Balloon Juice

On The Road – Elma – International Garden Tour Part 1

by WaterGirl| March 10, 20265:16 am| 1 Comment

This post is in: On The Road, Photo Blogging

Elma

One of the things I like to do, when I travel, is to visit botanical gardens. I went back through my travel photo archive for some pictures to share. The first part is a visit to Keukenhof Gardens in the Netherlands. This trip was with the University of Wisconsin Alumni Association in 2008. It was a river boat tour of Holland and Belgium and the garden visit was an excursion. Although the distance from place to place in the Netherlands is insignificant by American standards, the traffic made for a long bus ride.

Netherlands

It was raining when we arrived.

On The Road – Elma – International Garden Tour Part 1Post + Comments (1)

Late Night Open Thread: Ave Atque Vale, Troops

by Anne Laurie| March 10, 20262:27 am| 22 Comments

This post is in: Military, Open Threads

$6.9 million of lobster tail in a month????? What would you even do with that much lobster

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— Amanda Katz (@katzish.bsky.social) March 10, 2026 at 12:38 AM

Surf & turf is the classic meal they serve when they’re about to tell you your deployment has been extended so…

— tawdryhepburn9.bsky.social (@tawdryhepburn9.bsky.social) March 10, 2026 at 12:42 AM

“Surf and turf before the storm“

But seriously, it’s not that they had any actual plans…

The Pentagon spent more money in September—the end of the 2025 fiscal year—than it had in any other year since 2008. But a good chunk of the budget wasn’t used for anything that could be considered a pertinent military expense.

The Defense Department burned through $93 billion that month alone, signing checks left and right in order to dry up its congressionally allocated budget, according to a recent analysis by the government watchdog Open the Books…

Some of the frivolous September purchases made under Secretary Pete Hegseth’s stewardship include a $98,329 Steinway & Sons grand piano for the Air Force chief of staff’s home, $5.3 million for Apple devices such as the new iPad, and an astronomical amount of shellfish, including $2 million for Alaskan king crab and $6.9 million worth of lobster tail. (Lobster tail is apparently a favorite of Hegseth’s Pentagon—the department spent more than $7.4 million total on the luxury item in March, May, June, and October.)…

One of the largest bulk expenditures was just for furniture, for which the Pentagon decided to shell out $225 million. That included $12,000 for fruit basket stands, and checks totaling more than $60,000 for Herman Miller recliners. All in all, the agency spent more on furniture in 2025 than it had in over a decade.

In the last five days of September alone, the department blew through $50.1 billion on just grants and contracts. For context, only nine other countries spend that much on the entirety of their defense budget per year. It’s also more than the total military budgets of Canada and Mexico combined…

Why does one get the feeling that ‘fruit basket stands’ is a code for ‘Hegseth’s personal alcohol allowance’?

Late Night Open Thread: Ave Atque Vale, TroopsPost + Comments (22)

War for Ukraine Day 1,474: With Friends Like These

by Adam L Silverman| March 9, 20269:51 pm| 20 Comments

This post is in: Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Iran, Military, Open Threads, Russia, Silverman on Security, War, War in Ukraine

It’s been a long day, the time change is kicking my dupa, so I’m just going to run through the basics again tonight.

The cost:

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that today, during an air battle while carrying out a mission, Hero of Ukraine and commander of the 39th Tactical Aviation Brigade, Oleksandr Dovhach, was killed.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 12:21 PM

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Mr. Dovhach carried out hundreds of combat sorties and took part in battles for the Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions, as well as for Snake Island.

Eternal memory.

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 12:21 PM

With friends like these:

Trump announced lifting of some oil sanctions on Russia.

The SAME DAY we send OUR soldiers to defend YOUR bases with weapons developed at the cost of Ukrainian lives, you let those who killed them rebuild their cash reserves so they can kill more of us.

FUCKING UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

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— Maria Drutska (@mariadrutska.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 7:07 PM

Russia continues killing Ukrainians every day and is still fighting to erase us as a state. Easing russian oil sanctions now directly finances their war against Ukraine, including their tactics of terror of civilians: bombing apartment buildings, schools, hospitals, hunting people with drones,

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 3:57 PM

destroying civilian infrastructure in the dead of winter, stealing thousands of children and much more.

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 3:57 PM

There’s a direct line between Trump and his natsec team not only having no issue with Putin and Russia constantly attacking Ukrainian civilians and civilian facilities, but blaming the Ukrainians for these genocidal war crimes and what we’re seeing with the targeting in Iran.

Zelenskyy announced that the US-Ukraine-Russia meeting scheduled for this week is being postponed due to the situation in Iran.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 3:52 PM

Imagine that.

