Volodomyr Zelenskyy

Posted on March 16, 2022 by Les
Volodomyr Zelenskyy
by Adam Johnson

This morning, I listened to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy speak to the U.S. Congress from a secure location in Kyiv. He appeared before them, sitting at his desk, wearing an olive drab military t-shirt. There is no doubting that he is a leader at war, fighting for his people and nation, and in turn, Western Europe and democracies around the world, including our threatened democracy.

Here is Zelenskyy’s address. Whether you listened to him earlier or not, reading his address is worth the time. He asks us to think globally. Not as citizens of a particular country, but as members of a world-wide community dedicated to democracy, freedom and human dignity.

Mrs. Speaker,
Members of Congress,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Americans! Friends!

I am proud to greet you from Ukraine, from our capital – Kyiv. From a city that is under missile and air strikes by Russian troops. Daily. But it does not give up. And it didn’t even think to give up for a single minute! Just as dozens of other cities and communities in our country, which found themselves in the worst war since World War II.

I have the honor to greet you on behalf of the Ukrainian people, brave and freedom-loving people. For eight years they have been resisting the aggression of the Russian Federation. They sacrifice the best children – sons and daughters to stop the full-scale Russian invasion.

Now the fate of our state is being decided. The fate of our people. It is being decided whether Ukrainians will be free. Whether they will preserve their democracy.

Russia has attacked more than just our land and our cities. It went on a brutal offensive against our values. Basic human values. It threw tanks and planes against our freedom. Against our right to live freely in our country, choosing our own future. Against our desire for happiness. Against our national dreams. Just like yours, ordinary people of America. Just like those of everyone in the United States.

I remember your Rushmore National Memorial. The faces of your prominent presidents. Those who laid the foundations of America. As it is today. Democracy, independence, freedom and care for everyone. Everyone who works diligently. Who lives honestly. Who respects the law.

We in Ukraine want the same for ourselves. All that is a normal part of life for you.

Ladies and Gentlemen!
Americans!

In your great history you have pages that will allow you to understand Ukrainians. Understand us now. When it is needed most.

Remember Pearl Harbor. Terrible morning of December 7, 1941. When your sky was black from the planes attacking you. Just remember that.

Remember September 11th. A terrible day in 2001, when evil tried to turn your cities into a battlefield. When innocent people were attacked. Attacked from the air. In a way no one expected.

In a way you could not stop it. Our state experiences this every day! Every night! For three weeks now! Different Ukrainian cities… Odesa and Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Sumy, Zhytomyr and Lviv, Mariupol and Dnipro. Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death. For thousands of people.

Russian troops have already fired nearly a thousand missiles at Ukraine. Countless bombs. They use drones to kill more precisely. This is a terror Europe has not seen for 80 years!
And we ask for a response. For the response from the world. For the response to terror. Is this too much of a request?

To establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine is to save people. Humanitarian no-fly zone. Conditions under which Russia will no longer be able to terrorize our peaceful cities every day and night. If that’s too much, we offer an alternative.

You know what defense systems we need. C-300 and other similar systems.

You know how much depends on the battlefield on the ability to use aircraft. Powerful, strong aircraft. To protect your people. Your freedom. Your land. Aircraft that can help Ukraine. That can help Europe.

And you also know that they are available. But on land. Not in the Ukrainian sky. They do not protect our people.

“I have a dream” – these words are known to each of you. Today I can say: I have a necessity. The necessity to protect our sky. The necessity for your decision. Your help. And it will mean exactly the same thing. The same thing you feel. When you hear: I have a dream.

Ladies and Gentlemen!
Friends!

Ukraine is grateful to the United States for its overwhelming support. For all that your state and your people have already done for our freedom. For weapons and ammunition, for training and funding, for leadership in the free world, which helps put pressure on the aggressor economically.

I am grateful to President Biden for his personal involvement, for his sincere commitment to the defense of Ukraine and democracy around the world.

I am grateful to you for the resolution, which recognizes all those who commit crimes against the Ukrainian people as war criminals.

However, now, in the darkest time for our country, for the whole of Europe, I urge you to do more! New packages of sanctions are needed every week. Until the Russian military machine stops. Restrictions are needed as regards everyone on whom this unjust regime is based.

We offer the United States to impose sanctions against all politicians in the Russian Federation who remain in office and do not sever ties with those responsible for the aggression against Ukraine. From State Duma deputies to the last official who lacks the morale to sever ties with state terror. All American companies must leave Russia, their market. Leave this market flooded with our blood.

