DNIPRO, Ukraine — Before the war, Rabbi Meyr Stambler never broke Shabbat and never lied to his wife, with whom he had lived for 28 years. Now he has done both. If there is an emergency, like evacuations, he will answer his phone on Saturdays. In the early days of the Russian invasion, he sent his wife Sarah, his ten children, and his three grandkids to Israel, promising he would join them in a few days. But he lied. He never meant to leave Ukraine. Rabbi Stambler, the Chairman of the Chabad-affiliated Council of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine, came to Dnipro from New York in 1991. He was nineteen years old. He has lived here ever since. He considers himself Ukrainian. “On average I sleep three hours per day,” he says. “Now I can devote all my time to helping my community without being worried for my family. I decided it was time for them to flee after the nuclear power plant in Zaporizzhya region — 130 miles away — was overtaken by Russians troops in the early … [Read more...] about Ukraine’s Jewish Community Fights Back Against Russia’s Invasion — and Against Putin’s Lies
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Sean McVay’s Fiancée Adds Vladimir Putin Toilet Paper To House ‘Accents’
TMZ Composite Sean McVay 's fiancée has taken her disdain for Vladimir Putin to her bathroom ... revealing she just recently added some Putin toilet paper to her house. Veronika Khomyn , who's been dating McVay -- the L.A. Rams head coach -- for years, showed off the new bath tissue on her social media page on Sunday evening. The T.P. in her crib now has Putin's face all over it ... and Veronika insinuated there might be more than just one roll -- captioning the photo, "Home accents," with a poop emoji. Of course, Veronika is from Ukraine and has been one of Putin's biggest detractors since Russia invaded the country in February. Khomyn initially called the first hours of the conflict "the hardest day I've ever experienced." She and McVay later took the stage at the Critics' Choice Awards in March to pan Putin for starting the war, and praise Ukrainians for their resiliency. Getty "I proudly stand with my … [Read more...] about Sean McVay’s Fiancée Adds Vladimir Putin Toilet Paper To House ‘Accents’
George W. Bush Flubs, Equates Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine to His Invasion of Iraq
It's maybe the most incredible gaffe of the year -- and that's saying something -- former President George W. Bush tried to take aim at Vladimir Putin , and it boomeranged right back on him. W. was speaking at SMU's George W. Bush Institute when he groused about Putin's invasion of Ukraine ... he was trying to say the war was the brainchild of a tyrant who brazenly invaded a neighboring country without any justification. But, here's how it came out ... "Political opponents are imprisoned or otherwise eliminated from participating in the electoral process. The result is an absence of checks and balances in Russia and the decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq." Well, he quickly corrected himself, saying "I mean of Ukraine," and then just shrugged. As you know, Bush launched a U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 on the pretext Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction ... there were no such weapons but lots of destruction … [Read more...] about George W. Bush Flubs, Equates Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine to His Invasion of Iraq
‘Once Upon A Time In Londongrad’: Sky Greenlights Landmark Doc Series From Hulu’s ‘WeWork’ Director Jed Rothstein
EXCLUSIVE: Hulu’s WeWork director Jed Rothstein is forging landmark Sky documentary Once Upon a Time in Londongrad, exploring 14 mysterious deaths in the UK with alleged connections to Russia over two decades. Scroll down for the trailer. Oscar-winning production outfit Rise Films is behind the show in association with Universal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group, BuzzFeed Studios and Concordia Studio. Helmed by investigative reporter Heidi Blake, the doc series is incredibly timely and will examine how Vladimir Putin’s two decades in power have made the UK reliant on Russian money and thereby led to missed opportunities to contain the Kremlin. The deaths, which include high-profiles such as Alexander Litvinenko, will be explored in connection with the hidden underworld of Russian exiles in London, coming as high-profile Russians living in the UK such as former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich face sanctions. The issue has been a hot … [Read more...] about ‘Once Upon A Time In Londongrad’: Sky Greenlights Landmark Doc Series From Hulu’s ‘WeWork’ Director Jed Rothstein
Dan Rather Wins Peabody Career Achievement Award
Dan Rather , whose broadcast journalism career has spanned six decades including being anchor of CBS Evening News from 1981-2005, has been given the Peabody Career Achievement Award. The honor, which the Peabody organization said is reserved for individuals whose work and commitment to broadcasting and digital media have left an indelible mark on the field and in American culture, was announced Tuesday. Dolly Parton presented Rather with the award virtually (see the video below). Previous recipients of the career honor include Carol Burnett, Rita Moreno, Cicely Tyson and Sam Pollard. Rather covered the Kennedy assassinations and the civil rights movement and reported from Vietnam before being named CBS’ chief anchor in 1982. He also was a longtime correspondent on the network’s 60 Minutes . “Dan Rather’s remarkable career — from local news reporter and international correspondent to network anchor — is a textbook example not just of what quality reporting looks … [Read more...] about Dan Rather Wins Peabody Career Achievement Award
Sochi Olympics Closing Ceremony: NBC’s Presentation Semi-Live Blog
The most expensive Olympics ever ended today in Sochi, Russia. NBC broadcast the Closing Ceremony in primetime tonight. Here’s NBC ’s version of that ceremony: 8 :25 PM ET: NBC’s walk up to the Closing Ceremony is its one-hour docu on Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding which, Kerrigan tells Bob Costas when it’s over, was difficult to watch and “doesn’t matter” any more, in re whether Harding knew in advance about the plan to club Kerrigan in the knee. Seems about right. It will be interesting to see what kind of ratings this debbie-downer lead-in pulls for NBC. 8:28 PM ET: Bob Costas plugging Rio Summer Games, eating up precious minutes. Does this mean we won’t get the see the Closing Ceremony’s honoring of Russian authors Tolstoy, Solzhenitsyn, Checkhov and others too numerous (and tough to spell) to mention? Related: Bob Costas Makes Return To NBC Olympics Coverage 8:35 PM ET: Al Michaels, Chris Collinsworth, and Vladimir Pozner are hosting. Little … [Read more...] about Sochi Olympics Closing Ceremony: NBC’s Presentation Semi-Live Blog