Pro-war Democrats and Republicans in desperation pulled Ukraine money from the weekend bill to keep the government open. Backroom deals suggest Ukraine would be brought up as a straight vote on the Floor, where it might pass. But the road to more money is not as smooth as establishment politicians would like. Also today: UK defense secretary announces, then unannounces, that British troops would be sent to Ukraine. Finally: Slovakia votes “NO” on “Project Ukraine.”
If you’re like me, you may not have been aware that U2 is now playing one of those weeks-long “residencies” in Vegas, joining the likes of Elvis, Wayne Newton and Celine Dion. Another case of, if it pays i Vegas it stays in Vegas. And they are opening the new billion dollar “Sphere” performance space at the Venetian Hotel, where I resided about 20 years back only because it was the site of a media conference. (Oooh, Las Vegas – ain’t no place for a poor boy like me.) To top it off, they just released a new single to mark the occasion, a kind of a throwback to earlier U2 days, with hints of a muscular Blondie, but with overly familiar Bono posing.
That’s all fine, I suppose, but the title of the single, given my stated interests, caught my eye: “Atomic City.”
Reprinted from Bracing Views with the author’s permission.
I remember seeing the first Rambo flick (“First Blood”) in a movie theater in 1982 when I was nineteen and rooting for Sly Stallone’s character against the police and national guardsmen who are sent to kill him. The police think it’ll be easy to subdue one man, but we the viewers know better. As Colonel Trautman, Rambo’s former commanding officer, says in the movie: In war, it’s wise to have “a good supply of body bags” on hand, a telling reminder about the harsh reality of combat.
In “First Blood,” military clothing and the flag offer no protection to John Rambo, who’s treated as a lowlife by the local sheriff
Yet, there’s a deeper meaning to “First Blood” captured near the end of the movie, when John Rambo, having improbably acted as a one-man invincible army (a true “Army of One”), bitterly reflects on his own post-Vietnam experiences. Rambo, breaking down, admits he can’t adapt to regular civilian life. A loner, he feels himself to be a loser, even though he was decorated for heroism in war with the Medal of Honor. Wounded and haunted by war, his soul seared by violence, he surrenders to Colonel Trautman.
There has been a great deal of reporting about parliament celebrating a World War II Nazi soldier. But even though he was praised specifically for fighting Russia the media has ignored the horrors inflicted by the Nazis on Russians.
During Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent speech to Parliament, 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka was labeled a “hero” by the Speaker of Parliament for fighting Russia. In subsequently justifying his embarrassing presentation of the 14th Waffen SS volunteer, Anthony Rota noted, “my intention was to show that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is not a new one.” For Rota the Nazi bit was an aside, or as Caitlin Johnstone opined, “Nobody Who Fought Against Russia Could Possibly Be Bad!”
For the record, I knew Simon Wiesenthal well, he was an honorary member of the Board of my non-profit Andrei Sakharov Institute, and I am a contributor to his anti-Nazi Simon Wiesenthal Center. Occasionally, I contribute to some other charities, including the Holocaust memorial in DC.
The reason I mentioned the American Jewish Committee in the headline is that I keep getting numerous Dear Edward letters from AJC about their activities and requests for contributions.
