The War Zone: France, Britain, and the United States have issued a joint statement rejecting Russia’s claim that Ukraine is preparing to use a radioactive dirty bomb on its own territory, calling it a pretext Moscow has concocted for escalating the war with a radioactive weapon of its own.

  A dirty bomb is not a nuclear weapon. It’s a conventional bomb that spreads radioactive material, contaminating the area it hits. The joint statement from the three countries says, “Our countries made clear that we all reject Russia’s transparently false allegations that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own territory.”

  Even while waging a long distance war across Ukraine by missile and drone, Russian forces are still withdrawing from western Kherson Oblast, further demonstrating their inability to win on the ground.

  With the Antonivsky Bridge over the Dnipro River out of action, Russian troops have been forced to use a ferry to cross back to the west side. The Russians have also built a barge bridge for evacuation, but that can be expected to become a prime target for the Ukrainians. 

  A large part of the Kherson City population is reported to have left.  

  While withdrawing, the Russians are also reported to be preparing the city of Kerson for urban fighting, even though the Ukrainians have said they would not shell one of their own cities.

  In the interior of Ukraine, the military has improvised a three-tiered defense against slow moving suicide drones. Fighter jets patrol around the clock while anti-aircraft missiles try to take down the drones and, last, teams of soldiers try to shoot them down with rifles.

  The Russians in recent days have been ominously massing troops in Belarus, which borders Ukraine to the north, raising concerns that the invaders plan to open a second front in the war. The attempt to take the capital of Kyiv was launched out of Belarus last February. But US and Ukrainian defense officials doubt that Russia has the capacity to support a second front when it has not been able to win on the eastern front. Of course, the assumption is that Vladimir Putin would make a rational decision.

Musical Chairs: Britain is about to select its third Prime Minister in just two months.

  Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pulled out of the contest to return to his job after the resignation of Liz Truss. That makes it more likely that the successor will be Rishi Sunak, who spent two years as Chancellor of the Exchequer before resigning last July over policy  disagreements with Johnson.

  Sunak lost the race that was won by Liz Truss. He’s of Indian descent and would be the UK’s first person of color to serve as Prime Minister.

China Syndrome: After securing another term in office, China’s supreme leader Xi Jinping, revealed a new team for the Politburo Standing Committee, the top squad of the Communist Party that will rule the country under Xi.

  The announcement of the new committee came after the weeklong Communist Party congress at which Xi campaigned for China to bolster its security against a what he sees as a range of threats: political, economic, social, military, and technological. He said “the world has entered a period of turbulence and transformation.” It’s a common tactic of totalitarian rulers to claim the country is threatened to get the populace to fall in behind them.

Trump World: Jury selection begins today in the criminal trial of the Trump organization on charges of tax and business fraud. Trump himself is not on trial.

  Among the accusations are that the Trump Corporation and Trump Payroll Corp. gave unreported perks like rent-free apartments to executives who failed to pay taxes on the value of those benefits.

  The star witness against the companies will be Trump’s own former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, recently pleaded guilty helping carry out the scheme, and agreed to testify. 

  Conviction could bring serious consequences for the Trump companies, including being barred from government contracts and doing business in New York State.

The Spin Rack:  — The German fitness-studio tycoon who owns Gold’s Gym, is believed to be dead after the crash of a private jet in Costa Rica. Rainer Schaller, his partner, Christiane Schikorsky, their children, and a fitness trainer were all on board the flight. Wreckage has been found, but no bodies. — A team of researchers appointed by NASA gets to work today on what has been renamed unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), formerly known as unidentified flying objects (UFOs). When NASA announced formation of the group in June they said the lack of existing research on UAPs “makes it difficult to draw scientific conclusions about the nature of such events.” — The agents for author Salman Rushdie says that as a result of being stabbed during his appearance at the Chautauqua Institution in August, the 75-year-old author lost sight in one eye and the use of one hand. — Two sisters of the late Sacheen Littlefeather, who famously turned down a 1973 Oscar for Marlon Brando, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the Native American activist was not Native American. Littlefeather wore a buckskin dress that night, but her sisters say their grandparents came from Mexico and Sacheen’s birth name was Marie Louise Cruz.  

Below the Fold:  Competing with 600 entries and surviving three rounds of voting, Scott Salvadore of Stillwater, New York has been announced as the winner of the 2022 USA Mullet Championship.

  The 34-year-old Salvadore refers to his hair style as “The Lord’s Drapes.” A mullet, for those who don’t drive a pickup, is hair cut short or shaved on the sides of the head and long in back. It’s an acquired taste. 

  Salvadore said his haircut makes him happy. “As far as happiness goes, I think mullets are a lot like jet skis and to quote my fellow brother in ‘Mulletdom,’ Kenny Powers, ‘I’ve never seen a sad person on a jet ski.’”

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