9 Jul 2024

The 33 official Minnesota State Fair new foods

by | posted in: News | 0

The countdown to the Minnesota State Fair (and sadly, the end of summer) has begun.

The Fair has announced 33 official new foods this year and the list includes lots of intriguing items — from Buffalo cheese curd and chicken tacos to deep-fried ranch dressing to banh mi eclairs.

Six new vendors include St. Paul’s El Burrito Mercado, Kosharina Egyptian Cuisine and Midtown Market’s Indigenous Food Lab.

With just 45 days to go, it’s time to start planning, and for us, that means staring down the barrel of trying every single one of these. (* indicates a new vendor)

The official new foods

3 piggy pals on a stick is a new food from Sausage Sisters & Me at the 2024 Minnesota State Fair.

1. 3 Piggy Pals On-A-Stick: Three smoked sausage slices wrapped in bacon, filled with a cream cheese mix, and drizzled with barbecue sauce. Topped with a jalapeño slice and served on-a-stick. (Gluten-Friendly)

At Sausage Sister & Me, in the Food Building, east wall

2024 State Fair new food Afro Poppers from Afro Deli.

2. Afro Poppers: Bite-size pastries infused with an African blend of spices – ground vanilla, cardamom, ginger, cloves and nutmeg – deep-fried and coated with choice of coconut flakes, sugar or served plain. Topped with choice of drizzle – mango chutney, caramel or chocolate.

At Afro Deli, in the Food Building, east wall

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Ba’bacon Sour Cream + Onion hummus from Baba’s.

3. Ba’bacon Sour Cream + Onion: Sour cream + onion hummus topped with beef bacon, sumac tater tots, caramelized onions, scallions, French onion creme fraiche (pronounced krem fresh), black cumin seeds and chive oil. Served with pita puffs dusted with sour cream and onion powder. (Gluten-Free without pita puffs, Vegetarian without bacon)

At Baba’s, on the east side of Underwood Street between Lee and Randall avenues, just south of Little Farm Hands

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Blazing Greek Bites from Dino’s Gyros

4. Blazing Greek Bites: Deep-fried bites made from a blend of chickpeas, tomato, roasted red pepper, scallions and cayenne pepper. Served with a side of roasted red pepper hummus. (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

At Dino’s Gyros, on the north side of Carnes Avenue between Nelson & Underwood streets

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Buffalo Cheese Curd and Chicken Tacos from Richie’s Cheese Curd Tacos

5. Buffalo Cheese Curd & Chicken Tacos: Fried buffalo-flavored cheese curds and chicken topped with blue cheese slaw, drizzled with buffalo sauce, and served in a fried flour shell.

At Richie’s Cheese Curd Tacos, on the north side of Judson Avenue between Liggett and Clough streets, outside the Sheep and Poultry Barn

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Chile Mango Whip from Tasti Whip.

6. Chile Mango Whip: Mango Dole Soft Serve in a cup rimmed and topped with chamoy and Tajín. Garnished with a tamarind candy straw. Alternative flavors of Dole Soft Serve include pineapple, strawberry and lemon. (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

At Tasti Whip, on the northwest corner of Dan Patch Avenue and Underwood Street

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Cookie Butter Crunch Mini Donuts from Mini Donuts & Cheese Curds

7. Cookie Butter Crunch Mini Donuts: Vanilla-flavored mini donuts coated with vanilla sugar, topped with Biscoff cookie butter drizzle and cookie crumbles, and served in a bucket rimmed with cookie butter and cookie crumbles.

At Mini Donuts & Cheese Curds, on the east side of Underwood Street between Murphy and Lee avenues

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Cotton Candy Iced Tea from new vendor Loon Lake Iced Tea.

8. Cotton Candy Iced Tea: Brewed butterfly pea flower tea sweetened with natural flavor and cane sugar. Garnished with a swirl of edible glitter and a rock candy swizzle stick to stir for a color-changing effect. (Gluten-Free, Caffeine-Free, Vegan)

At Loon Lake Iced Tea,* on the west side of Underwood Street between Wright & Dan Patch avenues

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Crab Boil Wings from Soul Bowl.

9. Crab Boil Wings: Chicken wings marinated in hot sauce, grilled and then fried with corn, chicken apple sausage and potatoes. Tossed in a “crab boil” butter and finished with a lemon wedge and parsley. (Gluten-Free)

At Soul Bowl, in the Food Building, east wall

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Deep Fried Halloumi Cheese from Holy Land Deli.

