Saturday, Sunday 29-30 August 2026

ARTICLE: Hastings, Rob (3/27/26) “My life inside Putin’s war machine – and why I defected.” The I Paper.

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM AN ELDERLY, CHILDLESS, OVER-EDUCATED CAT LADY BEAVERING AWAY IN ONE OF THE SUB-BASEMENTS OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK

· Igor Salikov’s life is in danger because he defected to the West. But, after witnessing the depravity of Vladimir Putin’s military, including the Wagner mercenary group, he feels compelled to reveal his experiences.

· In 2022 Salikov was given notice that Russia would be invading Ukraine and he was to fly right into Kyiv to capture the headquarters of the SBU, the Security Services of Ukraine. He was reassured that they would be met with friendly Ukrainians.

· According to the I Paper, he witnessed war crimes against women and children and felt himself lied to about the need for the war. In 2023, he found a way of escaping Russia completely and gave evidence to the International Criminal Court (ICC). He now hopes Ukraine will win.

· In 1991 when the Soviet Union dissolved, he, like many other former military men, found himself without a job. Many of these men joined criminal gangs. Igor was offered a security job to protect a sheikh in the Middle East. He then worked as a mercenary for several firms. These firms became Putin’s dirty work forces, able to do jobs for which Putin didn’t have to take responsibility.

· Putin, according to Igor, never liked the military understanding it was the only force that could depose him. Igor maintains that discord within the military was the reason Putin invaded Crimea in 2014 – to make the military unite behind him.

· He believed at the time that the people in Donbas wanted to rebel against Kyiv. He found out when he went there, this wasn’t true.

· Note: Igor’s book: “Rusia’s Wagner Group.” Forthcoming book: “Putin’s ‘Viper’ Detachment.”

· Igor was wounded in Crimea then found out that the Wagner group had a job for him. When he arrived at the “tent city” everyone was talking about Nazi Germany. It’s streets were named after Hitler’s lieutenants and concentration camps.

· Wagner had been founded by Prigozhin, a convicted thief who became a millionaire businessman. According to the I news, “Salikov realized this was a man without any morals.” Wagner was accused of massacres in Mali and the Central African Republic while protecting the Kremlin’s allies and business interests.

· “No part of this plan worked,” Igor says of the plan to overtake the security forces in Kyiv. “Salikov was horrified by the “senseless fighting”” He managed to get his unit withdrawn early from Ukraine, but was then ordered back.

· He was on a watchlist that prevented him from going over the border. He bribed his way off the list for 24 hours and flew to Turkey and then onto North Cyprus. He then flew to Mexico.

· Igor wishes Prigozhin had gone through with his attempted coup in 2023, when he got so angry with the Kremlin he led tanks towards Moscow.

Sunday 30 Augut 2026

ARTICLE: Walt, Stephen M. (8/17/26) “The top 10 ways Trump has made America weaker. Foreign Policy.

· “As Trump’s. Second term nears the midway point. There can be little doubt that he is one of the most consequential presidents in U.S. history. Unfortunately, almost all the consequences of his actions have been harmful, not just for most of the people in the United States, but also for America’s relative power and standing in the world. His cronies and family members may be reaping the benefits, but the cumulative impact of his actions will not. Will be not a return to greatness, but a weaker and more divided America.”

· 1) Destroying confidence in U.S. promises. “As he did throughout his litigious and bankruptcy prone business career, Trump has repeatedly demonstrated that his threats are mostly empty bluster and his pledges mean nothing.

· This is one of he reasons he is having problems ending the war in Iran. They can’t believe a word he says. Other countries are looking for more reliable partners.

· 2) Reducing U.S. military capability. “… I do not doubt that if Trump could turn the armed forces into a loyal instrument of his own power, he would.”

· 3) Dismantling diplomatic capacity. This could take decades to rebuilt. The U.s. has withdrawn from more than 60 international organizations. The diplomats he chooses to select, a small group are amateur diplomats like Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and Vance.

· 4) Undermining U.S. scientific preeminence. One of the foundations of the United State’s global power now rests on “ignorant and unqualified science skeptics”…and actively encouraged the belief that ignorance is preferable to knowledge and expertise.”

· 5) Missing the green transition.

· 6) Eroding the rule of law. Trump has insulated himself from legal constraints and used the legal system to conduct endettas.

· 7) Threatening electoral integrity. “Nothing could be more corrosive to a sense of patriotism and civic unity than a belief that elections are constantly being rigged. And that’s exactly what Trump and his minions have been doing.”

· 8) Abandoning checks and balances. “When presidents can do anything they want without having to gain public support or even make the case to Congress, you are more likely to get I’ll conceived debacles such as the current Iran war.”

· 9) Abandoning civil discourse. “More than anyone else, Trump is responsible for the coarsening and the vulgarity of US political discourse. It’s partly his willingness and ability to lie shamelessly, A trait that has infected most of the Republican Party. But it is also his reliance on vulgar insults, violent rhetoric, rambling rants portraying opponents as criminals, traitors or worse, and his all too evident contempt for half of the citizens of the country.”

· 10) Torching U.S. soft power.

· Trump’s “The main accomplishment during his second term has been to enrich himself and his cronies.”

· “His family will be a lot richer when his term ends, but the country will be weaker, sicker and angrier…. Make America Great Again was always just a scam.

ARTICLE: Munayyer, Yousef (3/10/26) “Why Netanyahu chose to strike Iran now. Foreign Policy.

· Netanyahu admitted that war with Iran was something he has “longed to do for 40 years.”

· As Sen. Chris Van Hollen put it, Netanyahu “finally found a president stupid enough to attack Iran.”