Showing posts with label Russia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Russia. Show all posts

Saturday, October 10, 2026

The road to ruin runs on Russian diesel

A highly stylised editorial illustration depicts a glamorous auburn-haired woman standing amid a vast, devastated oil and industrial landscape. She wears a black corseted bodysuit, stockings, high-heeled boots and an open cream trench coat, clutching torn blue fabric. Tanker trains and military vehicles stretch towards burning refineries beneath a smoke-blackened sky, with aircraft overhead and Russian architecture looming in the distance. Above a faint blue-and-yellow horizon, fractured blue and gold stars evoke a shattered European alliance. Oil-slicked ground, abandoned fuel pumps and an eagle sculpture intensify the imagery of war, dependence and geopolitical ruin.
image generated via Qwen

{AP 9 October} ‘Trump strikes deal with Putin to get diesel in sharp reversal of US policy weeks before midterms’ — 

https://apnews.com/article/trump-russia-diesel-midterms-12baccc7aade559bf329079b0548c9da

Americans shall forever be hated by the people of Ukraine, and all of Europe, for their treachery in returning a known Putin stooge to high office. We are a nation of cowards, backstabbers, lunatics, and freaks. Much like Russia. Nikita Khrushchev famously declared: ‘We will bury you’, in regards to the United States, and it would appear Donald Trump is doing everything in his power to help finally make that happen.

If Zelensky continues to strike Russian oil refineries — as Ukraine hath every right to do in a war it did not begin — what happens when those attacks collide directly with Trump’s new arrangement with Putin? I fear where this road may lead. Washington is already pressuring Kyiv over its refinery campaign; should Trump ever go so far as to order American military action against Ukraine, the resulting breach with Europe and NATO would be of a magnitude scarcely imaginable. I shall not pretend to know precisely where such madness would end, only there shall be serious consequences for every American citizen, and billions others besides. A vastly wider conflict may become a likelihood.

One way or the other, it is not likely to mean lower diesel prices.  Was whining and moaning for nearly three years — whilst Mr Biden was still in office and US-Ukraine relations were still warm — about the money spent on Ukraine’s defence worth the dissolution of the post-war, Western alliance that hath largely kept peace and brought prosperity for eighty years? Was betraying Ukraine really worth risking a global war, you dumb f**ks? I honestly believe Trump may be deliberately leading America in that direction. He is a destroyer of nations, most especially his own.

This American’s conscience is clear; if worst comes to worst, as I now fear it will, then all Americans who are opposed to this treason and sickening evil shall be compelled to take some sort of action in protest. A general strike, mass protests… hell if I know what is going to happen: we only know that any uprising shall be bloody, with no guarantee that liberty and common sense will save the day. And, I believe, an uprising is exactly what Trump and his allies want. He and they have been licking their lips, ever since he was restored to power, awaiting an all-out crackdown on American society, and it matters not what the current poll numbers may be, the majority of Americans are going to go along to get along once this crackdown is implemented. Many eagerly so.

Remember, ‘y’all’ voted for this. We had already suffered through one term of this fool, which ended in disaster yet very well could have been worse still had some people possessing a degree of competence and character not remained around him to impose restraint (is anybody at all serving that role in the current regime?) Then — after four years during which he officially became a convicted felon and spent the whole time undermining President Joe Biden at every turn (in which the media was entirely complicit) — ‘y’all’ brought him back anyway; anything to avoid being governed by a black female Democrat (whom I harbour no love for, by the way). Anything to be entertained and have your favourite circus clown back on the main stage. 

The rest of us warned you exactly what was going to happen. We see it all playing out: our place in the world hath been ruined, probably beyond repair. We are at odds with Canada now, for f**k’s sake! Our military might is rapidly being depleted, our economy is collapsing (in large part due to this regime’s imbecilic fiscal policies), preventable diseases are spreading, our natural resources are being plundered, and our civil liberties are being eroded.

Was this all worth it? Is silencing and punishing fellow Americans worth the very real pain that hath already been felt, but in earnest is only just beginning? I suspect, for all too many and perhaps for some reading this, the answer is an unequivocal ‘yes’. 

The biggest lie in the universe is that people are basically good by nature. No: human nature is rotten, and human beings shall forever hurt themselves in order to hurt their enemies more grievously. Present-day #Murica may yet go down in history as one of the prime examples of this eternal truism. It is going to be an ugly fall, and I pray I somehow shall not have to bear witness to it.

Visit reddit.com/r/TheWireDesk

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Thursday, September 17, 2026

The Captain and the Kremlin: standing behind the sword

A colour photograph depicts two men conversing closely at a brightly illuminated indoor event. The taller, dark-haired man at left wears a fitted white T-shirt and has a full beard; he smiles while looking down towards the shorter, older man opposite him. The latter, dressed in a short-sleeved white shirt, rests one hand familiarly upon his companion’s shoulder as they exchange an intent glance. A third man stands out of focus behind them. Saturated red, blue and green lighting, shallow depth of field and the subjects’ proximity create an atmosphere of conspicuous personal familiarity amid a crowded social gathering.
TASS/Getty Images, c. 2017

Alex Ovechkin: a gifted hockey player, yet a fool; expresses shock at the backlash provoked by his cameo appearance in a propaganda spot for Putin’s political party; insists he harbours no pro-war sentiment, even as evidence proves otherwise. {ESPN 17 September}

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/49965058/ovechkin-says-supports-russia-not-pro-war

Not pro-war, are we? —

FTA: In the campaign video that aired in Russia earlier this month, Ovechkin stands with supporters of Putin's United Russia political party as Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov delivers a monologue warning anyone who comes at Russia "with a sword" to "expect no mercy: we will rise together, as we do today." Ovechkin, wearing a black polo shirt, stands stoically behind Lavrov.

