Tunnels in Gaza?

       David Leonhardt and Lauren Jackson wrote this morning(in NYT) about HAMAS' underground world in Gaza created as a response to Israeli aerial bombs. The network is extensive and allows terrorists goons to hide in relative security during air raids.

     Tunneling for protection and security is nothing new in warfare tactical and strategic planning, especially today with vast technologic -capabilities around the world, even in the hands of terrorists like HAMAS. History is replete with stories of tunneling. As example, the Vietnamese Communists were driven to excavate vast underground complexes not only for fighters, but their families and villages alike. The famous tunnels of Cu Chi  offer classic tours of these underground maze-like structures that survived the American War in SE Asia over 50 years ago. On a recent tour there, the Mayor observed some of these hiding places.

        During WW II, the Nazis and German engineers sought fortifications that could withstand aerial bombardment in many places, including the well known Atlantic Wall in western France. The southern limit of the Wall bumped up against the Pyranees Mts. of Spain/France. Often, the Nazis repurposed Medieval forts due to their strategic positions. An example in this case is found in the port city of St. Malo. The Mayor recently on tour in the area was able to examine the interior of this WW II relic. The engineering was incredible despite being constructed/reconstructed during wartime. Over the top of the fort in places, was solid concrete, steel reinforced, that was 18' or 15 m. thick. Despite being hit directly by aerial bombs, the interior was never breeched.  The key to survival underground is, of course, ventilation: intakes and exhausts. The Nazis had electric fans providing both and were capable of operation w/o electricity in the event of failure.

        On the Bay of Biscay Coast of France, Nazi architects built covered berths for the Atlantic U-Boat flotilla that had formerly docked in Germany. This advantage led to the destruction of much Atlantic ocean shipping prior to May, 1942. While the lids on these "sub pens" were not as strong as Atlantic Wall positions, it did offer limited protection.

         These historic lessons were not lost to HAMAS of their Palestinian and Iranian friends.

World Series: Game Two

       Well, down south, in the Lone Star State, the home fans were not treated to another "walkoff" home run. It was a different story for Game 2. It was a psychological boost for the visiting 'Snakes from Arizona. They blew the lead late last night, and then their reliever gave up the big homer-the Walkoff and Texas went tobed with a 1 in the Win column.

      Tonight, the Snakes got the lead and didn't  give  that lead up. The final: 9-2 clearly indicates the power in Arizona's lineup. It also highlights the pitching problems with the throwers from Texas. Bruce Bochy is not unfamiliar with rotation issues in the Series. Looking back at his handling of the Giants and their victories in the Tens: Boch' had a lot to deal with, and he mastered the pitching and made them winners 3 times.

      Can he do it again? The games will return to Arizona for 3 games, and it's always nice to win at least one away game. MAny of the players are unknowns, but already, some are earning high accolades for post season play.

     More to come; tomorrow is a travel day.  

Ukraine Targets Traitor in Crimea

       Commandos from Ukraine's forces targeted a Russyan sympathizer who was slated to be picked by the Kremlin to govern in their occupied territory in Ukraine. The man was living in a town near Yalta in Crimea. He had served in the Ukrainian Parliament some years ago, and decided to join Russyan forces when they invaded eastern Ukraine in an attempt to takeover the entire country. 

       In 2014, Little green men captured Crimea under a fake pretense offered by Mad Vlad of Kremlin, Moskva. Pro-Russyans stood by as these Little Green Men, aka Russyan army stooges, took over all administration of the area. They also established a naval base to facilitate supplies and commercial operations. They also established resorts on the Black Sea for troops' R&R.

      After the Ukrainian army went on the offensive in 2022, things changed in Eastern Ukraine and in the northwest of the country. The attempt to capture the capitol city ,Kyiv, failed and the thrust was blunted furiously by well-planned counter moves. Pres. Zelensky directed his military leaders to fight for survival of the country. They did.

     So, yesterday, the turncoat was shot twice by Ukrainian commandos, but survives. He may live on, but he'll get the message no matter: Sir, your days are numbered. We do not condone switching sides, and we know you'll always be a Traitor.

