If I had possession over judgement day.

 

Throughout history, there have been numerous evil people that have come into power.

 Most of the time, they came to an untimely end.

 Joseph Stalin was one of the more murderous dictators of the 20^th century.

With a high number of excess deaths occurring under his rule, Stalin has been labelled "one of the most notorious figures in history." These deaths occurred as a result of collectivization, famine, terror campaigns, disease, war and mortality rates in the Gulag. As the majority of excess deaths under Stalin were not direct killings, the exact number of victims of Stalinism is difficult to calculate due to lack of consensus among scholars on which deaths can be attributed to the regime.

Official records reveal 799,455 documented executions in the Soviet Union between 1921 and 1953; 681,692 of these were carried out between 1937 and 1938, the years of the Great Purge. According to Michael Ellman, the best modern estimate for the number of repression deaths during the Great Purge is 950,000–1.2 million, which includes executions, deaths in detention, or soon after their release. In addition, while archival data shows that 1,053,829 perished in the Gulag from 1934 to 1953, the current historical consensus is that of the 18 million people who passed through the Gulag system from 1930 to 1953, between 1.5 and 1.7 million died as a result of their incarceration. Historian and archival researcher Stephen G. Wheatcroft and Michael Ellman attribute roughly 3 million deaths to the Stalinist regime, including executions and deaths from criminal negligence. Wheatcroft and historian R. W. Davies estimate famine deaths at 5.5–6.5 million, while scholar Steven Rosefielde gives a number of 8.7 million. In 2011, historian Timothy D. Snyder in 2011 summarized modern data made after the opening of the Soviet archives in the 1990s and states that Stalin's regime was responsible for 9 million deaths, with 6 million of these being deliberate killings. He further states the estimate is far lower than the estimates of 20 million or above which were made before access to the archives.

Historians continue to debate whether or not the 1932–33 Ukrainian famine, known in Ukraine as the Holodomor, should be called a genocide. Twenty six countries officially recognize it under the legal definition of genocide. In 2006, the Ukrainian Parliament declared it to be such, and in 2010 a Ukrainian court posthumously convicted Stalin, Lazar Kaganovich, Stanislav Kosior, and other Soviet leaders of genocide. Popular among some Ukrainian nationalists is the idea that Stalin consciously organized the famine to suppress national desires among the Ukrainian people. This interpretation has been disputed by more recent historical studies. These have articulated the view that while Stalin's policies contributed significantly to the high mortality rate, there is no evidence that Stalin or the Soviet government consciously engineered the famine. The idea that this was a targeted attack on the Ukrainians is complicated by the widespread suffering that also affected other Soviet peoples in the famine, including the Russians. Within Ukraine, ethnic Poles and Bulgarians died in similar proportions to ethnic Ukrainians. Despite any lack of clear intent on Stalin's part, the historian Norman Naimark noted that although there may not be sufficient "evidence to convict him in an international court of justice as a genocidaire [...] that does not mean that the event itself cannot be judged as genocide.

Stalin managed to live to be 74 years old. Although he officially died of a cerebral hemorrhage, there is some evidence that he was actually murdered.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin#Final_years:_1950%E2%80%931953

 Idi Ami came into power in Uganda in 1971, and served until 1979. He is considered one of the most brutal despots in world history. Amin's rule was characterized by rampant human rights abuses, including political repression, ethnic persecution and extrajudicial killings, as well as nepotism, corruption, and gross economic mismanagement. International observers and human rights groups estimate that between 100,000 and 500,000 people were killed under his regime. He was forced from power in 1979 by Tanzaian  troops, and went into exile to Saudi Arabia, where he died in 2003.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idi_Amin

Slobodan Milosevic  was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who served as the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, from 1989 to 1992) and president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000.

 During the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, Milošević was charged by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) with war crimes in connection with the Bosnian War, the Croatian War of Independence, and the Kosovo War. He became the first sitting head of state to be charged with war crimes. During the 1990s, numerous anti-government and antiwar protests took place. It is estimated that between 50,000 and 200,000 people deserted the Milošević-controlled Yugoslav People's Army, while between 100,000 and 150,000 people emigrated from Serbia, refusing to participate in the wars

Although he managed to avoid assassination, he eventually died in prison from a heart attack.