10. Deep-Fried Halloumi Cheese: Halloumi cheese, crafted from a blend of sheep and goat milk, wrapped in pastry dough and deep-fried. Served with a side of sweet chili sauce. (Vegetarian)

At Holy Land Deli, at the International Bazaar, southeast corner

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Deep-fried Ranch Dressing from Lulu’s Public House.

11. Deep-Fried Ranch Dressing: Ranch dressing filling made with ranch seasoning, buttermilk and cream cheese in a panko shell, deep-fried and dusted with ranch powder. Served with a side of hot honey sauce crafted with Cry Baby Craig’s hot sauce. (Vegetarian)

At LuLu’s Public House, at West End Market, south of Schilling Amphitheater

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Dill Pickle Tots from Tot Boss.

12. Dill Pickle Tots: Fried tater tots tossed in dill seasoning with a hint of vinegar flavor – like a dill pickle potato chip. (Vegan)

At Tot Boss, on the east side of Underwood Street between Wright and Dan Patch avenues, south of Kidway

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Fried Bee-Nana Pie from Sabina’s Pizza Pies.

13. Fried Bee-Nana Pie: Handmade pie filled with Minnesota honey, fresh banana and Biscoff cookie butter; battered and deep-fried. (Vegetarian)

At Sabino’s Pizza Pies, in the Lee and Rose Warner Coliseum, north side

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Grilled Purple Sticky Rice from Union Hmong Kitchen.

14. Grilled Purple Sticky Rice: Purple sticky rice grilled over an open flame until crunchy, then topped with choice of shredded Hmong beef jerky or pickled mushrooms. Garnished with fresh herbs and finished with Union Hmong Kitchen’s Krunchy Chili Aioli. (Gluten-Free, Vegetarian option)

At Union Hmong Kitchen, at the International Bazaar, south wall, west corner

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Ham and Pickle Rollup on a Potato Skin from Route 66 Roadhouse Chicken.

15. Ham and Pickle Roll Up on a Potato Skin: Three fried potato skins filled with a blend of sour cream, cream cheese, chopped pickles and ham. Topped with potato chip crumbles. (Gluten-Friendly)

At Route 66 Roadhouse Chicken, located in the Food Building, northwest corner

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Lady Slipper Marble Sundae from Bridgeman’s Ice Cream

16. Lady’s Slipper Marble Sundae: Bridgeman’s strawberry ice cream, lemon marshmallow cream and ladyfinger cookies layered in a cup and topped with whipped cream and a cherry.

At Bridgeman’s Ice Cream, located on the northeast corner of Judson Avenue and Liggett Street

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Marco’s Garden from Jammy Sammies by BRIM.

17. Marco’s Garden: Local rhubarb jam, thyme-marinated locally sourced tomatoes, farmer cheese, jalapeño and honey served with a side of grilled gluten-free flatbread. (Gluten-Free, Vegan option uses thyme tofu dip and maple syrup instead of cheese and honey.)

At Jammy Sammies by BRIM, located at the North End, northwest section, across from the North End Event Center

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Mocha Madness Shave Ice from Minnesnowii Shave Ice.

18. Mocha Madness Shave Ice: Fluffy shaved ice with caffeine-free coffee flavoring and an overflowing caramel macchiato cold foam center. Drizzled with chocolate syrup and garnished with dark chocolate espresso beans. (Gluten-Free)

At Minnesnowii Shave Ice, located on the west side of Nelson Street between Dan Patch and Carnes avenues

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Nixtamal Wild Rice Bowl from new vendor Indigenous Food Lab.

19. Nixtamal and Wild Rice Bowl with Wóžapi and Bison Meatballs or Sweet Potato Dumplings: Choice of bison meatballs or sweet potato dumplings, topped with mixed berry wóžapi sauce, and served on a bed of nixtamal (white corn, blue corn and yellow corn) mixed with wild rice and seasoned with maple and spices. Cricket and seed mix topping optional. (Gluten-Free, Vegan option)

At Midtown Global Market’s Indigenous Food Lab,* located in the Taste of the Midtown Global Market booth at the International Bazaar, east wall (Aug. 28 to Sept. 2 only)

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Patata Frita Foccciawich from West End Creamery.

