"Last Friday Kuzovkov protested outside the Russian embassy in Berlin with a satirical painting of Putin and Joseph Stalin."

"It depicted a tiny Putin sitting on Stalin’s lap. He also stuffed a Russian flag into a bin during the protest, which was staged on the Russia Day national holiday.... On Saturday Kuzovkov posted a painting on Telegram showing [Chechen leader Ramzan] Kadyrov and his teenage son, Adam, as pigs. His work included sexually explicit images of Kadyrov that suggested the Chechen leader was gay. He also mocked Apti Alaudinov, the commander of Chechnya’s Akhmat special forces unit...."

From "He made Putin look grotesque. A gunman shot him dead in a car park/Two Belarusians have been arrested over the killing of Robert Kuzovkov in Poland. The case may be murkier than it first appears" (London Times).

  

"The Kremlin has announced that Vladimir Putin has been invited to join Donald Trump’s 'board of peace'..."

"... set up last week with the intention that it would oversee a ceasefire in Gaza. The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told journalists on Monday that Russia was seeking to 'clarify all the nuances' of the offer with Washington, before giving its response. The claimed invitation comes as Putin shows no signs of ending his invasion of Ukraine, in which hundreds of thousands have been killed..."

The Guardian reports.

"One possibility of what we get out of it is basically a spheres of influence kind of organization of the world..."

"... something we haven't really seen since the late 1800s. This is a world in which the United States dominates its own territory, that China dominates the Pacific, and that the Europeans dominate Europe — but if they don't get their act together, maybe Vladimir Putin dominates Europe.... I think this is where we see the America First doctrine becoming something closer to Americas First — Americas with an S — that he views the region as basically the subsidiary of the United States. And you know, I've traveled with President Trump. I've covered 5 American Presidents since I got back to Washington... and my takeaway is that Trump is really not an isolationist. He never has been. He's actually more of a unilateralist.... He wants the total freedom of action. He knows that he is not really interested in democracy promotion. He knows that he wants to prioritize economics and economic development over everything, even if those economics don't necessarily come with security benefits to the us.... [E]ach region of the world — and even our allies — are going to have to learn to depend on themselves.... I think the fundamental trust in the US as the defender of a certain set of concepts of the West has been shattered for some time...."

Says David Sanger in today's excellent episode of the NYT "Daily" podcast, "Trump’s Plan to Reorder the World."

AND: Here's the "National Security Strategy" document Sanger is discussing.

ADDED: There's some discussion of the Monroe Doctrine in that podcast, so

"At the meeting her husband handed the Russian leader a 'peace letter' from his wife which called on Putin to restore the 'melodic laughter' to children suffering from the war in Ukraine."

"'Much has unfolded since President Putin received my letter last August,' said Mrs Trump, 55. 'He responded in writing, signalling a willingness to engage with me directly and outlining details regarding the Ukrainian children residing in Russia. 'For the past three months, both sides have participated in several back-channel meetings and calls, all in good faith. My representative has been working directly with President Putin’s team to ensure the safe reunification of children with their families between Russia and Ukraine. In fact, eight children have been rejoined with their families during the past 24 hours.'"

From "Melania Trump secures release of children abducted from Ukraine/The first lady said she was working ‘directly’ with President Putin to release more children that were brought to Russia" (London Times).

"A new world order is being created, new rules of a multipolar world, a new balance of power, which is extremely important for stability in the world."

"Being part of such discussions means supporting dialogue and not acting like a sulking little child. This is how the EU and its representatives behave today."

Said Robert Fico, the prime minister of Slovakia, "the only European Union leader present at the parade," quoted in "Kim Jong-un joins Xi and Putin in China for military parade/The North Korean leader has travelled in an armoured train to Beijing for a display of anti-West solidarity with other leaders at the SCO summit" (London Times).

"So when we've met, when I came out of the plane and I said, 'Good afternoon, dear neighbor. Very good to see you in good health and to see you alive.' I think that is very neighborly."

"I think that's some kind words that we can say to each other. We're separated by the strait of Bering, though, there are two islands only between the Russian Island and the U.S. Island. They're only four kilometers apart. We are close neighbors, and it's a fact."

Said Vladimir Putin, quoted in "Here's the transcript of what Putin and Trump said in Alaska." 

I pulled that quote because it's very near the beginning and because it reminds me of "I can see Russia from my house and because "to see you alive" might be what he'd say if he had been behind the 2 assassination attempts.

