Explorer, adventurer, author, journalist, and documentary filmmaker, Robert Young Pelton is an iconoclast known for his entry into most of the world's conflicts over the last twenty-five years. In the first half, he discussed his recent one-month stay in Ukraine and his inside observations of the war there. He arrived in Kiev taking a train from Poland, and during his visit he went to the front lines of the war, which he said was low intensity compared to previous battlefronts he'd been to, like Chechnya. With all the military equipment and aid, the US is fighting a war using a proxy against Russia, he remarked, estimating that about 50% of the Russian military capacity has been worn down.
Putin's attack of Ukraine was part of his vow to rebuild Russia, and he gambled on the notion that America would not respond, as it had recently pulled troops from Afghanistan and other locations around the world. Now the conflict is a kind of World War III, Pelton continued. He does not believe that Putin has a terminal or serious illness, as some have reported, but it is extraordinary how many elite or senior Russians that disagreed with Putin have suddenly died. In the last year, many of Putin's associates "seem to have this magical attraction to jumping out of windows," Pelton remarked about the suspicious deaths. As long as Putin is in power, Pelton foresees him continuing the attacks, "nibbling away" militarily and using political weapons and propaganda to further his cause. It is not out of the question that he might use some kind of tactical nukes, he added.
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In the latter half, C2C's investigative reporter Cheryll Jones presented her interview with Karolyn Grimes, the actress who played the daughter of George and Mary Bailey, Zuzu, in the 1946 Christmas classic "It's A Wonderful Life" (IAWL). Grimes spoke the famous angel line while in the arms of her father: "Daddy…Teacher says, every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings." She talked about her memories of making the film and her efforts to share its message of faith, hope, guardian angels, and community during uncertain times. Among the numerous angelic inspired projects from the film, Grimes started the annual Seneca Falls IAWL Festival 20 years ago, helped create the IAWL Museum, invites fans to share angel stories on her online Angel Corner, and is currently working with "The Zuzu House" for homeless teens in Marshfield, Missouri.
The town of Seneca Falls, New York is thought to have inspired the fictional location of Bedford Falls, where IAWL is set. Jimmy Stewart, who played her father in IAWL, "made a real effort to create some magic or chemistry" with her character, she said, and he was very generous and kind. Grimes did a number of movies after IAWL, and worked with other big stars, including Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Fred MacMurray, Danny Kaye, Loretta Young, John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, and Glenn Ford. In the last hour, Cheryll and George took Open Lines calls.
News segment guest: Heidi Hollis