Muammar Gaddafi ruled Libya from 1977 until 2011. During the 1970s and 1980s, Libya's unsuccessful border conflicts with Egypt and Chad, support for foreign militants, and alleged responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing in Scotland left it increasingly isolated on the world stage. A particularly hostile relationship developed with the United States, United Kingdom and Israel, resulting in the 1986 U.S. bombing of Libya and United Nations–imposed economic sanctions. From 1999, Gaddafi shunned pan-Arabism and encouraged rapprochement with Western nations and pan-Africanism; he was Chairperson of the African Union from 2009 to 2010. Amid the 2011 Arab Spring, protests against widespread corruption and unemployment broke out in Eastern Libya. The situation descended into civil war, in which NATO intervened militarily on the side of the anti-Gaddafist National Transitional Council (NTC). The government was overthrown and Gaddafi retreated to Sirte, only to be captured and killed by NTC militants.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muammar_Gaddafi

 

For the last month of so, the world’s attention has been focused on another murderous dictator.

His name is Vladimir Putin.

His ill-advised invasion of Ukraine has caused thousands of deaths in the Ukraine, including many women and children, but he has also caused Russia to suffer some horrific losses.

 

Ukrainian military intelligence is claiming that a group of Russian elites is plotting to overthrow Russian President Vladimir Putin and “restore economic ties” with the West, perhaps using his own signature methods of poisoning or an accident to accomplish the task.

“Poisoning, sudden illness, accident – Russia’s elite is considering removing Putin,” the Chief Directorate of Intelligence for the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine posted on Facebook Sunday. It is unknown whether this is factual or propaganda to make Putin even more paranoid than he likely already is.

 https://www.bizpacreview.com/2022/03/21/russian-elites-conspiring-to-overthrow-putin-ukrainian-intelligence-says-1215273/

There were at least 40 documented attempts to assassinate & overthrow Hitler between 1933 & 1945 without success. It will be equally tough to overthrow Putin, who has ruled Russia for 20 years.

In a sweeping and forceful speech concluding a four-day trip to Europe, President Joe Biden cast the war in Ukraine on Saturday as part of an ongoing battle for freedom and ended with a blunt call for Russian President Vladimir Putin to be stopped.

"For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power,” Biden said during a visit to Warsaw, Poland, in his strongest comments to date about his desire to see Putin gone.

Shortly after the speech, a White House official speaking on the condition of anonymity said Biden was not calling for Putin to be removed from office.

“The president’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region," the official said. "He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change."

Biden’s remarks came just a few hours after he bluntly described the Russian leader as “a butcher” while meeting with Ukrainian refugees who had fled to Poland to escape the war in their homeland.

Biden appealed to ordinary Russians, first telling them – “if you’re able to listen” – that “you ... are not our enemy.”

https://news.yahoo.com/russias-signals-shifting-goals-ukraine-073034188.html?fr=yhssrp_catchall

The United States and its allies have imposed crippling economic sanctions on the Russian economy – which means that the richest and most powerful people in the country would he delighted if Putin simply faded away.

There is a loud and growing chorus of calls for the International Criminal Court to pursue Vladimir Putin for his unprovoked attack on Ukraine.

The US government has formally declared that members of the Russian armed forces have committed war crimes.

The top war crimes prosecutor for the ICC has traveled to Ukraine to investigate.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/03/politics/putin-war-crimes-russia-ukraine-us-what-matters/index.html

No one know how long the conflict in the Ukraine will continue, or whether Putin will actually remain in power.

There is one thing for certain, though, and that is this

If I had possession over judgement day, Putin would no longer be a leader on the world state.

 

If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day - YouTube

Selma

 

On March 20, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson notifies Alabama’s Governor George Wallace that he will use federal authority to call up the Alabama National Guard in order to supervise a planned civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery.