The World Series-2023

       Recall Bruce Bochy: Hall of Fame manager; guided the San Francisco Giants to 3 World Series Championships in '10', '12, '14; 9 years ago. He retired after that stretch of famous wins.

He's back!

     Down 5-3 in Game 1, it looked like the Arizona Diamondbacks would prevail against the Texans at home in Arlington, Texas. And then, after a 2-run blast in the 9th, it was tied:5-5. Extra innings would begin. After 10th, tied. And then: baseball drama.

      The reliever for Arizona had some control problems, and was replaced. The next pitcher had the message: keep it low and away from the hottest hitter on the field. The first few pitches were low and away, keeping the batter's chances of tagging one for extra bases to a minimum. And then: the walkoff; the fan pleaser; the redemption for a slow start. Bruce Bochy barely cracked a smile.

      The hometown crowd screamed with joy as the latest hero circled the bases and Game 1 is in the books: Texas 7, Arizona 5. Today: repeat @ 5:00pm Pacific DT.( 7:00pm Central).

Phillies GO HOme After Loss

         Going into the NAtional League Championship series, the Phillies looked unbeatable. What a lineup: speed, power, youth, and experience. The team had it all. And then, it didn't. The Arizona Diamondbacks(aka 'The Snakes')(the 'Rattlers') put the Phillies in the record book as losers of Game 7, a shocking role and an even more shocking loss. 

        They were ahead early, the Phils, then AZ scored 1. Then scored 2 more; now 3-2. Then AZ scored again, now 4-2. LAte in the game, the Phillies loaded the bases and it looked ominous for the Snakes. But, a reliever put down the threat, and the Phillies didn't score. And they disappointed their home town believers who must wait until next year to try again.

World Series Teams: Texas Rangers v. Arizona Diamondbacks. Get your Snake bling now.

Gov. Newsom Meets Xi

       Ever the publicity hound, California's gad fly governor was in China this week to smooze with China's dictator, Xi Jin Ping. Reports indicate he was looking for cooperation on energy use and reduction in conjunction with California. You know, that "Big State" on the 'Left Coast"?

     Maybe Gov. Gruesom has his eye on a higher political position, like Hillary once did many years ago. Or maybe the Gov is trying to open markets for CAlifornia produce? Or California chips. Oh, Pres. Biden just limited China's access to certain chips. Oh, well.

Zuck and Company Back in Court

       META(aka Facebook, WHatsApp, INstagram) was sued in Federal court yesterday by 33 states' Attorneys General, alleging in the 230 page complaint, that META and its policies were harming minor children. The District of Columbia also files suit there and was joined by 8 more states.

       Mark Zuckerberg will have lots to talk about this morning while sipping his coffee drink of choice(espresso? Decaf? Latte/half caff?). Seems that internal policies acknowledge that META focused on children as a market niche ripe for corporate exploitation. The lawsuit contends also that the actions were harmful and were not obvious to under age children who were drawn into extended use(the 'rabbit ' hole). Of course, they could then be flooded with paid advertising, the mothers milk of tech companies.

      Other social media platforms, eg. TikTok,etc. will also be scrutinized using the same analyses. Adults who use the social media vehicle understand most of the methods used by tech to entrap and manipulate users. Children do not. The lawsuit also asks the court(s) to compensate the states over the harm caused by members of the class.

       In Europe, many of the EU countries have already focused their attention on big tech and its minions there. The EU is directing much of its efforts to protect the members from harm caused by monopolistic practices generally by blocking competition across the many platforms.

     As an aside, the city of San Francisco, cancelled the operating permit for Cruise self driving vehicles after one of their vehicles ran over a pedestrian who had already been injured by another vehicle! Hmmm. Not ready for prime time in SF.

Judge 3, Trump Lawyers-0

      There's a pattern here.  Losers are recognizing that they have limited options in front of the state of Georgia's judges. Cop a plea or go to trial and take your chances in front of jurors who no doubt know about your efforts to harm the voters in Georgia who voted in the 2020 presidential election. Another lawyer who happens to be a woman, Ms. Jenna Ellis, decided she would rather pay a fine, take years of probation, and write a letter of apology to the state's voters. She admits her guilt, and must pay restitution in the amount of $5,000. Chump change, but we know her record of the plea will follow her to the grave.