Zelenskyy said that Ukraine has received 11 requests from countries neighboring Iran, European states, and the United States for help in countering “Shahed” drones.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 10:09 AM

President Zelenskyy did not make an address today. Or, if he did, it has not been posted on the presidential website. He and First Lady Zelenska presented the 2026 Taras Shevchenko Prize. There’s no video posted, but here’s the write up:

President and First Lady Took Part in the 65th Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine Award Ceremony

9 March 2026 – 22:28

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska took part in the ceremony presenting the 2026 Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine.

This year the Shevchenko Prize has expanded, and the number of nominations has increased to 13 for the first time in its history. The nominations “Creative Curatorship of Cultural and Artistic Projects,” “Photography,” and “Design” were added. The nomination “Literature” was replaced by “Prose” and “Poetry,” while the musical field was expanded with the nomination “Concert and Performing Arts.” The corresponding decree was signed by the President of Ukraine in July 2025, and today the first laureates received the prizes in these nominations.

“We have things to be proud of. We have people to be proud of. And the Shevchenko Prize proves this. Every year it takes place despite the war, despite everything. And despite everything, every year there are new deserving laureates. This award has not become a formality, and in every sense of the word it is growing – there are more nominations, more remarkable works, more reasons to be proud of our art and our creators,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.

The Head of State noted that this year the Shevchenko Prize is special not only because we mark its anniversary – 65 years – but also because the ceremony is taking place at a time of very powerful emotions that unite all of Ukraine.

“What a difficult and long winter it was. And we overcame it. How much we all longed for this spring. And finally the warmth has come – and these feelings that Ukraine made it, that Ukraine preserved itself, that Ukraine endured. I want to thank our warriors – thank you,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

According to the President, spring is also coming to Ukrainian culture and art, which are interesting to millions, stylish, modern, fashionable, vibrant, and dynamic.

“And when today Ukrainian music unites all our people – on the frontline, across the entire country – when it is impossible to get tickets to our Ukrainian theaters and there are lines at museums, at our exhibitions, for our Ukrainian books, all of this is very inspiring,” the Head of State emphasized.

Yevhen Nyshchuk, Chairman of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine Committee, noted that today art is becoming an important means of psychological support and helps society process the experience of war. That is why expanding the nominations corresponds to the challenges of today.

“This is truly very important. Because the new directions that have appeared, alongside those traditionally established in the canonical perception, are extremely relevant precisely in wartime,” Yevhen Nyshchuk said.

For the first time, the Taras Shevchenko National Prize in the nomination “Photography” was awarded to photographer Olena Hrom for the photo project Stolen Spring.

In another new nomination – “Creative Curatorship of Cultural and Artistic Projects” – the award for the exhibition project “Alla Horska. Boryviter” was received by the curators of this exhibition Tetiana Hauk, Olena Hrozovska, Mykhailo Kulivnyk, Kateryna Lisova, and the exhibition designer Daria Podoltseva. Another winner in this nomination for the cultural and artistic project “30×30. Contemporary Ukrainian Art” was its curator, art critic Valeriy Sakharuk.

Conductor, artistic director of the P. Maiboroda Academic Choir of Ukrainian Radio Yulia Tkach received the country’s highest creative award in the “Concert and Performing Arts” nomination for the media project “One Step to Victory,” artistic cycles “Figures,” “Meeting of Eras,” concert programs, and archival recordings from 2020–2025.

Diplomat, writer, and scholar Yuri Shcherbak became a laureate of the Shevchenko Prize in the “Prose” nomination for the book of summaries and prophecies “Dead Memory. Voices and Cries,” and writer Pavlo Beliansky for the novel “To Fight Cannot Retreat.”

The award in the “Publicism and Journalism” nomination was received by writer and journalist Oleh Kryshtopa for the documentary novel “Radio ‘Aphrodite’.”

In the nomination “Literary Studies and Art Criticism,” the prize was awarded to art historian Olesia Avramenko for her popular scholarly works on art from the author’s Accent series – three books: “Bilokur,” “Prykhodko,” “Tistol.” In the same nomination, film critic, film scholar, and screenwriter Serhiy Trymbach received the prize for the book “Ivan Mykolaichuk. Mysteries of Fate.”

Director Oksana Dmitrieva was the winner in the “Theater Arts” nomination for the performances “Vertep,” “Mons Giraffe” of the Kharkiv State Academic Puppet Theater named after V. A. Afanasiev, “The Tempest” of the Maria Zankovetska National Academic Ukrainian Drama Theater, “Medea” of the Ivan Franko Ivano-Frankivsk National Academic Theater.

The National Prize in the “Cinematic Arts” nomination was received by the scriptwriter and director of the film “U Are the Universe” Pavlo Ostrykov.

The laureate of the award in the “Decorative and Applied Arts” nomination for a series of artistic works of Ukrainian glass from the art project “Born in Fire” was the master of artistic glass Ihor Matsiievskyi.

