Month: May 2022

Revisionist History

There is a plan under foot, especially in Red States, to teach an sanitized version of history….to the point of banning some of our history from being taught.

These attacks on education is making the Red State citizens a stupid pack of idiots…..non-issues are being used to re-write American history….

Apparently these attempts are successful so successful that even Russia will try there hand at rewriting history…..

After being accused of committing atrocities in Ukraine, and facing global opposition for its invasion, Russia is taking a step to control the narrative among its people early. The Education Ministry has announced the starting age for compulsory history lessons in its schools will be 7, down from 10. It’s part of a campaign to stress patriotic education, the Moscow Times reports. In Russia’s history lessons, Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov said: “We will never allow it [to be written] that we somehow treated other nations—our fraternal nations of Ukraine and Belarus—poorly. We will do everything in our power so that historical memory is preserved.”

Historical education will be added to the teaching of other subjects, as well, per the Times. It’s important that students learn their nation’s history, President Vladimir Putin told “The Power Is in the Truth,” a schools forum. “A deep understanding of our history, and a respectful, thoughtful attitude to the great patriotic, spiritual, and cultural heritage of the Fatherland enables us to draw correct conclusions from the past,” Putin said. As of Sept. 1, schools will begin each week by raising the Russian flag and singing the national anthem, Kravtsov said.

Think about that!

Russia is doing the same thing that our Red States are doing….suppressing history…revising events to suit an ideology…..

Online and offline, digi-fascism thrives from designing an illusionary world of individual experiences and spaces in which the supposedly oppressed and insecure can feel at ease. Now they are protected from an accelerated and ever increasing complexity of modernity.

Right-wing extremist’s propaganda constructs this idyllic and pre- or better: anti-modern world as a place in which an imagined white majority no longer needs to fear the loss of its social privileges. Ideologically speaking, digi-fascism follows an old but proven playbook.

The Rise of Digi-Fascism

States like Texas and Minnesota want to do away with the Public Education Act…that is they do not think they should be educating children….how damn sad is that movement?

All I can do is shake my head at the stupidity and the wholesale ignorance in this world….it is a pandemic and I refuse to let stupidity and ignorance infect me.

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Why Is CRT So Damn Important?

A subject that gets little coverage these day….so who better than me to resurrect the subject.

We all have heard about the Critical Race Theory (CRT)…..ever wonder why this obscure issue has become so damn important in our political discourse?

Red States are spending an inordinate amount of time trying to prevent the teaching of CRT…..the catch is this waste of time is seldom taught and when it is it is a class for law degree.

Like my state of Mississippi…..

The same Mississippi Legislature that proclaimed racial reconciliation after removing the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag nearly two years ago passed a bill Thursday to limit how race can be discussed in classrooms. Several Black legislators said during the six-hour debate that the bill could squelch honest discussion about the harmful effects of racism because parents could complain if history lessons make white children uncomfortable. The Republican-controlled House voted 75-43 to pass Senate Bill 2113. It will go to Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, who has pledged to sign it into law, the AP reports. All House votes for the bill on Thursday came from white Republicans.

The bill’s short title says it would prohibit “critical race theory.” But the main text of the bill does not mention or define the theory, and many supporters of the bill also have said they cannot define it. The bill says no school, community college or university could teach that any “sex, race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin is inherently superior or inferior.” Democratic Rep. Zakiya Summers of Jackson said she has been told by some colleagues that the bill does nothing substantial but it gives them a talking point at election time. “Censoring teachers, dismantling education bit by bit, attempting to erase the past, refusing to acknowledge the hurt and the horror and the heinous acts that have been done to my people and then hiding behind this ‘inferior versus superior’ argument—that’s what this bill will do,” Summers said.

No legislators gave speeches in support of the bill. Republican Rep. Joey Hood of Ackerman, who is white, did not define critical race theory as he explained the bill Thursday. “History will continue to be taught—American history, Civil War history, Mississippi history,” Hood said. When the bill passed the Republican-controlled Senate in January, all of the Black senators withheld their votes and walked out in protest. Critical race theory is an academic framework that examines how racism has shaped public policy and institutions such as the legal system, and how those have perpetuated the dominance of white people in society. State Superintendent of Education Carey Wright said critical race theory is not taught in Mississippi schools. The University of Mississippi law school offers an elective class on the theory.

Well after all the energy spent by numerous state legislative bodies…..we know that it is banned from being taught to our children….but why is this?

My state would not surprise me if they started a campaign to ban the US Constitution….I wouldn’t be surprised if the Constitution itself is ultimately banned in states like Mississippi because if students are permitted to read the 3/5s & fugitive slave clauses it will become clear to them that the principles of America’s founding included the idea of people as property.

Texas (go figure) has yet another bill  before the legislature about teaching CRT….

Texas college and university professors may soon lose tenure if they teach critical race theory (CRT) in their classrooms, according to the Lone Star state’s lieutenant governor, who has vowed action by the state.

In a warning message to educators this week, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said he will work to strip them of their job security in the state if they teach CRT.

“The critical race theory people are trying to take us back to a divided country,” Patrick told reporters at a press conference.

“Tenure to these professors who voted 41-5 telling the taxpayers and the parents and the legislature, and your own board of regents, to get out of their business that we have no say what you do in the classroom… You’ve opened the door for this issue because you went too far.”

“What we will propose to do is to end all tenure for all new hires,” Patrick said, vowing that the state legislature would take action against those who teach the subject in their classrooms.

“The law will change to say teaching critical race theory is prima facie evidence for good cause for tenure revocation,” he said. In addition to his comments concerning tenure, Patrick said he wants annual reviews for the professors rather than six year reviews.

(FOX News)

Then there is yet another of those ‘go figure’ states that has tried to limit the teaching of race….Georgia (the state not the country)

Legislation prohibiting Georgia schools from teaching nine racial and ethnic concepts it defines as divisive has passed the state Senate. The bill cleared 32-20 on Friday, CNN reports, with Republicans voting yes and Democrats no, and goes next to the House. The measure also would apply to training in state agencies. Republicans in other states are pursuing similar legislation. The movement was sparked by the uproar over “critical race theory,” which isn’t taught in Georgia schools anyway, per WXIA.