Ovechkin's appearance earned international condemnation from critics of the regime, which has mounted an offensive against Ukraine that began in 2014 and expanded to a full-scale invasion in 2022 that has resulted in more than 1 million military and civilian casualties. In a letter to the NHL this week, Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., called on the league to consider banning Ovechkin over his participation in the ad.

—--

The series of TV advertisements features more than 30 Putin supporters. One of them is Maria Lvova-Belova, a Russian official who has been involved in the kidnapping and "re-education" of Ukrainian children. Lvova-Belova, in a televised meeting with Putin, said she had personally taken a Ukrainian boy from war-ravaged Mariupol. The International Criminal Court issued a warrant for her arrest in 2023. Ovechkin stands alongside her and others in a large group shot featured in the ads.

Academic experts in Russian propaganda said Ovechkin's appearance signifies a critical victory for Putin in his bid to justify the country's costly military campaign in Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities have accused the Russian military of murdering more than 17,000 Ukrainian civilians, including more than 700 children.

"You can't look away from the fact that Russia is perpetuating a genocide on Ukrainian people," said Sarah Oates, a senior scholar in the field of political communication and democratization at the University of Maryland. "Putin has said Ukraine and Ukrainians have no right to exist. And this is a key reason for the invasion. Ovechkin supports Putin, he supports the Russian regime, and that means he supports genocide."

Asked about assertions that Russia is responsible for a genocide, Ovechkin told ESPN, "I hope it's not gonna, it's not gonna be like that," before he and a team media relations representative ended the interview.

He hopes ‘it’s not gonna be like that’; well, either this fellow is a coward speaking out of both sides of his mouth, or else an impossibly aloof simpleton, utterly oblivious to what is happening immediately about him save when he happens to be upon a sheet of ice. 

I numbered myself among those who called upon the National Hockey League to expel all the Russian players — even the vaunted Ovechkin, presently the game’s all-time leading goal scorer and, arguably, the league’s most recognisable star — at the very onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Obviously, the NHL hearkened not, and shall decline once more to do the right thing now. All that concerns the league, the Washington Capitals, and their sponsors alike is the wringing of every last dollar out of the general public before society at large comes crashing down about us; whilst the American people have demonstrated, with abundant clarity, that they care nothing whatsoever for the plight of Ukraine and her people. 

I fully anticipate that Ovechkin shall be greeted with a standing ovation at the Capitals’ season opener in Washington — and be warmly received within every arena he visits, this expected to be his final season prior to retirement — whilst Ukrainian children continue to suffer abduction and death amid the war. 

Perchance, though, karma shall one day pay Alexander Ovechkin a visit. To anyone inclined to regard him as some manner of victim: he is nothing of the sort. —

FTA: Throughout Ovechkin's career, Capitals officials and people close to Ovechkin have suggested in media interviews that he was under pressure from the Kremlin to support the president and could not safely criticize Putin with his family living in Russia.

In 2022, after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, the then-Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said Russian players were trying to navigate "what they can say, what they can't say," and "the repercussions that could happen back home." Of Ovechkin, he said: "He gets pressure from all sides -- from North America, from Russia, from family."

"It's a cop-out," said Slava Malamud, a Russian-born former Sport-Express hockey reporter who said the Capitals revoked his press credential in 2014 after he criticized Ovechkin's "Save Children from Fascism" post.

"All of these excuses presuppose the existence of an alternative Ovechkin no one has ever seen, one who is meekly doing what a brutal dictator tells him to do," Malamud told ESPN. "That is not an Ovechkin we have ever seen. We see a man who is proud of his president, who is standing next to war criminals.

"I don't think it's a coincidence after signing his last contract that he comes out with his unambiguous support for the war."

Unlike the great multitude of Russians, Alexander Ovechkin possesseth the means to depart Russia altogether, and might well become a leading dissident voice, were he truly devoted unto peace and unto the deliverance of children from the grip of fascism. Instead, he elects to return thither when his playing days are ended, thereby demonstrating his continued fealty unto a veritable demon. In so doing, he may thereby have secured a one-way passage unto Hades. At least I hope it be so.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

The first cracks in the supply

image generated via ChatGPT

Harbingers of what is to come: isolated diesel shortages are now being reported in the former United States. {Newsweek 17 September}

https://www.newsweek.com/some-gas-stations-out-of-diesel-as-prices-surge-12454753

FTA: Photos appearing to show gas stations running out of diesel have spread across social media as U.S. fuel prices climb to record highs, but industry data does not currently show any widespread shortages.

One image posted on X showed a station in North Texas displaying an "out of diesel" notice. Another post on X said a station in Orlando, Florida, had also run out.

