December 16th seems to have been an auspicious date in several parts of the world back in the 1700s.

To begin with, on this date in 1770, Ludwig van Beethoven was born, presumably kicking and screaming, in Germany.

Now, I appreciate History.com’s daily reminders of historic events; but I have to take issue with their brief description of the musical genius who continued composing some of his most masterful works after losing his hearing. What they wrote was:

“German composer and influential figure in Western classical music with works like ‘Symphony No. 9.” [“This Day In History,” History.com, December 16, 2025.]

My point: Isn’t that like saying that Michelangelo Buonarroti was an Italian artist who once painted a church ceiling? Come on, people . . . let’s give credit where credit is due. Surely, Schroeder would never have described his idol in such understated terms.

*. *. *

But moving on . . .

On December 16, 1775, a baby girl was born to George and Cassandra Austen in Hampshire, England. The seventh of their eight children, they named her Jane, and raised her in proper English fashion . . . meaning that she would eventually marry and have a family of her own. But Jane was blessed (or cursed) with intelligence and an independent spirit, and chose instead to become a writer. Thus the world inherited “Pride and Prejudice,” “Emma,” and “Sense and Sensibility,” among other treasures.

Thank you, Jane, for following your dream throughout your too-short life.

*. *. *

And on this date in 1773, in the British colonies across the Atlantic Ocean in America, a group of colonists — fed up with British taxes and other forms of political oppression — disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians, boarded three British tea ships, and threw one hell of a tea party, dumping 342 chests of the cargo into Boston Harbor.

It is unclear whether scones were also served. But we do know that the festivities, followed by retribution from the British in the form of the Coercive Acts of 1774, ultimately led to an all-out revolution. As we also know, the colonists won, and over time the two countries became — and still are — the best of friends, sharing many a “cuppa” throughout 250 years of trade, a couple of world wars, and a few recent royal and presidential scandals.

So let’s raise a glass to December 16th . . . altogether an outstanding day in history.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/16/25

This past weekend has been so unspeakably dreadful, I find myself once again turning to the Bard for comprehension and solace.

There is no other way to frame it: the world has just experienced two days of unimaginable horror — the mass shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island; the even more deadly attack on a Jewish holiday gathering at Bondi Beach in New South Wales, Australia; and the murder of actor-director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele at their home in Los Angeles, California.

Three unrelated incidents, with one thing in common: they were all hate crimes.

Whether or not the perpetrators were mentally unbalanced is not the principal issue. Whatever their state of mind, they were each compelled by an uncontrolled rage to take the lives of other human beings — in two cases, total strangers.

The world has become saturated with the kind of hatred that causes people to strike out at each other, whether verbally, physically, or with deadly weapons. It seems impossible to speak without upsetting someone; and too often, that upset quickly turns to fury.

(Case in point: the despicable verbal reaction from the White House to the brutal death of Rob Reiner.)

As we deal with the grief and horror of the events we have just witnessed, we also struggle to understand what is driving this widespread contagion of anger and hatred. And perhaps Shakespeare had the answer when he wrote:

“In time we hate that which we often fear.”

– William Shakespeare, “Antony and Cleopatra,”
Act I, Scene 3

The obvious next question is: How do we — each in our own way — identify and control the fear? I wonder whether Shakespeare had the answer to that one.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/16/25

We are all aware by now of Donald Trump’s brutal campaign against the administration of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, the deadly attacks on boats carrying suspected drug runners from that country, and his threatened assault on the nation of Venezuela itself.

But it may be useful to look back 15 months at some of the history of the Maduro regime and its long-standing problem with systemic corruption. Here, as a gentle reminder, is what I wrote in September of 2024:

*. *. *

Venezuela’s self-proclaimed president, Nicolas Maduro, has had his share of issues lately. Aside from the legitimacy of his presidency itself being denied and protested, he has been widely criticized for his friendship with Russia’s Vladimir Putin; had his illegally-purchased $13 million plane seized; and had to fight off growing political unrest among Venezuela’s citizens who are fed up with his authoritarian rule. And that’s just for starters.

But he believes he’s found a way to keep his people happy, or at least distracted . . . for the next few months, anyway. On his weekly television show on Monday, he proclaimed:

“September smells like Christmas! This year and to honor you all, to thank you all, I am going to decree the beginning of Christmas on October 1. Christmas arrived for everyone, in peace, joy and security!” [Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, September 4, 2024.]

Well, that ought to do it — particularly for the dissidents he’s thrown into prison. And for opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez, who has been accused by Maduro of “crimes associated with terrorism,” and is now the subject of an arrest warrant issued just hours before the big Christmas announcement.