In the “Visual Arts” nomination, sculptor Nazar Bilyk received the award for creating the “Memorial to Ukrainian Intelligence Officers,” a series of sculptures “Disturbed Space,” “Alloy.”

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Georgia:

Day 467 of #GeorgiaProtests

1. Further isolation of the regime, a Russian proxy and sanctions evasion enabler, pro-Iran, pro-CCP;
2. Further targeted sanctions;
3. Aid to CSOs and independent media;
4. International investigation into chemicals use against protesters;

📷 MOSE

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 2:56 PM

Two more Georgian protesters were sentenced to 4 days in jail for peacefully standing on the sidewalk. One, Zviad Mzhavanadze, posted this video of his “crime.” Prosecutors say he blocked pedestrians and forced them onto the road. In the video, Zviad (circled left) is nowhere near them.

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— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudandjakeli.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 2:48 AM

Georgian students and other protesters have gathered in front of Ilia State University, protesting Georgian Dream’s education reforms that undermine university autonomy, cancel strong academic programs, and particularly target Ilia—the only openly critical state university.

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— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudandjakeli.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 10:04 AM

Today’s protest has reached Tbilisi State University. Students are protesting Georgian Dream’s unconstitutional interference in university autonomy. The reforms dictate which universities may teach which subjects and strip institutions of key academic programs.

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— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudandjakeli.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 11:02 AM

After four hours of marching, Georgian students have reached the Ministry of Education in Tbilisi. They are demanding university autonomy.

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— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudandjakeli.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 12:38 PM

Holland:

“Russian state hackers are engaged in a large-scale global cyber campaign to gain access to Signal and WhatsApp accounts belonging to dignitaries, military personnel and civil servants,” per the Dutch intelligence and security services MIVD and AIVD.

english.aivd.nl/latest/news/…

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— Olga Nesterova (@onestpress.onestnetwork.com) March 9, 2026 at 8:53 AM

From the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Services:

Russian state hackers are engaged in a large-scale global cyber campaign to gain access to Signal and WhatsApp accounts belonging to dignitaries, military personnel and civil servants. The Dutch intelligence and security services MIVD and AIVD can confirm that targets and victims of the campaign include Dutch government employees. The Dutch services also believe that other persons of interest to the Russian government, such as journalists, may possibly be targeted by this campaign.

The Russian campaign is focused on persuading users to divulge their security verification- and pincodes, allowing the hackers to gain access to the users’ Signal or WhatsApp accounts. The most frequently observed method used by the Russian hackers is to masquerade as a Signal Support chatbot in order to induce their targets to divulge their codes. The hackers can then use these codes to take over the user’s account. Another method used by the Russian actors takes advantage of the ‘linked devices’ function within Signal and WhatsApp.

Once an account has been successfully compromised, the hackers can read incoming messages, including messages in the victim’s chat groups. The Russian hackers likely gained access to sensitive information through this campaign.

End-to-end encryption
In the opinion of the Dutch services, Russia’s keen interest in Signal can be attributed to the good reputation of the app. Signal is renowned as a reliable and independent communication channel which offers end-to-end encryption. This makes it an attractive channel for use within governments wishing to protect their internal communication. It also makes it the ideal place for malicious actors to try to capture sensitive information.

“Despite their end-to-end encryption option, messaging apps such as Signal and WhatsApp should not be used as channels for classified, confidential or sensitive information,” states Director of the MIVD, vice-admiral Peter Reesink.

Individual accounts
An interesting aspect of this Russian campaign is that it does not exploit any technical vulnerabilities of the messaging services. The attackers instead make malicious use of legitimate security features of the apps. Director-General of the AIVD Simone Smit states, “It is not the case that Signal or WhatsApp as a whole have been compromised. Individual user accounts are being targeted.”

To increase resilience against this Russian campaign, MIVD and AIVD have published a Cyber Advisory explaining how to identify and respond to attacks. The advisory also give instructions for Signal users on how to identify potentially compromised contacts.

All Signal users can personally check whether there are any potentially compromised contacts in their group chats. If you see any people who appear twice in the list of members (under the same or a slightly different name), this may be evidence of either a compromised account or a new account created by a victim.

If you suspect this to be the case, report this to the information security department of your organisation. Together you can try to verify (preferably using a channel other than Signal or WhatsApp, such as an email or a telephone call) whether it is correct that the account in question appears twice in the chat group contact list. Should this not be the case, ask the group administrator to remove both accounts from the group chat, after which the legitimate account holder can request to rejoin the group.

Please remain vigilant for group members who are not recognised by the rest of the group. The actor may occasionally change the display name of a compromised account to remain unnoticed in chat groups, for example to names such as ‘Deleted account’. If a member’s display name changes, the group will receive a notification. When the change is the legitimate transition to ‘Deleted account’, no notification is sent.