The images arrive as concerns grow over the availability and cost of diesel as global supplies tighten due to the ongoing U.S.-Israel war in Iran, which has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important shipping routes through which about one-fifth of global petroleum consumption normally passes. Vessel traffic has fallen sharply owing to the fighting and attacks on regional energy infrastructure since the war was launched on February 28.

However, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, cautioned against interpreting individual stations as evidence of national shortages.

"GasBuddy is not seeing any high level outages in our data, nor through our Pay with GasBuddy card," De Haan wrote on X, adding that current shortages remained within normal levels.

In a second post, De Haan warned of "false alarmists" spreading claims that stations are widely running out of diesel.

Individual stations can temporarily run short for a number of reasons, including high local demand or delays in fuel deliveries. GasBuddy's nationwide data indicates that, at least for now, the incidents being shared online remain isolated. For now, there is an increasingly tight and expensive diesel market, but not a nationwide wave of gas stations running out of fuel.

De Haan told Newsweek that reports of outages posted on social media should be taken with a "grain of salt" and that there is "lots of misinformation that is being misinterpreted or elevated."

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Monday, September 14, 2026

“If I’m paying for your wedding, at some point, you’re going to owe me something. This should be unthinkable for the son of the president.”

An opulent fantasy illustration portrays an intimate wedding celebration at a tropical seaside estate during sunset. A brunette bride in an ornate ivory corseted gown, veil, suspenders and white stockings leans against a dark-haired woman dressed in lavish crimson-and-gold regalia, jewelled headdress and black stockings. Female guests watch amid flowers, candles, champagne and abundant fruit. Beyond the terrace, a yacht crosses the glowing sea. In the foreground, sumptuous red velvet unfurls around a miniature private-island resort, above which fireworks illuminate the night sky.
image generated via ChatGPT

Russian oligarch and boxing executive maintaining close ties to Putin reportedly financed portions of Don Junior's lavish wedding. {The Guardian 14 September}

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/14/russian-oligarch-trump-jr-wedding

What is a little corruption and influence peddling among friends, eh? —

FTA: A top Democrat has demanded answers after it was reported that a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin paid hundreds of thousands of dollars toward Donald Trump Jr’s wedding in the Bahamas earlier this year.

Trump Jr, the US president’s eldest child, married Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson in a lavish three-day celebration across two exclusive private islands in May, which according to ProPublica was partially bankrolled by Umar Kremlev, a member of the Russian president’s circle.

Citing records and interviews with three anonymous sources familiar with the event, ProPublica reported that Kremlev footed the bill to rent one of the islands where a reception was held and where guests slept, along with other large expenses, including a huge firework show.

“Why did a Russian oligarch close to Putin fund Trump Jr.’s wedding in the Bahamas?” posted Robert Garcia, the ranking member and lead Democrat on the House oversight committee, on social media. “Umar Kremlev spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the President’s son. What did he get in return? We need answers.”

Kremlev has a longstanding relationship with Putin. He is the head of the International Boxing Association (IBA), a sporting body that has been backed by the state-owned Russian energy company Gazprom. According to ProPublica, the wedding payments came from an IBA-affiliated entity in Dubai that the boxing association uses for financial transactions.

In the days before the wedding party, he reportedly went to China as part of a delegation accompanying Putin, and the month prior the Russian president had bestowed him with a state honor, the Order of Friendship. The Ukrainian government has imposed sanctions on Kremlev, citing his closeness to Putin and Russian security services.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

The day the North turned away

image generated by Grok

Carney: Canada is pursuing a ‘unique alliance’, though not membership, with the European Union. {National Post 14 September}

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/canada-seeking-unique-alliance-eu-141854594.html

Canada and the rest of the free world are starting to walk away from what hath become an abusive relationship, though I daresay Trump and many in our country would take about as kindly to a formal Canadian-EU alliance as Vladimir Putin would to Ukraine joining NATO. A prospect that, until quite recently, hath been unthinkable and a mere absurdity even to conceive — namely, that the United States should invade and attempt to subjugate Canada — hath now become a genuine possibility, owing almost entirely to one evil man and the legion of besotted sectaries who follow and venerate him. Yours truly — whose paternal great-grandfather came to Boston from Prince Edward Island in 1920, and whose Loyalist forebears helped establish communities throughout the Maritimes in the late 1700s and well into the 1800s — shall die before ever consenting to so grave a madness. Unfortunately for Canada, Trump doth not require my approval nor that of any other citizen; having, for all intents and purposes, been given carte blanche to do anything he pleases without consequence, he is moving forward with his nation-killing agenda irrespective of opposition, common sense, and basic humanity.

At this juncture, I can conceive of no manner in which Donald Trump is not a tool of malign actors, domestic and abroad, seeking to weaken and ruin the United States of America. Without question, he is a phenomenally stupid man in numerous respects, yet possessed of considerable cunning in deceiving the gullible and manipulating the media to his own ends. He labours not for the American people, but rather in service to those harbouring nothing but malevolent designs. It is simply inconceivable that he should be pulling all these ridiculous stunts and picking fights with longstanding allies, were he an uncompromised, serious leader genuinely animated by the best interests of the United States in the whole of his decision-making.