Intimidation and discrimination had earlier prevented Selma’s Black population—over half the city—from registering and voting. On Sunday, March 7, 1965, a group of 600 demonstrators marched on Selma to protest this disenfranchisement and the earlier killing of a Black man, Jimmie Lee Jackson, by a state trooper.

In brutal scenes that were later broadcast on television, state and local police attacked the marchers with Billy clubs and tear gas. TV viewers far and wide were outraged by the images, and a protest march was organized just two days after “Bloody Sunday” by Martin Luther King Jr., head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). King turned the marchers around, however, rather than carry out the march without federal judicial approval.

 

After an Alabama federal judge ruled on March 18 that a third march could go ahead, President Johnson and his advisers worked quickly to find a way to ensure the safety of King and his demonstrators on their way from Selma to Montgomery. The most powerful obstacle in their way was Governor Wallace, an outspoken segregationist who was reluctant to spend any state funds on protecting the demonstrators. Hours after promising Johnson—in telephone calls recorded by the White House—that he would call out the Alabama National Guard to maintain order, Wallace went on television and demanded that Johnson send in federal troops instead.

 Furious, Johnson told Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach to write a press release stating that because Wallace refused to use the 10,000 available guardsmen to preserve order in his state, Johnson himself was calling the guard up and giving them all necessary support. Several days later, 50,000 marchers followed King some 54 miles, under the watchful eyes of state and federal troops.

Arriving safely in Montgomery on March 25, they watched King deliver his famous “How Long, Not Long” speech from the steps of the Capitol building. The clash between Johnson and Wallace—and Johnson’s decisive action—was an important turning point in the civil rights movement. Within five months, Congress had passed the Voting Rights Act, which Johnson proudly signed into law on August 6, 1965.

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

 Today happens to be the 57^th anniversary of the day that Johnson called up the Alabama National Guard.

I’ve written about this topic before, and it’s instructive so see how much, and how little, has changed since that time.

https://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2017/03/

Here’s a few excerpts from the article listed about, as well as my comments, underlined and italicized, that compares the present day to that article:

A strong part of the reason that Johnson felt compelled to address the issue was the fact that the events in Selma were captured on film by news agencies, causing outrage throughout the country. The movie “Selma” (which not enough people have seen) graphically illustrates the racial injustice that still persisted in his country 97 years after the passage of the 14^th Amendment. If you have not seen the movie, you can see it in its entirety on several sites, but you can also watch a shorter version that captured the violence of the day:

 Selma (2014) Movie - The First March - YouTube

Sharon and I saw “Selma” in Flagstaff, despite the fact that it had limited viewing times. That same weekend, “American Sniper” and “Hot Tub Time Machine” attracted larger audiences – and more viewing times.

The final box domestic office receipts for “Selma” were $52 million.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1936623105/

In contrast, the domestic box office receipts for “American Sniper” were $350 million, and “Hot Tub Time Machine” took in $50,000,000.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2923660801/

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2136507905/

As a result of legislation written by the American Legislative Exchange Council, states started to pass more restrictive voting laws in 2010, and the Supreme Court ruling of June 25, 2013 (Shelby County V. Holder) further weakened the Voting Rights Act. As a result, the 2016 Presidential election was the first one that was held after the Supreme Court ruling – with disastrous results. 98 of the 100 largest newspapers printed editorials in the fall that Donald Trump was not fit to be President. In the end, Hillary Clinton received endorsements from 57 newspapers, and Trump only received endorsements from 2. Thirty five of the 98 newspapers either did not endorse any one at all, or they endorsed either Gary Johnson or Jill Stein.

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/court-cases/shelby-county-v-holder

Since the election of 2020, nineteen states have passed 33 news laws that makei harder to vote, according to an updated analysis by the liberal Brennan Center for Justice

https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/04/politics/voting-laws-restrictive-map-october/index.html

One of the people injured in Selma in 1965 was the late John  Lewis, who suffered a skull fracture on that day. Ultimately, he was elected to Congress, and represented 5^th Congressional District from 1987 until his death in 2020.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lewis_Voting_Rights_Acty, 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/john-lewis-civil-rights-giant-cross-selma-bridge-one-final-n1234941

Congress tried to pass a new Voting Rights bill (the John R. Lewis Voting Act) in 2022, but Republican opposition killed the bill. As a result, restrictive voting laws in Texas have caused at least 16,800 mail-in ballots to be rejected due to new restrictive voting laws.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-rejected-at-least-16800-mail-ballots-in-primary-elections/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lewis_Voting_Rights_Act

Winston Churchill once said, “Democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the other types of government”.