Ladies and Gentlemen.
Members of Congress!

Take the lead! If you have companies in the constituencies that sponsor the Russian military machine, keeping their business in Russia… You have to put pressure. So that the Russian state does not receive a single dollar, which it spends on the destruction of Ukraine. On the destruction of Europe.

All American ports must be closed to Russian goods and ships. Peace is more important than profit. And we must defend this principle throughout the world together.

We have already become part of the anti-war coalition. The great anti-war coalition, which unites many states, dozens of states. Those who reacted in a principled manner to President Putin’s decision – to Russia’s invasion of our state.

But we have to move on. We have to create new tools. To respond quickly! And stop the war. The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24. And it would be fair if it ended in a day. In 24 hours. So that evil is punished immediately. Today the world does not have such tools.

The wars of the past have prompted our predecessors to create institutions that were supposed to protect us from war. But… They don’t work. We see it. You see it. So, we need new ones. New institutions. New alliances.

And we offer them.

We offer to create an association – U-24. United for peace. A union of responsible states that have the strength and conscience to stop conflicts. Immediately. Provide all necessary assistance in 24 hours. If necessary – weapons. If necessary – sanctions. Humanitarian support. Political support. Funding. Everything necessary to preserve peace quickly. To save lives.

In addition, such an association could provide assistance to those who are experiencing natural disasters, man-made disasters. Who fell victim to a humanitarian crisis or epidemic.

Remember how difficult it was for the world to do the simplest thing – to give everyone vaccines. Vaccines against Covid. To save lives. To prevent new strains. The world spent months and years doing things that could have been done much faster. So that there were no human losses.

Ladies and Gentlemen!
Americans!

If such an alliance, the U-24, had already been formed, I believe it would have saved thousands of lives. In our country, many other countries that need peace so crucially, that suffered inhuman destruction… I ask you to watch one video now. Video of what Russian troops did on our land. We have to stop this. We must prevent such things. Preventively destroy every aggressor who seeks to conquer another nation.

Please watch…

And in the end to sum it up.

Today it is not enough to be the leader of the nation.

Today it takes to be the Leader of the world. Being the Leader of the world means to be the Leader of Peace.

Peace in your country does not depend anymore only on you and your people.

It depends on those next to you, on those who are strong.

Strong does not mean big. Strong is brave and ready to fight for the life of his citizens and citizens of the world.

For human rights, for freedom, for the right to live decently and to die when your time comes, not when it is wanted by someone else, by your neighbor.

Today the Ukrainian people are defending not only Ukraine, we are fighting for the values of Europe and the world, sacrificing our lives in the name of the Future.

That’s why today the American people are helping not just Ukraine, but Europe and the world to keep the planet alive, to keep justice in history.

Now I am almost 45 years old. Today my age stopped when the hearts of more than 100 children stopped beating. I see no sense in life if it cannot stop death. And this is my main mission as the Leader of my people – great Ukrainians.

And as the Leader of my nation I am addressing President Biden.

You are the Leader of the nation, of your great nation.

I wish you to be the Leader of the world. Being the Leader of the world means to be the Leader of Peace.

Thank you.
Glory to Ukraine!

Transcript provided by the Official Website President of Ukraine.

When Speaker Pelosi introduced Zelenskyy, Congress stood as one applauding and cheering. It was a moment I couldn’t believe. Democrat, Independent, and Republican sharing the same emotion. It was odd, and I wasn’t certain how I felt. At an earlier time, I’d have been proud. I would have thought that this was an example of a strong democracy. This morning, I watched the apparent unanimity with skepticism. Two weeks ago, Republicans were parroting the pro Russian opinions Trump was spouting. Three years ago, these same people supported Trump’s attempted blackmailing of Zelenskyy by withholding weapons desperately needed by Ukraine to defend itself.

At the moment, Republicans cheered a genuine hero. Later, they will return to their programs to suppress voting, reinstate sexual oppression of women, ostracize members of the LGBTQ community, and destroy our climate for profit and power. How could they cheer Zelenskyy while disavowing the Insurrection of January 6th and obstructing the resulting investigations?

In the end, I was deeply moved by President Zelenskyy’s words and disgusted by the blatant hypocrisy of the Republicans.