But I want to read it all. I'm going to live-blog my reading of the transcript here. Sorry I missed the live event last night, but at the last second we realized we could get access to the baseball game by submitting to the plot to force us to subscribe to Apple TV. The home team extended its winning streak to 13. We're joking please, please it's too much winning, we can't take it anymore.

On to the transcript. Putin continues:

"The current American administration… is making, in my opinion, quite energetic and sincere efforts to stop the hostilities, stop the crisis and reach agreements that are of interest to all parties involved in this conflict."

Said Vladimir Putin, quoted in "Putin praises Trump’s peace efforts and floats potential nuclear deal at Alaska summit" (CNN).

Trump talks about the "land swapping" that he says will take place in ending the war in Ukraine.

 

From the transcript of his press briefing yesterday, Trump talks about the "land swapping" that he says will take place in ending the war in Ukraine:

We're going to change the lines, the battle lines. Russia's occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They've occupied some very prime territory. We're going to try and get some of that territory back for Ukraine. But they've taken some very prime territory. They've taken largely, in real estate we call it oceanfront property.

The most powerful man in the world — attempting to manage what he's just called "by far the worst that's happened since World War II" — seems comfortable reverting to real-estate mogul mode.

That's always the most valuable property. If you're on a lake, a river or an ocean, it's always the best property. Well, Ukraine, a lot of people don't know that Ukraine was largely a thousand miles of ocean. That's gone, other than one small area, Odessa, it's a small area. There's just a little bit of water left. So I'm going to go and see the parameters. Now, I may leave and say good luck, and that'll be the end. I may say this is not going to be settled. I mean, there are those that believe that Putin wanted all of Ukraine. I happen to be one of them, by the way. I think if it weren't for me, he would not be even talking to anybody else right now. But I'm going to meet with him. We're going to see what the parameters are, and then I'm going to call up President Zelensky and the European leaders.

ADDED: The very next headline I read was: "For Trump, Cities Like Washington Are Real Estate in Need of Fixing Up/'It’s a natural instinct as a real estate person,' he said in announcing his federal takeover of the capital’s police, despite falling crime" (NYT).

"Among those admiring the work on a recent visit was Liliya A. Medvedeva, who said she was 'very happy that our leader got restored.'"

"'We won the war thanks to him,' said Ms. Medvedeva, a pensioner born in 1950, adding that she was grateful that Stalin didn’t send her father to the Gulag even though he was taken prisoner during World War II — something that was equated with treason at the time. 'Yes, there were many mistakes, but everybody makes mistakes.' In a country where criticizing government action can be dangerous, it is unclear how many people disagree with Ms. Medvedeva’s positive view.... But nostalgia for the Soviet era is strong, especially among older generations traumatized by the painful transition to capitalism...."

From "Stalin’s Image Returns to Moscow’s Subway, Honoring a Brutal History/The Kremlin has increasingly embraced the Soviet dictator and his legacy, using them to exalt Russian history in a time of war, but he remains a deeply divisive figure in Russia" (NYT).

"President Putin has repeatedly condemned Stalin over the years, and recognized that terrible crimes were committed under his rule.... [But i]n 2017, Mr. Putin told the filmmaker Oliver Stone that 'excessive demonization of Stalin has been one of the ways to attack the Soviet Union and Russia.'... 'The creeping re-Stalinization of the country is dangerous...' said Lev Shlosberg, a Russian opposition politician and member of the liberal Yabloko party that started a petition to dismantle the monument in the Moscow metro...."

"President Trump’s tone after the call with President Putin was once again emollient."

"Rather than punishing Russia with the 'bone-crushing' sanctions some had hoped for, he hailed an 'excellent' call and said Russia had a 'tremendous opportunity' to do business with the US if the war ended. Even better for Putin, he also appeared to backtrack from US involvement in talks, speculating that they could be hosted by the Pope in the Vatican and saying it would be 'negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be.'"

The London Times reports.

What role have popes played in bringing about peace? Some examples, here, at Grok.

"I just don't understand how people think that if we allow a dictator, a thug, to decide he's going to take significant portions of land that aren't his, that that's going to satisfy him. I don't quite understand."

Said Joe Biden, quoted in "Five takeaways from Biden's BBC interview" (BBC).

"The war has given enormous public exposure to what’s known as Russia’s 'Z community' — pro-war volunteers, military bloggers and ultranationalists..."

