VIDEO: Selling out Ukraine to appease Putin would be a huge mistake - Howard G. Buffett tells Diane Francis why

Do you remember this scene? The photo was taken on 30 September 1938.

That's the Right Honourable Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of Great Britain at the time, holding aloft a scrap of paper signed by himself and Adolf Hitler, which he (Chamberlain)  said guaranteed "peace in our time."

Today, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, went to Mar-a-Lago to see President Trump, much as Mr Chamberlain went to see Herr Hitler. Not that the US of A was threatening Ukraine... not out loud, anyway. But it is clear to all that the Leader of the Free WorldTM intends to make "peace" (and so win the coveted Wally Prize for Peace) by giving Putin at least part of what he wants. What Mr Zelenskyy wanted to know is just how badly his country is going to be screwed.

Giving Putin anything in return for a promise of dubious value would represent a hyuge mistake... in fact, a defeat. So says Howard G. Buffett, philanthropist and CEO of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, who last month received .the Peterson Literary Fund's 2025 Journey for Truth Award. 

In this video, Mr Buffett is interviewed by Diane Francis, columnist for Canada's National Post and contributor to The Kyiv Post. The conversation focuses on Mr Buffett's humanitarian work in Ukraine and his contribution to rebuilding Ukraine. The discussion deals with the impact of Russia's war on food security, war crimes, demining efforts, and the intentional destruction of Ukrainian culture and identity. It underscores the importance of supporting Ukraine and why Ukraine's victory matters. 

Walt wonders if President Trump has seen this. If so, did he say, "Howard who?" Would the message have resonated louder in the President's alleged brain if it had been delivered by Mr Buffett's father? 

Howard Graham Buffett is the middle son of... wait for it... Warren Buffett. He was recently named non-executive chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. If anyone knows the right and smart way to counter Russia's war of aggression, I'd say it would be Mr Buffett... not POTUS, who appears not to have heard or understood what happened less than a year after Mr Chamberlain brought back his little scrap of paper.

Death by defenestration: only in Russia?

Thanks for the question. Defenestration is the act of throwing someone or something out of a window.The term was coined around the time of an incident in Prague Castle in the year 1618 which became the spark that started the Thirty Years' War. 

The word comes from the Neo-Latin de- (down from) and fenestra (window or opening).[ According to Tim Zadorozhnyy, writing in the Kyiv Independent, defenestration is Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's favourite method of getting rid of his opponents.

The latest example cited by Mr Zadorozhnyy is the unexplained death, just today, of a top Russian oil executive. Andrei Badalov, vice president of Transneft, Russia's largest state-controlled pipeline transport company, died after falling from the window of his apartment in Moscow. TASS, the Russian state news agency, citing law enforcement sources, claimed the preliminary cause of death was suicide. 

Unlike in the US of A, where such things never happen, this is common in Russia. While Russian authorities often label these falls as suicides or accidents, others suggest something more deliberate may be at play. Ivan Stupak, a Ukrainian military analyst and former security service officer, told the newspaper it's likely that Russia's own security services are behind many such deaths. 

"They can pressure a person in one way or another," Mr Stupak said. "It's a well-known tactic — either you kill yourself, and your family is left in peace with what they have, or they start arrests, imprisonments, and leave everyone destitute." 

Since early 2022, dozens of Russian businessmen, state officials, and industry leaders have died under questionable circumstances. While many of these cases have officially been labeled as suicides, others involve alleged murder-suicides, mysterious accidents, or unexplained falls. Here are other examples.

In April 2022, Vladislav Avayev, vice president of Gazprombank, one of Russia's largest banks, was found dead in Moscow alongside his wife and daughter. Preliminary findings claimed Mr Avaev shot them before turning the gun on himself.

Just days later, former Novatek gas producer executive Sergei Protosenya, his wife, and daughter were discovered dead at a villa in Spain. Spanish media reported that Mr Protosenya allegedly killed his family and then hanged himself, but the case has not been closed.

Mr Stupak suggested that not all of the deaths are politically motivated. Some may stem from internal business rivalries. "Apart from business disputes, it could also be a case of unpaid debts, borrowed money, or even embezzlement," he said. The most striking pattern is the recurrence of deaths caused by "falling out of a window." Since the "suicides" mentioned above, at least seven similar incidents have been reported. 

In September 2022, Ravil Maganov, chairman of Russia's second-largest oil firm Lukoil, died after falling from a hospital window in Moscow. While Lukoil's official obituary cited a "serious illness," state media later reported he had allegedly committed suicide.

That same year, United Russia lawmaker Pavel Antonov was found dead at a hotel in India, lying in a pool of blood beneath his window. Indian police said Mr Antonov fell from the third floor, and local media reported that he had been "depressed" over the recent death of a friend, who had died in the same hotel days earlier. 

Most recently, on 6 February 2025, Russian singer-songwriter Vadim Stroykin died during a raid by Russian security forces. OVD-Info, a human rights group, reported that Mr Stroykin fell out of a 10th-floor window of his St. Petersburg apartment while officers were conducting a search linked to his alleged donation to Ukraine's Armed Forces. Russian media called the death a suicide. 

Then there's the example of Valery Prigozhin, who went from being Putin's chef to "rebel-in-chief". "Look at what happened with [him]," said Mr Stupak. "He could've been poisoned somewhere in Africa, and they could have easily blamed it on spoiled bananas. But they chose a demonstrative, public execution."

Mr Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner Group, died along with other Wagner leaders in a suspicious plane crash inside Russia in 2023. The crash came two months after Prigozhin led a brief rebellion against the Kremlin. 

"So, this could be a warning to others," Mr Stupak added, "showing what happens if you don't pay your debts, refuse to hand over business shares, or go against Putin.... This shows just how ruthless the regime can be," he added. "Either you mysteriously die, or you end up behind bars.... Those who refuse to cooperate," he said, "end up either in prison or out the window."

Why this is relevant to Americans. By extension, the term "defenestration" is used to describe any forcible or summary removal of an adversary. Can you think of any American politician who, if she couldn't best an opponent by legitimate means would resort to having them killed? Can ya? Huh?

Step foward Hellery Clinton, presidential wannabe and poster-child for overweening ambition. So many people believed that she would stop at nothing to eliminate her rivals that "The Clinton Body Count" gets its own entry in Wikipedia.

The libtards of Wiki call it a conspiracy theory, of course, centred on the belief Mr and Mrs Slick Willy secretly had their political opponents murdered. 50 or more people who crossed the Clintons -- the Wiki lists their names -- died in tragic accidents or by suicide. Like that of Jeffrey Epstein.

Such allegations have been circulated since at least 1994, when a film called The Clinton Chronicles  accused Bill Clinton of multiple crimes, including murder. Additional promulgators of the theory include Christopher Ruddy, Marjorie Taylor Greene and the current POTUS. 

