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

In Vladimir Putin’s Russia — as in the days of the Soviet Union — any individuals, groups and organizations daring to express opposition to the official line are labeled as “extremists,” “foreign agents,” “undesirable organizations,” or simply as “scum” and “traitors.” They are then arrested, charged with completely made-up offenses, and invariably convicted and imprisoned.

Donald Trump calls his opponents “haters and losers,” “thugs,” “sick people,” “the enemy from within,” “seditionists,” and . . . wait for it . . . “scum” and “vermin.”

Now, according to a leaked memo from the U.S. Attorney General’s office, Pam Bondi has directed the Justice Department and the FBI to compile a list of groups that may be labeled “domestic terrorism” organizations.

The memo, obtained by journalist Ken Klippenstein, is said to instruct that the list be based on political views related to immigration, gender, and U.S. policy. It identifies targets as “entities expressing ‘opposition to law and immigration enforcement,’ support for ‘mass migration and open borders,’ ‘radical gender ideology,’ or views described as anti-American, anti-capitalist or anti-Christian, as well as ‘hostility towards traditional views on family, religion, and morality.’” [Democracy Now!, December 8, 2025.]

The memo also instructs the agencies to refer suspected cases to the Joint Terrorism Task Forces for investigation, and orders the FBI to expand its tipline and create a cash reward system for informants. [Id.]

Welcome to Donald Trump’s lily-white, racist, homophobic, male-dominated, pseudo-Christian Amerika, folks.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/13/25

On November 5th of this year, Vladimir Putin quietly signed into law Decree No. 821: “Executive Order On the Temporary Procedure for Granting Citizenship of the Russian Federation and Issuing Residence Permits in the Russian Federation,” which contained a provision that “certain categories of capable men aged 18 to 65” must now be subject to military service in order to apply for permanent residency or citizenship in Russia.

And on November 16th, Arend Feenstra — obviously concerned for himself and his 16-year-old son Wesley — appeared in a chat on YouTube with a Russian immigration expert to discuss the meaning of the new edict.

The Feenstras, as we know, have built a farm in Nizhny Novgorod and settled into life in Russia over the past two years. In 2024, they were granted temporary residency visas — the first step toward permanent residency, for which they will become eligible in 2027 . . . by which time young Wesley will be 18 years of age.

Although Arend, in the November broadcast, tried to put the best face on the issue, he was obviously and understandably concerned. But the Kremlin has been uncharacteristically silent about the new decree, even as the war in Ukraine — still officially known as the “special military operation” — rages on.

Fast forward just three weeks, when Arend Feenstra makes the surprise announcement that the entire family — all ten of them — will be leaving on Tuesday, December 9th, for an indefinite period of at least a couple of months, on a much-needed vacation in their home country of Canada, with a planned side trip to Florida in the U.S.

While repeating several times that they would be “100% for sure” returning to their farm in Russia, Arend led us on a brief tour of the farm they have built with their own hands and would now be leaving in the care of their tenant farmers, the Pulley family from Australia, who themselves appeared on the scene rather suddenly and mysteriously just a few weeks ago.

As everyone hastily packed for the long journey, they dutifully filmed their progress, and repeatedly asked the youngest children if they were excited about the vacation . . . while Justin Pulley was being given a last-minute lesson in driving the farm tractor. And I had to wonder how, if this trip had been so well-planned, they had let that little detail slide until the last moment.

At last, Tuesday arrived and they were off. We followed them on the train from Nizhny Novgorod to Moscow, by Metro from the train station to the airport, and through the surprisingly easy check-in process. But at the train station while still in Nizhny Novgorod, Arend Feenstra let his guard down for just a moment, admitting that — though he is not generally a sentimental guy — he was indeed feeling emotional about leaving their Russian home, because “we’re going to be gone for a while.”

He did not sound, or look, like a man going on a vacation.

In my December 8th report, I had voiced some concerns about the entire scenario: leaving their beloved, hard-earned farm in the hands of inexperienced strangers for so long; spending anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 — even though allegedly donated by family and “friends” — just for air fare; and the unexplained 2,500-mile detour to Florida.