20. Patata Frita Focacciawich: “Patata Frita” kettle chip-flavored ice cream created by Minnesota Dairy Lab, sandwiched between focaccia bread from Wrecktangle Pizza. Topped with a blend of honey butter, kettle chips and herbs.

At West End Creamery, located at West End Market, northwest section

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food PB Bacon Cakes from The Blue Barn.

21. PB Bacon Cakes: Thick-cut bacon dipped in pancake batter, griddled and topped with peanut butter whipped cream, grape jelly and banana chips.

At The Blue Barn, located at West End Market, south of the History and Heritage Center

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Raging Ball from The Herbivorous Butcher.

22. Raging Ball: Deep-fried sesame mochi dough ball with vegan cheeseburger filling. Made with house-made vegan burger mix, vegan cheddar cheese, grilled onions and pickles. Topped with bacon-flavored powdered sugar. (Gluten-Friendly,Vegan)

At The Herbivorous Butcher, located in the Food Building, south wall

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Savory Eclairs from Scenic 61 by New Scenic Cafe.

23. Savory Éclairs in Two Varieties: Choux pastry éclair shell with choice of filling: Bánh Mì or Lobster.

Bánh Mì Éclair: Filled with pork confit, chicken liver pâté, pickled carrot and daikon, cucumber and sriracha mayo, garnished with micro cilantro – inspired by a traditional Vietnamese sandwich.

Lobster Éclair: Filled with lobster meat, celery, mayo, Cholula hot sauce, lime, chives and salt and pepper, topped with dried corn and micro cilantro – inspired by a New England-style lobster roll.

At Scenic 61 by New Scenic Café, located on the east side of Underwood Street between Lee and Randall avenues, just south of Little Farm Hands

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Shroomy Calamari from French Meadow Bakery & Cafe.

24. Shroomy “Calamari”: Oyster mushrooms hand-breaded and deep-fried. Served with a side of chipotle sauce. (Gluten-Free,Vegan)

At French Meadow Bakery & Cafe, located on the north side of Carnes Avenue between Nelson and Underwood streets

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Strawberries and Cream Waffles on a Stick from Waffle Chix.

25. Strawberries and Cream Waffle Stick: Belgian waffle filled with strawberry shortcake cookie dough, topped with whipped cream and strawberry sauce, and served on-a-stick.

At Waffle Chix, located on Judson Avenue between Liggett and Clough streets

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Strawberry Lemonade Donut from Fluffy’s Hand-Cut Donuts.

26. Strawberry Lemonade Donut: Hand-cut yeast-raised donut frosted with lemon buttercream, rolled in strawberry lemonade crunch, and garnished with lemon gummy candy and freeze-dried strawberry slice. Served with a strawberry lemonade-filled pipette to squeeze in more flavor. (Vegetarian)

At Fluffy’s Hand Cut Donuts, located between West Dan Patch and Carnes avenues and Liggett and Chambers streets, south section

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Swedish Ice Cream Sundae from Salem Lutheran Church Dining Hall.

27. Swedish Ice Cream Sundae: Vanilla ice cream covered in lingonberry jam, sprinkled with Swedish ginger cookie crumble, and garnished with a ginger cookie heart. (Vegetarian)

At Salem Lutheran Church Dining Hall, located on the north side of Randall Avenue, just south of the Progress Center

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Swedish Sota Sliders from Hamline Church Dining Hall.

28. Swedish ‘Sota Sliders: Hamline Church Dining Hall’s Cranberry-Wild Rice Meatball formed into patties, paired with dill Havarti cheese and a red relish of beets, red onions, red peppers, lingonberries and cranberries, served on two brioche buns.

At Hamline Church Dining Hall, located on the north side of Dan Patch Avenue between Underwood and Cooper streets

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Sweet Corn Cola Float from Blue Moon Dine-In Theater.

29. Sweet Corn Cola Float: Minnesota-made sweet corn cola and sweet corn ice cream in a cup, finished with whipped cream, popping candy and house-made frozen caramel.

At Blue Moon Dine-In Theater, located on the northeast corner of Carnes Avenue and Chambers Street

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Sweet Heat Bacon Crunch from RC’s BBQ.

30. Sweet Heat Bacon Crunch: Double-smoked slab bacon tossed in RC’s red barbecue sauce and topped with hot honey and chili crunch, served over a bed of white rice, and garnished with green onions.