According to the Congressional Record (1994), Linda Thompson, the compiler of the original list, "admitted she had 'no direct evidence' of Clinton killing anyone. Indeed, she claimed the deaths were probably caused by 'people trying to control the president' but refused to say who they were. M Thompson died in St. Petersburg FL on 10 May 2009, after overdosing on medication posted to her by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. (Source: Wikipedia.)

Further reading: "The murder of Sergei Magnitsky explains why Putin invaded Ukraine and why he MUST be stopped!" WWW 7/2/24 and "RIP Alexei Navalny, died today from APD" WWW 16/2/24,

VIDEOS: V-P J.D. Vance speaks frankly about security and free speech

Still catching up after much time spent amongst the winter's snows. In Munich, Germany, on February 14th, Vice-President Vance delivered one of the best speeches of his life. This was within hours of yet another Islamic terrorist attack, and J.D. pulls no punches in speaking truth to the European liberal elites about "the enemies within" our Western civilization. Only 20 minutes, a must watch.

This video is closing on 1.5 million views on YouTube, and deservedly so. You'll find a transcript on the YT page, useful in following along. 

Were the Euro-wienies paying attention? We're coming down to crunch time on Russia's war of aggression against the Ukraine, and on the vital question of European security. Thanks to President Trump's new approach to foreign policy, we're on the verge of a new Cold War. Time for the fence-sitters to jump one way or another.

Further viewing (added 18/2/25 at 1830 FMT) "Listen to Your People, Don’t Go Hard Left: - Victor Davis Hanson summarizes and adds a hearty "Amen" to Vice-President Vance's Munich speech.

VIDEO: "Allahu akbar!" in Moscow?

Looks like last night wasn't a good time to go out to pubs, clubs and concerts in Moscow, the capital of the Russian Empire (including Ukraine - NOT!) You've probably seen this video already, but just in case...

This happened at Crocus City Hall, a well-known Moscow region shopping centre and concert venue. [When I first saw "Crocus City", I thought of Crocus SK, just down the road from Lilac, made famous by George Bain. Ed.]

At least three gunmen, possibly as many as five, dressed in combat fatigues, burst into the concert hall and fired automatic weapons, injuring dozens of patrons and killing a significant number of them, according to Russian media. Russia's Federal Security Service(FSB), the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said about 40 people were killed while a regional ministry, quoted by the Tass news agency, said 145 were wounded. 

The death toll made it one of the worst attacks on Russia since the 2004 Beslan school siege, when Islamist militants took more than 1000 people, including hundreds of children, hostage. Children were reported to be among the dead and injured at the concert. Dozens of ambulances arrived at the Sklifosovsky emergency care institute in Moscow.

In a post on Telegram, Islamic State (aka ISIS) said its "fighters" attacked on the outskirts of Moscow "killing and wounding hundreds and causing great destruction to the place before they withdrew to their bases safely." 

A spokesthingy for the Russian Foreign Ministry called it a "bloody terrorist attack" that the entire world should condemn. The United States, European and Arab powers and many former Soviet republics expressed shock, condemned the attack and sent their condolences. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak denied any Ukrainian involvement. 

Two weeks ago, the American embassy in Russia warned that "extremists" -- notice they didn't say "Muslim fanatics" or "Islamic extremists" -- had imminent plans for an attack in Moscow. The embassy issued its warning several hours after the FSB said it had foiled an attack on a Moscow synagogue by a cell of Islamic State. "While events continue to unfold, we strongly recommend that U.S. citizens in Moscow avoid the area, follow the instructions of local security services and keep an eye on local media updates," the US embassy said today.

To Vlad "the Impaler" Putin and his military advisors, Walt sez: Ya see? It's not Ukrainian nationalists you should be worrying about. It's those damn Islamists. What're you doing attack the Ukrainians? Swivel your guns about 220 degrees and send the jihadis to Paradise!

Entering the third year of Putin's war on Ukraine

Слава Україні! Героям слава!

RIP Alexei Navalny, died today from APD

To the extent that there is any opposition to Vladimir Putin, "President of All the Russias (Including Ukraine)", it was led by Alexei Navalny, who died today, at the age of 47, after collapsing and losing consciousness at the a notorious 1K-3 penal colony in Kharp,.north of the Arctic Circle. Here is the last known picture of the deceased, taken on January 10th..

The Federal Penitentiary Service of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District said in a statement that Mr Navalny "felt unwell" after a walk, and lost consciousness almost immediately after returning to his cell. "The medical staff of the institution arrived immediately, and an ambulance team was called," the prison service said. "All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, which did not yield positive results. Doctors of the ambulance stated the death of the convict. The causes of death are being established."

Walt can reveal that Mr Navalny died from APD -- Anti-Putin Disorder. That's what happens when you dare to oppose the all-powerful Putin. 

By far Russia's most famous opposition leader, Alexei Novalny rose to prominence more than a decade ago by lampooning the elite class round President Putin and voicing allegations of corruption on a vast scale. A Kremlin spokesman [There are no female spokesthingies in Russia. Ed.] said Mr Putin was informed of Mr Navalny's death, and that the prison service would look into it "in line with standard procedures." 

Mr Navalny's death is very similar to that of Sergei Magnitsky, whose murder in a Russian prison is detailed in two books -- Red Notice and Freezing Order by his friend Bill Browder, an American-born British financier and political activist. 

Just by coincidence [Walt is not all that prescient. Ed.], we devoted two posts on February 7th to the story of Messrs Magnitsky and Browder, to show what happens to those who defy President Putin and his gargantuan kleptocracy.

See "The lesson about Putin and the war on Ukraine we MUST learn from the murder of Sergei Magnitsky" and "The murder of Sergei Magnitsky explains why Putin invaded Ukraine and why he MUST be stopped!" 

On 17 January 2021, Alexei Navalny and his wife returned to Russia from Germany, where he had been in exile. He was taken into custody immediately, and in just over two weeks was tried, convicted and sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison. 

The events sparked massive protests that reached to Russia's farthest corners and saw more than 10,000 people detained by police. As part of a massive crackdown against the opposition that followed, a Moscow court in 2021 outlawed Mr Navalny's Foundation for Fighting Corruption as "extremist" -- a word now popular with American liberals and their lickspittle media.

On 24 February 2022, when the Russian dictator sent troops to invade Ukraine, Mr Navalny strongly condemned the war in social media posts from prison and during his court appearances. Less than a month after the start of the war, he was sentenced to an additional nine-year term for embezzlement and contempt of court in a case he and his supporters rejected as fabricated. 

The investigators immediately launched a new probe, and in August of 2023 Mr Navalny was convicted on charges of "extremism" -- there's that word again! -- and sentenced to 19 years in prison. After the verdict, Mr Navalny said he understands that he's "serving a life sentence, which is measured by the length of my life or the length of life of this regime." 