And today I saw this headline:

“Putin Decree Forces Foreigners Seeking Russian Residency
To Sign Army Contracts”

The article speaks of “a little-publicized decree [issued] last month that requires many foreign men who seek permanent residency or citizenship to sign a contract with the military in the midst of Moscow’s war against Ukraine . . .” [Svetlana Osipova, et al., RFE/RL, December 12, 2025.]

The report continues:

“State-run and privately owned Russian media outlets have made almost no mention of the requirement, which is highly unusual in international practice, since Putin signed Decree No. 821 on November 5.

“But the new measure is already pushing migrants who have built their lives in Russia to choose between conscription and leaving the country . . .” [Id.]

It also told of one Azerbaijani citizen, also now a farmer in Nizhny Novgorod, who only learned of the new requirement when he recently visited a Federal Migration Service office to ask what documents he needed to apply for permanent residency. He and his Russian wife now plan to leave the country, saying, “We don’t know what to do — we are pawns in this meat grinder.” [Id.]

But Arend Feenstra knew about Decree No. 821 almost immediately following its issuance. And barely a month later, he and his entire family are on their way back to Canada for a lengthy “vacation.”

There are such things as coincidences, of course — as when two women show up at a party wearing identical outfits, or co-workers buy each other the same Secret Santa gift. But some apparent coincidences stretch credulity to the breaking point . . . most especially when they involve politics or business.

So I can only reiterate my thoughts of a few days ago, when I mentioned the possibility that the Feenstras might be voluntarily moving back home to the West; or that, if they do intend to return to Russia, they may find themselves no longer welcome there, their property confiscated, and their lives totally upended.

On the other hand, this whole trip might just be another chapter in the ongoing use by the Putin regime of the Feenstra family as propaganda tools to attract conservative, productive immigrants. I suppose we’ll have to wait for their next videos to see what happens.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/12/25

In 1998, Margaret Atwood — renowned author of “The Handmaid’s Tale” and a multitude of other literary gems — wrote a psychological thriller titled “Surfacing,” in which she offered this concise observation on some of mankind’s shortcomings:

“Stupidity is the same as evil if you judge by the results.“
– Margaret Atwood, “Surfacing”

And that sentence immediately brought to mind an article in yesterday’s news about the latest diplomatic action taken by Marco Rubio, who currently wears three hats as Secretary of State, acting National Security Adviser, and acting Archivist for the U.S. government. He is, to say the least, a busy man.

But somehow he manages to find time to attend to those little details that, if overlooked, would be certain to create havoc sufficient to cause the collapse of the entire nation. Today’s case in point: the standard font for all official Department of State documents.

You see, this vital issue — which has taken precedence over finding a solution to the war in Ukraine, maintaining the tenuous Gaza peace, analyzing Russia’s threats against Europe, and countering China’s AI dominance — obviously has the power to destroy us all because it involves the issue of DEIA, which is DEI with the addition of Accessibility.

It seems that Times New Roman has been the choice of fonts for the U.S. government since 2004, which was perfectly adequate when official documents were memorialized on something called paper. But at some point during the Biden administration, a sharp-eyed individual recognized that Times New Roman was not as easily readable on computer screens. So a new, digital-friendly font called Calibri was devised, eliminating the unnecessary finishing strokes on the Times New Roman letters and making it more accessible to people with disabilities such as impaired vision, dyslexia, or perhaps those on the autism spectrum.

Thus — in the minds of the anti-woke, anti-DEIA, anti-milk-of-human-kindness members of the Trump administration — this became an Accessibility issue. And heaven forbid, we should ever do anything to make life a little easier for people whose disabilities already weigh on them. Because helping people would be the next thing to socialism, which is just a short step away from communism. Or some such crap.

And besides, the change to Calibri was a Biden administration action, which automatically classifies it as despicable, illegal, and quite possibly seditious . . . and which may provide an excuse for Pam Bondi to start a whole new investigation.