In a democracy, progress on some issues can sometimes be agonizingly slow, and it is still possible that the John Lewis Voting Rights Act could be passed – but it all depends on the results of the 2020 mid-term elections.

During the reign of king Richard I in Chicago (Richard J. Daley), the preferred method of voting was to “vote early, and vote often”. Today, of course, that illegal practice would not stand scrutiny, but is DOES reinforce that fact that voter participation is still our only hope of having society function properly.

 

Learning Latin in high school

 

In my lifetime, I have studied six languages.

Apart from English, I have studied German, Latin, Spanish, Mandarin, and ASL (American Sign Language).

Although I can toss a few phrases to you in any of them, I have spent the most time learning English, which has helped me talk good and stuff.

The one that always puzzled me the most, though, was Latin, which I was required to study during my first two years at a Catholic boy’s high school. At the time, we all thought it was silly, because Latin has not been a spoken language for close to 2000 years.

Our teacher explained to us that learning Latin helped improve our study habits, but that could also be said about algebra, history, and biology.

It’s even been said that Latin was the language of diplomats until the end of the 19^th century. That actually isn’t true, but it IS true that French was the language of diplomats until the start of the 20^th century, and it is still used on a regular basis at the United Nations today.

https://www.legallanguage.com/legal-articles/language-of-diplomacy/

It may surprise you to know that 60% of the English language is made up of words from Latin – and there is a reason for that.

In the 15th century, English had produced no great poets, philosophers, or playwrights. The only exception was Geoffrey Chaucer, the medieval writer of The Canterbury Tales, and maybe a few other writers.

But they were seen as the exception that proved the rule: English was a lowly, crude, and “barbaric” language with little literary or artistic value. Any great minds or artists to come out of England at this time preferred to write in Latin. They thought English was inadequate for lofty ideas or artistic expression. loftiest and most beautiful truths, so, they thought, it should be translated into a language to match.

But this didn’t just mean ancient languages like Latin. Any language would do, so long as it was eloquent. In fact, there were a few French Bibles circulating in England at the time.

To really understand the outlook, we need to get into a bit of religious history (which doubles as linguistic history). In the 14th century, John Wycliffe, a highly educated Englishman, wanted to translate the Bible into English. He met much resistance from the Church and the government.

 A key objection was that English simply wasn’t good enough for sacred Scripture. Back then, everyone believed the Bible was the Word of God. As such, it contained the loftiest and most beautiful truths, so, they thought, it should be translated into a language to match.

(The Bible is actually composed of writings in Greek, Aramaic, and Latin).

The same thought process also applies to the Koran, since many Muslims feel that the only proper language for the Koran is Arabic.

If Wycliffe had wanted to produce a new translation of the Bible in French, it would not have been controversial. But English was seen to be especially “base,” “ugly,” and “vulgar.”

After the Wycliffe controversy, English-speaking people had a renewed sense of the inadequacy of their native tongue. In fact, almost zero original works of theology were produced in English.

 In the 15^th century, science, poetry, or philosophy appeared in English for the first time.

 So, what changed?

 English lacked eloquence. It was “barren” or “deficient,” which meant the English vocabulary lacked equal analogues to words in Latin, Greek, and other languages. The proposed solution by translators was to borrow, and thereby enrich the English language with foreign words.

Today, we call this neologising: the creation or introduction of new words into a language.

In England, neologising became a regular justification for translation work. At the time, the esteem of a language was the amount of learning it contained, so English speakers increasingly saw their mother tongue as bankrupt. The way to enrich it was by pillaging the literature of other, more eloquent languages.

 

https://www.historyhit.com/why-are-so-many-english-words-latin-based/#:~:text=It%20is%20a%20West%20Germanic%20language%20that%20developed,more%20syllables%20you%20add%2C%20the%20higher%20the%20percentage.