     So be it; as the orange-Haired Baboon sits in court today in Manhattan, staring at his former fixer, the excon, Michael Cohen, will soon have to listen to a verdict that may force him to add "loser" to his real estate resume. Ahhhhh, the legal system. So complicated here, but sometimes it does work to the benefit of all.

Will Bibi Invade Gaza?

      This question is on the lips of many political players around the world, many of whom inhabit rat holes in the Middle East. The Mullahs in Iran are one group, various followers of one form of islam or another are a large part, and some Christians and agnostics round up that group. Any and all actions will play a role in the future of Israel and its neighbors, as always.

    Mr. Netanyahu has firmed up his leadership at home but after meeting with Mr. Joe Biden in Tel Aviv, he knows he must proceed with caution. While international sym[athies lean in Israel's favor, many supporters of Palestine have had their voices heard, especially among liberal/progressives around college campuses in the U.S.

     The moral dilemma has been a topic for the pundits. To seek revenge or not is the question. How do rational people respond to barbaric acts committed by terrorists against innocents/civilians? How can their leaders be held to account? How does a nation proceed when hundreds of hostage lives are at stake? How does a nation deal with the source of this evil-Iran's leaders? ANd the threat of expansion of hostilities is ever present. Will Hezbollah in Lebanon raise the ante by invading Israel from the north? Hmmm. Bibi has his plate full. And many at home inIsrael have no sympathies for his leadership, given his legal troubles brought on by his own actions.

       It seems now that the media is focused on current conditions among civilians in Gaza. No water, fuel, or food has been allowed to enter Gaza. A hospital was targeted by Hamas, killing hundreds of sick and injured residents there. An errant missile fired toward Israel the likely cause of the destruction.

      What would an invasion accomplish? Will there be justice done? Will HAmas leaders be captured? They don't even live there; they live in luxury in QATAR. Hmmmmm. Maybe Israel should invade Qatar instead.

       Events change by the minute. Keep an eye out.

Another Trump Lawyer Cops a Plea

       Kenneth Chesebro, a HARVARD lawyer, was in court yesterday in Georgia. He is one of the 19 defendants charged under Georgia's RICO laws with conspiring to tamper with election results in the 2020 presidential election. He pleaded GUILTY.  "Yes", to the charge of conspiring to create slates of fake electors to support Bad Hair Trump in Georgia and several other states to keep the Idiot in power. Can you imagine?

      A HARVARD -trained lawyer, joining with the likes of Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani to keep the worst president in our history in the White House. It defies all reason. Did he really attend HARVARD LAW? Did he pass a bar exam somewhere? Where does Trumpy find these low lifes? What rock was he hiding under before he landed in the White House?

     So, he pleaded to 1 felony charge of conspiring to file false documents. Ha! This plea bargain was agreed to by counsel so that the old scumbag might be able to maintain his membership at the bar. Ha. Who would hire this dirtbag? Oh, maybe Republicans. As part of the "deal", Mr. Cheesey will testify for the prosecution. Hear that, Trumpy? He's going to spill all the actions and info about Jan. 6th. Kenny Cheesey accompanied that other Texan, Fat Alex Jones, to the Capitol on Jan. 6th. It does not appear he entered the building during the march into the history books. Will he be enshrined on Harvard Yard? Will he give ethics lectures to law students eager to learn about lawyering in the 21st Century? Will Kenny Cheesey go online to find like-minded dates who like lawyers?

     Oh, by the way, Kenny was named by Federal prosecutor Jack Smith, as a co-conspirator in the federal case against Jan. 6th insurrection action. Hmmm. He may never have to testify from the witness stand, but he will have to spend the rest of his life trying to answer his own question: Why did I do this, a self-inflicted wound that will never, ever heal?

     Trumpy: can you feel the noose tightening around your pencil neck?

Journalist Arrested in Russya:Again

      Another American journalist has been arrested in Russya. Hmmmm. Seems like it is becoming a thing there: see an American- make an arrest. She will join American journalist Evan Gershkovitz, already behind bars.