So, in order to keep the government from experiencing a total meltdown, the very busy Marco Rubio has directed U.S. diplomats around the world to switch from the offending Calibri back to Times New Roman 14-point font in all official documents, with the State Department issuing the following explanatory statement:

“Whether for internal memoranda, papers prepared for principals, or documents shared externally, consistent formatting strengthens credibility and supports a unified Department identity.” [Rachel Treisman, NPR, December 11, 2025.]

Your tax dollars at work!

I wonder whether Margaret Atwood has ever contemplated the effects of a combination of stupidity and evil. If not, she has plenty of material now.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/12/25

Not satisfied with his takeover of the once-beloved Kennedy Center, and his anti-“woke” re-imaging of the venerable Smithsonian Institution, Donald Trump has now moved on to the world of sports.

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup being hosted in the U.S., Canada and Mexico next year, and the ceremonial draw taking place in Washington last week, Trump immediately seized the opportunity to have himself awarded a hastily-created, first annual “Peace Prize,” complete with a fake medal (which he greedily grabbed and placed around his own neck) and an ugly gold-leaf statuette, as a sort of “up yours” gesture to the Nobel Committee. As if they care.

And now it has been announced by the FIFA folks that the prices for tickets — and especially those for the coveted finals — have more than tripled since the 2022 games in Qatar. They weren’t cheap even then; but next year, the lucky bidders will pay — just for the final at MetLife Stadium in New York — $4,185 per ticket for “supporter value tier,” $5,560 for “supporter standard tier,” and $8,860 for “supporter premium tier.”

Oh, yeah . . . you read that correctly.

Allow me to comment: I’m not a big fan of most team sports. Never have been. But I know that I am in the minority, and that true sports fans will do almost anything to score tickets to the big games. So I have tried to imagine myself paying even the lowest tier price — more than $4,000 — for a ticket to something I really enjoy.

I love the theater and music. I once paid $300 (the equivalent of nearly $600 today) to attend a concert by Andrea Bocelli, and nearly that much to see Mikhail Baryshnikov defy gravity while leaping and spinning his way through Swan Lake. But never — even when I was gainfully employed and earning a quite decent salary — would I have considered paying any amount with a comma in it to see a performance by anyone.

And in today’s economy . . . well, most people simply can’t afford it, no matter how much they’d love to. We have other things in the budget: things like food, housing, education, insurance, transportation, medicines, food. (Yes, I know I said that last one twice, but it’s a biggie.)

What FIFA — and Trump’s good friend and nauseating sycophant Gianni Infantino — have done is to price the tickets out of the reach of everyone but Trump’s wealthiest friends and associates, thus ensuring that they will be able to enjoy their black-tie event without having to endure the presence of the hoi polloi.

Of course, we mere mortals will have the option of watching it from the comfort of our homes, free or for a small fee, on TV. Which reminds me: exclusive broadcast rights in the U.S. have been granted to . . . anyone care to guess? . . .

FOX-TV, of course.

I rest my case.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/12/25

And . . . they’re OFF!!

On Tuesday, the Feenstras left the farm with their eight children, one stroller, and a massive amount of luggage, to head to the train station in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.

They survived the long train ride into Moscow.

Once in Moscow, they had to find the right Metro train to the airport (they didn’t say which airport), but said that people were so very helpful in offering directions.

Next they schlepped everything onto the Moscow Metro, and arrived at the airport in plenty of time to navigate passport control, check their big bags, and get a bite to eat before departure to Istanbul.

No problems at passport control.

Throughout the day and evening, the camera was being manned by eldest daughter Cora. She took a break from filming while the clan had dinner in an airport restaurant, and finally gave us this view of the walk to their boarding gate.

And that is the last we’ve heard from them as they wing their way to Istanbul, Turkiye, where they connect to a flight to Detroit, Michigan, and cross the border by car into Canada.