The prohibited concepts include that one race or ethnicity is inherently superior to another and that the US and Georgia are “fundamentally or systemically racist.” It specifies that teachers would not be allowed to make students feel demeaned or guilty because of their race, skin color or ethnicity. The legislature has four similar bills before it, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. This one would withhold up to 10% of schools’ funding for violations. Colleges and universities also could be docked, but the bill doesn’t specify how much. Another bill would penalize schools up to 20% of their funding.

The sponsor of one of them said history could still be taught but teachers would not be allowed to include their political beliefs. GOP Rep. Bill Wade said he worked with school board and teacher groups on the bill, but they’ve said they’re opposed to his bill. “All this bill does is muzzle our teachers and make them into a straw man for political gain from the true divisive voices in our communities,” said Democratic Rep. Matthew Wilson, a former elementary teacher. “This bill is whiter than the paper it’s printed on,” said the lawmaker, who is white.

These idiots are doing exact what they claim the CRT is doing…..dividing the country.

What are these people so afraid of would be the next logical question….

Maybe there is a good answer after all…..

What nobody is talking about, though, is the why of this particular issue at this particular time. As a result, we’re mistaking the tool for the goal.

Moral panics, when driven by politicians, are usually just tools. This CRT moral panic is a tool being used by a coalition of interests to achieve their own goals, none of which have anything to do with teaching or not-teaching the history of race in America.

  • Imagine you’re part of a group of libertarian billionaires who don’t believe in public education and who see any such sort of taxpayer-funded effort to improve “the underclasses” as an absurd waste of the tax dollars you “worked so hard to earn” and the “gummint” now wants to take away from you “at the barrel of a gun.”
  • Imagine you’re a leader in the Republican Party who’s seeing the average age of the Fox audience — 70 — as a threat to your own political longevity because old white people don’t go into politics and you need 30- and 40-year-olds to learn their basic political skills locally (like on a school board) so you can groom and propel them up into state or federal politics.
  • Imagine you’re a multimillionaire white evangelical preacher who’s looking for an issue you can use to more tightly bind your congregation — your donors — to you by portraying yourself as a crusader who’s going to save their children from a horrible fate.
  • Imagine you’re a white supremacist militia leader who’s looking to expand his base by bringing in white middle-class adults and therefore you need an issue to get yourself into the headlines “taking on authorities” but that won’t also end with you going to jail.
  • Imagine you’re a Republican politician who’s looking at a serious challenge in the upcoming primary elections and you need an issue that’ll be both popular and energizing for your base voters, even if the larger population doesn’t much care, because base voters are all you care about in the upcoming primary.

https://www.rawstory.com/a-disparate-group-of-billionaires-republicans-televangelists-and-white-supremacists-has-found-common-cause/

There you have your answer….it is a wedge issue that does nothing but create chaos and confusion……and these are the two issues that the GOP excel at giving the people of this country.

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Let’s Talk About The Day After

I mean after the ‘peace deal’ brings about a ceasefire and an end to the death and destruction……..this is a ‘what then’ post…..

At the onset of this conflict the Ukrainian president promised to arm everyone that would call for a weapon…..if he was successful then that would mean that Ukraine is awash with weapons….that is concerning at least for me.

Why you may ask….

To explain my thinking let us step back to WW2 and the Nazi invasion of Ukraine…..

Ukrainians fought on both sides in the Second World War. By far the majority of ethnic Ukrainians, about 4.5 million, fought in the Red Army against the Germans. Others joined the Communist partisans (see Soviet partisans in Ukraine, 1941–5), who included the prominent commander Sydir Kovpak. There were also Ukrainian volunteer units in the German army, however, specifically the Legion of Ukrainian Nationalists (the Nachtigall and Roland units, which marched into Lviv in June 1941 together with the Germans) and the Waffen SS Division Galizien (est April 1943). By the time the latter unit was formed, it seemed more likely that Germany was going to lose the war, and Ukrainian nationalists wanted to have trained troops and weapons ready for an eventual confrontation with the Soviets. There were also Ukrainians who fought in an independent formation, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), under the leadership of the Bandera faction of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). In the spring of 1943 thousands of Ukrainian policemen in German service deserted to form the fighting nucleus of the UPA, which then attacked German outposts. At the same time the UPA began liquidating Polish settlements in Volhynia, and this soon escalated into full-scale Polish-Ukrainian ethnic warfare across Western Ukraine. The UPA continued guerrilla warfare against the Soviet authorities into the mid-1950s.

As you can see there were mixed loyalties within the Ukrainian society…..

Some collaborated with the Nazis and committed atrocities against other Ukrainians….and other joined the partisans and committed atrocities against the Nazis and collaborators.

That brings us to today……

A country awash with weapons of all sorts to be used against fellow Ukrainians….is that a possibility?

To my mind there is the real possibility of a civil war….both politically and physically….

Let’s not forget Afghanistan of the 1980s…..we helped create al-Qaeda as a force to fight against the Russian invaders….or the chaos we created in Libya….could we repeating our mistake just to confront Russia yet again?

What got me thinking about this was a report on CNN talking to some troops defending a town in Eastern Ukraine….I noticed they were not flying the yellow and blue flag of Ukraine…instead there was a red and black flag flown on the position….

ODESSA, UKRAINE - May 2, 2016: Neo-Nazi organizations hold a memorial meeting of all confessions. Nazi flags, symbols and theatrical shows in the style of Nazi Germany. The coup d'etat in Ukraine

(This is not the men of the position just an example of the flag I saw)

The neo-Nazi Azov battalion is fighting hard….but for who is their loyalties?

“I have nothing against Russian nationalists, or a great Russia,” said Dmitry, as we sped through the dark Mariupol night in a pickup truck, a machine gunner positioned in the back. “But Putin’s not even a Russian. Putin’s a Jew.”

Dmitry – which he said is not his real name – is a native of east Ukraine and a member of the Azov battalion, a volunteer grouping that has been doing much of the frontline fighting in Ukraine’s war with pro-Russia separatists. The Azov, one of many volunteer brigades to fight alongside the Ukrainian army in the east of the country, has developed a reputation for fearlessness in battle.