Since the start of the protests over the election, some 2,400 people have been arrested, and Human Rights Watch says it has documented eleven related killings. (Non-governmental organizations have reported 24 people killed.) Maduro has ordered two new prisons to be opened, and has called for “everyone in the streets to be imprisoned.” [Id.]

If they were speaking Russian instead of Spanish, I would swear . . . well, never mind.

To say that things are not going well in Venezuela would be a gross understatement. Obviously, then, what we need is a little . . .

That should fix everything. Yeah . . . right!

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
9/5/24

*. *. *

But that was then. What about now?

Not much seems to have changed in Venezuela in the past 15 months. Yet nothing that Maduro or his supporters have done can justify Donald Trump’s and Pete Hegseth’s murderous attacks on boats, in international waters, that may or may not have been carrying drugs, and may or may not have been headed to the U.S. (which, in any event, seems virtually impossible, given the small size and fuel capacity of the boats and the great distance from Venezuela to the nearest point in the U.S.). Those attacks have been blatantly illegal, inhumane, and inexcusable.

Furthermore, the hypocrisy of Trump’s attempt to justify his actions by labelling them attacks against a corrupt regime is simply laughable. Has he even looked in a mirror lately?!!

One thing he did get right: Maduro is scum. Still, shouldn’t it be up to the people of Venezuela to unseat him? Since when does Donald Trump give a flying fig about corruption?

The truth is, he doesn’t. In reality, it’s all about that rich, abundant Venezuelan oil. The fight against drugs and corruption is just an excuse . . . the cover he needs for his own corrupt regime.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/15/25

It seems that, in addition to old Will Shakespeare, I can always count on Eleanor Roosevelt to provide just the right words of wisdom to fit any situation or circumstance.

And as the crisis in Ukraine drags on into yet another week of endless meetings and attempts to reach a fair and just agreement that will both end Russia’s assault and secure Ukraine’s (and Europe’s) future existence, Mrs. Roosevelt’s words make it seem so simple and obvious:

“Justice cannot be for one side alone,
but must be for both.”

Now all that remains is to convince Vladimir Putin of that — and, apparently, Donald Trump as well.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/15/25

As we all try to process the horror of yesterday’s Chanukah mass shooting at Bondi Beach, Australia, one story — encapsulated in this photo — stands out.

It is a picture of a bystander — a Muslim man named Ahmed al Ahmed — risking his own life to wrestle a semi-automatic weapon from a shooter attacking a group of 1,000 Jewish people celebrating the first night of the joyous Chanukah season.

Ahmed sustained accidental injuries in doing the right thing — what we would hope any able-bodied person would do. He saw evil, and he ran to stop it. The religion of the people involved did not matter to him . . . as it should not matter to anyone.

Ahmed al Ahmed is a true hero: a human being who saw other human beings in danger, and didn’t stop to categorize them. In so doing, he likely saved many lives. But he also gave us something else, something of equal importance: he gave us all a ray of hope that the decent people in this world — people of all races, faiths and ethnicities — still outnumber the evil.

So, as we mourn the loss of the 15 people who did not survive the attack, and pray for the speedy recovery of the many wounded, we should also give thanks for Ahmed and the others who helped to stop the bloodshed.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/15/25

Never mind the Ides of March. These days, we must beware the so-called information on the internet!

A friend of mine re-posted something yesterday that she had read and appreciated. It was an alleged quote by the “Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer, and Academic skeptic” (whew!), Marcus Tullius Cicero. And when I read it, it spoke to me and I decided to pass it on today. But first I checked, as I always do, to be sure I was quoting it correctly.

And it turned out that Cicero didn’t say it at all.

I know it’s disappointing, and incredibly difficult to believe, but we must face the fact that not everything we read on the internet is true and correct, no matter how real it may seem.

This particular writing — which sounds as though it may indeed have been issued by an ancient Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar . . . well, all those other things — actually came from the pen of 20th-century author Taylor Caldwell in her novel about Cicero, “A Pillar of Iron.” Apparently, on page 661 of the book (depending, I suppose, on whether you have the hard-cover, paperback, or digital version), Ms. Caldwell attributes the passage to a speech allegedly made by Cicero in the Roman Senate in 58 B.C., as “Recorded by Sallust.” [Samantha Putterman, Politifact, May 3, 2019.]

Of course, I only have Ms. Putterman’s word for that. But regardless of who said it first — a 2,000-year-old Roman genius, or a prolific American novelist — the statement bears repeating. So here it is:

“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. For the traitor appears not a traitor — He speaks in the accents familiar to his victims, and he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation — he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of a city — he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to be feared.”

