enters its fifth year of devastating human loss, excruciating economic sanctions, and minimal military success, the obvious truth is that Russia’s economy is struggling.

And so are its citizens.

Four years of government spending on weaponry, ammunition, supplies, and overly generous bonuses paid to entice young men and women to risk their lives in battle, have led to huge increases in taxes and interest rates to cover the costs . . . and inevitably to rampant inflation.

Vera, a 63-year-old retiree in the central Russian city of Ufa, complains that a staple of the Russian diet — cucumbers — now cost the equivalent of $5 per kilo (2.2 pounds). On a monthly pension of $323, she has had to find part-time work in order to survive. [Mike Eckel, RFE/RL, February 12, 2026.]

She doesn’t exaggerate. Official data show that cucumber prices have increased by 43% since the first of the year, with tomato prices up 21% and climbing.

And it’s not only food that is becoming unaffordable. Aleksei, an employed 55-year-old homeowner in a suburb of Ufa, said:

“Money is becoming increasingly scarce. Utility bills are skyrocketing. They’re constantly being recalculated, and not in the consumer’s favor. Food has also become very expensive, and we have to look for substitutes.” [Id.]

According to the semi-independent newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta, “Rising prices and impoverishment of the population is the main problem” among educated Russians. [Id.]

And Estonian military intelligence concluded in its annual threat assessment report that “Russia is facing increasingly severe economic challenges and is neglecting almost all nonmilitary sectors as the war in Ukraine drags on. As a result, the risk of economic and social instability is set to rise in 2026.” [Id.]

All of which lands Putin between a very large rock and a hard place. He needs to win this war in order to maintain his authority as the all-powerful leader of a still-powerful country. But he also needs to retain the trust and loyalty of the Russian populace if he hopes to avoid a popular revolt.

*. *. *

What is so striking about the situation facing the average Russian consumer is that it mirrors what the vast middle- and lower-income classes of Americans are also experiencing.

We are not officially at war. But the waste, inefficiency, and blatant corruption that have become endemic in the current administration are causing the same sort of financial problems for the average American as those facing Vera and Aleksei in Ufa.

The government decided that last year’s cost of living had increased by a meager 2.8%. And on that basis, those of us relying on the Social Security savings we have paid into for our entire working lives received exactly that much of an increase for 2026. But from that, the government took back a portion to cover an increase in Medicare premiums, so we were already behind before we even got started. And in truth, prices of everything from food to fuel rose far more than the administration is willing to admit.

Last month, for example — when Donald Trump has been promising for a year that prescription prices would be decreasing by an impossible 500% or more — the premiums for my prescription insurance coverage doubled, from $52 to $100 per month. I can’t wait to see what will happen to my Medicare supplemental insurance on its anniversary date.

And don’t even get me started on the prices of necessities like toilet paper, toothpaste, deodorant, laundry detergent, etc., etc., etc. While I am still able to afford cucumbers, I can foresee a time when we will all have to choose between giving up that salad with dinner, or gathering leaves from the trees in the front yard to use in the bathroom.

So yes, I feel the pain of the good Russian people who didn’t ask for this war, who bear no grudge against their Ukrainian neighbors, and who want nothing more than to live in peace and relative comfort. Like them, we have become victims of vicious, corrupt authoritarians and oligarchs who care nothing for the people whose labor actually makes their luxurious lifestyle possible.

But those corrupt leaders and their minions might do well to remember that, while they have the money, we have the numbers . . . and the vote.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
2/13/26

As though employees of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) weren’t already sufficiently stressed by staffing shortages and last year’s DOGE layoffs, “Pistol Pete” Hegseth’s Pentagon has now invaded the skies over the southwestern U.S. border city of El Paso, Texas.

Apparently, there have been recent incursions into U.S. airspace by alleged Mexican cartel drones — a situation on which the FAA and the Defense Department have been working together toward a solution, as they should.

But on Wednesday, the FAA was forced to suddenly close the airspace over El Paso when the Pentagon decided to authorize U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to activate an anti-drone laser, deployed at nearby Fort Bliss, without first coordinating with the FAA to ensure the safety of commercial air traffic.

Initially, the FAA announced a ten-day shutdown; but once it had been determined that there was no ongoing danger to aircraft in the area, the closure was lifted after just a few hours. But the damage had already been done. Travelers into and out of El Paso were stranded for hours, and some medical evacuation flights had to be rerouted.

People familiar with the matter said the technology had been used despite a meeting scheduled for later in February at which the FAA and the Pentagon were to discuss the issue. [Seung Min Kim, et al., Associated Press, February 11, 2026.]

As luck would have it, the problem was quickly solved . . . this time. But think of the possible ramifications of this sort of unilateral action being taken by an autocratic department head who believes he is not required to follow mandated procedures . . . or is simply not bright enough to know what the hell he’s doing.

And another question comes to mind. CBP is under the auspices of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which, as we are all too well aware, is in the hands of “Quick-Draw Kristi” Noem. But in matters involving border security, CBP works closely with the Department of Defense (DoD).

So, was Noem aware of what her department had been ordered to do? Or did Hegseth bypass her as well? In either case, the FAA was not consulted as it should have been; but the answer to the question would help to determine culpability.

*. *. *

The bottom line here is that we are seeing yet another example of the arrogance and the total incompetence — a treacherous combination — of the inmates who are running the asylum in Washington. And I don’t see how we can be expected to survive another three years of this kind of madness.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
2/12/26

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about karma. I suppose that happens to a great many people as they grow older and begin to face their own mortality.

But it’s not my own karma that has me concerned. Oh, it’s not that I’ve lived a perfect life . . . far from it. But I figure that, on a sliding scale, I’ve done far less harm than any of those politicians, pedophiles, and other criminals and reprobates who make the daily headlines; so whatever punishment I have coming to me in the afterlife, I’ll handle it.

No, I’m thinking about those folks in the White House — in fact, the entire administration — as well as a lot of people in other seats of power throughout the world, and all of their sycophants who have “simply followed orders.”

Apparently, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle also had such low-lifes in mind when he put these words into the mouth of his most famous protagonist, Sherlock Holmes:

“Violence does, in truth, recoil upon the violent, and the schemer falls into the pit which he digs for another.”

– Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”

Now, that’s a mental image that gives me hope for eventual justice.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
2/12/26