April 10, 2022

"When a single ceramic cockerel, sitting atop a kitchen cabinet, survived a bombardment of Borodianka, it became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance."

"So when Boris Johnson and Volodymyr Zelenskiy were given one each as a gift as they walked through Kyiv, it carried an added significance."

From "Ceramic cockerels surprise Boris Johnson and Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Kyiv walk/‘I’m from London’ says British PM. ‘I know, I’m from Kharkiv,’ says bystander proffering traditional jugs that in the war have come to symbolise Ukrainian resilience" (The Guardian). 

You can see the presentation of the cockerels at 0:57 here:

28 comments:

Narr said...

Reminds me of Edgar Derby in Slaughterhouse-Five.

rcocean said...

The Uk has a fat clown with bad hair.
The USA has a senile clown with no hair.

Even more then the USA leadership, the UK leadership LOVES war and getting all worked up about some "Bad Country" that needs bombing or some Poor little country that needs to be defended. Poor little belgium. Poor little POland. Poor little Kuwait.

rcocean said...

And now, poor little Ukraine.

Lurker21 said...

Boris looks like he could use the exercise.

A cockerel is a young rooster, a male chicken which has not been castrated.

Symbolically, Ukraine/Zelensky/BoJo is not yet castrated. Good to know.

The (Golden) Cockerel, though, was long associated with Russia. Pushkin. Rimsky-Korsakov. Cultural appropriation?

David Begley said...

Why doesn’t that fucking coward Biden go to Ukraine? Afraid of covid? Afraid that his Secret Service can’t protect him? Can’t handle the long plane ride?

Biden is actually afraid that a visit might *upset* Putin. What a giant fucking joke.

At least send Dr. Jill. She’s responsible for this disaster. Send her to the killing fields.

Breezy said...

Good for Boris Johnson, walking the talk. Respect.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Lurker21 said...

A cockerel is a young rooster, a male chicken which has not been castrated.

How do you castrate a male chicken when they have no external genitalia?

Narr said...

I commented before watching or seeing other comments, and now that I've watched I have to say, "My, what big cockerels those fellows have!"



William said...

This reflects to the advantage of both Zelensky and Boris Johnson. It's not a standard state visit. There's some risk to their little walk together. I know security measures are in place, but who wants to travel several thousand miles to take such a walk. Bravo BoJo....I don't think it's a walk that Biden could have made. His walk never looks purposeful. It's either doddering or it reveals an effort not to appear doddering. Such a walk defeats the propaganda value of the walk. Harris would probably start cackling when gifted with a cockerel....I can't think of anyone in the Biden administration who could project a forceful image in such a context....Maybe that's just as well. There were lots of US statesman with combat boots and stern aspects who assured us that everything was under control in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Achilles said...

It is OK now to have a big cock on your side.

This is a dumb little story about a big cock. This must be targeted at all the tough war mongers sitting on their couches watching the news. Nothing gets a chickenhawk going more than a story about a big cock.

Much more interesting top me is that Zelensky has decided Ukraine is going to be like Israel. Surrounded by enemies, not dependent on anyone else etc. Always ready for war.

I like the idea and the sentiment.

Does that mean that Zelensky plans on having elections and opposition parties again?

I am holding out hope for Zelensky.

Narayanan said...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/castrating-a-rooster.730580/

What you are talking about is called Caponizing. It involves you tieing your little roo down, making an incision into the body cavity, finding the testicles, and removing them. A capon (or caponized rooster) will not look like a rooster but rather like a fattened hen. He will not crow, mount the hens or protect the flock. It's painful, stressful, and risks infection for the bird. I don't know of any vets that do caponizings so it would be up to you to perform the operation.
Fertilized eggs don't look or taste any different than unfertilized eggs.

Yancey Ward said...

We live on a clown planet.

Quaestor said...

How do you castrate a male chicken when they have no external genitalia?

Step One: Learn some practical truths about avian -- no let's be even more cheekily pedantic -- dinosaurian anatomy. Castrating a chicken may seem problematic to someone who has never bothered to look, nevertheless, such castrations are routinely done to produce a popular item in many cuisines known as capon. Americans seldom eat roosters. The capon market is minuscule, so young cockerels bred here are generally slaughtered before they mature and become aggressive -- hotdogs, Vienna sausage, pet food, fertilizer.

Yancey Ward said...

"How do you castrate a male chicken when they have no external genitalia?"

You chop its head off, pluck it, gut it, clean it up and deep fry it.

Quaestor said...

Biden is actually afraid that a visit might *upset* Putin. What a giant fucking joke.

Tomorrow Biden will claim he traveled 17,000 miles with Zelenskiy while touring the battlefields.

Quaestor said...

Someday rcocean may receive some very nasty news from his physician. Perhaps someone nearby will cluck sarcastically, "Poor little rcocean."

People with no sympathy for the little guy will receive none in return.

Butkus51 said...

What they really need right now is a Michele Obama poster. Where are you Dr Jill Biden?

Dave Begley said...

"But I will tell you he sits in the Oval Office and in the Situation Room on a daily basis, organizing and coordinating the world when it comes to the delivery of weapons," Sullivan continued.

Iman said...

But did he split the time the cock'rel crowed?

tim maguire said...

Not just the ceramic bird. That whole cabinet--the kitchen is gone, but the cabinet is still there, suspended in the air, out of context, full of fragile crockery that survived the bombing--like a post-apocalyptic art installation.

Bob Boyd said...

He was hoping for a scented candle.

tim maguire said...

David Begley said...Why doesn’t that fucking coward Biden go to Ukraine?

Because the West walks a tightrope, giving as much aid as possible to Ukraine without Russia deciding we're directly involved. Johnson was stupid. Zelenskyy wants a broader war. We don't.

Bob Boyd said...

It would be bad omen if Boris dropped his cock.

Nicholas said...

Boris attempted to traverse the Olympic stadium in London on a zipwire as part of the opening ceremony for the 2012 London Olympic Games, and got stuck in the middle. He managed to turn that into a popularity enhancing comic turn, so walking around Kiev with a ceramic cockerel will have been a breeze for him.

Scott M said...

Can we get a Beavis and Butthead tag on this one too? :) If they would laugh at "titter" (and they would), they're going to have a field day with "cockerel".

Yancey Ward said...

Frank Costanza on chickens.

Iman said...

“It would be bad omen if Boris dropped his cock.”

He dropped his cock and grabbed his socks?

Candide said...

I really hate when every time it happens. I am walking in the open in the center of one of the most dangerous cities on the planet, surrounded by armed bodyguards with machine guns at the ready and suddenly some woman just barges through and gives me a ‘surprise’ present. Stupid cockerel! The thing is big enough to contain enough explosives to clear out the whole square. I know it should be safe, but still…. So I trying to say something nice, but all that comes out of my mouth is, “I’m from London”, and she says, “Yes, I know”. Just great! What else does she know?

Besides, what am I going to do with the stupid thing? Every shelf in the manor is overloaded with ‘surprise’ presents as it is. Anyway, thanks a whole bloody lot!