But there is an increasing worry that while the Azov and other volunteer battalions might be Ukraine’s most potent and reliable force on the battlefield against the separatists, they also pose the most serious threat to the Ukrainian government, and perhaps even the state, when the conflict in the east is over. The Azov causes particular concern due to the far right, even neo-Nazi, leanings of many of its members.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/10/azov-far-right-fighters-ukraine-neo-nazis

All these weapons were and other NATO members are sending into Ukrainian worries me that we are making the same mistake in Ukraine that we made in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, so many others…..we are arming the future insurrection that would threaten the very democracy we claim to be supporting.

Everyone witnessed the ‘brave’ mayor of a Ukrainian town that stood before the people and told them they had a choice….surrender or fight….FIGHT it was.

Here is a little info on the ‘brave’ mayor…

It was an especially inspiring story of Ukrainian bravery, in a war replete with many of them. In video that spread quickly online on March 2, Artem Semenikhin, the mayor of the small city of Konotop, in northeastern Ukraine, stood on a planter outside the City Council and announced to a crowd that Russian soldiers had told him they would “raze the city to the ground with their artillery” if it did not surrender. Then Semenikhin asked the crowd whether they wanted to fight anyway, and the response was overwhelmingly in favor.

The video was picked up by Western media outlets including Newsweek, the Daily Mail and the New York Times, which also showed a video of armed Russian troops being jeered by Konotop residents. Semenikhin was also featured in a “PBS NewsHour” segment, in which he referred to the Russian troops as “cockroaches.”

There was just one thing missing from those accounts: the fact that Semenikhin is a member of the far-right, ultranationalist Ukrainian political party Svoboda, which emerged in 2004 from the former Social-National Party of Ukraine.

Alan MacLeod, a writer for the far-left website MintPress News, noted on Twitter that in Semenikhin’s interview with PBS, conducted remotely via video, one can see a painting of Ukrainian nationalist icon Stepan Bandera in the background. During the early part of World War II, Bandera led a faction of Organization of Ukrainian nationalists, an openly anti-Semitic organization that collaborated with Nazi Germany and killed Polish and Jewish civilians. At the time, Nazi troops were invading the Soviet Union, which Ukrainian nationalists were hoping to break away from. Bandera later had a falling out with the Nazi regime and was imprisoned in a concentration camp. He remains a highly controversial figure in Ukraine. After Semenikhin was elected in 2015, he replaced the portrait in the mayor’s office of then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko with one of Bandera.

(yahoo news)

This situation needs close scrutiny or we will have another ‘problem’ region ripe for further conflict…..

For those that need a bit more information I will provide a few articles to read…..

https://unherd.com/2022/03/the-truth-about-ukraines-nazi-militias/

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cohen-ukraine-commentary/commentary-ukraines-neo-nazi-problem-idUSKBN1GV2TY

Winning ‘hearts’ and PR war, but Ukraine has a “Nazi” problem that NATO and USA do not talk about

The Presence of Neo-Nazis in Ukraine

After the war with Russia is done….the internal conflict could become just as bloody if the situation is not handled by those that created the problem….the US and NATO.

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Ukraine–Day 82

As the war in Ukraine drags on and on….the news gets slimmer and slimmer…..but I will try to keep my readers as up to date as I can and retain my sanity.

Russia is now in Day 82 of its 3-day ‘special military operation’. Russia invaded Ukraine to weaken the NATO alliance, topple the Ukrainian government, install a puppet government friendly to Russia, and to seize a significant amount of Ukrainian territory that would make it a land-locked country economically dependent upon Russia. Thus far, the only significant gains are additional territory captured in the Donbas region and the establishment of a land bridge from the Russian border along the eastern side of the Sea of Azov, and on to Crimea.

Ground Situation. The Russians have failed to achieve significant territorial gains over the past month. The ground that has been seized resulted in huge losses in personnel, vehicles, and equipment. The Russians are lacking key enablers such as drones, night vision goggles, and bridging equipment – and is experiencing low morale and combat effectiveness. The Donbass offensive has stalled. The Russians had planned to use Izium (Google Maps) as a base from which to push further west into Ukraine; it has a significant amount of troops in the city and and surrounding area. Now the city is in danger of encirclement by the Ukrainian forces. The Pentagon estimates that there are about 105 Russian battalion tactical groups in Ukraine (as of May 13).

Analysis by John Spencer. A retired military officer and now military analyst is interviewed about his perspective of the Russian invasion and how it may end. He says Russia had a decent plan but military incompetence led to total failure. “Has Russia been beaten? This military expert says that moment is coming soon“, Salon, May 10, 2022.

Fight for the Skies. The air space is still contested. Ukrainian fighters are still flying. Aircraft is hindered by the presence of multiple air defense systems of the Ukrainians and the Russians. Most Russian aircraft are operating within Russia’s borders and launching air to ground missiles at targets in Ukraine within range of the Russian territory.

Maritime Activities. Dr. Basil Germond, a professor at Lancaster University, UK, is an expert in naval and maritime affairs. He analyzes Russia’s use of naval forces in the Ukraine war, its aspiration to control the northern coast of the Black Sea from the Russian Federation borders to Moldova, and its desire to dominant the Black Sea. “Ukraine War: The Limits of Traditional Naval Power and the Rise of Collective and Civilian Seapower”, E-International Relations, May 10, 2022. Snake Island is still in the news. Read “Why the battle over Ukraine’s Snake Island matters for the world“, GZERO, May 12, 2022.

Moskva. The Ukrainian military published audio from the Russian flagship of the Black Sea, the Moskva, that was attacked by missiles and that the crew needed to be rescued. The ship sank on April 14th after being struck twice and began tilting on its side.

Russia and the Enemies Within. There are deepening rifts between the Russian military and the Federal Security Service (FSB) over the failures of intelligence and military incompetence on the battlefield. Some members of the Russian military suspect that the FSB may be working against the Kremlin’s efforts to win in Ukraine. (Radio Free Europe, May 8, 2022).

Russian Attacks Stopped. The news of the Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine is mixed. There are some reports that attacks by the Russians that have made some minimal gains. However, many attacks have not gained much territory at all. Some estimates put the Russian loses at one third of the ground forces since the invasion took place on February 24th.