At RC’s BBQ, located on the north side of West Dan Patch Avenue between Liggett and Chambers streets

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Turkey Kristo from Minnesota Farmers Union Coffee Shop.

31. Turkey Kristo: Minnesota-made Texas toast from Pan-O-Gold Bakery, sliced Ferndale Market turkey, CannonBelles white cheddar cheese, apple butter made from locally sourced Westcott Orchard apples, and house-made spicy brown mustard mayo, dusted with powdered sugar. (White Cheddar Kristo vegetarian option uses extra cheese instead of turkey.)

At Minnesota Farmers Union Coffee Shop, located on the north side of Dan Patch Avenue between Cooper and Cosgrove streets

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Walking Shepherd’s Pie from O’Gara’s at the Fair.

32. Walking Shepherd’s Pie: Two handmade hot pastries filled with braised ground beef, mashed potatoes and a blend of onions, carrots and peas tossed in herb gravy.

At O’Gara’s at the Fair, located on the southwest corner of Dan Patch Avenue and Cosgrove Street

2024 new Minnesota State Fair food Wrangler Waffle Burger from Nordic Waffles.

33. Wrangler Waffle Burger: Fresh all-beef patty and signature Whataburger Patty Melt Sauce layered with American cheese and served in a caramelized onion-infused Nordic Waffle.

At Nordic Waffles, located at West End Market, south section

New Food Vendors

Chan’s Eatery: Chan’s Eatery serves Korean corndogs (hot dog and mozzarella cheese, battered with panko, deep-fried and finished with a dusting of cinnamon sugar. Option to add a coating of fried potatoes or to substitute toppings for hot Cheetos® with spicy mayo); Mochi donuts in eight varieties (original glaze, churro, cookies ‘n cream, Fruity PebblesTM, chocolate, strawberry, matcha and taro; Fruit and milk boba teas with optional tapioca and jelly toppings.

Located on the east side of Underwood Street between Murphy and Lee avenues

El Burrito Mercado: El Burrito Mercado serves Quesabirria Taquitos (deep-fried, rolled tacos filled with beef marinated in red sauce and cheese, topped with salsa verde and crumbled cheese); Esquites (corn kernels cooked with herbs, topped with sour cream, crumbled cheese, chile powder and lime, served in a cup); and Agua de Sandia Loca (watermelon drink with chamoy and bits of seasoned dried mango). All items are gluten-friendly.

Located at the International Bazaar, south center section

Kosharina Egyptian Cuisine: Kosharina Egyptian Cuisine serves Koshari (rice, pasta, chickpeas, lentils, tomato sauce, garlicky vinegar “dakkah” sauce, topped with fried onions) in three varieties (chicken, beef and vegetable); plus caffeine-free iced hibiscus tea. Koshari is gluten-free without pasta, and the vegetable variety is vegan.

Located south of the Grandstand Building under the Grandstand Ramp

Loon Lake Iced Tea: Loon Lake Iced Tea serves Official New Food Cotton Candy Iced Tea, plus a variety of brewed, naturally flavored, cane sugar-sweetened iced teas, including blood orange, blueberry, peach, strawberry and unsweetened.

Located on the west side of Underwood Street between Wright and Dan Patch avenues

Midtown Global Market’s Indigenous Food Lab: Midtown Global Market’s Indigenous Food Lab serves Official New Food Nixtamal and Wild Rice Bowl with Wóžapi and Bison Meatballs or Sweet Potato Dumplings, with the option to add cricket and seed mix. All items are gluten-free. (Aug. 28 to Sept. 2 only)

Located in the Taste of the Midtown Global Market booth at the International Bazaar, east wall

Paella Depot: Paella Depot serves Chicken and Chorizo Paella (traditional Spanish caramelized rice dish with leeks, red bell peppers, zucchini and snap peas, with option to add fried egg or seafood). Plus, aguas frescas in six flavors made from fruit puree, whole fruit, lime juice, agave and water. All items are gluten-free and dairy-free.

Located on the south side of Judson Avenue between Clough and Nelson streets

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9 Jul 2024

Today in History: July 9, 14th Amendment ratified

by | posted in: Adventure | 0

Today is Tuesday, July 9, the 191st day of 2024. There are 175 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On July 9, 1868, the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified, granting citizenship and “equal protection under the laws” to anyone “born or naturalized in the United States,” including formerly enslaved people.

