Aug 14

Aug 14 Baked Alaska

Chicago, Demonstrations, Donald J. Trump, Performance, Protest, Public Declarations

Tomorrow, Donald J. Trump heads to Alaska for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. An ever-changing agenda; no planning; a mercurial American leader who believes only he can fix a problem like nobody has ever seen before; the Ukrainians and Europeans absent even though Trump and Putin are deciding their fates. What could possibly go wrong? Unfortunately, we will soon find out. I am expecting a disaster while awaiting the embarrassing Epstein questions during the press conference scheduled at the end of the meeting between the autocrat and the wannabe autocrat.

In anticipation of tomorrow’s disaster, 30 Russian émigrés demonstrated outside Chicago’s Wrigley Building tonight. While the demonstration was small and short in duration, it was a necessity. Probably the most notable line came when one of the three people who took the bullhorn said, “We are speaking out tonight because the people in our homeland cannot speak out.”

The demonstration was orchestrated by Voice of Free Russia, which is headed by Elena Kaspirovich. Also on hand was Igor Studenkov, who always brings a smile to these demonstrations even though his words are deadly serious.

Given tomorrow’s summit, two of the local television stations (NBC 5 and Fox 32) sent crews, hoping to cover the local angle of what it an international story. Tonight’s star was a baby, who parents positioned her under a sign reading “War Death Lies Putin.”

Toward the end of the demonstration, a woman with what appeared to be an oil pencil inscribed the words “Free People First” on many extended palms. The slogan coincided the theme in a letter penned Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of the Center for Civic Liberties (Ukraine) and Oleg Orlov, Head of the Memorial Human Rights Defense Center (Russia). Both were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. Seventy-three other organizations endorsed the letter.

The authors demanded that Russia release all unlawfully detained civilians; pointing out the deplorable conditions under which those prisoners are held. Civilians have been beaten unconscious, forced to stand motionless for up to 16 hours a day, subjected to electric shocks (including to the genitals), raped, and denied medical aid. The letter then points out that a ceasefire would be an important achievement.

Ironically, the letter is written by two Nobel Prize Peace Laureates to a man who craves a Nobel Peace Prize, but who will never receive one. Even if Donald J. Trump does succeed in bringing peace to Ukraine (and Gaza), the committee will not award the prize to a man who is a corrupt leader, white supremacist, sexual predator, congenital liar, and whose overriding mission is to destroy the world order that has been built over decades. The Nobel Committee will not award a Peace Prize to anyone who denies due process to migrants and others. The very fact that Trump believes he is worthy demonstrates just how clueless he is.

[Click on an Image to Enlarge It. The Images Are Not Necessarily in Exact Chronological Order]