And, for those foolish Americans presently so eager to board the ‘blame Canada’ train: just see how the Russian people are faring in the four and a half years since Mr Putin led them into war against their neighbouring and sister nation. The Russian death toll hath proven staggering, the fighting is no longer confined to Ukrainian soil, and the privations — such as the want of fuel — continue steadily to mount. Meanwhile, Trumpistan is mired in a senseless conflict with Iran, its military and economic resources being steadily depleted; yet this nation-destroying cabal continues heedlessly onward. 

Invading Canada would visit hell upon a continent — its northern reaches, at any rate — that hath not experienced real warfare since the nineteenth century; NATO would intervene, and the conflict would swiftly assume global proportions. World War III. And howsoever it may end, it shall not end well. Therefore, let all you loudmouths and sundry malcontents who constitute #MAGA cease your clamouring, begin to seriously weigh the ramifications, and stop demanding that everyone about you become lemmings and follow these demons over the proverbial precipice alongside you. Go ahead, though, and keep crowing about what God-fearing patriots ‘y’all’ are, whilst dismissing all others as ‘libtards’ and ‘communists’. History shall judge such folly harshly, and the consequences of such recklessness shall draw no distinction whatsoever between those who cheered it onward and those who raised their voices in warning against it.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Monday, September 7, 2026

Bridging the pariahs

A darkly fantastical Gothic illustration depicts a newly constructed road bridge spanning a mist-shrouded river between two monumental authoritarian landscapes. Military lorries travel in procession across the pale, bone-like arches towards a forbidding red-starred citadel, while an older railway bridge carries a steam locomotive nearby. In the foreground, scantily clad women in stylised military attire gather ceremonially around an enormous pair of golden scissors and a flowing red ribbon, evoking an extravagant ribbon-cutting ritual. Watchtowers, barbed wire, abandoned helmets and boots, ravens and a colossal stone handshake reinforce the atmosphere of militarisation, repression and deepening strategic alliance beneath a blood-red crescent moon..
image generated via ChatGPT

Russia opens its first road bridge with North Korea. {DW 7 September}

https://www.dw.com/en/russia-opens-first-road-bridge-with-north-korea/a-79142595

FTA: Russia and North Korea on Monday cut the ribbon on the first road bridge linking the two countries as Moscow and Pyongyang deepen their strategic partnership.

The crossing spans the Tumen River and marks another expansion of transport links between the two countries.

The road crossing is near the existing Friendship Bridge, a railway bridge commissioned in 1959 following the Korean War.

Russia and North Korea already have direct rail and air connections, but until now there had been no road bridge between them.

The new bridge is named after Soviet Red Army officer Yakov Novichenko, who is credited with saving North Korean founder Kim Il Sung's life. Relatives of Novichenko attended the opening ceremony.

Construction began in April 2025 after the project was agreed during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to North Korea in 2024.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said the new crossing should boost economic development, tourism and employment.

"I am convinced that the expansion of cross-border transport infrastructure will provide a powerful impetus for the further development of trade, economic, scientific, technological and cultural cooperation," the TASS news agency quoted Mishustin as saying by video link at the opening ceremony.

Relations between Moscow and Pyongyang have strengthened considerably since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

North Korea sent thousands of troops to Russia's Kursk region to help Russian forces repel a Ukrainian incursion launched in 2024.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Friday, September 4, 2026

The last watch before the storm

A richly detailed allegorical illustration depicts six scantily clad women defending a fortified European stronghold beneath a divided, apocalyptic sky. At centre, a barefoot blonde woman stands beside a battered shield bearing a map of Europe encircled by stars, while companions repair armour, survey the horizon through binoculars and prepare arrows and lanterns. European Union and NATO symbolism appears amid weathered battlements and military equipment. Beyond them, a devastated landscape burns beneath a colossal, dark double-headed eagle formed from smoke and flame, its wings spreading across a blood-red sky. The contrast between the embattled blue-and-gold citadel and the infernal horizon evokes a continent confronting an increasingly existential military threat.
image generated via ChatGPT

The EU and NATO have exhausted nearly the whole of their available options in confronting the terrorist state Russia. {NYT 4 September}

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/04/world/europe/russia-europe-nato-sabotage.html?unlocked_article_code=1.-lA.bhtU.jLwng-1AzHWM&smid=url-share

All-out war appears an ever more serious prospect. —

FTA: Russia’s failed drone attack on a German airport was part of a dangerous pattern of escalation that, experts and officials said, risks sparking an open confrontation with NATO — whether the Kremlin wants it or not.

German officials declared this week that the Russian state was behind the attack, in which one explosive drone hit a parked Ukrainian cargo plane and another appeared to collide with a plane taking off. Both drones failed to detonate. If successful, the attack could have killed or maimed people and led to unpredictable consequences, officials said.

It was the most dramatic in a spate of such attacks that includes plots to place incendiary devices aboard DHL cargo planes, blow up railroad tracks in Poland, and burn down warehouses and shopping centers all over Europe.

Such attacks began occurring shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, part of an effort by President Vladimir V. Putin to bring the war to the West. But they have recently increased in frequency and intensity, Western security officials said. The attacks, along with recent reports citing Western intelligence services suggesting Russia could be planning some kind of military incursion or provocation along NATO’s eastern flank, have frazzled Europe and left officials there casting about for solutions.

