The Roundup

The latest example of Kremlin propaganda that's so bad it's funny, Trump's latest trial begins, Russia's flooding problem, protests in Georgia, the disappearence of Russell "Texas" Bentley and more!

Bad Kremlin Propaganda

I found this gem on Twitter/X that said this: “Correct me if I'm wrong, Zelensky's son also left the country and avoided mobilization and enjoys a luxurious life in the west…his videos were circulating, but they are inappropriate due to the nudity of minors under 18”

Sure, I'd be glad to correct this Kremlin propagandist because this propagandist is completely wrong. A quick look on the Wikipedia confirms that Volodymyr Zelenskyy has two children, a daughter and a son. His son, Kyrylo, was born in January, 2013. That means that the boy is now 11 years old. Recently Ukraine has lowered the age of conscription for men from 27 to 25. That means that Kyrylo Zelenskyy won't even have to face the possibility of conscription for another 14 years. (Of course that's assuming that this war with Russia lasts that long.)

As for enjoying a luxurious life in the West, most countries would not allow an unaccompanied 11-year-old boy—especially the underage son of the leader of another country—to settle permanently in their country nor would a child that young be able to purchase property or even rent an apartment or a hotel by himself. This bit of hilarious propaganda looks like someone had been watching the Macaulay Culkin Home Alone movies one too many times.

Another Zelenskyy Assassination Attempt Thwarted

A Polish man has been arrested and charged with planning to co-operate with Russian intelligence services to aid in a possible assassination of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Trump's Trial

One of Donald Trump's many trials began this week and a 12-person jury has just been selected. This one is about the 34 counts of fraud that stemmed from the hush-money payment that Trump allegedly made to porn star Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about the brief affair they had soon after Trump's wife Melania gave birth to their son Barron. There were times when Trump literally snoozed in the courtroom, which is ironic considering that Trump frequently refers to President Joe Biden as “Sleepy Joe.”

The Trump-Putin Alliance: They Aren't Even Hiding It Anymore

Apparently there are a series of billboards throughout Russia and its satellites that show side-by-side photos of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin with this slogan written in both English and Russian: “Let's Make the World Great Again—Together!”

Russia Has a Flooding Problem

There has been widespread flooding in Russia that has been exacerbated by dams not even holding up. It raises questions about the infrastructure of Russia under Putin. If Putin hadn't been so busy with spending time and money on fighting wars with Chechnya, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine, he could have spent the money saved by not going to war on improving his country's own infrastructure. It sucks for those who are on the front lines of all that flooding but that is the way it goes as long as Putin continues his unnecessary war against Ukraine.

Protests in Georgia

This week there were protests in Georgia over a “foreign agents” bill, which has been criticized by Georgians and Western governments as being Russian inspired.

The bill states that organizations that accept funds from abroad must register as foreign agents or face fines. Critics have compared that bill with a similar Russian law that has been used by the Kremlin to crack down on dissent in Russia.

Russia is widely unpopular in Georgia because of its support of the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russia also defeated Georgia in a short war in 2008. Georgia has sought to deepen relations with the West but the current ruling Georgia Dream party is accused of attempting to reconnect Georgia, a former Soviet republic, with Russia. Here's a video of some of the protesters and their demands of their government.

Ten Days Later a Russian Propagandist From Texas is Still Missing in Donetsk

Last week I wrote about the sudden disappearence of onetime viral video star and American-born Russian propagandist living in the Russian-occupied area of Donetsk, Ukraine named Russell Bonner Bentley III, also known as Texas. Given the facts that he disappeared without a trace, he (or his body) has yet to be found, his disappearance has gone on for several days, and he disappeared in the middle of a war zone, I concluded that he is probably dead.

Yesterday The Daily Beast had a story about Texas’ Russian-born wife, Lyudmila, claiming that he had been snatched and taken hostage by Russian troops. Russian propagandists have claimed Bentley vanished after approaching the site of recent shelling or mortar strikes, and one independent Russian news site said he’d been taking pictures of the damaged buildings. That detail led to a flurry of conspiracy theories about Bentley potentially being a mole. Bentley's friends have sought to quash those rumors that he was a mole. One of his friends have even released a video begging Bentley's captors to let him go.