Now his life sentence is over. RIP. 

A documentary called Navalny that detailed his career, his near-fatal poisoning and his return to Moscow won an Academy Award for best documentary in March of 2023. Accepting the Oscar, director David Roher said, "Alexei, the world has not forgotten your vital message to us all: We must not be afraid to oppose dictators and authoritarianism wherever it rears its head."

Indeed.

The murder of Sergei Magnitsky explains why Putin invaded Ukraine and why he MUST be stopped!

As promised earlier today (see previous post, below), here are excerpts (lightly edited) from Bill Browder's Freezing Order, Simon & Schuster, 2022. Thanks again to Agent 5 for sending us this book, which Walt recommends highly.

Although this book is about my fight for justice following Sergei Magnitsky's murder, I can draw a straight line from his murder to Putin's invasion of Ukraine. 

As my team and I ultimately learned from the Magnitsky case, Putin and about 1000 of his people have stolen at least $1 trillion from the Russian state over a 22-year period. Instead of hospitals, schools, roads, and other public services, it was spent on yachts, private planes, luxury villas, and foreign bank accounts. 

Putin knows that if he loses power, he would lose his fortune, he would go to jail, and he would probably be killed. For Putin, losing power is an existential threat. He'll do what every autocrat does when he's worried about his people rising up against him. He'll pull out the dictator's playbook, create a foreign enemy and start a war. 

In 2014, following a rigged election and Putin's widely perceived illegitimate return to the Russian presidency, he illegally annexed Crimea and invaded eastern Ukraine. 

These actions provoked no serious pushback from the West. There were no meaningful sanctions, Russia wasn't cut off from the international financial system, no Western companies pulled out, and there was absolutely no military response. 

Fast forward to 2022. Following the pandemic, Putin's popularity was once again fading. Since he couldn't lose power, and since he knew from experience that there would be no personal downside to another war, from his perspective invading Ukraine made perfect sense. It could shore up his power at home, and there would be no negative consequences for him. 

The war in Ukraine has exposesd Putin. Now everyone is asking: how does this all end? Liberal policy makers, pundits, political scientists, globalists and one-worlders tell us that if Ukraine were to make some concessions to Putin, there will be peace and everything will go back to the way it was. 

These people fail to understand Putin. To truly appreciate where he is coming from, you have to be a criminologist, not a political scientist. He is a scared little man who's stolen too much money and is terrified of the consequences. What he wants -- what he needs -- is to stay in power at all costs. 

Therefore the purpose of Russia's war with Ukraine is simple to be at war. War is his endgame. Ultimately, there are only two ways this terrible situation will be resolved. Either Russia wins the war, or Ukraine wins the war. That's it. 

If Putin wins in Ukraine, then we will be faced with two unacceptable paths, a true military confrontation with a nuclear Russia, or abject appeasement as Putin continues to gobble up more and more countries. We need to avoid this. Ukraine must win. 

Right now, the Ukrainians are doing the West's fighting for us. Like it or not, they are the tip of the spear, and we should give them every bit of assistance. So far, we've given them enough not to lose. But we haven't yet given them enough to win. 

Giving in to Putin will only encourage his imperialism. If a triumphant Putin follows Ukraine with an attack on a NATO country, then we will be at the beginning of world War III -- and the fallout from that will make our current worries about inflation and the future look like a Sunday stroll through the park. 

One big lesson I've learned from Sergei Magnitsky's murder and my ongoing struggle with Putin is that 90 percent of Putin's strength comes from the perception that he is strong. He is not. He knows this viscerally -- it's why he started this war against Ukraine in the first place -- and he is terrified. 

If our leaders could take this lesson to heart and stand firm to deny Putin his strength, then he'd be out business very quickly. I hope we can succeed. We must!

Preview: The lesson about Putin and the war on Ukraine we MUST learn from the murder of Sergei Magnitsky

Bill Browder is an American-born British financier and political activist. He is the CEO and cofounder of Hermitage Capital Management, the investment advisor to the Hermitage Fund, which at a time was the largest foreign portfolio investor in Russia. 

On 13 November 2005, the offices of Hermitage were raided. Mr Browder was refused entry to Russia, deported to the UK, and declared a threat to Russian national security. 

Sergei Magnitsky, head of the tax practice at Firestone Duncan, (Mr Browder's American law firm), was assigned to investigate the purpose of the raids. He discovered that while the seized documents were in the custody of the police, they had been used to fraudulently re-register Hermitage's holding companies to the name of an ex-convict. 

Mr Magnitsky was subsequently arrested by Russian authorities and died in prison, having been denied proper medical treatment. Mr Browder calls the death "murder". 

After Mr Magnitsky's death, Mr Browder lobbied for Congress to pass the Magnitsky Act,  a statute intended to punish Russian human rights violators, which was signed into law by President Obama in 2012. The following year, both Mr Magnitsky and Mr Browder were tried in absentia by a Russian court Russia for tax fraud. 

Unsurprisingly, both men (Mr Magnitsky had died four years prior) were convicted and sentenced to imprisonment. This was the first time in the modern era that a dead man had been tried and convicted.

Interpol rejected Russian requests to arrest Browder, saying the case was political. In 2014, the European Parliament voted for sanctions against 30 Russians believed complicit in the Magnitsky case. This was the first time it had taken such action. 

In 2015, Mr Browder told the story of his prosecution and persecution by the Russian state, the murder of his principled young tax attorney, and his dangerous mission to expose the Kremlin's corruption, in Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice. (Simon & Schuster, 2015). 

Freezing Order is a sequel to Red Notice, published by Simon & Schuster in 2022. We'll post Mr Browder's dire warning to the West, excerpted from the "Afterword" to Freezing Order, later today. Many thanks to Agent 5 for sending us not just a link, but the book itself!

Putin's right about one thing!

Both Dr Jordan Peterson and Michael Matt, editor of The Remnant newspaper, have been quoted here and elsewhere as saying that we must be careful not to vilify Russian President Vladimir Putin as the devil incarnate, "the new Hitler", etc. 

His invasion of Ukraine is evil, to be sure, but, looking at the broader picture -- the fight to preserve Western civilization -- we must recognize that Mr Putin is almost the only leader* challenging the un-Christian secular humanism which is the politically correct orthodoxy of Europe and North America... except Russia.

Case in point: the ceaseless barrage of pro-queer propaganda forcing homosexuality, gender fluidity, and gender ideology down our throats (or other orifices). Most older folks aren't buying it, but our children are being taught, from curricula written by queers in our public schools, that it's "normal" to be attracted to members of the same sex, and to act on that attraction. 