In a previous video, Arend Feenstra had expressed concern as to who would be meeting them in Detroit. Their original driver had backed out for reasons Arend didn’t explain, and he said that their eldest son — who did not move to Russia with them — was hesitant to cross the border into the U.S. . . . again, for some unknown reason. With eight exhausted, jet-lagged children and a boatload of baggage, I hope they get it worked out and don’t have to resort to another train or bus ride.

But we shall see, as we follow the adventures of the peripatetic Feenstra family back in their western homeland.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/11/25

It has taken many decades, but at last I’ve found it: the justification for that ever-present dish of Hershey’s Kisses next to my favorite chair. And the chocolate chip cookies in the cupboard, the chocolate pudding cups in the refrigerator, and the box of Godivas hidden in the closet.

At my advanced age, I don’t believe I need to justify myself to anyone any longer. But — and of course I blame my mother for this — there’s still that little guilt pang when I step on the bathroom scale and see that those extra ten pounds haven’t shifted . . . except perhaps from the left hip to the right.

So I was delighted when I happened upon a quote by American author Amy Neftzger, whose books I confess I have never read but will now probably be ordering because I like her attitude, her devotion to the Oxford comma, and this astute observation:

“I’m pretty sure that eating chocolate keeps wrinkles away
because I have never seen a 10 year old with a Hershey bar and crows feet.”

Thank you, Amy. I am finally free of my mother’s obsession with a youthful appearance and her belief in the rewards of sacrifice.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/11/25

Let’s be realistic: No one is immortal. That is an indisputable fact that even Donald Trump cannot change through bribery, bullying, or gaslighting. And it applies to world leaders as well as to us mere mortals.

Much has been made recently of Trump’s apparent inability to stay awake through meetings, his slurred and often incoherent speech, and his sickly appearance. He may have a good number of years ahead of him; but at 79, he is showing his age and an increasing measure of frailty.

But he’s not alone in the creeping decrepitude category. In the eastern hemisphere, three of the free world’s fiercest adversaries — and three of the five founding members of BRICS — are also in their declining years: Russian President Vladimir Putin, 73; Chinese Premier Xi Jinping, 72; and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 75.

In the way of autocrats the world over, each of them keeps details concerning their health secret, in order to maintain an aura of strength and omnipotence. But the fact remains that they are, in the end, mortal. And one day, either by reason of incapacity or death, they will need to be replaced.

So what would happen if any one of them were suddenly — in the words of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet — to “shuffle off this mortal coil”? Let’s look at Trump first, since the United States is the only one of the four countries with a clearly-mandated order of succession.

According to the U.S. Constitution, in the event of the death or other removal of the president, the vice-president immediately takes the oath of office, as happened with Roosevelt and Truman, and Kennedy and Johnson. In line after the vice-president are the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President pro tempore of the Senate, and finally — in what would be an extraordinary circumstance — members of the Cabinet, beginning with the Secretaries of State, Treasury and Defense.

So, if this were to occur in the near future, we’re talking about JD Vance, Mike Johnson, Chuck Grassley (already 92 years old), Marco Rubio, Scott Bessent, Pete Hegseth, and so on.

Looking at that list — and I never thought I’d hear myself say this — I’d almost rather we followed the examples of countries that hold new free-for-all elections. Almost.

But what about those other countries?

China has no specific order of succession, and it is unclear whether anyone is currently favored as next in line. So in terms of the future, it is something of a wild card.

India also poses some interesting questions. While its Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has been the public face of the Indian government, in reality he is third in power, following the president and vice-president. His position is filled by presidential appointment, but that appointment goes to the leader of the majority party or coalition in the lower house of parliament. Therefore, in the event of Modi’s death, the president would appoint an acting prime minister until the party elected a new leader, who would then assume the office.

*. *. *

The big question, of course, is what would happen in Russia if Putin were to die, or if — as some experts are prognosticating — his disastrous war against Ukraine were to drag his country’s economy and morale into such a downward spiral that the people finally declared “Enough!” and forced him out of office.