About the Image and Artist The painting of Volodomyr Zelenskyy is by Adam Johnson. Adam told me that he paints to help process what is happening. His portraits are of people who have through their efforts or suffering have advanced our social conscience and the fight for justice. It is quite possible you have seen his dramatic portraits in the news. His image of George Floyd is iconic.

Adam is originally from Minneapolis and attended Ramsey middle-school, now Justice Page, which is in my neighborhood. Adam became a teacher. He described his career, “I taught middle school math (grades 6-8) in the South Bronx from 2010-2015, middle school math and science in LA from 2015-2019, and middle school math and English Language Developed at Hiawatha College Prep Kingfield on 38th and Pleasant for the 2019-2020 year.”

How did he become an artist? He explained, “I loved drawing and painting as a child, but I really grew as an artist when I started painting with my middle school students in the South Bronx twelve years ago. The math curriculum was not engaging students and I was searching for ways to build relationships with them. I started integrating drawing, designing and painting into my lessons and began an after school art club. My students’ self-esteem increased, they fostered new thinking strategies and I noticed an improvement in their sense of identity. We also built strong trusting relationships. I grew as an artist along with my students. I continue to paint with my students and at home in South Minneapolis. Painting is a way for me to express my emotions, beliefs, hopes and fears.”

Adam’s original paintings can be seen and purchased at the Colorwheel Gallery, 46y Street and Grand Avenue, Minneapolis. He is on Etsy and has a website MrJohnsonPaints.com.

Adam Johnson retains all rights to his artwork.

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Midnight

Posted on March 3, 2022 by Les

Defense from Atomic Attack, Look Magazine
John Vachon (Public Domain)

When I was 10 years old, I was trained to “duck and cover.” It was the Cold War era and every year the United States and the Soviet Union would test ever larger nuclear weapons. Simultaneously ballistic missile and bomber development raced ahead, just like today. The Doomsday Clock[1] ticked toward Armageddon. It was 2-minutes to Midnight. The potential for a nuclear disaster was very real. A few years later, the US and Soviet Union were eye to eye in the Cuban Missile Crisis. Again, the world was on the precipice of annihilation; just as we are today.

Both sides realized how close to destruction we had come and changed strategies. For the next two decades our two nations sparred back and forth using proxy wars rather than direct conflict. Millions suffered and countries were devastated, just like today.

And then, after two decades, the Soviet Union disintegrated and the nations behind the Iron Curtain found themselves free to determine their own futures. No longer pawns of Moscow, they chose to look West with its prosperity and freedom. For a while, there was Spring and hostilities between the US and Russia seemed to thaw.

However, by 2007 Russia was back in the grip of unreformed soviet apparatchiks and gangsters. Putin was in power. He delivered a chilling message at the 2007 Munich Security Conference that declared the fall of the Soviet Union was the greatest catastrophe of the 20th Century. Putin made it clear that his goal was to reestablish Russian dominion in Eastern Europe. From then until now, Putin has worked diligently to undermine the economic and political security of Western Europe, fragment NATO and diminish its military capabilities, and corrupt the political processes in the US. Putin used the divisions created by our own wannabe autocrats to divide us further, making us weak, ineffectual, and possibly becoming another failed state.

Since 2007, the Russian military has undergone a major upgrade, re-arming with state-of-the-art weapons. The Russians report that some of their new technologies have frightening capabilities, nuclear powered and armed cruise missiles and torpedoes, global ranges and prolonged periods of operation.

A few days ago, Putin blatantly threatened Western Europe and the US by putting Russia’s nuclear forces on an elevated level of readiness. And tonight, there are reports that Russian tanks have fired on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest nuclear plant, located in the city of Energodar. The attacked started a fire in a facility just outside the fences that protect the reactors and generators. At this time, it appears there is no radiation leakage, and the plant continues to operate safely.

Sixty-five years after duck-and-cover, the Doomsday Clock has run down to 100-seconds before the darkest hour.

  1. The Doomsday Clock was created by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in 1947. The bulletin began as a newsletter after the nuclear destruction of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Atomic scientists understood that the public and national leadership needed the clearest analysis and information to navigate the new perilous world we had entered. The Doomsday Clock first appeared in 1947. It is a simple graphic that clearly shows how close to extinction we have come. Over the years, the clock has been reset 24 times. Sometimes advancing towards midnight and others retreating. Until, recently, the closest we’ve come to Midnight was in 1953. However, tonight the clock sets at 100-seconds to Midnight. It is the worse it has ever been. ↑
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After a while

Posted on March 3, 2022 by Les
Argentine Poet, Jorge Luis Borges

Recently, I was on the phone with my cousin Lynn. We do this once or twice a week, sharing pieces of our lives. She mentioned she had been going through family pictures and papers and found a copy of a poem in her mother’s things. It is called After a while. It was written by Jorge Luis Borges. He was a noted poet, short-story author, essayist, translator, anti-fascist and much more. He’s fascinating and I’ll write about him in another post.