Russian Unit Destroyed at River Crossing. A number of Russian armored vehicles were destroyed and personnel killed while attempting to cross Siversky Donets River on May 11th over a pontoon bridge. Apparently the Russian vehicles were gathering in a tight group at each end of the bridge and caught in an artillery barrage. There are reports that a significant part of a battalion’s worth of vehicles (as many as 80) were put out of action. Over 400 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded. About 550 troops of the 74th Motorized Rifle Brigade tried to cross the river at Bilohorivka in an attempt to encircle Ukrainian forces. “Russia takes losses in failed river crossing, officials say”, Military Times, May 13, 2022.

Ukrainian Tractor Brigade. The John Deere’s of Ukraine have been providing a significant service to the Ukrainian military. As Russian tanks, self-propelled artillery and rocket launchers, and other armored vehicles are disabled or abandoned the farmers of Ukraine have been coming to the rescue. The ‘Tractor Brigade‘ has been both cleaning up the battlefield and bringing valuable tank and armored vehicles to Ukrainian military repair shops where they are put back into action; but this time against the Russians. The Ukrainians now have more tanks than when the war started. The Russians – not so much. (Twitter, May 15, 2022).

Kharkiv Counteroffensive. The second largest city of Ukraine, Kharkiv, is an area where the Ukrainians have been successfully pushing the Russians back. For several days, the counterattacks have resulted in more territory liberated from the Russians. There are reports that the Ukrainian troops defending Kharkiv have pushed some Russian troops across the Russian border (Reuters, May 16). This is putting some of the logistic supply lines of the Russians in jeopardy further to the south. The battle for the city of Kharkiv may now be over. View a detailed map of the Kharkiv battle zone. (Twitter, @IAPonomarenko, May 15, 2022).

Mariupol – Defenders Still Holding Out. As of Sunday (May 15), the Ukrainian defenders continue to hold a small section of the city in the steel factory known as Azovstal. A large convoy of from 500 to 1,000 cars and vans carrying refugees from Mariupol arrived in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia on Saturday (May 15). There are approximately 1,000 Ukrainian defenders still fighting; many of them wounded. The fight for the city began over 80 days ago with 3,500 Ukrainian defenders from the National Guard’s Azov Regiment, 36th Marine Brigade, and other units. There is no medicine left and the wounded are operated on with no anesthesia. Turkey has offered a sea evacuation for wounded Ukrainian fighters; but Russia has refused the offer. (Reuters, May 14) Nearly 90% of the city has been destroyed with over 20,000 residents believed dead due to the house-to-house fighting and massive bombardments by the Russians. The city, once holding over 500,000 residents, is situated along the coastal road network that will provide Russia with a land bridge between Russia and the Crimea.

Missile Attacks on Lviv Oblast. On Sunday (May 15) several missiles struck military facilities in the Lviv region. Other than these periodic airstrikes, the city is operating under conditions of normalcy. Gas and fuel shortages persist.

Situation Maps.  War in Ukraine by Scribble Maps. The UK Ministry of Defence provides an update situational map of the Ukraine battlefield (May 15). View more Ukraine SITMAPs that provide updates on the disposition of Russian forces. And while we are discussing maps – NATO in 1990 vs 2015.

CRS Reports on Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has been publishing reports periodically on various topics of the Ukraine War. These CRS reports are listed in this six-page PDF published on May 13, 2022.
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47054

Panzerfaust 3. An antitank rocket that has it roots in fighting the Soviets in World War II is now being used against the Russians again – in Ukraine. This shoulder-fired weapon has made an impressive showing against Russian armored columns. With its Simrad Optonics sight and targeting mechanism, the Panzerfaust can engage targets up to ranges of 600 meters. The weapon costs about $11,000 and rounds are around $300; an inexpensive option for destroying Russia’s best tanks. “Panzerfaust 3: The Cold War Weapon Wrecking Russian Tanks in Ukraine”, Historynet.com, May 5, 2022.

Refugees, IDPs, and Humanitarian Crisis. View the UNHCR Operational Data Portal – Ukraine Refugee Situation (Updated daily), https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine. Since May 11th over six million Ukrainians have fled their country since late February. The people leaving are predominantly women, children, and the elderly.

Negotiations. There is not much progress in the current state of negotiations. Turkey, France, and other nations are attempting to restart the dialogue; but not with much success. Some evacuation of civilians has taken place as a result of agreements between Ukraine and Russia; but many do not happen due to Russian targeting of the evacuation routes to safe areas to the Ukraine interior. Turkey has indicated they would assist in the evacuation of the remaining Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol; but Russia isn’t agreeing.

Worldwide Food Supplies Affected by Ukraine War. The impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on global food supplies is being magnified by nations imposing bans on food and fertilizer exports to preserve stocks for their domestic needs. The financial crisis of 2008 around the world led to nations doing the same; which then contributed to food shortages in nations that traditionally import food. This led to food riots in many parts of the world, to include the Middle East. Wheat importing nations include Turkey, Egypt and several African countries. Russian and Ukraine provide about a third of the world’s wheat and barley as well as other agricultural products. David Uren provides the details in “Food supplies squeezed by Ukraine war and trade bans”, The Strategist, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, May 16, 2022.

Russia and InfoWarfare . . . Just Not That Good at It. Jeff Schogol says that “Russian memes are working about as good as Russian tanks.” Prior to kicking off its “mega-sized Charlie Foxtrot in Ukraine”, the Russians were widely regarded as masters of deception and propaganda. Jeff points out the many flaws in the aggressor’s IO campaign in “Russia actually isn’t as good at information warfare as everyone thought”, Task & Purpose, May 11, 2022.

Cyber and InfoWar Failure. In 2008 the world was distracted with the Beijing Olympics. Russia took advantage of this distraction with an attack on Georgia. Russia conducted cyber-attacks, a media campaign to form the narrative, and military action to “come to the aid of the South Ossetians” in Georgia. In 2022, Russia calculated that the world, distracted with the 2022 Winter Olympics and COVID-19 pandemic, would ignore its invasion of Ukraine. This time, however, Russia’s cyber and information campaigns, did not perform effectively. Read more in “How to Terminate Russian Disinformation”, Europe’s Edge, CEPA.org, May 12, 2022.