"... who want to see a total subjugation of Ukraine.... The 'turbopatriots'... fought on the front lines and were rewarded with an increased social status in wartime Russian society. For decades regarded by the Kremlin as a volatile source of potential opposition, these ultranationalist figures were harnessed to advance the government’s message on the necessity of the bloody, grinding war. But they have also emerged as a rare source of criticism of… Putin.... The Z community and Russia’s ultranationalists have been especially critical in recent weeks of the euphoric response in Russia to Trump’s seemingly more Moscow-friendly approach — and even more so since this week’s talk of a possible ceasefire.... 'What is our specific Russian joy here?' asked nationalist writer Zakhar Prilepin on Telegram after the widespread Russian delight over last month’s Oval Office confrontation between Zelensky and President Donald Trump.... The confusion has been felt especially keenly along the front, where many Russian soldiers believe that rather than just taking on the Ukrainians, they have been fighting a war against NATO and the United States, having experienced firsthand the devastating impact of U.S.-provided weapons to Ukraine."

From "If peace comes, Putin could face the ire of his most hard-line backers/Vladimir Putin and his propagandists convinced many in Russia that there was an existential battle against the U.S. Now they have to deal with a thaw in U.S.-Russian relations" (WaPo).

"President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said on Thursday that he was open to the idea of a 30-day cease-fire in Ukraine..."

"... but that a number of 'questions' must still be resolved. His remarks, at a news conference in Moscow, signaled he was in no hurry to go along with a truce and came as U.S. officials were in Russia to discuss the cease-fire proposal that Ukraine has already agreed to.... It was the first time that Mr. Putin had publicly addressed the cease-fire offer. He is expected to meet with President Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, later today — and Mr. Putin said he may soon speak with the American president...."

NYT reports.

"It feels worth noting that in this moment, Zelensky decides to call the vice President JD, not Vice President Vance."

Observes Peter Baker in this morning's episode of the NYT "Daily" podcast — "The Fallout From Zelensky and Trump’s Oval Office Meltdown" (audio and transcript at Podscribe).

We hear the recording of Zelensky, with new focus on the dismissive "JD": "What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are speaking about? What? What you, what you, what do you mean?"

Baker continues: "Perhaps history will not note this as an important moment. I noted it."

Yes, the re-listen affected me.

"I just had a lengthy and highly productive phone call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia."

"We discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, Energy, Artificial Intelligence, the power of the Dollar, and various other subjects. We both reflected on the Great History of our Nations, and the fact that we fought so successfully together in World War II, remembering, that Russia lost tens of millions of people, and we, likewise, lost so many! We each talked about the strengths of our respective Nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together. But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine. President Putin even used my very strong Campaign motto of, 'COMMON SENSE.'"

Writes President Trump, on Truth Social.

"How's everything going? Good? Everybody happy? You're getting a little bit more access to your President than you did the last time. Slightly. Like by about 5,000 percent."

Our tireless President, on Air Force One last night:

 

It's hard to listen through the plane noise, but let me pick out a few things. Responding to a comment that he'd been "so nice" to Governor Newsom ("you know, 'Governor Newscum,'" he said:

I decided to be nice. It was nice that he came to the plane, honestly... and in the end you know we have the same goal. We want to take that catastrophe and make it as good as possible. We disagree on some things I guess he's not so set on water. I like water for putting out fires. I find it to be extremely good. A little old fashioned, but about the best thing that God has ever created for putting out fires....

Asked about the First Lady, who "seems to be taking a more public facing role," he said:

She felt badly about North Carolina. She felt very badly about California. Los Angeles. Got a lot of friends. I have a lot of friends in North Carolina and both, and she has a lot of friends in California, so she wanted to be with me.

 About TikTok:

As you know, I have the right to sell it or close it depending on what I think is best for the country....

Pushed on "a report... that you are putting together a deal with Oracle and outside investors to help them buy TikTok," he said:

"[W]hile naming a new ambassador to Denmark — which controls Greenland’s foreign and defense affairs — Mr. Trump made clear on Sunday that his first-term offer to buy the landmass could, in the coming term, become a deal the Danes cannot refuse."