      This pattern is becoming a tired example of Russyan statecraft: deny human rights; deny international regulations; thumb your nose in face of criticism; buddy up to the likes of North Korea's KIM family, and Xi JP's Beijing gang of Communists.

Lovely way to end the week.

Sidney Powell: Copped a Plea

         The 68-year old motor mouth lawyer(really?) of Donny Trump's White House legal team, plead guilty in court in Georgia in front of a judge. She plead guilty to 6 counts of tampering with election results in the 2020 Presidential election in Georgia. As part of the plea deal, she has agreed to testify in court for the prosecution's case against the former president(Orange -haired baboon) and his team, eighteen of whom also face prosecution, in the election tampering case.

      How does a 68-year old women end up in these circumstances? Not easy. One has to work at it; has to focus; has to plan moves to make this situation evolve in one's favor. She did all of this, for a long lead up to the court appearance. She was a darling of the election denier squad; the FOX media coalition, the Murdoch family of corporate shills-for-hire; and the Tucker Carlson(San Francisco's finest contribution to the media of the 21st century) brigade of imaginative content creators who work to fool uneducated viewers across the USA landscape.

      The Georgia prosecutors cut a deal, as per usual, to get her cooperation to testify against her co-conspirators. So, the felony charges were reduced to misdemeanors; she will be fined $6,000, and be on probation for 6 years; she must apologize to the voters, and make certain statements of her guilt in court during the trials of her brigade of perps who supported the ex-president in his attempts to overturn the election results in the state of Georgia. What a nice way to end an otherwise standard law career. What was her thinking, anyway? 

      Did she believe her own delusions? Was she force fed lies which she believed or wanted to believe to justify her actions? Too bad for her; but not really. She deserves all of this; she deserves to accept responsibility for her actions; she deserves to know and show what happens when individuals try to play in the big leagues with only minor league experience. She is not alone here, and 18 others will also have their day in state court.

     Good luck. No, a pox on your lives for this aberration of responsibility.

The Holyland of Yesteryear

    What did things look like in the Middle East when things there were British, somewhat.

The coast of the Holyland-ca. 1906

The Eastern Med/Golden Crescent-ca. 1906

see Gaza City, lower right

National Assoc. of Fraudsters/ eh, Realtors

        The Supreme Court will take up the issue offered by plaintiffs that the National Assoc. of Realtors, based in Chicago,IL., has violated the Sherman Antitrust Act(that old act named for the distinguished brother of a more distinguished Sherman-Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, liberator of the southern Rebel States). Plaintiffs will argue that policy and practice of the N.A.R. harm clients and brokers who must pay fees to access not only the term "Realtor", but also the information regarding sales price(s) and agency fees paid to the agents of buyers and sellers.

       Recent leadership changes(resignations at the top) have focused on internal rot. The hubris noted among N.A.R. leadership apparently took over what had been a respected professional association, dedicated to service in an industry plumped up by inflationary figures across the real estate landscape. Must a 6% commission exist in a multi-million dollar transaction that requires little professional oversight? Hardly.

      An initial lower court ruling was over turned by the 9th Circuit Court(out West). That decision has now been kicked upstairs to the Supremes. Comments from the 9th Circuit indicate that both buyers and sellers have been harmed by monopolistic practice of the N.A.R. Additionally, the N.A.R. has convinced sitting members of Congress that their practice(s) are legal. (See Sen. Al Padilla(D-Cal) and his donor list). Redfin has disassociated itself from the N.A.R., saying that the rules do not favor agents. Many more groups are following that lead. Fines have already been imposed in the millions.

      The business bible, The Wall Street Journal has come out in favor of plaintiffs case- a rarity in the business world of finance. The editorial lists many of the broad reasons that the case has merit on  its face. It's too soon to predict the decision, but early work seems to support plaintiffs.

      Sen. Al Padilla is sleeping less these nights.