Also on this date:

In 1850, President Zachary Taylor died of gastrointestinal illness after consuming a large amount of cherries and iced milk on a hot day five days earlier; Vice President Millard Fillmore was sworn in as president the following day.

In 1896, William Jennings Bryant delivered his famous “Cross of Gold” speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

In 1918, 101 people were killed in a train collision in Nashville, Tennessee in the deadliest US rail disaster in history.

In 1937, a fire at 20th Century Fox’s storage facility in Little Ferry, New Jersey, destroyed most of the studio’s silent films.

In 1943, during World War II, the Allies launched Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily.

In 1944, during World War II, American forces secured Saipan as the last Japanese defenses fell.

In 1947, the engagement of Britain’s Princess Elizabeth to Lt. Philip Mountbatten was announced.

In 1965, the Sonny & Cher single “I Got You Babe” was released by ATCO Records.

In 1982, Pan Am Flight 759, a Boeing 727, crashed in Kenner, Louisiana, shortly after takeoff from New Orleans International Airport, killing all 145 people aboard and eight people on the ground.

In 2004, a Senate Intelligence Committee report concluded the CIA had provided unfounded assessments of the threat posed by Iraq that the Bush administration had relied on to justify going to war.

In 2010, the largest U.S.-Russia spy swap since the Cold War was completed on a remote stretch of Vienna airport tarmac as planes from New York and Moscow arrived within minutes of each other with 10 Russian sleeper agents and four prisoners accused by Russia of spying for the West.

In 2011, South Sudan officially became an independent nation.

In 2018, President Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to fill the seat left vacant by the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Today’s Birthdays:

Artist David Hockney is 87.
Author Dean Koontz is 79.
Actor Chris Cooper is 73.
Musician and TV personality John Tesh is 72.
Country singer David Ball is 71.
Business executive/TV personality Kevin O’Leary (TV: “Shark Tank”) is 70.
Singer Debbie Sledge (Sister Sledge) is 70.
Actor Jimmy Smits is 69.
US Senator Lindsey Graham is 69.
Actor Tom Hanks is 68.
Singer Marc Almond is 67.
Actor Kelly McGillis is 67.
Rock singer Jim Kerr (Simple Minds) is 65.
Actor-rock singer Courtney Love is 60.
Actor Pamela Adlon is 58.
Actor Scott Grimes is 53.
Actor Enrique Murciano (TV: “Without a Trace”) is 51.
Musician/producer Jack White is 49.
Rock singer-musician Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse) is 49.
Actor-director Fred Savage is 48.
Actor Linda Park (TV: “Star Trek: Enterprise”) is 46.
Actor Megan Parlen is 44.
Animator/writer/producer Rebecca Sugar is 37.
Actor Mitchel Musso is 33.
Actor Georgie Henley (Film: “The Chronicles of Narnia”) is 29.

9 Jul 2024

Trudy Rubin: NATO dithers while Russia’s indiscriminate killing in Ukraine underlines that Putin only understands force

by | posted in: Politics | 0

(Editor’s note: This column was written before Russia’s missile attacks on Kyiv, including on a children’s hospital, Monday.)

SELYDOVE, Ukraine — In this devastated small eastern town, in the heavily contested region of Pokrovsk, Russia’s deliberate bombing of civilian targets is visible everywhere.

I emphasize the word deliberate, because bombing civilians and civilian infrastructure is the centerpiece of Russia’s strategy to destroy Ukraine, even if it can’t occupy the country fully. As I drive around with Maj. Boris (call sign: Johnson) of the 59th Brigade, he points out an apartment building partly crushed by a glide bomb.

“What great military targets!” Boris laughs, without humor.

Two missiles hit the elementary school, one destroyed the kindergarten. The bank, the polytechnic college, a restaurant — all crushed. The roof of the local hospital was destroyed; a bomb even targeted the cemetery. This is not collateral damage from war; there are no military installations anywhere in the vicinity.

“They can’t take the big cities, so they try to empty and destroy every village and town, as well as civilian infrastructure for the entire country,” Boris said bitterly. “It’s nothing but civilian destruction.”

Indeed, Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukrainian civilians makes clear what some NATO leaders are still too timid to face up to, as they prepare to meet for the alliance’s 75th-anniversary summit this week in Washington, D.C. Putin wants to destroy independent Ukraine and won’t stop unless he is forced to by Ukraine getting the Western weapons it needs right now and getting on a clear path to NATO membership.