Actor-controlled accounts can also gain entry to the group via an obtained Group Link, of which the group always receives a notification. In all such unauthorised scenarios, ask the group administrator to remove the offending accounts from the chat.

If there is any indication that the group administrator themselves may have been compromised, it is advisable to exit the group and create a new one.

The Netherlands commits €3 billion a year to Ukraine, the new government government, locking in long-term predictable support.

Thank you, dear Dutch people — that’s particularly appreciated in these dark days 🇳🇱

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— Olena Halushka (@halushka.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 8:45 AM

“The new government announced” :)

— Olena Halushka (@halushka.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 8:51 AM

The Paralympics:

At the Paralympics, the Russian anthem was played for the first time since 2014. This happened after Russian alpine skier Varvara Voronchikhina won gold, the first for Russians.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 5:29 PM

Slovakia:

As Orban’s election loss in Hungary looms, Putin is swapping in Fico as his new favourite EU puppet.

Fico declared he will block the €90B EU loan to Ukraine if Orban loses, and “take up the baton from Hungary”.

Putin’s decades-long investment in Fico seems to be paying off.

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— Maria Drutska (@mariadrutska.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 4:26 AM

Hungary:

Ukraine’s MFA said Ukrainian cash-in-transit guards detained March 5 near Budapest were held in handcuffs for 28 hours and transported blindfolded. The operation involved a Hungarian counter-terrorism unit with an APC, machine guns, and grenade launchers, although the Ukrainians were unarmed.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 4:27 PM

The detainees were not allowed to contact their families, a consul, or a lawyer. Their phones and belongings were confiscated. They were subjected to psychological and physical pressure, and one guard with a disability received medical help only after losing consciousness.

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 4:27 PM

On March 9, the Ambassador of Hungary to Ukraine, Antal Heizer, was summoned to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and was issued a strong protest over what Ukraine described as serious violations of Hungary’s international legal obligations.
mfa.gov.ua/news/shchodo…

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 4:27 PM

🇺🇦👀🇭🇺

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— MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 4:29 PM

From Politico Europe:

Hungary’s ruling party on Monday introduced a bill aimed at cementing last week’s controversial seizure of millions of euros worth of Ukrainian state bank cash and gold.

The measure would allow authorities to freeze the assets while a national security investigation unfolds.

The proposal, introduced by Fidesz parliamentary leader Máté Kocsis, would treat the €35 million, $40 million and 9 kilograms of gold seized from vehicles linked to Ukraine’s state-owned Oschadbank as confiscated property until Hungary’s tax and customs authority concludes its probe.

According to Hungarian outlet Telex, lawmakers plan to debate the legislation under an unusual fast-track procedure after the parliament’s national security committee met Monday.

Hungarian authorities say they are examining whether the convoy — stopped while transiting the country last week — posed national security risks. They are also investigating the origin and intended use of the money.

Hungarian officials insist key questions about the convoy remain unresolved. Fidesz parliamentary leader Kocsis described the episode as a “scandalous Ukrainian gold convoy” and said investigators are examining whether the transport of such large quantities of cash and bullion could pose security risks to Hungary.

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, slammed the move on X, accusing Budapest of trying to retroactively legitimize an illegal seizure. “Hungary is falling down a spiral of lawlessness,” Sybiha wrote, calling the bill “a de facto recognition that Hungary’s actions lack any legal grounds.”

The clash is the latest flare-up in a long-running feud between Kyiv and Budapest. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has repeatedly butted heads with Ukraine over energy flows through the Druzhba pipeline, opposed Kyiv’s bid to join the European Union and blocked major EU financial support packages — including a €90 billion lifeline intended to keep Ukraine’s government functioning during the country’s war with Russia.

According to recently released Ukrainian POW’s, Hungary is now working with Russia, offering Ukrainians in captivity a chance to be released if they agree to take part in propaganda statements.

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— SPRAVDI – Stratcom Centre (@stratcomcentre.bsky.social) March 6, 2026 at 3:23 AM

Prisoners of war of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from Zakarpattia (region of Ukraine that borders Hungary) are being handed over to Hungary on the condition of recording propaganda videos.

— SPRAVDI – Stratcom Centre (@stratcomcentre.bsky.social) March 6, 2026 at 3:23 AM

This was reported by the released prisoner of war of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksiy Chorpita for the project BreakTheFake, implemented with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Center for Strategic Communications.

— SPRAVDI – Stratcom Centre (@stratcomcentre.bsky.social) March 6, 2026 at 3:23 AM

“In 2023, in Gorlovka, in the prison where I was then held as a prisoner of war, a revealing incident occurred. I was offered to participate in an exchange, but to go to Hungary. I myself am from Zakarpattia.

