A drone attack broke windows and caused slight injuries to two people in Moscow on Tuesday, May 30, 2023 (see story here). Russia, outraged, blamed Ukraine, which denied it was involved. But let’s say Ukraine did it — seems fair to me. After all Russia invaded Ukraine, flattened entire c[...]
Archive for the ‘Russia’ Category
May 27th, 2023 - 4:18 am § in Russia
Full-length movie: “Tanks for Stalin” (2018). Tank races! Bandits! Nazis! Saboteur, traitor, collapsing bridge!
This movie is too delicious to pass up! In the spring of 1940, Russian engineer Michael Koshkin (a real person), lead designer of the T-34 tank, drove two prototypes from Kharkiv to Moscow, a distance of 1,200 miles. Wikipedia only says the actual trip was “grueling” (here); this English[...]
Air travel in Russia (video)
Same hard plastic seats in the terminal as you find in U.S. airports. They must’ve bought them from us. Or maybe we buy them from Russia. The airplane is a bit quaint, though. How many places can you still fly on a biplane? All seats are economy-class, of course — if you can call them [&[...]
May 9th, 2023 - 1:40 am § in Russia
Putin plays victim on Russia’s big day
On May 9th of every year, Russia celebrates Victory Day, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. There’s a military parade, and patriotic speeches (details here). CNBC noted (here), “Moscow usually uses the high-profile event in Moscow to show off its military hardware, parading mass[...]
Blame irresponsible voters for this
Citizenship has rights, but also responsibilities. For example, citizens have a right to vote, but should vote responsibly, although that’s as unenforceable as anything gets. On Sunday, April 16, 2023, Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) called Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene “terribly irresponsible” f[...]
Putin would drink DeSantis’s milkshake
“In his yearlong battle with Disney,” CNN says (here), “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has repeatedly leaned on the element of surprise in his attempts to outmaneuver the entertainment giant and its army of executives, high-priced lawyers and politically connected lobbyists.” [...]
March 19th, 2023 - 9:56 pm § in Russia
Tourism, 1940 and 2023
Putin visited Mariupol, Ukraine, on Saturday, March 18, 2023 (read story here). What does that remind you of? Return to The-Ave.US Home Page[...]
March 15th, 2023 - 5:11 pm § in America, Biden, Donald Trump, Europe, Foreign Affairs, Politics, Republicans, Russia, Schools & Colleges
Foreign policy …
… is the most important task a president does. It’s literally about war and peace. But this poses a conundrum, because presidential campaigns are waged and won or lost on domestic issues; politics is very much a “what will you do for me” affair. (The softer and more polite wa[...]
March 5th, 2023 - 5:51 pm § in America, Biden, China, Democrats, Donald Trump, Economics, Europe, Foreign Affairs, Hypocrisy, News Media, Politics, Republicans, Russia
Fact-checking Trump’s CPAC lies
Journalist, pesky creatures they are, like to fact-check political speeches. CNN says Trump delivered a “doozy” at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington D.C. on Saturday, March 4, 2023 (see story here). By now, his M.O. is familiar: Portray America as a post-a[...]
February 26th, 2023 - 5:03 am § in Biden, China, Donald Trump, Foreign Affairs, Politics, Republicans, Russia
Is Nikki Haley a serious presidential candidate?
Nikki Haley wants to be president for no better reason than she wants to be president. That’s more or less the media narrative, which has focused on her struggles to differentiate herself from other aspirants (see story here), beyond being a Republican who isn’t Trump (although she certa[...]