"Gender affirmation surgery", which we used to call "sex change operations" are not just approved but encouraged. And in our public libraries, drag queens are grooming our innocent children. And all this is being paid for by our tax dollars!

You won't see any of this in Russia! The state news agency, TASS, reports that this week legislators of the State Duma (the lower house of Russia's parliament), unanimously passed a draft law, sponsored by 400 of the Duman's 450 members, banning the media from publishing propaganda for "non-traditional sexual relations".

The chairman noted that the Duma had received high-profile initiatives requesting the ban on such information. He stressed that this issue was very important because such propaganda is aimed at destroying Russian society and traditional family values. Odd, isn't it, that parliamentarians in the USA, UK, Canada etc haven't figured that out? Maybe I should have said "queer", rather than "odd"! 

The bill prohibits the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations, pedophilia and the display of LGBT-related information and information encouraging gender changes among teenagers, on the Internet, in the media, in books, on audio and visual platforms, and in movies and advertisements. 

It also introduces a mechanism restricting children’s access to LGBT-related information on paid services. In particular, it demands users enter codes or take other actions to confirm their age. In addition, the document suggests banning audio and visual services from spreading information harmful to the health and development of children. 

The Duma legislators also approved in the first reading a draft law stipulating administrative liability for propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations, pedophilia as well as gender change among teenagers and adults. 

The new bill stipulates maximum fines of 5 million rubles (over $81,400) for spreading LGBT propaganda among minors and 4 million rubles (over $65,146) among adults. Foreign nationals involved in promoting non-traditional sexual relations propaganda will be expelled from Russia and fined up to 400,000 rubles ($6,500). An administrative 15-day detention is also possible in regard to foreign nationals. 

Only in Russia, you say? Pity, sez  Walt. We need something like that here.

* Footnote: There are a handful of foreign leaders, including Italy's Prime Minister Giorgina Meloni, and Hungarian PM Viktor Orban, who I think would agree with President Putin on the necessity for such a law, but Russia remains the only country in which a ban on pro-queer propaganda is now the law of the land.

VIDEO: Dr Jordan Peterson on the true nature of the war in Ukraine

About a month ago, Dr Jordan Peterson (for whom Walt has all the time in the world!) wrote an article for the Daily Wire entitled "Russia Vs. Ukraine Or Civil War In The West?" In this thought-provoking piece, Dr Peterson listed the reasons why we're seeing an extended conflict in Ukraine, and explains why a culture war in the West has fueled the Russian fire.

Since the Daily Wire is accessible only to members, the article was not widely read or circulated. So Dr Peterson read it aloud on his YouTube channel. Click here to watch the entire video. It's over 51 minutes long. If you're thinking that's too much -- some other time, perhaps -- Ed. has prepared the clip below in which Dr Peterson sums up his message of warning.

We hope you will now be motivated to click on the link to the full video to understand why there's much more to the war in Ukraine than just resisting Russian imperialism. Those who, like Walt, cherish the ideal of a free and independent Ukraine, need to take a broader and deeper view of the conflict. 

We cannot be assured that we are on The Right Side until we understand the moral, philosophical and ideological positions of the combatants. If it comes down to a civil war between those who stand for the values of Christian civilization and those who espouse today's politically orthodox secular humanism, whose side should we take? 

Thanks to Agent 9 for pointing us in the right direction.

VIDEO: Tucker Carlson: Is it "treasonous" to not want to go to war?

So far this week, we've been looking at the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine through the lens of the Message of Fatima -- the request of God through the Blesssed Virgin Mary that Russia be consecrated to Her Immaculate Heart, by which means the annihilation of nations (not just Ukraine) will be averted and a period of peace given to us.

We therefore hope and pray (a novena starts today!) that Pope Francis will perform the Act of Consescration, in union with all the bishops, in the manner that Our Lady requested. But the news that Francis will at last attempt the Consecration has been largely ignored by the lamestream media, not to mention politicians like Crazy Joe Biden, Crazy Nancy Pelosi and Blackie McBlackface, Prime Minister of Canuckistan. 

Like the majority of Americans and Canadians, these liberals who call themselves "Catholics" while advocating for abortion "rights" and other evils, either know nothing about Fatima or do not believe in the Fatima Message. 

So today let's look at the invasion of Ukraine from a purely secular point of view. Let's hear the arguments of people like Tucker Carlson, that starting a potentially nuclear World War III over the status of Ukraine would be foolish in the extreme, and a dissservice not just to the Ukrainian people but to all the nations of the West.

In his latest talk from the Remnant Underground, Michael Matt wondered aloud how much longer Fox News will be able to keep Tucker Carlson on the air, given that he (Carlson) refuses to jump on the let's-nuke-the-Russkis war wagon. 

Mr Carlson is being pilloried by such warhawks as Lindsey Graham and the inevitable Mitt Romney for daring to suggest that the Russian invasion of the Ukraine is totally black-and-white -- Ukraine good, Russia bad -- so if Putin wants war, let's have at it.

They call Mr Carlson, and others like Michael Matt and Dr Ron Paul, unpatriotic, even "treasonous", for urging the powers that be to take a step back and consider whether it's really a smart move to involve the USA (and the lesser NATO countries) in another pointless and unwinnable war. Listen carefully to Mr Carlson's comments, posted on March 14th, in which he gives his take on Ukrainian President Zelenskiy's latest suggestion for finding a way out.

 

Further reading: "Is Tulsi Gabbard a traitor?", by Daniel McAdams, Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, 15/3/22. 

Tucker Carlson, Tulsi Gabbard, and Michael Matt are not traitors or "Russian assets" as the harpies of The View would have it. Neither is Dr Ron Paul, who wrote in "It All Comes Back to NATO", (1/3/22) "When the Bush Administration announced in 2008 that Ukraine and Georgia would be eligible for NATO membership, I knew it was a terrible idea. Nearly two decades after the end of both the Warsaw Pact and the Cold War, expanding NATO made no sense. NATO itself made no sense."

Dr Paul goes on to say that NATO should be disbanded because it's no longer necessary or relevant to the geopolitics of the 2020s. Russia's invasion of Ukraine proves him right. To go to war for Ukraine's right to join a military alliance which (as President Trump pointed out) is dysfunctional and irrelevant  is just plain wrong. President Zelenskiy's suggestion that his country could perhaps remain neutral is not crazy at all.

More further reading: "The Press Has Lied To Drag The United States Into War Before. Don’t Think They Won’t Again" by Elle Reynolds, The Federalist, 17/3/22.

The writer recycles the story about William Randolph Hearst. In 1897, months before the Maine exploded in Havana harbour, the newspaper tycoon had commissioned reporter Frederic Remington to go to Cuba, where Cuban revolutionaries were skirmishing with their Spanish colonizers. When Remington sent Hearst a wire to explain he was leaving Cuba because there was no war to cover, Hearst reportedly replied, "You furnish the pictures and I’ll furnish the war!"