Ukrainians keep fighting, not because President Joe Biden and NATO force them to, as Russian propaganda blares daily, echoed word for word by Donald Trump and his MAGA devotees. Ukrainians keep fighting because they know what will happen to them if they agree to a cease-fire. It will only give Putin a breather to prepare for his next attack.

Most Americans have no clue about the extent of civilian destruction, rape, murder, torture, and de-Ukrainization Putin has brought to the territories Russia has occupied, nor the number of Russian-speaking Ukrainians he has murdered. My current trip to Ukraine has been aimed at examining how Putin wages war, how Russia acts within the Ukrainian territory it has seized, and how it has treated POWs — all contributing to Putin’s long list of war crimes.

What I have seen is a mountain of evidence as to why there is no point to negotiations with a Kremlin leader who disdains international law, commits war crimes too numerous to catalog — and has broken every accord Russia made with Ukraine since the Soviet Union dissolved.

As nearly every Ukrainian I spoke to repeated: Putin understands only force.

The Russian way

On this trip — my fourth since the initial whispers of war in early 2022 — I visited Kyiv, the key southern port of Odesa, the eastern front lines near Pokrovsk and Chasiv Yar, and the cities of Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia, where many internal refugees from the occupied territories live.

One cannot fly into Ukraine because all airports have been closed since the war started. So my route took me by plane through Warsaw, Poland, to Chi inau (Kishinev), the capital of Moldova, and then three and a half hours by car to Odesa. No sooner did I reach the “pearl of the Black Sea” than I saw the results of Putin’s bombing campaign aimed at destroying Ukraine’s power and heating infrastructure.

Odesa was dark, as rolling blackouts hit all of Ukraine’s cities. No air-conditioning, except at hotels, restaurants, and for those who can afford generators. That means no refrigeration, and often no water. It means mothers with kids who live in apartments have to carry them, along with nonperishable groceries, up punishing flights of stairs.

Many Ukrainians told me Putin’s goal is to freeze the people during the winter, driving millions more to flee to neighboring European countries, and denuding the country of population. This is a war crime. This is why The Hague, Netherlands-based International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in June for former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and top Russian Gen. Valery Gerasimov for attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.

Unfortunately, that won’t stop the Kremlin.

“From the first days of the invasion, the Russian army proved that human life does not matter to them,” I was told in Kyiv by Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin, who is compiling data on Russian war crimes. “More than 162,000 civilian infrastructure objects have been damaged or destroyed, and of these, 130,000 are housing.”

I have seen this Russian destruction over and over in every big city I have visited — deliberate targeting of universities, high schools, markets, cinemas, shopping malls, even the Ukrainian equivalent of a huge Home Depot in Kharkiv.

“Plunging Ukraine into darkness and cold is an obvious plan of the aggressor and one more sign of the genocidal nature of this war,” Kostin said.

I traveled east by car, over bumpy roads and through partly destroyed villages where some people still refuse to leave. We passed endless fields of wheat and rye, and the early yellow buds of the sunflower crop.

In stark contrast to those cheerful blossoms, Putin’s disdain for humanity — including his own troops — was the subject of much discussion with the military units I visited. I also had many long talks about the death toll caused by Congress’ six-month cutoff of military aid, and the creative efforts of Ukrainian soldiers to hold the line by technological innovation, including drones.

Most revolting to Ukrainian soldiers is the Russian disregard for their own men, leaving dead bodies to rot in trenches and fields and even burying the wounded alive.

I won’t easily forget the conversation I had with 28-year-old Capt. Hans (his military code name), who heads an artillery battery in the 59th Brigade, and went through the painful “shell hunger” caused by the U.S. aid holdup.

Sitting on rough homemade chairs deep in the woods near a base outside Pokrovsk, Hans spoke of the human waves of troops Russia sends forward. When the first wave, usually draftees from the occupied Donbas region, are slain, the second wave advances over their corpses. The next waves are Russian convicts or members of its ethnic minorities. By the 10th or 15th attempt, they often manage to move forward.

“There are plenty of cases where they roll over or through Russian bodies,” Hans told me. “They throw bodies out of trenches to use the same trenches and don’t mind the smell.

“This is how they advance. When we see the way they treat their own with no respect, as if they are not human, all the hairs on our bodies stand on end.”

Stretching his long legs, Hans reflected on a question that deeply bothers many on the front lines.

