Arnold Schwarzenegger's message, Ukrainian rock star’s video from children’s hospital, and massive pro-Putin, pro-war rally in Moscow

Amidst the overflow of information related to the war in Ukraine (on Medium for example there are suddenly so many experts on nukes and warfare!), this news caught my attention yesterday.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's appeal directly to the Russian people:

I must admit, over the last three weeks I’ve been confirming, albeit from thousands of miles away, my observation, that most Russians support the war. They are proud and united; many are aggressive in their sentiment. Yes, there are brave opponents who find ways to protest, but they are a minority.

So while I appreciate Arnold’s message (though I found it a little too long), I’m not too touchy about it. I fear it won’t touch many hearts in Russia — so propaganda-drunk and aggression-fueled those hearts are.

However, there is a saying in Russian: вода камень точет. It means Little drops of water wear down big stones. So what Arnold is attempting absolutely must be attempted. If any pop culture icon is capable of catching the attention of the Russian people, it’s Arnold Schwarzenegger indeed. When I was…