Despite the increasing popularity of English, the first pubic school in America, (Boston Latin) required four years of Latin.

The Boston Latin School is a public exam school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was established on April 23, 1635, making it both the oldest public school in the British America and the oldest existing school in the United States. Its curriculum follows that of the 18th century Latin school movement, which holds the classics to be the basis of an educated mind. Four years of Latin are mandatory for all students who enter the school in the 7th grade, three years for those who enter in the 9th grade.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Latin_School

Boston Latin made history in 2017, when it hired the first person of color to lead the school.

Rachel Skerritt became the first person of color to lead what is considered the crown jewel of the city’s school system. It also marked a homecoming for Skerritt, a BLS alum who previously worked as a teacher there before moving up to the Boston Public Schools central office, and eventually landing a district leadership role in Washington, D.C.

The head of Boston Latin School, Rachel Skerritt, said on Friday that she would step down at the end of the school year, ending a five-year run in which she guided the nation’s oldest public school through pandemic disruptions and controversy over the admissions process.

“I make this announcement with a heavy heart, but one full of hope about what lies ahead,” Skerritt wrote in a letter to families that was obtained by the Globe. “The responsibility of leading and stewarding this community full of beautiful people with vibrant minds and tremendous promise has been an enormous honor.”

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/03/11/metro/boston-latin-school-head-will-step-down/

There are still Catholic churches in America that have Latin masses, since some of their parishioners yearn for “the good old days”.

There are still 649 churches in America where you can attend a Catholic mass. The link below tells you where they are:

https://www.latinmassdir.org/country/us/

You can use the filter on the upper left-hand corner if you want to find one in a particular city. There are 19 parishes in Minnesota that offer that option.

 Even if you don’t go to one of those masses, you can still get a taste of what it’s like to speak Latin by using Google translate. Sometime in the last 5 years, Latin got added to the available languages, which brought the total to 109 options.

https://translate.google.com/

Even though the commencement speeches at Flagstaff high school are given in both English and Navajo, you will probably never see a Navajo translation on Google Translate – and the Navajo Code Talkers may have had something to do with that.

 

 

 

 

 

and that's the way it is

 

On March 6, 1981, millions of people in the country watched Walter Cronkite’s last broadcast. By clicking on the link below, you can hear it again:

"And that's the way it is": Walter Cronkite's final sign off - YouTube

Cronkite had reported from the European front in World War II and anchored CBS's coverage of the 1952 and 1956 elections, as well as the 1960 Olympics. He took over as the network's premier news anchor in April of 1962, just in time to cover the most dramatic events of the 1960s. The Cuban Missile Crisis came six months into his tenure, and a year later Cronkite would break the news that President John F. Kennedy had been shot. The footage of Cronkite removing his glasses and composing himself as he read the official AP report of Kennedy's death, which he did 38 minutes after the president was pronounced dead in Dallas, is one of the most enduring images of one of the most traumatic days in American history. Cronkite would cover the other assassinations that rocked the country over the coming years, including those of Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert F. Kennedy and John Lennon. He also reported on some of the most uplifting moments of the era, most famously the Moon Landing in 1969.

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/walter-cronkite-retires-from-cbs-evening-news

One of the reasons that Cronkite attracted such a large audience was that were fewer options to watch for most of his career.

That all changed on June 1, 1980, when CNN first went on the air. Today, there are HUNDREDS of cable networks to watch, and FOX “news” is consistently the most watched – even though it is not actually a news channel. When Roger Aisles founded the network, he called it an “entertainment” channel, so you are less likely to get real news when you tune in.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_CNN_(1980%E2%80%932003)

 Having said that, though, both FOX and the traditional networks have broadcast some memorable events. With the exception of the last episode of M*A*S*H in 1983, the 31 most popular shows have all been Super Bowls. The 2016 presidential debates came in at #32. The Super Bowls have been broadcast on both FOX and the traditional news channels.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_watched_television_broadcasts_in_the_United_States

The FOX network started on October 8, 1996.