And how shall the former United States and its people — now under the governance of those who are, inarguably, just a bit more friendly unto the Kremlin than were prior administrations, yet still a NATO member — react if and when a wider European war begins in earnest? —

FTA: Another challenge for NATO is keeping its 32 member countries aligned. After Germany’s announcement this week, a chorus of allies voiced support and solidarity, including the American ambassador to NATO, Matthew G. Whitaker. Notably, though, his statement did not mention Russia by name. By contrast, a statement by Prime Minister Andy Burnham of Britain named Russia three times.

The omission was an example of the failure by the Trump administration to hold the Kremlin accountable. Since taking office last year, Mr. Trump has occasionally dangled the possibility of imposing costs on Mr. Putin’s transgressions, but he has rarely followed through.

Last week at NATO headquarters, Elbridge Colby, a senior Pentagon official, also omitted any mention of Russia while pushing European countries to take the lead in supporting Ukraine, part of an effort to reduce U.S. military presence on the continent. And on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blamed Ukraine for high energy prices dragging down the global economy, citing its attacks on Russia’s oil industry. He did not mention that Russia started the war and has relentlessly targeted Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure.

It is the threat of a united response, Western officials believe, that keeps the Kremlin in check. And it is that unity that Mr. Putin seems to be testing with each new attack. 

For now, Western officials insist that NATO retains its deterrent effect, though the ambivalence of the Trump administration has created uncertainty about whether it will continue to.                                                       

Personally, I do not believe Trumpistan shall remain within NATO for very much longer. Trump shall abandon the alliance when push cometh to shove, and hath said or implied as much on many occasions through the years. He was making noise of this during his first reign of terror, when there were more guardrails keeping in his lane than there are now. Alas, I see but little to encourage me that the majority of the American people would be outraged at such a move — the grave betrayal of European allies. Most citizens would be baying about not wishing to shed blood for the ‘Europoors’ — look about oneself, and one shall not have to look too hard: Europhobia is presently all the rage among #MAGA and ‘conservative’ Americans. We heard the incessant whining, whilst Mr Biden yet held office, about the billions in necessary military aid sent for the defence of Ukraine. Some years back it would have been unthinkable, but it is no longer hard to imagine the American public writ large being content to see their country break faith with its international commitments and collectively spit upon the face of all it hath purported to stand for since the Second World War. The likely consequences for such, on the other hand, are unimaginable.

What y’all voted for, #Murica.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Sunday, August 30, 2026

A Kingdom on watch

image generated via Gemini

Russia’s former deputy foreign minister warns that Russia is poised to attack ‘legal targets’ in Great Britain. {Daily Mail 29 August}

https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16090129/Russia-attack-British-drone-factory-missile-Kremlin-warns-described-UK-evil.html

FTA: Russia is poised to attack Britain – and has singled out a drone factory and a missile company as 'legal targets', it was claimed last night.

A senior adviser to Vladimir Putin warned that the 'highest levels of the Russian government' were considering a 'hybrid attack', such as sabotage or arson, rather than an 'outright military strike' that would unleash a response from Nato.

In an exclusive interview with The Mail on Sunday, Andrei Fedorov, a former deputy foreign minister of Russia, described the UK as 'evil number one'. 

Among the Kremlin's targets is a drone factory owned by a British-Ukrainian firm, Ukrspecsystems.

Details of the company's premises next to RAF Mildenhall, in West Suffolk, were made public in April alongside five other European firms that make weapons and drones for Ukraine in its war against Russia.

On Saturday night, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said: 'The reckless rhetoric and attempts at intimidation we have seen from the Kremlin in recent weeks reflects the weakness of Putin's position and we will not be intimidated.

'This has been a bad year for Putin. The front line has barely moved. Russian casualties continue to mount. The Russian people are paying a heavy price for Putin's war.

'It is also in our national interest that Putin's aggression must not be rewarded. The Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and I are working together to mobilise support for Ukraine ahead of winter.'

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Saturday, August 29, 2026

No peace on the horizon

A richly detailed illustration depicts a blonde woman standing upon a windswept hillside overlooking an expansive Eastern European landscape. Her long hair and sweeping crimson shawl stream dramatically in the wind, while she wears a short white traditional embroidered dress, lace stockings and red boots. Below, villages, farmland and a winding river extend towards distant cities crowned with golden-domed churches. The pastoral tranquillity is threatened by an immense bank of dark storm clouds advancing from the horizon, their lower edges forming ominous block-like silhouettes suggestive of military formations. Shafts of sunlight still illuminate the countryside, creating a stark contrast between fragile peace and the approaching menace of war.
image generated via ChatGPT

Ukrainian intelligence: desperate Putin may be preparing ground assault on Kyiv, possibly involving Belarussian troops. {The Kyiv Independent 29 August}

https://kyivindependent.com/russia-planning-operation-in-northern-ukraine-including-kyiv-military-says/

FTA: Russia's military leadership had been tasked with preparing several operational scenarios for an offensive in northern Ukraine, with Kyiv and Chernihiv identified as key areas, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Pavlo Palisa said on Aug. 28 during a closed-door briefing with journalists, Suspilne reported.