VIDEO: Michael Matt's take on Russia's invasion of Ukraine

In this morning's post, I quoted an e-mail received from Michael Matt, editor of The Remnant newspaper, in which he comments on the Vatican's annouoncement that Pope Francis will, on March 25th, consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. He wonders, as do Walt and many others, whether Francis will effect the Consecration in the manner requested by Our Lady of Fatima, so as to obtain the conversion of Russia aqnd bring the world a period of peace. 

A day before the Vatican's announcement, Mr Matt recorded "Crisis in Ukraine: What's Really Going On" - the latest episode of The Underground, posted on Remnant TV. Please listen carefully to the caveat at the beginning of this video. Mr Matt is not for Putin or Russia, nor is he against the Ukrainian people (although their government is another matter). What Mr Matt is against is the suicidal rush to start a war between Russia and the West! Listen up!

IMHO (and that of Dr Ron Paul and many others), we must not allow our liberal politicians and their lickspittle media to lead us into the trap set for us by the Soros-led globalist elites. The way to help the Ukrainian people is not by attacking the Russians and starting a nuclear* war. 

By all means do whatever you can to help Ukrainians resist the Russian invaders, and survive the humanitarian disaster now unfolding. But don't make things worse by waging war against Russia on Ukrainian soil. There's an African saying: when two elephants fight, the grass gets trampled.

If you love your country as much as the Ukrainians love theirs, pray for peace. And if, as we believe, the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary can bring that sbout, pray that Pope Francis does it, and does it in the manner the Blessed Virgin Mary requested. Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

* Footnote: I don't like to be that guy [Go on! You love it! Ed.] but can the USA's ambassador to the United Nations not learn how to pronounce "nuclear" correctly? It's not "nu-cu-ler", the way Homer Simpson says it, but "nu-cle-ar". Clear?

VIDEO: President Trump's speech to March 12th rally - FULL

Before you watch the video, let me give you the typical lickspittle media spin on whatever President Trump says. Yesterday, Yaho00 picked this up from CBS News and WAPO. The emphasis is mine. 

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday floated a horrifying scenario during a speech to some 250 elite Republican donors: He said the U.S. could bomb Russia with jets disguised with Chinese flags, then sit back and watch those nations go to war. 

Specifically, Trump said the U.S. could “put the Chinese flag” on F-22 fighter jets and use them to "bomb the shit out of Russia," according to a recording of his speech that was obtained by The Washington Post. "And then we say, China did it, we didn't do it, China did it, and then they start fighting with each other and we sit back and watch," Trump said. 

The audience laughed at the comment, which seemingly was made in jest, a source told CBS News. 

Did you catch that play? Even when they think the Donald might be joking, they are so shit-scared that he's serious that they report it as a shock-and-horror story! Either that or they are deliberately trying to fool gullible people into thinking that a vote for Trump is a vote for war. Makes me want to vomit!

Anyway, here's the complete video (just over an hour) of President Donald Trump's speech to another hyuge America First Republican rally in Florence SC, yesterday, March 12th.

 

I hope you noticed that, at about the 12:30 mark, President Trump did say something about the lamestream line that his personality would get America into a war. Russia (he said) didn't attack anybody while he was president, because of his personality, because they knew America was strong again. 

Now, under the leadership of an Alzheimer's patient and a whore (see Walt's previous post), here we are, waiting for the balloon to go up.

America is now just months away from the 2022 mid-term elections. Circle the date on your calendar, and vote to Make America Great Again!

Random thoughts, and a Wally-winning VIDEO

Things have been pretty intense for the last month or so. I think you, dear readers, deserve a break. Me too. So here are a couple of items from the slushpile, and a video that will make any parent chuckle. 

Bet Ya Didn't Know Dept.

Catherine II, aka Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia in the18th century, was not Russian! She was born in 1729 in the tiny German principality of Anhalt-Zerbst [commonly known as "A-Z". Ed.], Her father was Prince Christian of A-Z, and she was baptized Sophia Augusta Frederica. Her parents and friends called her "Fiekchen", a diminutive of "Sophia". I guess you have to speak German to understand that.

When she was taken to Russia as the wife of the future Tsar Peter III, she converted from heretical Lutheranism and was admitted to the Orthodox Church, and took the name Catherine Alexeievna. How about that.

Pandemic Madness Dept.

The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reports that at this very moment 6,035,208 of the world's people have died of the Wuhan flu. That's slightly more than 6 million of a world population of roughly 7.9  billion. Thus the mortality rate from the New Black Death is... let's see... carry the 1... something like 0.0756%. 

In other words [figures, shurely. Ed.] <1/10th of 1%. The mortality rate from the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-19 is estimated to have been 2%. Do you still think we're wrong to call the current "crisis" a "Dempanic"?

By the way, did you get all three (and counting) of your shots? Are you still wearing your mask, or "chin diaper" as our friend Michael Matt calls them? How has all that worked out for you? Did you get sick anyway? Just askin'

TV Wokeness Dept.

Has anyone else noticed that Family Guy has become really lame, to the point of wokeness, lately?  The main plot line this past Sunday was about Peter Griffin losing his friends to a lawyer who moved in next door. Peter felt abandoned and sad, until the lawyer made him see that Quagmire, Cleveland and Joe were still his friends, and they all lived happily ever after. The lawyer, by the way, was black. ("Helloo dere. I'se yo new neighbuh!")

There's been a lot of that -- black lawyers, doctors, financial advisors and other well-spoken professional people -- on TV lately. Not to mention happy, upwardly mobile mixed-race couples. They appear prominently in dramas, comedies, and even TV commercials for woke corporate America. I don't see any of them in my neighbourhood though. How about you?

Wally Awards Dept.

Speaking of TV commercials, here's one for an expensive car that is not being driven by a BIPOC. And it's not a BMW either. This one gets the coveted Wally for excellence in creative advertising.

 

Any parent who's ever had to sit through a high school orchestra concert can appreciate that one!

Whatever Happened To? Dept.

Oh. Yes. Catherine the Great. She was the wife of Tsar Peter III, right? How did she get to be Empress of All the Russias? Well sir... Catherine not only changed her name but learned the language and went out of her royal way to become more Russian than the Russians. She was much loved by the people, unlike her husband, who was loated almost as much as Just In Trudeau is by the people of Canuckistan.

Catherine formed a party devoted to her interests and the overthrow of the Tsar. When Peter foolishly retired to his country estate in June of 1762, two young army officers took Catherine to St Petersburg, where the troops proclaimed her empress and swore their allegiance to her.

When advised of the coup d'état, Peter didn't know whether to shit or wind his wristwatch (as the crude saying of those times had it). He finally abidcated without condition. He was then arrested on Catherine's order, and sent to the estate of the two officers (who happened to be btothers). There Peter died, four days later, in mysterious circumstances.