Telegram. The popular messaging service has about 500 million active users and is used by many in Europe and around the world. It has become a source of information about the Ukraine war for many – on both sides of the conflict. It was founded by Pavel Durov and his brother – both of St Petersburg, Russia. Pavel now lives in Dubai, having fallen out of favor with the Russian regime. (Business Insider, March 28, 2022).

CRS Report on “Hacktivists”. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine a growing number of nongovernmental hackers have conducted offensive cyberspace operations against Russia. Ukraine’s volunteer “IT Army” is comprised of thousands of hackers from within Ukraine and from other countries. there are some legal considerations that should be factored in by hacktivists from the United States. “Hacktivists and the Ukraine-Russia Conflict: Legal Considerations”, CRS, May 13, 2022, PDF, 4 pages.
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB10743

Finland and NATO. After much talk the past several weeks, Finland has officially announced that it will apply for NATO membership. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin made the announcement at a joint news conference on Sunday (May 15). The Finnish parliament will consider the decision over the next several days. Finland shares an 800-mile border with Russia – so the nation is pragmatic about its defense. Despite a small population of about 5.5 million, the nation can actually field a large army of 280,000 once fully mobilized. The cornerstones of its national defense posture is conscription and a large, well-trained reserve. Its army is equipped with modern weapons systems bought from several countries. Read more about the Finnish defense forces in “What Would Finland Bring to the Table for NATO?”, War on the Rocks, May 9, 2022.

And Sweden? In the next several days we may see news reports of Sweden deciding to join NATO; some media outlets say that May 17th is the big day. Sweden also shares a border with Russia. Sweden’s ruling Social Democratic Party says it is in favor of joining NATO. This reverses its decades-long opposition. And Switzerland? Could neutral Switzerland lean closer to NATO?

Blinken Meets with Ukrainian Foreign Minister. Secretary of State Blinken met with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Sunday (May 15) during the G7 and NATO ministerial. (DoS, May 15). The G7 Foreign Ministers’ issued a joint statement on Russia’s war against Ukraine. (DoS, May 14, 2022).

Austin Speaks with Russians. On Friday (May 13) Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu urging an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.

NATO. The Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Sunday (May 15) that Russia’s war in Ukraine is not going as the Kremlin had planned. He says that Ukraine can win the war.

“Russia failed to take Kyiv. They’re pulling back from around Kharkiv, their major offensive in Donbas has stalled. Russia is not achieving its strategic objectives.”

U.S. Ukraine Supplemental Aid Bill. The flow of equipment to Ukraine by the United States may very well be interrupted if the $40 billion bill is not passed by Congress. Senator Rand Paul is currently one of the reasons it has not been passed. Attempts to insert language authorizing the Afghan Adjustment Act failed. The bill has been passed by the House of Representatives.

Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act. The Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting provides a detailed examination of the recent legislation signed by President Biden that allows a constant flow of military aid to Ukraine. (May 10, 2022).

More US Troops to Europe. The United States will begin an additional deployment of troops to Europe to replace those forces sent to Europe earlier this year. One of the units to be replaced will be an element of the 82nd Airborne Division; to be replaced by 101st Airborne Division elements. Around 10,500 personnel will be sent to various East European countries in a one-for-one replacement plan. “Pentagon Announces Deployments to Replace Forces in Europe”, DoD News, May 13, 2022.

Modern Resistance. Russia’s aggressive actions over the past two decades have forced Baltic and Nordic states to examine their defense posture, assess critical gaps, and take action to fill the gaps. One strategy that has emerged is the resistance operating concept – where all segments of the population engages in total defense strategies based on peacetime social resilience and war time resistance. Sandor Fabian, a former Special Forces officer in the Hungarian military, provides us with a detailed account of this new concept of resistance – something the Ukrainian people have demonstrated in their remarkable performance against the Russian aggressors. Read “Modern Resistance – Learning from Non-Western Examples”, Journal on Baltic Security, May 12, 2022.

Podcast – The State of Play in Ukraine. Two national security analysts who are following events in Ukraine closely discuss the current situation in Ukraine. Rob Lee, FPRI Senior Fellow and Michael Kofman, of the Russia Studies Program at CNA, are interviewed by Aaron Stein. Foreign Policy Research Institute, May 13, 2022, 50 minutes.
https://www.fpri.org/multimedia/2022/05/the-state-of-play-in-ukraine/

Siberia – What’s the Future? Some international analysts are viewing the poor performance of the Russian military in Ukraine as a sign of the decline of the ‘Russian ’empire’. Just as the 10-year war in Afghanistan helped lead the way to the disestablishment of the Soviet Union; it is possible that one of the end results of the Ukraine War and other misadventures may cause the decline of Russia as a nation along with a redefining of its borders. Russia’s control over Siberia – the size of the U.S. and India put together – is only 157 years old. China plays the long game. It is a population-rich and resource-poor nation; while Siberia is population-poor and resource-rich. The China-Russia border is almost 3,000 miles long and is the legacy of the Convention of Peking of 1860. China’s population outnumbers Russia’s population by 10 to 1. Read an article first published in 2015 on this topic in “Why China Will Reclaim Siberia”, The New York Times, January 15, 2015. (Subscription).

Ukraine War, Weapons, and Australia. Defense experts in Australia are looking at the novel way that weapons are being used by the Ukrainians against aircraft, tanks, and armored vehicles. They believe valuable lessons can be learned from the war that would modernize the Australian military to be able to fight in the future. “Australia must learn defence lessons from Ukraine”, The Strategist, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, May 16, 2022.

The more resources there is the longer this war will last….

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Is The Media Failing Us?

I know I rant about the disservice I think the MSM is doing to the public by not reporting to passing on propaganda….few are listening instead they drink the disinformation kool-aid all to justify the waste of taxpayer money.

For now

In my considerable opinion it is failing badly…..the press that is…..

But then I am a cynic and do not think that the MSM is doing a service to the people of this country…..instead they are PR for the defense industry and as so they give only one side of any story….Ukraine is a perfect example of this disservice.

They have done their duty well…..their reporting have people so confused and indoctrinated that they will deflect when they are presented with alternative facts and information.