Gag Order Against Trump Imposed

       Well, the judge did her job and issued the gag order against the former president. The Trump lawyers may appeal, but for now, the idiot has to restrain his base instincts. He cannot disparage Special prosecutor Jack Smith or his family; he can criticize citizens of Washington, DC, but not memebrs of the judge's staff. Judge Chutkan will issue a written order shortly, but has issued an oral statement with the outline of the order.

    Well done, Judge Chutkin. Mike Pence will be pleased also as she included him in restraining Trump's statements. Trump cannot mention Pence's role in the January 6th case, but only his role as a presidential candidate.

      We'll see what the outcome of this restraint on speech does to the little Trump brain.

San Francisco 49ers: Come back to Earth

       Well, there was a chance late in the game with the Cleveland team opposing the San Francisco team. After going ahead on a late game field goal 19-17, it looked bad for the boys from the Bay. However, QB Brock Purdy got his team back to the 41yard line- within field goal range. It looked like their win streak of 5 straight would continue with win No.6. After running the clock down a bit more, the kicking team came onto the field to deliver the game winner. The ball is placed, the kick is up and it's---------------------------------------------WIDE, and off the mark. 49ers go home, losers. Cleveland fans and Cleveland players celebrate appropriately.

     Coach Shanahan can only shake his head as he comremplates next week's game No. 7. 

Real Estate Chinese Style

          Have you purchased any real estate in Communist China lately? Have you thought of investing dollars in Chinese corporate real estate companies? Has anybody noted that real estate corporations in China are going into decline at a rapid pace? Hmmmmmm. What does Beijing say about this?

       Well, one response has been to harass international shipping in the South China Sea. This sea has recently been claimed by Beijing's Communist leaders as home waters. Hence, the PLA has claimed exposed rocks around Scarborough Shoals as Chinese territory. The PLA has paved over some of these rocks to make--------Airports(s). Large enough to handle large jet aircraft/military type aircraft.

     Oh, and they've threatened Philippine Is. fishermen aboard their boats in the vicinity. Business as usual for Communist China, run by dictator for life: Xi Jin Ping. He must have a very good argument against all political adversaries. He has been able to sell himself as the modern day savior. Savior? Or ?????

     So, China real estate has been overbuilt. Miles of 40-story condominium towers sit empty, waiting for buyers who have disappeared from the scene. These towers, shells of apartments, sit unfinished. When they are sold to individuals, they include nothing at all. They don't have doors or windows. They have no air conditioning; they have no appliances, they have no heating for those frigid winter nights; no light fixtures; no toilets, no showers. What did the purchaser buy? A SHELL of a place. After completing the purchase, the new owner can start saving to finish his "place". The Mayor talked to several of these "owners" when visiting PRC a few years ago. They told of the long wait before actual move-in takes place. The slow process of buying all the necessities a "home" owner needs. But these days, the home owners not only can't afford the initial buy, they can't begin to think of the years of 'finishing' required. Hence, the implosion of the vast real estate empire(s) fostered by Beijing.

      Have a nice winter Mr. Xi JP.

Judge Tanya Chutkan : In the Courtroom

         Let's start the week with a peek into the legal world surrounding the least American in the country today: the Orange-haired Baboon. His legal team of typical lawyers is arguing in front of Judge Tanya Chutkan of the Federal Court of Washington, DC. She is presiding over the case of Mr. Trump's indictment regarding the Jan. 6th Insurrection. She is an experienced professional with considerable legal skills. She will listen to oral arguments this morning regarding a potential gag order against Trump to silence him making anymore statements concerning the legal proceedings.

       Trump already has a gag order against him from New York State where he is on trial for alleged real estate fraud involving inflation of his real estate valuations. There he made statements pointed at members of the D.A.'s staff and certain witnesses. Trump has also made public statements regarding former members of his own White House staff, including his vice president, Mike Pence. His lawyers say that they can control his speech without the gag order. This, we know from recent history, is fallacy, through and through. One of the Trump legal team said Trump would abide his own suggestions about speaking out. And this he says to the judge today! Trump also said disparaging statements regarding Gen. Mark Milley, former AG Bill Barr, and others. Trump deserves a gag order.