Upon receiving news of her husband's death, Catherine dined in public with her customary tranquil air. Not until the next day did she announce the Tsar's demise, in these words: "We have received the information to our great sorrow and affliction that it was God's will to end the life of the former Tsar Peter III by a sever attach of haemorrhoidal colic."

End of story. Source: Ergang, Robert: Europe from the Renaissance to Waterloo, D.C. Heath & Co., 1954.

"Don't buy Canadian!" Brandon likes oil from Iran, Venezuela better

Sleepy Joe Brandon had a rare moment of lucidity this week, when he seemed to acknowledge that the Excited States of America is not self-sufficient in oil any more. Running on fumes, it is! 

That nasty non-renewable gasoline is up to $5-7 at the pumps, and trending upward. Bad news for American motorists, including Freedom Truckers. And not just for them, but for anyone who wishes to travel anywhere by road, rail or air. 

Of course there are alternatives, like this. 

Yep, just throw another log (or bag of wood chips) into the old gas generator there, and you're good to go. If you think you can't burn gas from wood. let me ask: have you had your fireplace chimney cleaned out lately? But you're gonna need a helluva lot of wood, and the rig isn't very aerodynamic, probably kinda slow.

So what else? How about EVs? You can run cars, trucks, buses and trains on electricity, right? Not airplanes though. The cost of the extension cord would be a killer. But where does the electricity [That's "hydro", for our readers in Canuckstan. Ed.] come from? Well, you have these big power plants than run on, errr... 

Let's be practical then. America needs more oil! So if we can't produce enough in the US of A, we'll have to buy some from other countries. Like Russia, from which the US of A imported 709,000 barrels of crude and petroleum products per day, last year.

Errr, can't do that now. Even the ultra-woke Canadians stopped doing that, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On Tuesday, the Biden-Harris maladministration followed Canada' lead and banned petroleum imports from Russia. Now Sleepy Joe is forced to go, cap in hand, to other "friendly" countries who have oil for sale. Like Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

The oiligarchs [Very clever! Ed.] of the Muddle East have the capacity to ramp up production, but Brandon trash-talked them during the 2020 fake election campaign. He referred to Saudi Arabia as a "pariah" state and said that its government has "very little social redeeming value." True enough, but not reason enough to stop buying their oil, eh, Joe?

But there's a bigger bump in the road. The Saudis and Emiratis have their keffiyehs in a twist over Crazy Joe's lack of support for their own brutal interventions in Yemen, where the two countries are fighting a proxy war against Iran. 

There's also the little matter of Brandon's push to restart the Iran nuclear agreement. As a result, the Wall Street Journal reported this week that the leaders of both countries have ghosted Brandon and are refusing to take his calls. The unintended consequence could well be  the lifting of American sanctions on Iran, which has tens of millions of barrels of oil sitting in tankers for immediate delivery. And there's even more where that came from! Cheap!

Of course buying from the mad mullahs would be supporting the world's exporter of Islamic terrorism, a theocracy which has threated to wipe the "Zionist entity" (Israel) off the map, and needs only that the Paranoid States of America look the other way while it develops the nuclear weapons so to do.

Lucky for Brandon that there's another source, closer to home. Last weekend he sent a delegation to Caracas to discuss easing the American sanctions on Venezuelan oil, which were the proximate cause of America's increasing dependence on Russian oil. Talk about things not quite working out!

Meanwhile, Sleepy Joe still points with pride at his Day One decision to kill the Keystone XL pipeline, approved by President Trump, which would have allowed the importation of millions of barrels per day of Canadian crude oil, direct to American refineries. It's cheap, too. Just turn on the tap. 

But nooo... buying oil from Canuckistan wouldn't play well with Democratic eco-wienies like Michigan's Democratic governor Karen Whitmer [Isn't that "Gretchen"? Ed.]. She has her own anti-oil campaign going against Enbridge's Line 5, which supplies 65% of propane demand in the Upper Peninsula, and 55% of Michigan's statewide propane needs. Her effort to close it down is now before the courts. Guess whose side Brandon is on.

The liberal governments of both the USA and Canada have scared away investors by consistently blocking proposed pipelines and LNG export terminals, which could now be supplying America with all the oil and gas it needs.

If the wokesters and eco-wienies in Washington and Ottawa simply got out of the way and allowed decisions over pipelines and other infrastructure projects to be made by private businesses and landowners, the oil and gas would be flowing to where it's needed as we speak. And you'd be able to fill up your gas tank for two bucks a gallon... or less. Think about that while you walk to work!

Russia's war against Ukraine explained by Our Lady of Fatima

On Ash Wednesday, the Catholic Bishops of Ukraine begged Jorge Bergoglio, the man who calls himself "Pope Francis", to consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as requested by the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Fatima. 

It has been reported that Vladimir Putin himself once asked for the Consecration of Russia. Perhaps if this had been done long ago, as Our Lady asked, the Cold War of the 20th century and today's HOT war against Ukraine could have been averted. But it was not done. Here's the timeline. 

In 1917, the Blessed Virgin appeared to three peasant children at the village of Fatima, in Portugal, on the 13th of each month, from May through October. She confided to the child seers a Great Secret, in three parts. On the 13th of July, she told them:

[God] is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, hunger, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father. To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the Consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. 

If My requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she [Russia] will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred; the Holy Father will have much to suffer; various nations will be annihilated.

Twelve years later, on June 13, 1929, Our Lady kept Her Promise to return to announce Heaven's formal request for the Consecration of Russia, in no uncertain terms:

The moment has come in which God asks the Holy Father to make, in union with all the bishops of the world, the Consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart, promising to save it by this means.

But this command from Heaven fell on deaf ears, and years went by without any progress toward its fulfillment. In a letter to her confessor in May of 1936, Sister Lucia dos Santos, the last of the three seers, wrote about this delay: 

Intimately I have spoken to Our Lord about the subject, and recently I asked Him why He would not convert Russia without the Holy Father making that Consecration. The Lord answered, "Because I want My whole Church to acknowledge that Consecration as a Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, so that it may extend its cult later on and put the Devotion to this Immaculate Heart alongside the Devotion to My Sacred Heart."

There is no other means at our disposal to stop the world’s descent into apostasy and chaos than that given to us by Our Lady of Fatima. 

In 1942, at the height of World War II, Pope Pius XII was prevailed upon to make a consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This was not done in response to the Fatima request and did not correspond to the stipulations given by Our Lady of Fatima. Ten years later, in an apparition to Sister Lucy in May 1952, Our Lady said: 

Make it known to the Holy Father that I still await the Consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart. Without that Consecration, Russia cannot be converted, nor can the world have Peace.