Palisa said the information had been verified and that the Presidential Office had received it from several intelligence sources, without specifying whether they were Ukrainian or foreign.

"Indeed, several options were considered (in Russia)," Palisa said at the briefing.

"The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has developed possible response scenarios, including measures to defend, protect, and counter these actions."

Palisa said no new offensive groupings are currently being detected in the Kyiv and Chernihiv directions. Kyiv Oblast borders Belarus to the north, while Chernihiv Oblast borders both Belarus and Russia.

"Our top priority is to prevent the conditions from emerging that would allow Russia to launch any offensive operations at all," Palisa added.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Threshold of golden light

An evocative editorial illustration viewed from within the dark, battered hold of an aircraft. A gaunt, stooped figure wrapped in tattered cloth stands silhouetted at the open hatch, facing a brilliant expanse of golden daylight. Below, a crowd gathers on the tarmac with arms raised towards the returning figure. Heavy broken chains lie discarded across the metal floor, while a thin feeding tube or cord coils nearby, symbolising captivity and suffering left behind. Stark contrasts between the oppressive, scarred interior and luminous exterior convey liberation, survival and an uncertain homecoming.
image generated via ChatGPT

Welcome tidings, for once: Massachusetts native and former Marine Robert Gilman is released from Russian custody. {AP 12 August}

https://www.npr.org/2026/08/12/g-s1-138323/former-us-marine-russia

Am grateful the gentleman is being returned home, though he shall, without doubt, bear the scars of this ordeal for the remainder of his life. Nor does he stand alone as the sole American unjustly detained within that wretched country. Any United States citizen insane enough to contemplate travel to Russia would be well advised to exercise the utmost caution. —

FTA: Arrests of Americans have become increasingly common in Russia in recent years. Concern has risen that Russia could be targeting U.S. nationals to use later as bargaining chips in talks to bring back Russians convicted of crimes in the U.S. and Europe. Five other Americans remain imprisoned in Russia with deteriorating medical issues, according to a news release from Global Reach, a group that's been working to free them.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted a photo on social media of a gaunt-looking Gilman draped in an American flag and surrounded by his family aboard an airplane.

"While we appreciate this positive step, we are still seeking the immediate return of all other unjustly detained Americans," Rubio stated.

Whilst you are about it, Mr Rubio, you might prevail upon your Russian friends to stop kidnapping Ukrainian children — though that, I suppose, constitutes a separate grievance for another occasion entirely. Welcome home, Robert Gilman. May the years that lie ahead furnish you with some measure of peace, in recompense for all that has been so grievously taken from you.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Monday, August 10, 2026

A Marine left behind

A sombre editorial illustration depicts a stark, high-walled prison cell viewed from above. A narrow barred window admits a single shaft of pale light that falls across the bare floor, illuminating a worn metal chair and small table while the surrounding walls remain in deep shadow. Hundreds of scratched tally marks cover one wall, suggesting years of confinement, and a tattered blanket lies abandoned in a corner. Within the beam of light, two shadow-like hands reach upward from the darkness without revealing a body, creating a haunting symbol of hope, isolation, and the longing for freedom.
image generated via ChatGPT

Massachusetts-born US Marine held captive by Russia since 2022 said to be near death. {WCVB 10 August}

https://www.wcvb.com/article/us-marine-veteran-from-lowell-detained-in-russia-is-near-death-advocates-say/73387211

The details are harrowing, and it is accounts such as this one that make me question whether worshipping God serves any purpose apart from the mere avoidance of eternal perdition, for He is manifestly not on the side of millions of innocent people and creatures subjected daily to tyranny and slaughter. He does, however, seem to protect the wicked. At an exceptionally old forty-eight years, I have grown thoroughly tired of feeling compelled to venerate a deity out of fear of damnation, and yet I know, in the very marrow of my being, that if I cease fearing Him and cease believing in Hell then I am going to end up there. In all likelihood, I shall end up there in any case, in the company of ninety-nine per cent of the rest of you besides. Verily, this is NOT a loving God that we are forced to mind, and forgive me for my rapidly deepening resentment towards Him. Nonetheless, I pray for Robert Gilman and his family.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Wednesday, August 5, 2026

The declassified shadow

An ornate Art Nouveau-style illustration framed by elaborate gilded floral ornament and imperial double-eagle motifs. Inside a warmly lit private study, two elegantly dressed women confer over a polished wooden desk strewn with sealed letters, maps, a compass, and a brass cipher machine. A blonde woman in a rich burgundy gown leans protectively over a seated red-haired woman dressed in emerald green as she studies a chart and holds a folded document. Beyond heavy crimson curtains, a moonlit Washington skyline is visible, with the Washington Monument and the dome of the United States Capitol standing against the night sky, creating an atmosphere of secrecy, intrigue, and espionage.
image generated via ChatGPT

White House declassifies 2016 FBI probe into whether Trump was a Russian asset. {The Dingo Daily 5 August}

https://thedingodaily.com/news/article/2026-08-05-trump-declassifies-oxford-comma-fbi-russia-asset-probe