For now, I simply want to share his words. They spoke to me, and I hope that they speak to you.

After a while

After a while you learn
The subtle difference between
Holding a hand and chaining a soul
And you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning
And company doesn’t always mean security.

And you begin to learn
That kisses aren’t contracts
And presents aren’t promises
And you begin to accept your defeats
With your head up and your eyes ahead
With the grace of woman
Not the grief of a child

And you learn
To build all your roads on today
Because tomorrow’s ground is
Too uncertain for plans
And futures have a way of falling down
In mid-flight.

After a while you learn
That even sunshine burns if you get too much
So you plant your own garden
And decorate your own soul
Instead of waiting
For someone to bring you flowers.

And you learn
That you really can endure
You really are strong
And you really do have worth
And you learn and you learn
With every goodbye, you learn…

Poem by Jorge Luis Borges
1899 – 1986

The original portrait of Borges is by Grete Stern and is in the Public Domain.
This version I modified slightly, cleaning up spots and scratches and enhancing the image using brightness and contrast controls. It too is Public Domain.

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Putin: Be Careful What You Wish For

Posted on February 26, 2022 by Les

The odds are against the Ukrainians right now and they may loose this battle. But they’ll keep their country. The World must not be allowed to return to business as usual, after a few news cycles.

The Ukrainian people need our help, not just our prayers and our well meaning wishes. Let us open our hearts and doors to provide shelter for these brave people. And, let us provide the humanitarian and military aid they need to to defeat Russia. Also, let us raise our voices to demand that the entire world stand with Ukraine, including China. The time for national aggression and those who promote it is over.

We have a moral responsibility to stand with the people of Ukraine. They understand what we’ve seemed to have forgotten. Democracy is worth fighting for and, if necessary, dying for.

Long Live Ukraine.


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Ukraine: Whispers from the Past

Posted on February 24, 2022 by Les
Vladimir Putin, Judoka *

Last night I was up until 2:30am, watching the news coming from Ukraine. It was a very cold, dark night.

Putin has unleashed the dogs-of-war on a peaceful people. This moment has been coming for years, a gathering gloom on the eastern horizon. Now it is here and with it, the shadows from the past. From the past, I hear whispers telling me, we are about to be tested.

Some of my earliest memories are of watching the news with my dad. I was 6 and riding on a red and white rocking horse. The Korean War appeared as a grainy, black and white blur on a small TV screen. Even though I didn’t understand what I was seeing, I remember my dad’s grim expression, and knew that something was wrong.

Later, again with my dad, I watched the Cuban Missile Crisis and then the assassination of President Kennedy. After that came the Vietnam War along with numerous Fascist coups in Central and South America. All presented at dinner time on the national news. Iraq was the theater for 2 wars with the second, Shock and Awe, setting the standard for immediacy. It was the first, front seat war. I remember watching the live coverage while on the phone with my buddy Tom. We’d ordered pizzas and drank beer, while hell was televised in full color. Who can forget Wolf Blizter and the CNN team hunkering down while buildings nearby blew up?

I watched 9/11 from the first Breaking News. It was a beautiful day in Minneapolis, and warm sunshine lighted my home office. My wife, Becky, was in rural southern France, running our bicycle touring business. I called her to see if she was okay. She didn’t have a TV and didn’t know anything had happened. So, as I watched the horror in New York City, I talked to Becky, 7 time-zones and 4,300 miles away.  

The War on Terror dragged on for 22 years, with coverage ever more immediate and intimate. On the Internet, military and cellphone videos brought a video game perspective to the slaughter.

And now, there is Ukraine and Putin’s Imperial War.  Ukraine is a friendly country that has been woven into our national awareness over the last 6 years. Both us and the Ukrainians share the desire to live in a democratic nation, ruled by laws, and rid of the corruption of Corporations and moneyed Elite. In Ukraine, the legacy of the bloody Soviet Union leaves a stain and full knowledge of what Russia is capable of.