Russia has a constitution, which provides that, in the event of the death or other departure of the president, the prime minister (currently Mikhail Mishustin — never heard of him, have you?) becomes acting president until the next scheduled presidential election. That is how Putin inherited the office from Boris Yeltsin when Yeltsin resigned in December of 1999. In March of 2000, a new election was held, and Putin — to no one’s surprise — won handily.

But Mishustin does not appear to have Putin’s power base. What he does have is a lot more competition for the top job. There would first be a monumental internecine battle of Kremlin favorites — politicians and oligarchs aplenty — ready to cut each other’s throats (or start pushing people out of windows) to be first in line.

Then you would have the reformers — the dissidents anxious to guide the country back onto the road to democracy. Aleksei Navalny would have been the logical choice, had he not been eliminated by Putin in a Siberian prison camp. But some are now pointing to reformers-in-exile, such as Vladimir Kara-Murza, Garry Kasparov, or Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

In Russia, anything can happen. And with Vladimir Putin getting older, and his popularity waning as the war drags on and begins to be felt on Russian soil, the rest of the world needs to be prepared.

Exactly how we do that . . . well, thankfully, that’s not my job.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/11/25

As an animal lover, and a dog lover in particular, I have been happily slobbered over by a wide variety of fur babies throughout my lifetime . . . including, most memorably, a carriage horse named Nagano in Vancouver, British Columbia, and a gigantic Great Dane in the elevator of my apartment building in Virginia.

But never have I had the, uh, pleasure of being French-kissed by the likes of Ozzy, the four-year-old mastiff mix who just claimed the title for having the world’s longest tongue on a living dog. (I don’t know whether there’s a category for dead dogs . . . and frankly, I’d rather not find out.)

Measuring 7.83 inches (19.89 cm.), Ozzy’s prodigious protuberance surpasses the previous record holder’s by more than two inches. And judging from this photo, it appears to be too long to fit inside his mouth, where it actually belongs, without choking its owner.

So there it hangs, for all the world to marvel at. I should think it would dry out fairly quickly, thus requiring a constant supply of available water — most likely in a washtub, rather than a mere doggy bowl. And I wouldn’t want to be within a 10-foot perimeter when Ozzy decides to give his head a good shake.

But most interestingly, I’m trying to imagine how it would feel to be the object of Ozzy’s affections. He looks like a lovely fellow, possibly prone to lap-sitting and cuddling, despite his size. And when he decides to reward his loving owner — or, heaven forbid, a total stranger — with a giant slurp, I can only think it must feel like having your face scrubbed with a large slice of raw beef liver (but without the bloody residue).

But I jest.

Like all living creatures, human and otherwise, Ozzy has an imperfection. And that makes him unique and — in my opinion, at least — all the more adorable. If I were ever privileged to meet him, he would be welcome to move in for all of the hugs and big, sloppy kisses he would care to plant on me. I would ask only that his owners provide a towel.

So congratulations on your award, Ozzy. You’re a winner in every way, and I wish you a long, happy life with your loving family.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/10/25

I never thought I’d find myself quoting a member of the Trump family. But Sunday’s comment by Donald Trump, Jr. — not a philosopher, scholar, diplomat, or anything of note — bears repeating for its absurdity . . . and it’s terrifying implications.

And because it is the absolute truth.

Speaking about his father’s current views on Ukraine, the younger Trump indicated that the senior Trump could well walk away from the Ukraine peace efforts. And he had this insight to share with the world:

“What’s good about my father, and what’s unique about my father, is you don’t know what he’s going to do. The fact that he’s not predictable … forces everyone to actually deal in an intellectually honest capacity.”

[Nahal Toosi, Politico, December 7, 2025.]

Now, if you’re talking about someone’s kindly old grandfather, that might be considered cute, quirky, and even endearing. But when the subject is the supposed leader of the free world . . . well, “frightening” just doesn’t cover it.

What this country and the world need is not unpredictability. We’ve had our fill of surprises. We need sane, rational, intelligent leadership. And what we have at the helm is a loose cannon.

Whether by conscious choice or mental derangement remains to be determined.
But the fact that his son and namesake thinks that’s a good thing tells me all I need to know about genetics.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/10/25