— SPRAVDI – Stratcom Centre (@stratcomcentre.bsky.social) March 6, 2026 at 3:23 AM

However, the condition of participation in the exchange was that I had to record a video in which I would speak negatively about the Ukrainian authorities and at the same time positively about Russia, the conditions of detention and the prison regime.

— SPRAVDI – Stratcom Centre (@stratcomcentre.bsky.social) March 6, 2026 at 3:23 AM

I refused to do this, and therefore did not get to the exchange. Fortunately, in 2025, I was nevertheless released from captivity, and I am now undergoing treatment in Ukraine, – said Chorpita.”

— SPRAVDI – Stratcom Centre (@stratcomcentre.bsky.social) March 6, 2026 at 3:23 AM

“In most cases, they are an element of Russian propaganda, created under pressure or coercion. That is why the publication of such videos in the media of other countries actually means the spread of Russian propaganda and, in fact, support for its aggression” – emphasized Oleksiy.

— SPRAVDI – Stratcom Centre (@stratcomcentre.bsky.social) March 6, 2026 at 3:23 AM

This week, Russia handed over to Hungary two prisoners of war of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who were in captivity. After their arrival in Budapest, the Hungarian TV channel published a video in which the military thanked their Russian captors for their survival.

— SPRAVDI – Stratcom Centre (@stratcomcentre.bsky.social) March 6, 2026 at 3:23 AM

These are war crimes.

Back to Ukraine.

Days after Hungary hijacked a Ukrainian Oschadbank delivery, detaining the security team and seizing 10s of millions of dollars worth of cash and gold, the bank has come under a massive hacker attack that has forced the bank to shut down its servers, halting online operations.

— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 8:03 AM

A representative of Fire Point says work is underway to increase the warhead capacity of the FP-1 to 105 kg at a range of 1,000 km, and the FP-2 to 158 kg, thanks to a new wing-integrated fuel tank design.

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 8:43 AM

Drone operators from the the Birds of Magyar, struck several Russian targets on the night of March 8, 2026.

Targets included a 64N6 Big Bird radar in Crimea, a Buk-M2 launcher-loader vehicle (9A316) in Donetsk region, and a temporary deployment site of the Russian Rubikon unit.

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 8:55 AM

“Ready to surrender. No strength left, haven’t eaten for 3 weeks. We need food and communication.” – Russians on the Lyman direction are asking Ukrainian soldiers to take them prisoner because they are starving.
www.facebook.com/66ombr

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 3:30 PM

Operators of the “Steel Horsemen” battalion of the 66th Mechanized Brigade say Russian forces in this sector have long had major logistical problems. Last year, due to lack of evacuation, the death rate in the Russian army exceeded 55%, and this winter it has surpassed 65%.

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 3:30 PM

Kharkiv:

2:30 AM local time/*;30 PM EDT:

Explosion in Kharkiv ‼️ our city is under russian drone attack right now ‼️

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 8:33 PM

Kharkiv is still mourning the victims of a russian drone strike that killed 11 people just two days ago.

Tonight the city was attacked again. At least six people are reported injured so far, including children.

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— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 4:51 PM

This evening in Kharkiv a fire broke out following a russian drone attack, leaving several people injured.

The enemy struck a residential area. As a result of the shelling, two cars caught fire and windows were shattered in an apartment building.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 5:05 PM

Preliminary reports indicate that four people were injured, including one child.

Emergency Service units quickly extinguished the fire.

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 5:05 PM

In Kharkiv, search and rescue operations have been completed at the residential building struck by a Russian missile on Saturday.

The work lasted for more than two days, as rescuers dismantled heavy concrete structures piece by piece. In total, over 2,400 cubic meters of debris were removed.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 6:10 AM

This was a deliberate strike, carried out in the middle of the night while dozens of families in the five‑story building were asleep.

Tragically, 10 people were killed, including two children: a 7‑year‑old boy and a 13‑year‑old girl. Fragments of other bodies were also recovered,

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 6:10 AM

and identification is still ongoing.

At least 16 people were injured in the attack, among them three children. Search dogs and their handlers will continue working even after the official end of the rescue operation, as four people remain missing.

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 6:10 AM

This is an apartment building in Kharkiv, destroyed by a russian strike on March 7.

If you zoom in, you can still see the remaining fragments of people’s homes and lives: a kitchen stove, a chair, a washing machine… just normal homes. In a single moment, russia stole the lives of 10 people.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 4:11 PM

Two children died alongside their mothers. Four people remain missing.

Their only “crime” was being Ukrainians in their own homes; for this, russia killed them.

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 4:11 PM

Mariupol:

On Mar 9, 2022, russian invaders targeted the maternity ward in Mariupol city center, killing and injuring pregnant women and children there.

One of them was Iryna Kalinina. Her son Myron was born dead, and she died half an hour afterwards.

