Well, that took a turn…

I’ve written here on occasion about a Russian group called “Leonid and Friends” that does some incredible covers, mostly of Chicago songs, but a couple of others too.

But I don’t think they’re all Russian. And that’s interesting right now. Because if you watch their videos through to the end, you’ll see that one of the “friends” (Serge Tiagnyriadno) records from “Kyiv, Ukraine.” He’s the guy who wears a Cubs shirt in some of their videos, and in the one I’m posting here, he sings background vocals and plays a small synthesizer.

And yeah, things have taken a turn over there lately, and I wonder how it’s working out for them. I’m sure they haven’t turned on each other, and it could be that Serge has left Ukraine — who knows? But it does get one thinking. From all indications I’m seeing here, it seems Putin is just going off the rails — fabricating every excuse for invasion along the way. I can imagine that there are some reasons buried in there that might have a tinge of legitimacy, but I (and apparently pretty much all of the rest of the free world) can’t see those reasons coming even close to a valid reason to stomp into someone else’s country and just take over.

I do think that Biden is handling it decently though. We don’t need to go stomping in anywhere either. Diplomacy and economic pressure should be our first measures, and they are. Getting a world consensus that Russia’s actions are just not acceptable among civilized societies is a good first step. But I wonder about overkill too. In today’s social outrage society, piling on is the thing to do, and now a lot of what I’m seeing looks just like that. I haven’t checked, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Ben & Jerry’s has already issued their statement refusing to sell ice cream in Russia.

And this is what the far right ideologues (and Russian dictators) love to play. It’s all about the “us” versus “them,” and here we have the good people of Russia being played by an ice cream company (or an iPhone or athletic shoe maker — take your pick). At least that’s what Putin’s telling them. “Time to dig in your heels, boys, and fight the evil corporations that are trying to stick it to you.”

I’m pulling for Ukraine here for sure. The Cold War ended thirty years ago, and Putin is an old KGB relic. The days of these authoritarian louts have got to go. I mean, we’ll still be a mess, but we don’t need this extra crap going on in the world right now. We’ve got other, far more important things to handle.

So that’s enough of that rant. Let’s all take a moment then to calm down with an excellent cover of Earth, Wind, & Fire’s “After the Love has Gone.” Good stuff…