Here's the thing. If Russell “Texas” Bentley is alive and he is being held hostage, you'd think that his captors would release a photo, a video, or even an audio recording proving that he is still alive. But, as of this writing, nothing like that has even surfaced.

If Russian troops (or even Ukrainian troops) are behind this, the most likely scenario is that he was kidnapped, taken to a dark and deserted area at night where they killed him, then buried his body somewhere in a field or in the woods in an unmarked grave. If the Russians are behind Bentley's ultimate fate, it would be ironic since Bentley took Russia's side in its war against Ukraine, he became a Russian citizen, and he admired Vladimir Putin. It would prove that Bentley took the wrong side in this war and he paid the ultimate price for it.

Why would the Russians turn on him? I've read some posts on Twitter/X claiming that he was too much of an alcoholic to be much use as a propagandist, he's a scammer, he's a bullshit artist. It's possible that he may have somehow pissed the wrong person off and he paid the ultimate price for it. But right now it's all rumor and speculation so it's hard to know what is true and what isn't.

It was all the result of his life choices. He chose to believe the Russian propaganda that its actions against Ukraine are warranted because the Ukrainian government is full of Nazis. He chose to move from Texas to Donetsk despite the fact that Donetsk has been a war zone since 2014. He chose to fight on behalf of Russia and the Donetsk separatists. He chose to create English-language propaganda on behalf of Russia and the Donetsk separatists. He even chose to marry a Donetsk woman and become a citizen of Russia. He chose all of it and he has now paid the ultimate price in a major FAFO way. It's hard to feel sorry for a person who brought all of the consequences on himself due to his choices.

I've seen posts on Twitter/X tagging top Russian leaders asking to intervene in getting Bentley released to no avail. I personally think that the upper eschalon of the Russian leadership could care less about Bentley because he was based in Donetsk, which is a far cry from the grand cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg. They probably won't do anything about his situation.

I noticed that certain pro-Russian right-wing outlets like Fox News have been silent on Russell Bentley’s disappearence compared with the death of another US-born pro-Russian propagandist Gonzalo Lira. Perhaps it's because of the possibility that Bentley died at the hands of Russian troops, which is far less exploitable than the fact that Lira died inside of a Ukrainian prison.

I can understand his wife wanting to believe that he's still alive somewhere but she's going to eventually have to come to the realization that she will never see him alive again. What happened to Russell “Texas” Bentley reminds me of a similar disappearence of Jimmy Hoffa that happened when I was a child. His body was never found and he was eventually declared legally dead. Unless there is solid evidence proving otherwise, I still think that Russell “Texas” Bentley is now deceased.

A Video Tour of Donetsk

When I was researching the disappearence and probable death of Russell “Texas” Bentley, I came across this video where he gave a couple of friendly visitors a tour of his current hometown of Donetsk. This tour video is mostly apolitical and it focuses on the sites of that city, especially in the downtown area. Ever since I began to see pictures of Kyiv online shortly before the Russian invasion began in 2022, I fell in love with that country at first sight. Kyiv, Odesa, Crimea, and Lviv are all incredibly gorgeous (or at least they all photograph incredibly well). I found myself wishing that I knew about how lovely Ukraine looks years ago because I could've seen myself trying to talk my then-husband into going on a trip there instead of going on yet another trip to Walt Disney World or Ocean City. Now with a war going on such a trip isn't feasible. (I'm not a risk taker like Bentley was.)

When I saw Bentley giving a tour of downtown Donetsk, I felt it was just as lovely and interesting as the other places in Ukraine. It's a shame that such a lovely city like Donetsk is being violently attacked (especially on the outskirts) on a regular basis. Check out Bentley's tour of Donetsk and see for yourself.

An Interesting Q & A Video

I found this interesting video where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with students from several universities during his visit to Chernivtsi. The students asked him questions, which included how to deal with Russian propaganda. The most interesting part of the video was where he answered a student's question on if he could travel back in time, what would he tell his 2019 self. He also answered a question on how he maintains a balance between work and family and he answered in a very honest manner. The video has English subtitles.

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