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

The long winter of silence

A symbolic fantasy illustration of a red-haired woman standing barefoot in a dim, timeworn room, wrapped in a delicate translucent white shift as she gazes through a frost-covered window towards the snow-covered onion domes of a distant Russian city. Behind her hangs a stern military portrait, while scattered sealed letters burn upon a desk beside a black rotary telephone. Tangled red wires coil across the wooden floor towards a paper aeroplane and a raven perched on the windowsill, clutching a tiny padlock in its beak. Warm sunlight pours through the window, contrasting with the room’s oppressive atmosphere and evoking themes of secrecy, surveillance, isolation, and the fragile hope of freedom.
image generated via ChatGPT

Russia charges Telegram founder Pavel Durov with aiding terrorism and places him on international wanted list. {AP 29 July}

https://apnews.com/article/russia-telegram-pavel-durov-ukraine-a6efe4692f3415c2046f0893d114174b

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Saturday, July 25, 2026

Empty cupboards, heavy hearts

A warmly lit mid-century-style illustration shows a tall dark-haired woman comforting a much smaller blonde woman in a modest vintage kitchen. The taller woman, dressed in a cream cable-knit jumper and short beige skirt, wraps both arms protectively around the younger woman, gently cradling the back of her head as she stares ahead with quiet concern. The petite blonde, wearing a pink gingham summer dress and white sandals, buries her tear-streaked face against the taller woman's chest, clutching her tightly in visible distress. Around them, an old-fashioned refrigerator stands open with only a few basic items inside, while ration coupons and loose notes are scattered across the chrome-edged kitchen table beside a mixing bowl, suggesting growing financial hardship. Floral curtains, enamel cookware, worn cupboards, and soft afternoon sunlight reinforce the nostalgic domestic atmosphere, contrasting with the emotional weight of the embrace.
image generated via ChatGPT

#Murica: consumers adapt to the largest hike in grocery prices in fifty years by cutting back, sometimes drastically. {AP 25 July}

https://apnews.com/article/grocery-shopping-prices-food-affordability-8468c1d6532ca762bbcfa17e3c7707d1

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Secrets in the wine

A lavish historical-fantasy illustration depicts an opulent reception hall inspired by imperial Kyiv, illuminated by chandeliers, candlelight, and gilded dΓ©cor. At centre left, a red-haired woman in an elaborate embroidered gown stands beside a banquet table, her attention focused on a glass of red wine. Around her, elegantly dressed guests mingle beneath Ukrainian banners and ornate architectural details. To the right, US Senator Lindsey Graham laughs with a group of dignitaries while holding a wine glass. In the foreground, a decorative chest displays labelled bottles, while documents, medals, flowers, and crystal stemware rest upon richly appointed tables. The scene combines diplomatic pageantry, courtly intrigue, and theatrical historical symbolism within a grand ceremonial setting.
generated via ChatGPT

Trump: FBI ‘wasting time’ in investigating the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham. {NBC News 14 July}

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/rcna587500

Translation: his puppet master Putin was the culprit, so nothing to see here, folks. 

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Saturday, July 11, 2026

The lady of the Black Sea

A highly detailed fantasy illustration depicts a blonde warrior princess standing atop a rocky cliff overlooking a turbulent coastal landscape. Dressed in richly embroidered Slavic-inspired garments with an ornate blue-and-crimson cloak, decorated belt, jewellery, and leather boots, she raises an elaborate sword high above her head in a gesture of defiance and resolve. Her long hair streams dramatically in the wind as she gazes towards the horizon with determination. Below her, a rugged shoreline stretches beside dark waters, while damaged infrastructure, smoke plumes, and signs of conflict scar the distant landscape. Overhead, Saturn hangs prominently in a cloud-filled twilight sky, its rings glowing against the fading light. The composition combines heroic symbolism, folklore-inspired costume design, and epic environmental detail to create a powerful image of courage, resistance, and perseverance in the face of adversity.
generated via ChatGPT

Inside Ukraine’s campaign to cut off Crimea by air, land, and sea. {The Telegraph 11 July}

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/261ace880b5d185a

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

The threat heard round the living room: business as usual in Madrid

A richly detailed illustration depicts a warmly lit Spanish-inspired sitting room filled with colourful ceramics, wrought-iron dΓ©cor, patterned textiles, and candlelight. At the centre, a dark-haired woman stands laughing and gesturing playfully while wearing an oversized red Spanish national football team jersey. Behind her, a television broadcasts a political meeting featuring a prominent American political figure seated at a conference table. A Spanish flag hangs above the television, while framed portraits and decorative tiles reinforce the Iberian setting. On a sofa nearby, a blonde woman in a white satin chemise lies asleep among embroidered cushions, seemingly oblivious to the scene. Through an arched doorway, illuminated domes and towers rise against the night sky. The composition juxtaposes domestic comfort, humour, politics, and national identity within an opulent Mediterranean atmosphere.
generated via ChatGPT

Trump lashes out at Spain during NATO summit and threatens trade relations (never mind that US–Spanish trade is conducted through the EU, as is the case for all EU member states); PM SΓ‘nchez's office responds with a shrug: ‘Business as usual’. {The Hill, 8 July}

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5958540-donald-trump-us-spain-trade/

What is with Donald Trump's obsession with how much individual NATO member states contribute? The (now-former) United States hath always been the alliance's largest and most powerful member, and from those who have much, much is expected, as the old proverb goes. America contributes the most because it possesses the most to give militarily, and by a considerable margin — though how long that remains true once this regime finishes decimating the Pentagon and Armed Services remains to be seen.