Disclaimer: Any similarity to living persons is purely coincidental. But wow! It sure sounds like someone we all know.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/14/25

Well, we followed Arend, Anneesa, and the ten little Feenstras for some 36 hours, all the way from Nizhny Novgorod, Russia; through Moscow; by plane to Turkiye; a seven-hour layover in the Istanbul airport; an 11-hour flight to Detroit, Michigan, USA; a search through the Detroit airport for eldest son Ben; a five-hour drive across the border to Canada; and a warm welcome at the home of Anneesa’s parents.

And that is where it ends, for now. Understandably, they were all jet-lagged, sleep-deprived, and anxious to catch up with family and friends. But it’s not like dad Arend, or trainee-photographer/moderator Cora, to let three whole days elapse between video reports; and I must admit, I miss them.

So we’ll have to let these photos of the trip and their safe arrival suffice for now, while we keep an eye out for their next installments.

Happy vacation, Feenstras!

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/14/25

Ideally, a release of political prisoners can be effected by means of a people-for-people swap, such as the historic multi-national exchange that took place with Russia in August of 2024. But that’s not always possible, when one side holds all the hostages.

So Friday’s release of 123 political prisoners by the government of Belarus was made possible by the U.S. government’s lifting of sanctions on Belarusian exports of potash — a vital component in the production of fertilizer, but also used in the making of some explosives.

And while no decent person wants to see a tyrant such as Belarusian presumptive president Aleksandr Lukashenko rewarded for his crimes, the lives of the hostages remains paramount, and their return is cause for celebration . . . especially in this holiday season.

Included among those freed were 2020 protest leader Maryya Kalesnikava, Nobel laureate Ales Byalyatski — both of whom have been on our list of hostages for some time, and can now be removed. A happy day indeed!

Also released were one as-yet-unnamed American and citizens of several other countries. All have safely left Belarus; 114 are in Ukraine, and the other nine are reported to have been sent to Lithuania. [RFE/RL, December 13, 2025.]

While we celebrate their release, we continue to maintain the vigil on behalf of the thousands remaining in prisons in Russia, Belarus, Georgia, China, Azerbaijan, and anywhere else that political hostages are being held.

And once more, here are the names of those known to me:

*. *. *

Europeans Under Threat:

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

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
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)
Laurent Vinatier
Robert Romanov Woodland (American)

*. *. *

May the coming New Year bring all of you, and more, safely home.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/14/25

This song — “Carefully Taught” — needs no explanation. Here it is, years ahead of its time, from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical classic:

“You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear,
You’ve got to be taught from year to year,
It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear,
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a different shade,
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be carefully taught.”

– Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, “South Pacific”

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/13/25

It’s been going on for some time now: the Kremlin’s blocking of social media and international apps including WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, X, Signal, Viber, Snapchat, and now also Apple’s FaceTime video service.

In their place, the Russian government has created an all-powerful new app called Max, developed by the state-run social media company formerly known as VKontakte (now merely called VK), making it much easier for officials to monitor communications.

Russia’s state services portal, Gosuslugi (literally, “State Services”), serves as the country’s primary digital gateway between the state and its people. It is used for tax returns, medical services, legal documentation, and — in accordance with recently-enacted legislation — includes the delivery of electronic draft notices to military enlistment offices. [Current time and RFE/RL’s Russian Service, December 10, 2025.]

And now Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko has advised that the government has instituted a ban on international incoming calls made without the consent of the receiver, allegedly aimed at “protecting citizens from phone and Internet fraud.” The new measures will include mandatory labeling of all international calls, issuance of special “children’s SIM cards,” and stricter limits on issuance of mass SIM cards. [Id.]

Further, the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media has said that it is gradually phasing out SMS-based logins to Gosuslugi on mobile devices. Access to Gosuslugi via smartphone will hereafter be possible only through Max. [Id.]

When I made my first trip to the Soviet Union in 1988 with an American tour group, I decided to make one phone call home to the U.S., just to let my family know I was alive and well. Communications were difficult in those days; few people even had their own home phones, as the waiting list was years long. But the hotel was finally able to put the call through for me — at a cost of $50! — and I knew, or at least assumed, that it was being monitored.

The advent of the cell phone changed all of that, and today — at least in the cities — nearly everyone walks around with a phone in hand. The internet has also offered Russian citizens greater access to information, as well as the ability to keep in touch with friends and relatives abroad.

But that is changing. Throughout the world, individual privacy has been chipped away by the very technology on which we have come to depend. And in Russia, that is being taken to an extreme not seen since the 1980s . . . all in the name of “protection.”

In Putin’s world, everything old is becoming new again. But today’s young adults are better informed than their parents and grandparents were. They have known freedom; in fact, an entire generation has never lived under communism. So the question is: How much of this Soviet-style repression will they accept before they rebel?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/13/25