“Putin said Ukraine needed to concede four regions” — which Russian troops only partly occupy — “to Moscow. But how can we accept that if there are Ukrainian citizens there who don’t want to live under Russia? They know what will happen, like Bucha, Hostomel, or Mariupol — massive killing and rapes,” he said. “For Russian troops in occupied territories, there are no laws. They can do anything they want.”

News from Mariupol

Capt. Hans’ thoughts on occupied territories touched on a place I often think about: Mariupol.

I visited the once-beautiful port city just before Putin’s army blasted it into the ground in 2022. That included bombing the city’s iconic drama theater, which was sheltering 600 women and children.

I checked out the office of Me Mariupol in Dnipro, one of a series of centers for Mariupol refugees set up across the country by the city’s former and still de facto mayor, Vadym Boychenko. The mayor’s deputy for these centers, former Mariupol City Councillor Oleksandr Khaliavinskyi, was still visibly affected by the destruction of a multicultural city so many Ukrainians loved.

Although there was no electricity on a steamy hot day, at least a dozen volunteers — all escapees from the city — were busy helping fellow refugees go through a free clothes rack, fill out legal documents, or pick up their children from a day-care center on the site. “Eighty percent of the city buildings were destroyed, including 2,500 apartment blocs,” Khaliavinskyi told me. “Many of these were demolished with dead or wounded inside.”

I spoke at a nearby cafe with a 20-year-old university student who escaped from Mariupol in March 2023 — I will call him Alex because some family members remain in the city. “The most horrible thing I saw,” he told me, “was when the Russians blew up a whole building damaged by their rockets with injured people still in it. They took the rubble to the dump, then covered the building site with cement. No one thought to evacuate the living.

“People were screaming because you could see men and women stuck under collapsed concrete plates. The Russians didn’t bother to help. They waited for them to stop screaming. A nice lady wearing a pink robe was crying for help. Some humanitarian volunteers begged the Russian police to rescue her. They said, ‘Shut your mouth.’”

Putin has made a big show of visiting new prefab apartment blocks with yellow and green trim that are promoted on Russian social media as proving Russia is rebuilding the city. “The fancy buildings are for those Russians whom their government is bringing from the far east to repopulate the city and do menial jobs. Now the population is more of ethnic outsiders than of locals,” Khaliavinskyi said.

“All the population is forced to get Russian passports, otherwise there is no health care or pensions. In every neighborhood, there are checkpoints to stop and investigate your phone for any Ukrainian channels, which means arrest and torture. People are so scared to use the Ukrainian language and can only receive Russian TV or propaganda,” he added.

Youngsters are indoctrinated at school to believe there is no such country as Ukraine, and in adulthood are mobilized into the local proxy army for Russia, which is sent to the front as cannon fodder against brother Ukrainians.

Alex told me how Russians had stripped the facilities of his technical university bare, tossing out all books in Ukrainian and even Russian books whose content they disliked. The Russians also looted the local history museum. An avid techie, Alex managed to hack into the database of his university and found a series of presentations the Russians had designed for lecturers to give to high school and university classes. “The maps showed no more Ukrainian state, and the bulk of the country had been turned into regions of Russia.”

“They teach them the worst lies about Ukraine,” I was told angrily by Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk in Kyiv. She has the hopeful title of minister of reintegration of temporarily occupied territories. “Mariupol is practically a city that can be called a cemetery, with buildings constructed over Ukrainian bones,” she said.

Indeed, Russia’s treatment of Mariupol and other occupied areas seems identical to current definitions of genocide — attempting to erase the culture, religion, language, indeed the very identity of a people — all while deporting tens of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia for adoption, and jailing tens of thousands of civilians accused of embracing Ukraine or its language.

It is little wonder Ukrainians feel their struggle is existential, with Putin openly declaring there is no such thing as a Ukrainian state. In March, the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine issued a report condemning the Russian intimidation, violence, detention, and punishment of Ukrainians under occupation.

Putin does not care.

War crimes

One of the ultimate horrors of Russian war crimes is the unspeakable treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war, especially the last holdouts in besieged Mariupol, who lasted for weeks inside the Azovstal steelworks.

They were guaranteed an honorable surrender and humane prison conditions by the International Committee of the Red Cross, which then did little to prevent them from being delivered to pure hell.

Prosecutor General Kostin spoke to me at length about the treatment of detainees and POWs and how it violates international laws of warfare. More than 160 torture chambers and places of detention were discovered in liberated territory. Mostly the goal was to eliminate community leaders or anyone who could resist Russian rule.