All that opinionated stuff aside….the question remains….is the media failing the citizens of this country?

As U.S. leaders speak more openly about their geopolitical goals, and Russian leaders warn of the risk of nuclear war, there are essential questions that journalists should be raising in their coverage of the war in Ukraine that they are not. Chief among them:

Is escalating what has clearly emerged as a proxy war between the United States and Russia hastening or prolonging the carnage in Ukraine?

And: What’s the best way to minimize the risk of a nuclear conflict?

Thus far, most American news coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine has reflected an unquestioned conviction that the more weapons the United States and the West send the Ukrainians the better.

It may well be that continuing and accelerating the arming of the Ukrainian military is, in fact, the best of bad options, the quickest way to peace, and doesn’t increase the likelihood of a nuclear strike. But that’s a hypothesis, which should be questioned and discussed, not blindly embraced as fact.

And in the meantime, Ukraine is being destroyed. Civilians are dying, refugees are fleeing for their lives, untold damage is being done to Ukraine’s infrastructure, and young men in arms are killing each other.

It’s time now for journalists to talk and write about at what point the goal of punishing Russia could diverge from the goal of bringing peace to the Ukrainian people as expediently as possible — and what the West should do if and when that happens.

The American media is failing us on Ukraine

I have been suspicious of the reports that were coming out of Ukraine….most are ‘unverified’ yet were reported as fact.

I am not alone….even real conservs see the crap the MSM is spreading…..

The coverage once again provided very little context regarding the underlying issues. Matters such as NATO expansion or the difficult, contentious Russia-Ukraine relationship were either ignored or treated in a way that confirmed Western and Ukrainian virtue and maximum Russian villainy. Journalists portrayed a complex situation as a stark melodrama, with all blame put on one side. Indeed, experts and pundits who even suggested that NATO’s policies had contributed to the current tensions were quickly smeared as siding with Putin, willingly circulating Russian propaganda or disinformation, or even as being outright Russian agents. Some of the architects of the new wave of smears were the same individuals who used similar tactics in the lead up to the Iraq War. Max Boot, Jennifer Rubin, and David Frum, for example, were all prominent alumni of that earlier campaign to silence dissenters, and here again they were hard at work branding critics of Washington’s Russia policy as disloyal.

The Press Fumbles Again on Ukraine

Americans need to care more about what is going on in Ukraine because there are American law makers that are calling for American troops to take a more active part in the conflict in Ukraine.

Even Pay Pal is trying to silent independent journalism by trying to close the accounts of two independent investigative journalism sites, Consortium News and Mint Press.

What are they afraid of?

Do you truly want another prolonged war?

NO?

Then pay attention and get all the facts before blindly side with war.

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Shall We Talk?

Over the weekend a group of people held and meeting and issued a statement for Russia and Ukraine…..

A group of international progressives on Friday released a declaration demanding an urgent withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine, a global end to “rampant militarism,” and the forging of a collaborative movement to ensure lasting peace and a planet safe from climate catastrophe.

The Athens Declaration was unveiled at a press conference in the Greek capital by Turkish author Ece Temelkuran; British Member of Parliament and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn; and former Greek finance minister and leader of the MeRA25 party Yanis Varoufakis. The three are all Progressive International council members.

“Our purpose here,” said Corbyn, “is to bring about.. a voice for peace.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/05/13/athens-declaration-calls-end-ukraine-war-and-creation-lasting-peace

To be honest the two warring sides have been in talks….most have been fruitless for neither side is willing to give an inch to save a mile…..

But now after all the early chest thumping Zelensky has issued a call for talks between him and Putin….

“I am ready to speak with Putin, but only with him, without his intermediaries and on the terms of dialogue, and not ultimatums,” said the Ukrainian president.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that he is prepared to hold direct talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin amid mounting fears that Moscow’s invasion and the West’s response have spiraled into a dangerous proxy war between nuclear-armed powers.

“We must find an agreement,” Zelenskyy said in an interview with an Italian media outlet as deadly ground fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces continues to intensify.

Ukrainian and Western officials claimed Friday that Russian troops have begun pulling back from Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, as Moscow focuses its assault on the eastern part of the country.

Zelenskyy stressed Thursday that while he is ready for talks with Putin—who has thus far declined calls for face-to-face negotiations—he would not accept “ultimatums” from the Russian side.

“As president, I am ready to speak with Putin, but only with him, without his intermediaries and on the terms of dialogue, and not ultimatums,” Zelenskyy said.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/05/13/we-must-find-agreement-zelenskyy-calls-direct-talks-putin

Why now?  I ask.

Could it be that the US well is running dry…Zelensky has sucked that teat dry.

Or could there be another reason?

Thoughts?

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“lego ergo scribo”

Why Did Russia Let The Republics Go?

Ever wonder (probably not) if Ukraine is so important to Russia why then did they allow it to break away?

The news from Ukraine is redundant….pretty much the same day after day…..US spends like a drunken sailor for Ukraine…..Refugees are still pathetic…..Russia fires a rocket somewhere and the words of defiance on both sides continue….

Now a little historic background for those that have an inquiring mind…..

As the conflict drags on and involves more and more participation by the West, mainly the US, some of us struggle to understand just what went wrong.

With the war raging in Ukraine some people, granted not many, have asked the question how did it all come to this?

Basically they are asking what happened to the old USSR that it eventually lead to the many conflicts that have popped up over the last 25 years or so.

For answer we need to look back in Russian history just a bit….that is if you would like to understand what has happened to bring about the wrath on Ukraine.

The break up of the Soviet Union led eventually to the conflicts in Chechnya, Georgia, and now Ukraine….the only way to understand the situation is to look back to 1991 when the break up began…..

“Why did the Russians, despite all that one would expect from them given the histories of the downfalls of empires, decide not to fight and to let the empire fall?” asked Serhii Plokhii, Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of Ukrainian History at Harvard University, at a 29 April 2013 lecture at the Kennan Institute. Plokhii discussed the fall of the Soviet Union in the context of the last five months of the Soviet Union in order to explain why it was not accompanied by the violent conflicts triggered by the collapse of previous empires.