Any consecration to Our Lady can bring honor to Her Immaculate Heart and much-needed graces in our lives, but only the Consecration of Russia in the precise manner directed by Our Lady of Fatima can bring the definitive graces needed to prevent the continuance of the just chastisements that loom over us, namely persecutions, martyrdom, and the annihilation of whole nations.

In a revelation to Sister Lucia in August 1931, Our Lord made a frightening reference to the fate of the King of France, whom He had asked, through Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque to consecrate France to His Sacred Heart, promising thereby to deliver France from its enemies. That request was given in 1689. Three successive kings of France chose to ignore Our Lord's request, until 100 years later – to the day! – the French monarchy was definitively subverted and overthrown, and Louis XVI, who was reigning in 1789, suffered greatly at the hands of the revolutionaries – in humiliations, in prison, and finally on the scaffold of a guillotine.

"Make it known to My ministers," Our Lord told Sister Lucia in 1931, "that given they follow the example of the King of France in delaying the execution of My command [for the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary], they will likewise follow him into misfortune."

What we are seeing now, in Russia's barbaric invasion of Ukraine, is the terrible price that must to be paid, by Ukraine today and perhaps the whole world tomorrow, for ignoring Heaven's command for the Consecration of Russia. 

Every one of the post-Vatican II popes have read the Third Secret of Fatima -- Our Lady's warning of what would happen should Her request go unheeded -- but none has seen the absolute necessity of obeying! 

Pope John-Paul II made another consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1984, but for fear of offending the Communists did not do so in union with all the world's bishops, and did not mention Russia by name.

Similarly, when Russia commenced its latest attack on Ukraine, Francis went to see Russia's ambassador (rather than summoning the ambassador to see him!) and has yet to mention Russia by name, let alone consecrate that nation, for fear of offending our Russian Orthodox "separated brethren"... and of course President Putin.

The miraculous graces necessary to bring peace to Ukraine and the world will only be given to us when Our Lady's Fatima request is heeded. Will Pope Bergoglio listen? Will he respond to Heaven's command? If he doesn't... if this war becomes a world war... destruction and death will befall entire nations, including "the bishop in white" referred to in what the Vatican says is the Third Secret of Fatima. As much as Mr Putin, it will be on Francis. 

Further reading: The Secret Still Hidden, by Christopher Ferrara, and other books about Our Lady of Fatima, the Third Secret, and the End Times, will be listed this weekend on our sponsor's online bookstore.

Russia invades Ukraine: What the USA is doing

Ed. here. The following is taken from "Joe Biden Vows to Defend NATO with 'Full Force of American Power' After Emboldened Vladimir Putin Attacks Ukraine", Breitbart News, 24/2/22. 

Biden said the United States would join a NATO summit on Friday to signal solidarity and strengthen the alliance in the face of Putin’s aggression. “The good news is NATO is more united and more determined than ever,” Biden said, vowing to meet the Article 5 commitments to defend NATO territory. 

He described NATO as “the greatest military alliance in the history of the world.” The president said he would send more troops to Europe and deploy them to NATO’s eastern countries such as Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania but repeated that he did not want American troops going to war in Russia with Ukraine. “Our forces are not and will not be engaged in a conflict with Russia in Ukraine,” Biden said. 

The president said he was already taking steps to ready additional forces to Europe if necessary. When asked if he believed Putin was prepared to use nuclear weapons, Biden replied, “I have no idea what he’s threatening.”

Walt sez: Told ya so! Actually I'm not sure President Brandon realizes the Ukraine is not part of NATO. As I said in my last post, even Crazy Joe isn't crazy enough to sent American troops into battle during an election year. I think he'd rather not know about the invasion at all.

Photo scraped from "Joe Biden under attack over handling of Russia in lead up to Ukraine invasion", subheaded "Republicans said the US could be 'held hostage' by Vladimir Putin over energy", by Nick Allen, The Telegraph, 24/2/22.

Must Ukraine stand alone?

Speaking of emperor wannabes [Walt is referring to Trudeau II, Emperor of Canada. Ed.], it seems Vlad "The Impaler" Putin has his heart set on revivying the old Russian Empire, or at least the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The invasion that many Western pundits said would never happen started at 0500 local time on Wednesday. 

In the largest attack seen in Europe since World War II, Russia invaded Ukraine from three directions, advancing toward the capital city of Kyiv. Kyiv's main Boryspil International Airport was hit in Wednesday night’s first wave of attacks. By this evening, Russian paratroopers appeared to have taken control of the city's Hostomel cargo airport after a battle that involved a squadron of Russian attack helicopters. Control of Hostomel allow Russia to fly more troops to the edge of Kyiv, Mr Putin's main target. 

After encountering fierce resistance from Ukrainian forces in the Chernihiv region north of Kyiv, Russian troops massed across the border with Belarus opened a separate line of attack through the exclusion zone created by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Why they would want to go anywhere near the radioactive waste storage facility there is a mystery, but they seem to have it under control.

Russian troops also pushed into Ukraine from the east – in the direction of Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv – and from the south, pushing towards the city of Kherson from the Crimea, which Russia seized and illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014. 

Amphibious commandos were also reported to have landed near the Black Sea port of Odessa. Explosions, possibly caused by missile strikes, have been recorded in numerous other urban areas, including Ivano-Frankivsk oblast, which is home to the families of two of Walt's agents. Our thoughts and prayers are with them!

Russia's dictator has attempted to justify the invaion by claiming that Kyiv's longstanding request to join NATO poses a threat to his country’s security. Therefore, he told the controlled media, Ukraine must be "demilitarized". He went on to warn outside countries not to intervene, saying any interference with his plans would "lead to consequences you have never seen in history."

So far, there have been no meaeningful consequences. The response of NATO and all the liberal democracies has been a lot of fine words, and the imposition by some of sanctions which (we are assured) will hit Vlad the Impaler where it hurts, in the pocketbook. 

Germany has frozen the controversial Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline project, but since the pipeline, finished in September, has yet to be commissioned, that means little, except to German consumers who are already paying record prices for energy.

Military intervention, it seems, is out of the question. Although some NATO countries have sent a few hundred more troops to eastern Europe, they have not been positioned in Ukraine itself, but in neighbouring Poland, Romania and the Baltic republics which look to be next in Mr Putin's gunsights.

Canada, in fact, actually withdrew the couple of hundred troops it had in Ukraine on a training mission. They are now safe in Poland, along with Canuckistan's embassy staff, who had moved first from Kyïv to Lviv, then decamped the country entirely. Chyristia Freeland, Canada's Diplomat of the Year 2018 is half Ukrainian, but doesn't let her ethnicity get in the way of liberal politics. [??? Ed.]