       If the judge issues the gag order, his brain-dead supporters will take note. They will flood the internet with endless accusations that the Judge is biased against their leader. Others will note that the Judge is serious. Others will accept that Trump is a a wack job. Republicans will scurry about and get more confused than they already are. Corporate shills will swill more cocktails on 14th St, NW, in DC and lament the passing of "the good 'ol days".

      And the citizens living in the State of Georgia will await their turn in the limelight.

Baseball: Who is Mr. October Now?

      It would appear that the answer to this question is a Mr. Trea Turner of the Philadelphia Phillies. He just went 4 for 4 including a home run to lead his team to the division championship series, one step from the World Series. Mr. Turner used to play for Los Angeles, but was traded to the Phillies, to join a few other mega-stars, Bryce Harper among them.

      His efforts at the plate instill pride in baseball fanatics who long for individuals who can compete at this very difficult game. As we often hear-it looks easy, but it is not: not for us former players, or for them that were able to make it at the major league level. The rules of the game have changed a bit since last year: we have a pitch clock timer; we have the "no shift" rule meaning a team can't load one side of the in field or the other, and what I consider the most important: an infielder can't back up into the outfield(the grassy area beyond the dirt of the infield) to increase his chances of stopping a through hit.

     So, the games are quicker by tens of minutes; there's more action on the bases, and pitchers can use their signature repertoire to thwart hitters.

Good for baseball. Go watch it.

Hamas Does What it Does

       So, we have the ISIS imitator group-HAMAS- pursuing a scorched earth policy in Israel. Hmmmm. Ok, you want international publicity. Yes, you are uneasy ruling your landscape with authoritarian dictates that the locals are resisting. Solution by HAMAS: Murder.

       So, the leaders of HAMAS decide to launch a campaign in Israel where the government of Mr. Netanyahou is having its problems, causing unrest in the state. "Now is the time to strike", leaders of HAMAS say. Small bands of armed terrorists moved across the border from GAZA and infiltrated numerous undefended villages and towns where they began their inhumane efforts to terrorize Jewish citizens living peacefully in their homes.   

    The terrorists lived up to their name and picked easy targets: unarmed civilians, often children and women, and the elderly; groups that were not trained in self defense efforts other than to flee on foot. The terrorists went house to house, systematically shooting/killing residents, entire families in some cases. Evidence found later clearly indicates the only goal was to create terror among the Israelis. And they did. And now the mission of the civilized world is to eliminate HAMAS, all its leadership and all its members, forever.

    Remember ISIS? They were on the rampage in Iraq, shocking the world with their peculiar methods of mass murder. Now HAMAS has exposed the same strain and it, too, will suffer the same fate as ISIS. Yes, there will be casualties among the Palestinians; they will suffer, but the world owes them nothing. The leaders will be executed when and where they are found, as they should be. The world has enough problems without the HAMAS group.

WE support Israel and Israelis.

Indigenous Peoples Day

     Let's not forget Europeans just yet.

Where There's Smoke, There's---CHINA

        Hi kids: look what we have for you today: the latest vaping craze in Barbie-like colors that are soooooo cool. Here, try one. Hmmmmm. Sounds like a marketing campaign. Some of us can recall when tobacco companies hired young women to give away cigarettes on street corners in major cities; the better to "hook" you.

      Now, it's a bit easier. Distribute the vape pens where the kids are: school. Doesn't get any better than a location spitting distance to the cafeteria. So, America has to face the fact that China is not our friend. Again. The newer vapes are manufactured in China, no doubt close to the Pacific coastline, which we share. The pens are flown in, floated in, driven in from China. Oh, they are banned in China. Hmmmmm. Telling, isn't it. Bad for Chinese; good for ----American kids. Victory for the PLA; victory for Xi JP. Victory for State-run Communism. (Wait, don't mention real estate). Very bad.

      The culprits are in the form of two recognized products called Elf Bar and Esco Bar. They are found in most stores despite repeated warnings by the F.D.A. Brian King, director of tobacco products enforcement efforts, has little power to stifle the flow of these Chinese-made vapes. Schools around the country need to send a message to Washington that China must pay a price for manufacturing products shipped without controls to the world. Enough of this economic/cultural warfare. Does one think the Philippine Island nation is unaware of what China is doing around the South China Sea?

