Coolest Souvenir Ever
I recall purchasing a refrigerator magnet on my first trip to Ukraine in 2012 that said “Welcome to Ukraine, home of the not-smiling country,” with a stern Slavic grandma illustration. Well, a lot has changed since 2012, including the preponderance of smiles I see (yes, stoicism is typically followed by a smile, if you are […]
Yousef and Laila in Hammamet, Tunisia
Let me tell you a story about Yousef and Laila in Hammamet, Tunisia. As an experiment, I used AI to help plan part of this trip. For the record, no travel planners were harmed in the making of this itinerary; I still do all my own research and always have. AI suggested Hammamet as a […]
When is anti-Semitism actually anti-Semitism?
Here is a recommended link to an excellent article from the newsletter “The UnPopulist” about the recent resurgence of anti-Semitism and it’s frequent misuse by Christian nationalist, MAGA conservatives and Israel’s war mongering extreme hard right wingers. Anti-Semitism is being conveniently screamed by extreme right-wing war-mongers to deflect any legitimate criticism of alleged (and likely) […]
The Kyiv Independent Puts Current U.S. Journalism to Shame
I finally met some of my greatest professional heroes—the journalists of the Kyiv Independent. If you are not familiar with the Kyiv Independent, you should be. These courageous reporters broke away from a rival news organization after many resigned in protest over an oligarch owner’s interference in editorial decisions. Determined to build a genuinely independent […]
The Once Mighty New York Times Goes Full On ruzzian Propaganda
I’m sharing this because some of you are probably readers of the #TheNewYorkTimes I stopped subscribing a while ago because I don’t believe they can be trusted and are almost as bad as the #NYPost. At least with the NY Post, you know you’re getting a biased, incomplete, partisan version of the truth or an […]
Amyl and the Sniffers Show – Smells Like Punk Rock To Me
It’s cliche, albeit inaccurate, to say “punk music is dead.” In the past, to counter this false narrative, I’d point to bands like Rancid or musicians like Laura Jane Grace from Against Me. But then I’d just be proving their point. Rancid’s seminal “And Out Come the Wolves” album exploded onto the scene in 1995, […]
The Careless, Uninformed, Glib & Damaging Dissemination of Disinformation – Rita C. Article
A Facebook “friend” who claimed to be a journalist wrote an article about the Russian War in Ukraine with so little credibility, journalistic standards, and Russian disinformation that I felt I had to respond to at least some of the disinformation. See Rita’s “article” Rita C. Article (The Yellow Highlights are the excerpts we addressed […]
The Sleazy and Slippery Slope of Appeasement
For the first time since the full invasion, the United States voted against a UN resolution condemning Russian aggression against Ukraine. Marco Rubio, the once proud son of Cuban Immigrants and anti-communist hawk, said, “We didn’t feel it was conducive, frankly, to have something out there at the UN that’s antagonistic to either side.”He defended […]
Why I wore a tie for the first time in years
PART ONE – WHY THE CAUSE? A few weeks ago, I wore a tie for the first time in several years because I had the privilege of advocating before elected U.S. Senators and Congresspeople’s offices and staffs for a cause I cared deeply about. The cause was to convince U.S. Congresspeople and Senators about the […]
Chicken Soup for the Soul – Will they Walk the Walk in Ukraine?
– From Cynopsis “Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment’s premiere of the Ukrainian fantasy series “Cossacks” arrives on Crackle on September 1. Directed, written, and shot on location in Ukraine and featuring a cast of Ukrainian actors, “Cossacks” is a 12-episode sword and sorcery fantasy series” Hmm. Is this a good thing or tone-deaf, given the […]
“20 Days in Mariupol” is tough but “must see” journalism and filmmaking
I went to see the film “20 Days in Mariupol.” It has taken me over a week to write about the experience, not because I have been so busy (though I have) but mainly because I couldn’t quite work out what to say about a film that was so… And therein lies the issue. […]
Hey Aaron Lewis (Stain’d) – Can you hear Putin now?
Ukraine accuses Russian snipers of abusing child, gang raping mother Apologies for the jarring headline, but we do no one, especially ourselves, justice when we choose to look away. This was reported early in the war soon after it occurred. Russian propagandists, apologists, and the just plain ignorant, blithely waived it away as western […]