We owe justice to russia’s victims.

📸 Evheniy Maloletka

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— Olena Halushka (@halushka.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 1:29 PM

Russian occupied Crimea:

Ukrainian Special Operations Forces carried out precision strikes on Russian radar and command infrastructure.

Four radar systems were hit in occupied Crimea: 5N84A Oborona-14, Nebo-U, and two radar systems under radomes in Yevpatoria.

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 6:24 AM

This appears to be the first time the Ukrainian Navy has employed FP-2 strike drones:
• In Novoozerne, FP-2 struck a BK-16 landing craft.
• FP-2 strikes also hit infrastructure at Kirovske Air Base, destroying a storage site for Orion drones and four control stations.

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 8:59 AM

Part of Sevastopol was left without electricity due to an accident at a 110 kV substation. There are also reports of a strike in Donetsk.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 4:52 PM

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

There are no new Patron skeets or videos today.

Here is some adjacent material.

There is an informal shelter in Dnipro, Ukraine called “Fluffy Hugs”, which cares for displaced pets evacuated from the front lines. Olha from the Hachiko team delivered food to support the 70 cats and 50 dogs currently living there. We will keep helping! 🐶

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— Nate Mook (@natemook.bsky.social) March 7, 2026 at 9:01 AM

Open thread!

War for Ukraine Day 1,474: With Friends Like ThesePost + Comments (20)

Monday Night Open Thread

by John Cole| March 9, 20268:34 pm| 88 Comments

This post is in: John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House"

So the Straits of Hormuz are closed, the entire global economy is threatened, countries are launching missiles in every which direction, but because the face-painted war-criming clown said ‘I think we are about done here, trust me I have a plan’ the DOW closed up 230+ points.

Our entire fucking economy, from top to bottom, is a shamtastic fucking scam based on the fucking vibes of a couple thousand coked up brokers on Wall Street and their geriatric billionaire bosses. We’re all on a rollercoaster with no fucking say in the matter and no idea if there are tracks up ahead.

***

Meanwhile, another banner day for bigots:

Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles is the latest House Republican to make Islamophobic remarks on social media, causing outcry from Democrats and little public response from fellow Republicans.

“Muslims don’t belong in American society,” the Tennessee Republican posted Monday on X. “Pluralism is a lie.”

Ogles, a member of the hard-right Freedom Caucus, has previously called for a “Muslim ban” and plans to propose legislation to ban entry to the U.S. from a set of Muslim-majority countries.

Personally, I would be ok if we let in 400 Muslims for every bigot like Ogles we launch into the sun. Maybe I am just lucky, but every single Muslim I have ever interacted with in person (and because I self-select to go to a lot of places where Muslims congregate, it is far more than you would imagine for a guy from WV) has been in the top echelon of kind, generous, and gentle human beings I have ever met. One of my younger childhood memories was of an Iranian student named Ikram Chaudry at Bethany College, who everyone on campus and in town loved (even though he was a little crazy). He was here from like ’79-83, when Iran was really not in the best way. Fuck Andy Ogles. As someone who doesn’t believe in any of this stuff this religious bigotry is just maddening and infuriating. Judge people by how they treat you, not by a label, you dumb racist fucks.

And now for unelected bigots:

Enrique Tarrio, a far-right activist and former Proud Boys national chair, posted a photo of himself with Secretary of State Marco Rubio taken at the inaugural “Shield of the Americas” summit in Florida on Saturday.

Tarrio posted the photo on Saturday on the social platform X with a caption that read, in part, “Proud of this Cuban!” He also wrote “down with communism,” in Spanish, an apparent nod to the current Cuban regime, which has been hit with an oil embargo from President Trump.

“With @SecRubio at the Shield of the Americas summit,” he wrote. “By far the President Trumps choices for his cabinet. Proud of this Cuban! Abajo con el comunismo!” Tarrio went on to correct himself, saying, “The best choice by the President* Excuse me.”

Tarrio, who led the white nationalist organization from 2018-21, was sentenced in 2023 to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy following his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump pardoned him and other Jan. 6 rioters last year.

Every single person who ever said a fucking thing about Hillary Clinton’s basket of deplorables remark can go directly to hell, do not pass go.

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There is now incontrovertible (in my opinion) evidence that it was in fact a US Tomahawk missile, targeted using Claude AI, that killed 110 or more kids:

A US Tomahawk missile hit a military base near a primary school in southern Iran where Iranian authorities said 168 people, including around 110 children, were killed, expert video analysis shows.

A video published yesterday by Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency, which BBC Verify has confirmed as authentic, shows a missile moments before it struck an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) base next to the Shajareh Tayebeh primary school in Minab.

BBC Verify has previously established through satellite imagery, verified videos and expert analysis that the area near the school was hit by a series of strikes.