Plokhii argued that the fall of the Soviet Union is a unique case in the history of empires: “Russia let most of the republics go without a fight, without a struggle.” While there were slogans and campaigns for independence among the Union republics in the months before the collapse, none were campaigning for the complete disintegration of the empire. Rather, each was struggling against the central authority to augment its own independent power base. Even the Baltic states, the most independently minded of the republics, operated along these lines. Other republics, such as those in Central Asia, were not struggling at all against the Union for political independence.

It is common for scholars to mark the Soviet Union’s de facto end in August 1991, when Boris Yeltsin suspended the activities of the Communist party on the territory of the Russian Federation. However, Plokhii stated that this action alone did not precipitate the end of the USSR and independence of its constituent parts. Plokhii contended that only the exit of the Baltic States was inevitable at that moment; the status of other republics like Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Ukraine was not fully understood until December 1991.

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/why-did-russia-let-the-republics-go-revisiting-the-fall-the-ussr

If more info is needed then another source may assist your understanding…..

https://www.npr.org/2021/12/24/1066861022/how-the-soviet-unions-collapse-explains-the-current-russia-ukraine-tension

Sad few will actually care what the causes are…they have boiled their knowledge down to Ukraine good…..Putin Bad……and the US needs to risk everything to prove the points.

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Do You Recycle?

Well I do.

I recycle everything possible…paper, aluminum and plastic….I guess that makes me a tree hugger…..so be it…..at least I am trying to do something that helps the massive amount of waste I generate.

Since I feel responsible for my planet I do my part.

Since everything buy damn near comes in plastic it is a growing problem and the industry keeps telling me all the good they are doing….is their message possibly manure spread for PR purposes?

Last year, Americans recycled at most 6% of their plastic waste, according to a report released Wednesday by a pair of environmental groups. It’s a number that’s even worse than it used to be. Every American produced an average 218 pounds of plastic waste in 2018, per Reuters, and the recycling rate stood at 8.7% that year, the last for which the EPA published relevant data. As for the decrease, it’s not just that people aren’t using recycling bins; the problem is that plastic isn’t very recyclable, and it never has been.

The report’s authors lay blame on the plastics industry itself. As Judith Enck of Beyond Plastics puts it, “[Plastic recycling] does not work, it never will work, and no amount of false advertising will change that.” Coauthor Jan Dell of the Last Beach Cleanup adds, “There is no circular economy of plastics. Companies co-opted the success of other material recycling and America’s desire to recycle to create the myth that plastic is recyclable.” As EcoWatch reports, the recycling of other materials has been effective; it cites paper recycling rates around 66%, glass around 30%, and cardboard at nearly 90%. Only plastic recycling rates have never cracked 10%.

Indeed, USA Todayreports that, at best, just 9% of plastics ever produced have been recycled, and even that figure is probably exaggerated: The US counts exported plastic waste as “recycled” even though 25% to 75% is “inadequately managed in receiving countries.” Left to its own devices, plastic degrades over time and becomes microplastics that contaminate the environment and human bodies, reports the Washington Post. Research shows every person will consume about 44 pounds of microplastics in their lifetime.

If true it is very disheartening….you try to do the right thing and some corporation decides to crap on the planet….

Then there is those ‘microplastics’.

Please check on your area and see if they are truly recycling or just a station to bundle and dump.

I Read, I Write, You Know

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How Much For Meat?

When the pandemic started we were warned that prices for food would go up because of the precautions and fear the food supply chain would be effected….and I’ll be damned my meat went sky high……then the war in Ukraine and the prices of gas soared which in turn affected meat prices….they went through the roof.

I admit it….I am a meat eater….I truly enjoy a steak or a good burger or a stew and a pot roast….recently I got sticker shock when I went to the store for some ground chuck for burgers on the grill….but it is not just beef….pork, bacon, chicken all are quickly becoming prohibitive for some…..when will this madness stop?

Then my stack got smoked (thanx to Doug for that term) when I read this piece…..

Workers at meat-processing plants were forced to clock in to work during the early days of the pandemic, thanks to an executive order out of the Trump administration deeming them essential workers amid what was said to be a beef and pork shortage. Except now it seems that last part wasn’t exactly true, according to a new report out from the House panel studying how the US responded to COVID, per the Washington Post. What the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis concluded instead in its 61-page release was that the meat industry’s biggest players, with Tyson Foods in the driver’s seat, crafted a draft filled with “baseless” claims on meat shortages, then sent it along to the White House, which in turn issued an executive order that forced meat-processing factories nationwide to remain open for business.

“Meatpacking companies knew the risk posed by the coronavirus to their workers and knew it wasn’t a risk that the country needed them to take,” the panel’s report says, adding that, despite this knowledge, the companies pushed “aggressively” to keep workers on the clock in “unsafe conditions,” and to shield themselves from legal action if anyone got sick or died. Among the misleading info promoted by Tyson, Smithfield Foods, Cargill, JBS, and National Beef was that shuttering the plants “would lead to “an imminent meat shortage,” according to the report, which was culled from a review of 150,000-plus documents, as well as interviews with union reps, officials from OSHA and the Department of Agriculture, and health authorities. John H. Tyson, chairman of Tyson’s board, even took out a full-page ad in major newspapers in April 2020, proclaiming, “The food supply chain is breaking.”

Before Trump signed that executive order around the same time, top dogs from Tyson and Smithfield were said to have been in contact with members of the White House, including chief of staff Mark Meadows and VP Mike Pence’s own chief of staff, Marc Short, per the report. In January, a Reuters analysis found the vast majority—nearly 90%—of processing plants owned by the nation’s five biggest meat companies were slammed with COVID cases in 2020 and the beginning of 2021. Research from last year out of UC Davis found nearly 335,000 COVID cases in the US can be tied to the meatpacking plants, with an $11 billion price tag. A Tyson rep tells the Post the company has worked with officials within both the Trump and Biden administrations to wrangle with the pandemic, while a Smithfield executive notes that his company has sunk more than $900 million into worker safety initiatives.

My question is what will the government do?

I mean they cannot seem to te3ar themselves away from giving taxpayer money away for war….so9 what will the do for the people of this country….

My idea is prices controls and price roll backs….then a fine, a substantial fine not some slap on the wrist.

Any thoughts of your own?