     Really; Americans are not beholden to Chinese markets or Chinese government policies. Enough Lina Kahn. Enough Antony Blinken. Enough Janet Yellen.

SBF at Court

       Crypto genius? Sam Bankman-Fried is on trial. Today is day 5 in the courtroom. Things are not going well in that venue. Defense lawyers have been admonished by Judge Kaplan, whose job it is to protect the jury from abuse by all lawyers in the courtroom, including the prosecutors. SBF's lawyer has been told to curtail his statements to the court that are repetitious. Mr. Goodwell has not the experience or the acumen to deal with an experienced jurist as Judge Kaplan.

      Mr. SBF is probably getting opinions from his two parents-both law school legal beagles from Stanford University Law School(Please, please, say the Stanford provosts-don't dwell on their "former" affiliations with our institution). He's probably hoping for a miracle; but knows deep in his black heart he's toast and will spend most of his youth behind bars in Sing Sing, or maybe get lucky and spend time with Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. Whatever.

     Liquidate your crypto tokens/bitcoins.

Vladimir: What's Happened to your Ruble?

        The world has been forced to look at another deadly conflict between neighbors in the Middle East. This has put Russya's invasion of Ukraine off the front pages worldwide. However, for those Ukainians fighting for their own survival, the reality is in front of them. On the same token, those supporters of the Kremlin have had to face a turn against their own financial situation(s): the ruble's value is in the "Toto" as  we say out West.(Toto  is the premier manufacturer  of toilets and bidets in Japan.)

       What? How can this be? Is not Russya one of the top exporters of oil(energy) in the world today(yesterday and tomorrow)? And isn't the Kremlin ruling as a dictatorship run by a madman? Yes, it is. So, now we have oligarchs, tech heads, everyday vodka drinkers facing a sharp decrease in their new worth. Remember when the Kremlin chortled about the effects of sanctions of the West on the economy of the largest country in the world? Remember when Mad Vlad met with his Chinese 'Bro'-Xi jin Ping? Hmmmm. Now China's economy is getting a little sluggish and could fall into a deep recession any day now as the property market descends into the "Toto". Hmmmmm. Maybe all is not well in the Asia area. Asia area: Vladivostok on the Pacific Coast to St. Petersburg on the Gulf of Finland/Baltic Sea. Quite a stretch.

       Meanwhile, back at Kremlinville, Mad Vlad continues to shrink from the public. Hear the clicking sound? He's rattling the ballbearings in his hand. The assassination of the WAGNER Group leadership is still fresh in the minds of the military, the mercenaries, and the public in Russya. They've barely had time to digest these cold, hard facts when the Ukraine army continued to recapture area formerly occupied by the Little Green Men of the Kremlin's Special Operation.

      Mad Vlad's plans have been upset. He's no longer front and center on the world Stage. He's been 'upstaged' by Murderous forces from Gaza who make sport at Iran's behest by murdering innocent civilians in Israel. Retaliation has begun and will get very ugly in a very big way, as it should. Yes, there are innocent Palestinians who are prisoners of Hamas:trapped by a regime whose only existence is enabled by Iran. Perhaps Mad Vlad will rethink his plans. NOT.

      So, Russyans: count your rubles-you now need 50% more than you did a few months ago to buy the government-provided white gas to dull your senses.

Russya Rains Missiles On Ukraine Village

      A small village near Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine with barely 300 residents was the 'target' of a Russyan missile barrage yesterday. The location of impact was the commercial building in the center of the town. It was bustling with residents conducting daily affairs. In an instant, the entire building was destroyed. 51 locals are dead with several children among the dead.

       Clearly, now, as if the world needed anymore evidence of modern cruelty, sadism, barbarity, inhumanity, or acute mental illness, the actions of the Kremlin are in sharper focus: Putin is a madman and the world is in serious peril.

     Wherever they are found, citizens of this regime must be returned immediately. The world cannot endure Russya or Russyans anymore. Their complete disregard for human life marks their insanity. Send them home now, where they belong; where they can poison themselves with state issued -vodka to numb themselves until death comes.

Enough.