But the methods of torture used bear close resemblance to the Nazi torture chambers in World War II. Nothing is too ugly or disgusting. And as the U.N. report detailed, sexual violence is openly committed by Russian soldiers and interrogators against women and men as a weapon of war.

I spoke in Kyiv with Anna Sosonska, a deputy in the chief prosecutor’s office who supervises investigations of sexual crimes committed during the war, and who has been developing a process that protects women and girls from stigma if they come forward with complaints.

“The Russian military uses sexual violence as the cheapest method of terror,” she told me. “We have incidents everywhere that Russian forces are based.”

Sosonska said they have recorded incidents where Russia’s FSB intelligence agents told their victims, “You are tortured because you are Ukrainian.” As the U.N. report mentioned, more than half of the POWs from the Azovstal steelworks suffered from sexual violence, indicating it was standard operating procedure, not rogue behavior.

This is not surprising given the vituperation toward Ukrainians that dominates Russian social media and TV talk shows.

What moved me the most about talking with Sosonska was what she told me about the stories her Jewish great-grandmother told her about “the Nazi camps for Jews.”

“These stories were very similar to the conditions of Ukrainian POWs in Russian camps,” she said.

There is good reason why Ukrainians call Putin “Putler,” and why he tries to reverse this label by ludicrously calling Ukrainians “Nazis” — a lie ignorantly embraced in the U.S. by many in the MAGA camp.

Putin’s genocidal approach to Ukraine, and his cold-blooded inhumanity, make clear why Ukrainians believe he can only be stopped by force, and by Ukrainian membership in NATO. What I saw and heard in Ukraine illustrates why Trump’s embrace of Putin is reprehensible, and why Biden’s approach must be tougher.

As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told me in Kyiv: “It is impossible to help Ukraine with one hand and shake Putin’s hand with the other.”

Especially when that criminal’s hand is covered in blood.

Trudy Rubin is a columnist and editorial-board member for The Philadelphia Inquirer, P.O. Box 8263, Philadelphia, Pa. 19101. Her email address is trubin@phillynews.com.

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9 Jul 2024

Brooks Lee helps spur Twins’ extra-inning win

by | posted in: News | 0

CHICAGO — Brooks Lee is just days into his major league career, but the early returns have shown just how ready, just how polished the infielder is.

Lee has a hit in each of his first six games and in four of those six, he has at least two.

His second hit on Monday came at the best possible time for the Twins, driving in Max Kepler to break open a tied game. The Twins and Chicago White Sox had gone back-and-forth all night, but Lee’s 11th-inning single finally gave the Twins the lead for good in their 8-6 extra-inning win in the series opener at Guaranteed Rate Field.

The switch hitter lined a single to center to put the Twins on top. The next batter, Manuel Margot, grounded out to first, allowing Byron Buxton to race home and give the Twins a cushion.

The Twins got contributions from their veterans — Buxton had three hits and scored two runs and Carlos Correa hit a home run — and their youngsters in the win.

Chicago White Sox’s Nicky Lopez, right, and Minnesota Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers, left, watch Lopez’s RBI double off Twins relief pitcher Griffin Jax during the eighth inning of a baseball game Monday, July 8, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Lee drove in Buxton with his first hit of the game and came home to score as Matt Wallner, recently called up from Triple-A, lasered a pitch at 116.7 miles per hour, tying the game up at the time after the Twins had fallen behind by three runs a half inning earlier.

Every Twins starter had at least one hit  — Jose Miranda, the hottest hitter on the planet currently, was one of five Twins with at least two — as the offense continued its assault on opposing pitchers.

In the Twins’ last five games, they have now scored 44 runs. In four of those games, they’ve scored at least eight runs.

But while the Twins’ offense was on the attack all night, beginning with Trevor Larnach’s home run in the first inning, the White Sox simply would not go away.

After the Twins took leads in both the first and fourth innings, the White Sox rallied to tie the game.

Starter Chris Paddack, back after a stay on the 15-day injured list for shoulder fatigue, gave up two runs in his five innings, surrendering just three hits.

But the White Sox surged ahead after his departure, rallying for three runs in the sixth inning and then tying the game up in the sixth. In the end, though, they couldn’t keep pace with the Twins’ relentless, well-balanced offensive output.

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