Fox News ended 2020 as the most-watched network in cable news history. However, in January 2021, after the U.S. Capitol attack, it was less watched than CNN and MSNBC for three straight days, which had not happened since September 2000.

In August 2021, Fox required compulsory reporting of COVID-19 vaccination status from employees, despite prominent Fox personalities Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity being opposed to revealing COVID-19 vaccination statuses.^[

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Fox_News

Since FOX is consistently the most watched cable network, are its anchors considered to be trustworthy?

According to at least one survey, the answer is “no”.

Sean Hannity is considered the LEAST trustworthy news anchor. Tucker Carlson also does not rate highly in this category either – but neither does Rachel Maddow.

Sean Hannity attended Sacred Heart Seminary in Hempstead, New York and St. Pius X Preparatory Seminary in Uniondale, New York. He attended New York University and Adelphi University, but did not graduate from either.

Tucker Carlson was briefly enrolled at Collège du Léman, a boarding school in Switzerland, but says he was "kicked out". He attained his secondary education at St. George's School, a boarding school in Middletown, Rhode Island, where he started dating his future wife, Susan Andrews, the headmaster's daughter. He then went to Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, graduating in 1991 with a BA in history. During his recent defamation lawsuit, his lawyers argued that “the "'general tenor' of the show should then inform a viewer that [Carlson] is not 'stating actual facts' about the topics he discusses and is instead engaging in 'exaggeration' and 'non-literal commentary.' ".

Rachel Maddow earned a degree in public policy at Stanford in 1994. At graduation, she was awarded the John Gardner Fellowship. She was the recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship and began her postgraduate study in 1995 at Lincoln College, Oxford. She had also been awarded a Marshall Scholarship the same year but turned it down in favor of the Rhodes. This made her the first openly lesbian winner of the Rhodes Scholarship. In 2001, she earned a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in politics at the University of Oxford. Her thesis is titled HIV/AIDS and Health Care Reform in British and American Prisons; her supervisor was Lucia Zedner.

She was nominated for two Grammy awards, and won one (for “best spoken word album" for her book, “Blowout”.)

Of the three anchors mentioned, who do you think is the most credible?

https://www.icepop.com/most-least-trusted-news-anchors-television/

Up until recently, the most credible anchor for FOX was Chris Wallace, who helped the network earn the ONE Emmy award that FOX had earned in its entire history.

He just joined CNN.

Both Bill O’Reilly and Roger Aisles were forced to resign due to allegations of sexual impropriety, and   former news director named Jack Hanick was just indicted for helping Russian launch a propaganda network.

https://news.yahoo.com/former-fox-news-producer-sean-210134835.html?fr=yhssrp_catchall

If you went forward a few years, who was the most trusted man in America 10 years ago?

Jon Stewart, the anchor for Comedy Central.

 https://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2011/10/

If you think it’s odd that a comedian could give serious comments about politics, consider these facts:

Al Franken was a regular on Saturday Night Live.

In 2008 he was elected as a senator from the state of Minnesota, and he served in that position until 2018. During his term in the senate, he proved to be a very competent lawmaker.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Franken

Then, of course, there’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy grew up as a native Russian speaker in Kryvyi Rih, a major city in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast of central Ukraine. Prior to his acting career, he obtained a degree in law from the Kyiv National Economic University. He then pursued comedy and created the production company Kvartal 95, which produces films, cartoons, and TV shows including Servant of the People (TV series), in which Zelenskyy played the role of president of Ukraine. The series aired from 2015 to 2019 and was immensely popular. A political party bearing the same name as the television show was created in March 2018 by employees of Kvartal 95.

 Lately, he has been defiant in his resistance to Vladimir Putin’s invasion, and could serve as a model for one of Tom Petty’s best-known songs:

Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - I Won't Back Down (Official Music Video) - YouTube

It’s still to soon to know how the conflict in Ukraine will turn out, but the sanctions that have been imposed on key members of Russia society will lead to a resounding defeat for the Russian bear – and a victory for Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people.

And that’s the way it is.

 Bruce Hornsby & The Range - The Way It Is (Official Video) - YouTube