Prior to Trump, it was scarcely controversial that the US served as NATO's lynchpin, precisely because small European states lack the resources to defend themselves alone against the alliance's principal adversary: Mother Russia. And there lies the answer to why Trump works so relentlessly to undermine NATO. This is not rocket science, yet many refuse to say it aloud, dismiss those who do as conspiracy theorists, or simply cannot bring themselves to believe it. After all this time, the possibility remains unthinkable to them: that he is Putin's puppet (or the puppet of any number of foreign and domestic adversaries) and is actively working to weaken the United States from within.

The signs have been there for a decade — from the 2016 election, Cambridge Analytica, and the propaganda mills of St Petersburg, to the investigation conducted by Robert Mueller (RIP). Have we forgotten already? Apparently so, for here we are in bloody 2026, still cursed with this unholy bastard dominating our national life, the entire country revolving around his fragile ego while the self-proclaimed tough guys around us deride anyone who objects as a ‘snowflake’ or worse, and ninety per cent of the Christians tell us Jesus will send us to pits of Hades if we reject him. 

As stated, however, once the Trump regime finishes dismantling America's armed forces, this endless argument over who is paying enough in global defence and who is not will become entirely moot.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

No one thought the fire would reach them

A dramatic fantasy illustration depicts a red-haired woman running through a devastated industrial landscape dominated by burning oil-refinery infrastructure. Her traditional folk-inspired dress, decorated with floral embroidery, is torn, mud-stained, and blackened by soot. Wind-whipped hair frames a frightened, exhausted expression as she flees across a debris-strewn roadway reflecting the orange glow of surrounding fires. Towering refinery columns and processing towers erupt in flames behind her, sending immense plumes of black smoke into a turbulent sky. Fire engines, emergency vehicles, and rescue personnel are scattered throughout the chaotic scene, while twisted wreckage and shattered equipment litter the foreground. Above the inferno looms an enormous, symbolic image of Saturn, its rings spanning the sky. The composition combines disaster imagery, mythic symbolism, and human vulnerability, creating an atmosphere of urgency, destruction, and apocalyptic grandeur.
generated via ChatGPT

Ukraine drone strike halts Russia's largest Omsk refinery, hitting key fuel producer and worsening shortages. {Kyiv Post 8 July}

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/79829

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Tuesday, July 7, 2026

The long night of Hormuz

A lavish fantasy illustration depicts six elegantly dressed women gathered within an opulent Persian-inspired pavilion overlooking a nighttime waterfront cityscape. Richly coloured silks in sapphire, emerald, crimson, gold, and violet cascade across carpets, cushions, and marble terraces illuminated by lanterns and candlelight. Intricate arches, gilded ornamentation, and elaborate mosaics frame the scene. Several women study a large map spread across a low table while others gaze anxiously towards the horizon. Beyond the pavilion, a modern skyline dominated by a towering skyscraper rises across a narrow strait crowded with warships, tankers, and patrol vessels. Fires burn along distant shorelines, columns of smoke ascend into the night sky, and a helicopter sweeps the water with a searchlight. The composition contrasts luxury, culture, and civilisation with the ominous spectre of geopolitical crisis and approaching conflict.
generated via ChatGPT

Trumpistan and Iran fire at each other again in the Strait of Hormuz: another failed ceasefire (and how many is this now?) {AP 7 July}

https://whdh.com/news/us-launches-new-strikes-against-iran-after-three-ships-were-hit-in-strait-of-hormuz/

When is anyone ever going to get it? The Iranians are never going to abide by the terms of a peace deal. America hath two options, and neither is good: either withdraw completely from the region, thereby leaving Israel and the Gulf states vulnerable while further emboldening powers such as Russia and China; or commit to a full-scale war aimed at the all-out, genuine (meaning not half-assed) destruction of the Islamic Republic, risking World War III. The global economy hath already taken a major hit, and gas prices are not going down, are they? What a bloody mess — one that is going to take decades to recover from, assuming recovery is even possible.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Saturday, July 4, 2026

The nightingale’s daughter

A richly detailed digital illustration of a blonde woman reclining upon an ornate bed within a warmly lit traditional Eastern European interior. She weareth a loose white embroidered blouse with red-and-black folk motifs; her hair is styled in two long braids tied with ribbons. Her eyes are closed; one hand resteth lightly against her chest—serene reflection or quiet contentment. The bed is covered with patterned textiles and embroidered cushions. A softly glowing oil lamp illuminateth carved wooden furnishings, casting warm amber light. Through a leaded-glass window, a cool blue night appeareth—warmth and darkness in striking interplay. Nostalgia, domestic comfort, cultural heritage, tranquillity—cinematic lighting, vivid textures, meticulous detail.
generated via ChatGPT

Ukraine launches another round of drone attacks on key military and oil infrastructure sites in and and around St. Petersburg. {ABC News 4 July}

https://abcnews.com/International/ukraine-launches-major-drone-attack-russia/story?id=134470108&cid=social_twitter_abcn

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.