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“lego ergo scribo”

 

Saturday’s News From The Dumpster

The weekend and I need a break!

As per my tradition I would like to offer up some news that was missing from your nightly report.

I write a lot about education because I think the some states are failing the people and children under their care all in the name of party politics…..like…..

Gov. Greg Abbott said Texas may fight a Supreme Court ruling mandating that public education for all children, including undocumented immigrants, be provided free by the states. Texas already sued the federal government over the cost of complying with the ruling, the Hill reports. That was a loss for the state, in the Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe. “I think we will resurrect that case and challenge this issue again, because the expenses are extraordinary and the times are different than when Plyler versus Doe was issued many decades ago,” Abbott said.

Texas changed its laws in 1975 to keep children who were not “legally admitted” to the US out of its public schools and refuse funding for their education, per KHOU. The US Supreme Court voted 5-4 in 1982 that the law was unconstitutional. The ruling guaranteed all children, documented and undocumented, a free public education. Abbott made the comments Wednesday on “The Joe Pags Show,” a radio program.

And Texas is not alone in their hate of education.

Speaking of Texas (why?  only a pack of morons can be this stupid)…..

Some experts are warning that Christian nationalism is on the rise, shaping American politics. Hate crimes recently skyrocketed to the highest point in 12 years, led by a spike in offenses against Black and Asian people.

But certain Texas Republicans see things a little differently, according to a new poll. Some believe it’s white people and God-fearing Christians who face the most hate.
We have all seen the stats on what has happened during the Covid pandemic….but here is a stat that was missing from national dialog…..
The pandemic has wreaked havoc on a variety of fronts, and gun violence hasn’t escaped its path. According to a new report from the CDC, the firearm homicide rate in 2020 reached its highest rate since 1994, increasing nearly 35% from the previous year, reports Axios. “That’s nearly 5,000 more lives lost to firearm homicides in one year,” Thomas Simon, associate director for science at the CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention, said during a Tuesday news conference, per NBC News. About 79% of homicides and 53% of suicides in the nation were linked to firearms during that first year of the pandemic, with the CDC calling both of those types of deaths in America a “persistent and significant concern,” per Axios. The report also parses the demographics: The largest spikes in gun murders were found among Black males ages 10 to 44, and among Native American or Alaska Native men ages 25 to 44

“Unfortunately I am not surprised, but it is heartbreaking,” Debra Houry, director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and acting principal deputy director of the CDC, tells ABC News. The outlet notes that the rise during the pandemic in the buying of firearms, as well as the associated violence and murder, can be tied to the accompanying pressures of the last two years, such as people losing jobs and not being able to pay for rent or arrange for child care. “The COVID-19 pandemic might have exacerbated existing social and economic stressors” already in place due to “long-standing systemic inequities and structural racism”—all of which could have contributed to the violence, the CDC report notes.

The CDC researchers point to pandemic lockdowns and social distancing as adding to the overall tension. Houry cites an urgent need to modify policies to curb the current trends in the US. “[Gun] violence is not inevitable, it’s preventable,” she tells ABC. The CDC report’s suggestions include bolstering welfare initiatives, looking more closely at urban renewal proposals, and hospital-based violence prevention programs (ie, helping young people who are brought to hospitals with gunshot wounds). Meanwhile, though the report gives us a lot of figures to absorb, Simon reminds us of the people behind them. “Our reports contain statistics and numbers, but it’s also important to reflect on the individual lives lost,” Simon said at Tuesday’s presser. “Even one homicide or suicide is too many.”

Did you know that supposedly there a 2 jobs for every unemployed person?   The AP points out that, on average, two jobs are now available for every unemployed person, which is the highest proportion in history. Related to that, a record 4.5 million quit their jobs in March, apparently unworried about landing another one.

A small bit of good news….

The Biden administration said Monday that 20 internet companies—including Verizon, Comcast, and AT&T—have agreed to provide discounted service to low-income Americans. The program could effectively make tens of millions of households eligible for free service through an already existing federal subsidy, per the AP. The $1 trillion infrastructure package passed by Congress last year included $14.2 billion funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program, which provides $30 monthly subsidies ($75 in tribal areas) on internet service for millions of lower-income households. With the new commitment from the internet providers, some 48 million households will be eligible for $30 monthly plans for higher-speed service—making internet service fully paid for with the government subsidy if they sign up with one of the participating providers.

  • Providers: The providers are Allo Communications; AltaFiber (and Hawaiian Telecom); Altice USA (Optimum and Suddenlink); Astound; AT&T; Breezeline; Comcast; Comporium; Frontier; IdeaTek; Cox Communications; Jackson Energy Authority; MediaCom; MLGC; Spectrum (Charter Communications); Starry; Verizon (Fios only); Vermont Telephone Co.; Vexus Fiber; and Wow! Internet, Cable, and TV.
  • Eligibility: American households are eligible for subsidies through the Affordable Connectivity Program if their income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, or if a member of their family participates in one of several programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Federal Public Housing Assistance (FPHA), and Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit.

Ukraine’s newest ‘hero’……

A very special awards ceremony was held over the weekend in Kyiv to honor the nation’s newest hero amid the Russian invasion: a 2 1/2-year-old dog named Patron, reports the BBC. A medal was bestowed upon the Jack Russell terrier at a Sunday news conference by none other than Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was in town on a surprise visit, at his side. Patron—whose name means “cartridge” or “ammo” in Ukrainian, per the Washington Post and New York Times—received his badge of honor for sniffing out more than 200 land mines across the country.

Zelensky praised Patron, “a wonderful little sapper … who helps not only to neutralize explosives, but also to teach our children the necessary safety rules in areas where there is a mine threat.” Patron is already a well-known character across the land, seen in videos on social media and serving as the inspiration for kids’ artwork and knit toys. It’s not clear if Patron, decked out in his trademark safety vest for the occasion, totally understood the weight of the moment, but Trudeau, who announced $50 million in added military aid from Canada to Ukraine, seemed to get the pooch’s attention when he patted his pockets as if searching for a dog treat, causing Patron to bark. “Even if the dog barked at me, we’re helping fund that,” Trudeau joked.

There you have the news that I dived into the news dumpster to retrieve for your enjoyment.

Have a great day…..

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”