Experts who have seen this latest video, told us the presence of a Tomahawk missile, along with evidence the area was hit with multiple strikes, indicates this was a US operation. Neither Israel nor Iran are known to possess Tomahawks, experts said.

It would also make the scenario of a single Iranian missile hitting the site at the same time and causing such a high reported death toll highly improbable, an expert told BBC Verify.

The only “defense” I have seen is to try to pin the blame on AI, which as far as I am concerned makes this even fucking worse. Like multiple levels of worse. We can not even be arsed to spend a couple man hours ahead of time to do proper target selection. We were under no imminent threat. We were under no fucking threat whatsoever. This was a war we chose to launch, and we couldn’t even fucking try to avoid civilian casualties. And then there is the fact that the only fucking thing they care about are sizzle reels:

NBC’s Richard Engel: “The White House meme campaign is outraging many former US military commanders… they say only someone who has never really seen combat would think it’s a joke and put out material like this.”

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— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 9:33 AM

It’s a good thing I am an atheist, because otherwise I would say with absolute certainty that every single person over the age of 20 in the US who could have voted in the last election is going to fucking hell for this. This is on us.

***

This is stupid as fuck on a scale that I am honestly surprised it did not come from the GOP:

Sen. Cory Booker, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, told NBC News he’ll introduce a tax bill this week to significantly expand the standard deduction, effectively lowering taxes on low- and middle-income earners.

The New Jersey senator’s plan would set the standard deduction at $75,000 for married couples, or $37,500 for individuals. That’s more than double what it is today: $32,200 for couples filing jointly and half that for single filers.

“It’s a simple idea: American households don’t pay taxes on their first $75,000 of earnings,” Booker said in an interview. “It will have a significant impact on the average American in raising their income.”

I do not have the fucking energy to go into how fucking stupid this is. The problem is not that taxes are too high on the middle class, it’s that we’re getting fuck all in return for it. All our tax dollars go to bombing brown people and tax cutes for billionaires and to make banks whole after they do reckless shit and to subsidize fossil fuels. Keep our taxes the same, tax the fucking wealthier more, give us healthcare and all the other good shit every other industrialized nation in the fucking world does and the only reason we don’t is because we’ve convinced the racist poors if we do that only the brown people will get it at their expense.

***

I am in a mood tonight. I am going to go feed the birds.

Monday Night Open ThreadPost + Comments (88)

Excellent Read: “Gullible, Cynical America”

by Anne Laurie| March 9, 20267:40 pm| 84 Comments

This post is in: Excellent Links

Adam Serwer, always worth reading:
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0…

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— Anne Laurie (@annelaurie.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 7:28 PM

If nothing we know is true, then anything might be true… Gift link:

Many Americans believe that vaccines are unsafe, but will jab themselves full of performance enhancers. They think seed oils cause chronic disease, but beef tallow is healthy. They’ll say you can’t trust federally insured banks, but you can trust the millionaires who want you to invest in their volatile vaporware crypto tokens. They think food additives are toxic but support an administration removing all restrictions on pumping pollutants into the air and water. They’ll insist that you can’t trust scientists, because they’re part of the conspiracy. The podcaster selling you his special creatine gummies, though? He seems trustworthy.

The coronavirus wasn’t the only epidemic to hit the United States in the past decade. Americans are also facing a bizarre epidemic of gullibility and cynicism—gullicism, if you need a portmanteau—that is drawing people into a world of conspiracism and falsehoods, one where facts are drowned out by a cacophony of extremely loud and wrong voices. Reliable information is both more available and harder to find than ever—and those who spread misinformation have been rewarded with positions of power, platforms they can exploit to further pollute the information environment…

Gullicism creates not just a void but also an opportunity. It creates an ideal business opportunity for snake-oil salesmen to peddle products whose whole appeal is that they’re not scientifically validated. What is ultimately being sold is the feeling that consumers can prove they’re smarter than those snooty experts who think they know everything—and who probably are in on the conspiracy to deprive you of the truth…

Such theories are an example of what Nancy Rosenblum and Russell Muirhead describe in their book A Lot of People Are Saying as “the new conspiracism.” They portray a nation so “disoriented” by nonsense claims that people struggle to determine what is true. The new conspiracism is characterized by the absence of prescriptive solutions—it offers “no notion of what should replace the reviled parties, processes, and agencies of government once covert schemes are revealed.”

But that’s not quite right. What replaces these processes is snake oil: wellness products that cure no one, firearms and freeze-dried food for an inevitable but always delayed apocalypse, volatile digital tokens in exchange for real money. These substitutes provide nothing useful or tangible—only the self-esteem boost that comes from feeling like you understand infectious diseases better than an epidemiologist (or whatever expert told you something you didn’t want to hear). In some cases, the replacement is even worse—between anti-vax lunacy and shots of raw milk in the Oval Office, we appear to have a grand political coalition for returning to the days when people regularly died of diarrhea. You, too, can be a lone, rugged wolf rising above the masses of sheep. (At least until the listeria gets you.)