In every confrontation I’ve witnessed in my life, the media has become more technically sophisticated, with the result that I have become an ever more intimate observer. At the same time, the tactics and weapons have become more diverse and sophisticated. We now face Hybrid Warfare, a mix of hardware and software. Cyber-warfare is now in the arsenals of Russia, China, the United States and others. This makes Putin’s Imperial War different. We are no longer protected by our Oceans or the distance between the U.S. and the rest of the world.

We are already feeling the effects of the war in Ukraine. Today’s stocks and energy markets are volatile. World-wide, commodities such as wheat and corn, major exports of Russia and Ukraine will be disrupted causing inflation and instability in Africa and the Middle East. Likewise, here, inflation will be driven by higher fuel prices and their ripples through the rest of the economy.

The future has further risks, particularly to our infrastructure. We’ve already experienced limited cyber-attacks against individual companies and business and government networks. In April 2021, the Colonial Pipeline Company, the largest fuel pipeline in the U.S., was hacked. This resulted in the 29,000-mile pipeline shutting down for a week. The East Coast experienced gasoline shortages and higher prices at the pump. Colonial had to inspect it’s entire system to see if there had been any physical damage, there wasn’t, but it was a very real threat.

Inexorably, the turmoil we have seen on our screens has moved closer and closer. Now it is here.

This is the most profound test our nation has ever faced. Greater than WWII, we are now just behind the front-lines and potential targets of damaging cyber-attacks. And like in WWII, we will need to make personal sacrifices if we are to prevail against Putin and his anti-democracy mob.

Sadly, as in Ukraine, there is a Fifth Column in the US. Putin sympathizers who are attempting to undermine our efforts to defend Ukraine and Democracy with disinformation and obstruction. As in Ukraine, these people are traitors.

As I said, we are about to be tested.

Judoka is a person who practices Judo, a martial art that emphasizes discipline and the application of a specific force to a particular point.

Photo, Vladimir Putin, Judoka, is by Vasvas (Vassilis Sgs) and is covered by (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 2.0 International License.

Text, Les Phillips, is covered by (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 2.0 International License.

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Chess

Posted on February 20, 2022 by Les
The Eternal Championship

There are two guys I know, that have played chess at the patisserie for years. They are earnest in their pursuit of the game. I’ve kibitzed, as someone who only has the faintest idea how to play the game. They tolerate me and my banter. I am fond of them and their eternal championship, because that is how they play it.

Their manner of play is diametrically opposite. Like the poles of a bar magnet, always repelling and yet essential, hold the dynamic system of the game together. One player is methodical, contemplative, and moves slowly. The other has honed his skills on 100,000 one-minute games. That’s about 1,667 hours or 69 days. Their approach to the game reflects their personalities. They are the perfect match for a never-ending contest.

When I sit down at my table and see them focused on that checkered, 64-squared universe, I feel at ease. All is right with the world. I know that their moves, like the ticking of a cosmic clock, keeps the planets in their orbits and the sun on its galactic path.

I am comforted by the spiritual nature of the moment’s ordinariness. Two people, locked in a metaphysical struggle while piloting ancient pieces across a wooden plane. How many millions have spent countless hours in meditation, pondering the millions of possible moves with their possible outcomes?

Humans have gamed for at least 5,000 years. And over that time they’ve developed numerous categories of board, card, and theme games. They all capture, to some degree, the essence of what I see with these chess players. But, there are four types of games that are the foundation for all others.

Race Games, who can get around the board the quickest and often played with dice or something analogous. Examples are Pasha (Pachisi) from about 1100 BCE.

Space Games, a familiar example is Tic-Tac-Toe or Noughts and Crosses. Evidence of the game has been found in Egypt, dating to at least 1300 BCE.

Chase Games, which, for some reason, escapes me. An early version is Hnefatafl, played by the Nordic and the Sámi peoples in Scandinavia.

Displacement Games, such as Chess and Go are abstract strategy games where there are no artificial elements of chance introduced by dice or hidden information. Modern Chess, based on a 7th century Indian game, Chaturanga, began developing in Europe in the 16th century. Go, on the other hand, has been played in its original form, since 4000 BCE. No other game can claim such a heritage.

So, as I sit watching friends, match wits, oblivious to the world around them, I see a profoundly spiritual moment, created from the most ordinary experience, playing a game.

The photo was taken with my iPhone 8+ and processed using Topaz Studio and Photoshop.

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