"He appears to covet Greenland both for its strategic location at a time when the melting of Arctic ice is opening new commercial and naval competition and for its reserves of rare earth minerals needed for advanced technology. 'For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World,' Mr. Trump wrote on social media, 'the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.' On Saturday evening, he had accused Panama of price-gouging American ships traversing the canal, and suggested that unless that changed, he would abandon the Jimmy Carter-era treaty that returned all control of the canal zone to Panama. 'The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous,' he wrote, just ahead of an increase in the charges scheduled for Jan. 1. 'This complete ‘rip-off’ of our country will immediately stop.' He went on to express worry that the canal could fall into the 'wrong hands,' an apparent reference to China, the second-largest user of the canal. A Hong Kong-based firm controls two ports near the canal, but China has no control over the canal itself."

From "Trump’s Wish to Control Greenland and Panama Canal: Not a Joke This Time/In recent days the president-elect has called for asserting U.S. control over the Panama Canal and Greenland, showing that his 'America First' philosophy has an expansionist dimension" (NYT).

I didn't think it was a joke the first time he talked about Greenland. I don't think it's so much that he's an "expansionist." I think he's looking for American's bad deals and intent on renegotiating them. He's continually complained that other countries are taking advantage of us. Wanting to change that dynamic is not an "expansionist" frame of mind. The United States takes responsibility for the world's security — or purports to — and that exposes us to exploitation. Trump seems to think he's the one to straighten that out. You can say that's a bad idea, but please address that and explain why.

The intensely visual and emotional Trumpian view of the landscape of war.

From the transcript of yesterday's press conference:

We're trying to get the war stopped, that horrible war that's going on in Ukraine with Russia, Ukraine. We've got a little progress. It's a tough one. It's a nasty one. It's nasty. People are being killed at levels that nobody's ever seen. It's very level fields. And the only thing that stops a bullet is a body, a human body. And the number of soldiers that are being killed on both sides is astronomical. I've never seen anything like that. And rapidly. I get reports every week and it's not even… It's like just… They're going down. Nobody's seen anything like it. It's a very flat surface, a very flat land. That's why it's great farming land. It's the breadbasket for the world actually. But it's very flat and there's nothing to stop a bullet but a body.

"I talk to anybody. I always call it my poll. People jokingly tell me you know that Trump will speak with anybody. And I do."

"I speak to the construction workers and the cabdrivers, and those are the people I get along with best anyway in many respects. I speak to everybody.... You’ve got to know your audience, and by the way, for some people, be a killer, for some people, be all candy. For some people, different. For some people, both."

Said Donald Trump in 1989, talking to Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, in "A lost Trump interview comes back to life/The yet-to-be-president holds forth on strength, friendship, dealmaking, public service and building violations" (WaPo)(free-access link, so you can read it all and click on the recordings).

Woodward — who's pushing his new book from which this is an excerpt — exclaims "What a remarkable time capsule, a full psychological study of a man, then a 42-year-old Manhattan real estate king."

I think Trump comes across very positively, so thanks to The Washington Post for making this available.

Here's one more Trump quote, short and sweet: "I believe in having great friends and great enemies."

Great enemies. That's so funny — makes me think of Batman, James Bond — and Trump does have great enemies. Putin. Pelosi. Who else? The big categories: establishment Republicans and establishment Democrats. But who are the individuals? Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris really aren't that great, as enemies... or even opponents. He needs someone he can really go big with.

Putin is big, and yet he can't go big with Putin. He has to be trickier, tricky enough that people would say Putin is his great friend, not his great enemy. But there's the idea: "for some people, be a killer, for some people, be all candy.... For some people, both."

Here's the commission-earned link for Woodward's book: "War."

"The Kremlin confirmed that former US President Donald Trump while in office sent Russian President Vladimir Putin Covid-19 testing devices..."

"... during the height of the pandemic, as recounted in a new book by journalist Bob Woodward. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that the tests had been sent, but denied the book’s claim that the two leaders had spoken by phone several times since Trump left office. 'We also sent equipment at the beginning of the pandemic,' Peskov said in a written response when asked about the book. 'But about the phone calls — it’s not true.'... Trump has long boasted about his relationship with Putin, including by claiming that he could broker an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine if he’s elected again to the White House, without detailing how he would accomplish that. The former president has assailed Biden over Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.... saying [it] would not have happened if the Republican was still in office."

From "Kremlin Says Trump Sent Putin Covid Tests While President/Kremlin denies phone calls took place after Trump left office/Trump campaign pushed back on claims in Bob Woodward’s book" (Bloomberg).

No one can know what would have happened if Trump had remained President, but was there something obviously wrong with sending these Covid tests? I'm not seeing it.