That’s exactly how the cryptolords and gambling companies and supplement salesmen want you to feel, because if they can sell you that feeling, they can sell you anything at all. That goes for politicians, too…

Excellent Read: <em>“Gullible, Cynical America”</em>Post + Comments (84)

Cruel Shoes II

by Betty Cracker| March 9, 20265:32 pm| 138 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Politics, Republican Stupidity, Assholes, General Stupidity

There’s an insane story in the WSJ about how TeMussolini has a new dementia game. He guesses the shoe size of male appointees and cronies, then has a minion order Florsheim shoes for them in the size he guessed.

He expects giftees to wear the shoes in his presence. Doesn’t always work out so well.

Rubio in too-large shoes

Real Caligula appoints his horse as consul stuff!

I wonder if the shoe recipients hobble around in ill-fitting shoes indefinitely, or do they order the same shoes in the right size and make the switch on the down low?

I hope it’s the former. They deserve cruel shoes.

Open thread.

ETA: Piggy is supposed to give a speech right about now. It will be lies, so I’m not gonna bother watching.

Cruel Shoes IIPost + Comments (138)

A Bit of Inspiration

by WaterGirl| March 9, 202611:55 am| 42 Comments

This post is in: Something Good Open Thread

In honor of International Women’s Day, last night’s Medium Cool was about women and culture.

Many of the comments were moving and inspirational, but there’s one in particular that I want to share here. It was a late arrival and I hope everyone takes a couple of minutes to read it.

We all need inspiration!

Percysowner

My inspirations will never be found on any Wiki, or anywhere other than Ancestry and then only if you pay money, they are my mother, my grandmother and my great grandmother. GGM AKA Little Grandma (she was 4″ 10″ at most) was from Slovakia. She had Granny in 1894,when she was 20 and unmarried. Neither she nor Granny talked about it. She did eventually marry Grandpa Lou, Was he Granny’s father? Who knows. Slovakia was in the middle of a war zone. My cousin thinks that Grandpa Lou was sent to fight before he knew she was pregnant. My father, not from her side, said that an army marched in and when they left she was pregnant. The implications there are darker. In any case, when my Granny was 6 Little Grandma brought her to America. Presumably Grandpa Lou sent for her, but no real info is available.

Little Grandma took what work she could find, cooking, cleaning houses. Granny dropped out of school when she was 16 and started working, cleaning houses, cooking, and I don’t know what. She married Grandpa Joe who was also an immigrant and who ran and owned a dairy.Both Grandpa Lou and Grandpa Joe died before I was born. Little Grandma died when I was 4.

My mom went to college. She got a Master’s Degree in Library Science and worked as a librarian until I was born. Then, even though it was the 1950s, she went back to work part time because she wanted to. She developed MS, was fired because the place she worked thought it was “too depressing” to see her “struggling” to work, even though she completed all of her tasks, which hurt her a LOT. God Bless the ADA!

So my inspirations are not only my maternal ancestors, but all the women who crossed oceans, or deserts or countries to make a better life for themselves and their children. Who worked “menial” jobs and were looked down upon because they were “just immigrants” and not as good as those who were here longer, THEY are the ones who made America and who will continue to make America. Now all we have to do is accept that women coming here makes us strong and will keep strong and safe.

Every poster here, unless they have Native American heritage, has someone in their ancestry that left home and hearth. That left a bad situation for their children and added to this country or who simply wanted a better live than they had at “home”. I am inspired by them all, the Somalis who live down the road from me in Ohio, the Hispanics who left South America and Central America, the Ukrainian immigrants, the Asian immigrants, the women from the Middle East and every woman who came to this county looking for a better life for her and her children,

I’m pretty sure this is a dying thread. I’m going to bed, but I wanted to put my vote in for the unsung women who made the country was today, and FUCK those who say they aren’t good enough!

I too got a library degree and ran a county law library. My daughter runs a smalll city department in a STEM area.

Immigration helped this world.

A Bit of InspirationPost + Comments (42)

Too little, too late, ftfnyt. fuck all the way off.

Hell hath no fury like a farmer bankrupted.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

No one could have predicted…

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

American history and black history cannot be separated.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

“Perhaps I should have considered other options.” (head-desk)

The only way through is to slog through the muck one step at at time.

The press swings at every pitch, we don’t have to.

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

This is dead girl, live boy, a goat, two wetsuits and a dildo territory. oh, and pink furry handcuffs.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Republicans in disarray!

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

When I was faster i was always behind.

To the privileged, equality seems like oppression.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.