Speaking of liberal politics, the world awaits with bated breath for President Brandon to push the button to protect his family's extensive interests in Ukraine. Mr Ten Percent and his feckless son Hunter have had a good thing going there for years, and you'd think he'd want to spring to the aid of his benefactors. So far, except for talk of "increased sanctions", he's doing nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Sleepy Joe's reluctance or inability to do anything meaningful is probably what Vlad was counting on when he launched this attack now. With less than nine months until the mid-terms, Mr Brandon would be crazy to send American boys and girls [etc. Ed.] into another disastrous overseas adventure. Right?Yes, he'd have to be crazy! Oh... wait...

Late Wednesday night, President Trump was interviewed by Laura Ingraham on Fox News. She asked him if he thought there's "a lot of weakness in the United States", which would explain President Brandon's hesitation to take stronger action. Mr Trump said, "I think you're exactly right. I think that's what happened. [Putin] was going to be satisfied with a peace, and now he sees the weakness and the incompetence and the stupidity of this administration, and, as an American, I'm angry about it, and I'm saddened by it. And it all happened because of a rigged election. This would have never happened."

For the moment, then, it appears Ukraine stands alone. The leaders of the Western democracies are going to do little more than hold the Ukrainians' coats! So, dear readers, it's up to us to do what we can. 

How you can help

First, pray for the Ukraine. Walt recommends invoking the help of St Michael the Archangel, St Josaphat, and maybe St Vladimir, although he is patron of both the Ukraine and Russia.

Then pray some more.

After that, consider making a donation to support the work of any legitimate organization working to keep Ukraine free. If you see a crowd-funding appeal, check it out thoroughly before donating. Here are some that we know are worthy of your contribution.

Médecins sans frontières (Doctors Without Borders): a humanitarian group that’s been supporting Ukraine’s COVID-19 response 

Come Back Alive Foundation: a Ukrainian NGO (aka Save Life in Ukraine) that supports veterans and co-organizes the Invictus Games in Ukraine

Canada-Ukraine Foundation: A Toronto-based group that co-ordinates Canadian charitable aid to Ukraine.

Phoenix Wings: a charitable foundation that supplies the Ukrainian army with medical treatment and defensive equipment such as vests and helmets

Revived Soldiers Ukraine: a nonprofit that funds medical rehabilitation for Ukrainian soldiers 

Razom for Ukraine: a pro-democracy group that’s fundraising for medical supplies in Ukraine

Kyiv Independent: a Ukraine-based, English-language independent news media outlet. Walt is following the news from this trusted source.

Not only "bad guys" shoot down commercial airliners

Agent 3 e-mail to chastise me for mentioning in my coda to yesterday's piece on the apparent shooting down of Ukrainian International Airlines flight PS752 by an Iranian missile, only the downing of Korean Airlines KAL007 by Soviet air forces. Agent 3 reminds me of two even worse "incidents", and possibly a third.

How quickly we forget [YOU forgot! Ed.] the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, which crashed in July of 2017 near the border of Russia and Ukraine. The B777 -- a bigger plane than the B737-800 -- was supposedly flying at 10,000 metres (33,000 feet), at which altitude it could only have been hit by a large and sophisticated surface-to-air missile, probably the same Russian-built Tor-M1 missile system used by the Iranian military. See "Russian Missile System Suspected of Bringing Down Ukraine Airliner: Short Range, Fast and Deadly", Moscow Times, 10/1/20.

Who did that? The government of Vladimir Putin is keeping shtum, but the prime suspects were and remain the Ukrainian rebels, backed by Russia, trying to separate the eastern Ukraine from the motherland. Whoever did the dirty deed must surely have made a horrible mistake, firing on a civilian airliner. Right?

That tragedy was preceded, nine years earlier, by the shooting down of Iran Air flight IR655. On 3 July 1988 the Airbus A300 was en route from Tehran to Dubai when it was hit by an SM-2MR surface-to-air missile fired from... wait for it... USS Vincennes, a guided-missile cruiser of the United States Navy. The aircraft was destroyed and all 290 pax and crew were killed.

The large jet was hit while flying over Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf, along the flight's usual route, shortly after departing Bandar Abbas International Airport, the flight's stopover location. The Vincennes had entered Iranian territory after one of its helicopters drew warning fire from Iranian speedboats operating within Iranian territorial limits. According to the American government, the Vincennes crew mistook the Airbus for an F-14 Tomcat, an American-made jet fighter that had been part of the Iranian Air Force inventory since the 1970s. Rather a glaring error.

The US Navy claimed the Vincennes made ten attempts to contact the aircraft on both military and civilian radio frequencies, but received no response. The Iranian government said the cruiser negligently shot down the aircraft, which was transmitting IFF squawks in Mode III, a signal that identified it as a civilian aircraft, and not Mode II as used by Iranian military aircraft.

The event generated a great deal of criticism of the Paranoid States of America, and particularly Vincennes captain William C. Rogers III, for "overly aggressive behaviour in a tense and dangerous environment." Walt expects to hear phrases like that a lot, in the aftermath of this week's tragedy. In the days immediately following the incident, President Ronald Reagan issued a written diplomatic note to the Iranian government, expressing deep regret. Walt expects a similar note to be issued by the mad mullahs of the Iranian government, any minute now.

To round out this list, let's not forget Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, a B777 which vanished into thin air... or deep water... five years ago this coming March, with 239 souls aboard, now presumed dead. The Malaysian government declared the loss an accident, but no-one has yet been able to say for sure what happened to the large airliner. I continue to believe that the plane was shot down by either Indian or (more likely) American forces operating from the US military base on Diego Suarez. That would have been an accident... of course.

Which is healthier -- eating pizza or eating noodles?

You've probably figured out that not every item posted here on WWW is a Walt original. Sometimes Ed. just reposts something he or I have seen elsewhere on the Internet, with perhaps a little editing [Hey, I gotta justify my existence. Ed.] because it's bears repeating or is funny or Ed. is lazy... or all of the above. Here's one such item, which has been the subject of rants and raves on several sites today.

Tanuki, a Japanese restaurant chain popular in Russia, has apologized for a Facebook post which suggested that obese girls pig out on pizza while pinups nibble on udon (= noodles). Here's the meme.

"After going to Go-Go Pizza," says the text above the fattie, referring to a Russian pizza delivery chain. The slender brunette, on the other hand, is what young ladies apparently look like "after going to Tanuki." Who could argue with that?

Well, the usual gang of social justice wienies, that's who. They were quick to complain about fat-shaming, racism (???), and invasion of privacy, since it turns out the large lady is a real person, Whitney Thore, "a popular US television personality who suffers from a hormone disorder [of course. Ed.] and is a tireless campaigner against body shaming." The quote is from the story on rt.com.

Naturally the advertiser caved, and deleted the offensive (to some) meme. Political correctness rules... even in Russia!