As I write tonight, the U.N. National Security Council is meeting to discuss Russian president Vladimir Putin’s recognition of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) as independent states within the country of Ukraine. Russian-backed rebels have been fighting the Ukraine government in those regions since 2014, when Russia invaded Ukraine. Today the self-styled leaders of those regions asked Russia for recognition, and Putin granted it.
Putin to World: I need you to know I am still here, in the worst way
At what point of absolute power does a bee in the bonnet of a dictator metamorphose into bats in his belfry? It happens. These men claw their way to power, strategically and tactically, and then lose their shit and turn irrational. It does not even end well for them.
A shooting war is so 20th C.
Unless Russia wants a bloodbath to terrorize the civilian population. Chaos to provide cover for mass arrests and
assassinations. And to stand atop the rubble. Mission Accomplished. And then what? And who are the Russians and Ukrainians willing to carry this out?
And here at home. We came *this* close to a coup. To a crazy man and his apparatchiks ruling the roost. Republicans are still on that crusade.
And some on the Left are still reflexively
sniping at Democrats / Biden.
But it is heartening to watch all those who are trying to do the serious work of pushing back.
lin, I thought, we, the USA, just finished one (shooting war) up after after we "stood on the rubble" for years in Afghanistan......but......we still have one going ...... in Iraq....where we created so much rubble out of what were formally beautiful, ancient, cities.
So, Putin is not nuts. He is just following the leader.
Mike, when I read your comment I did not want to 'like' it. But with humility and sadness I concur. After reading Heather's letter this morning I read an article in the NYTIMES about what we are doing in and to Afghanistan. (I will post it shortly.)
And Lin, I do agree so much with your comments, especially about the near coup of our former president. Yesterday was such an upsetting day. I felt overwhelmed by 'a disturbance in the force'. And while I hovered on Twitter, and kept the news on in the background, I struggled with this sense of confusion beneath it all that I could not explain....? It was as though there was some mysterious juxtaposition in between the situation in Ukraine and TFG and I struggled to figure out what the connection, other than the obvious, and it's becoming so clear how truly dangerously close we came and how precarious our current situation is! I sound inarticulate now, and I will try to clarify my thoughts today, but I am, frankly, terrified of what is around the corner.
The histories of Russia and Ukraine, of Russia and Europe, of Russia and NATO, of Russia/USSR/Russia ... the long threads these tangled skeins need to be teased out. And even then ... the manifestations of irrationality.
I used to laugh that my father's family was from some area which was one day Poland another Lithuania another Russia - their preAmerican past was never spoken of, I was vague. Now I think of the people in Kyiv, Lviv ... it becomes vivid.
Greg Olear's "Prevail" substack lays out those intertwined histories very clearly in his most recent post. As complex as it is, he manages to make it understandable to folks like me!
Yes, thank you Lin, there was a time when the map and our family history were almost a fantasy of yesterday. In fact that time is now. Even the ship’s manifest when my grandparents escaped Kiev, 1909, together reads Russia, country of origin. And Vilnius, Lithuania for other grandparents. But departure on the Martha Washington, exact same day and time, one Trieste and one Austria. Wars and maps and humans. Is History Fiction or Nonfiction? And then “ What is Past is Prologue.”
Mapping boundaries is an interdisciplinary project. From philosophy to physics to geopolitics to art. You are correct to bring in questions of fiction and non fiction. It is a puzzle over time and space.
The crackling sense of danger was thick with electricity yesterday. My hair felt as if it would stand straight up. I lives in the Middle East for a decade during the 70's. We knew terror and fear. Yesterday felt oddly similar yet more frightening. Forgive my rambling. I'm very worried.
Thank you for sharing your feelings today. I woke up trying to reassure myself that we were not actually, finally, at the point of living the book, “1984”. Rational thought knows that, and yet . . .
Yes, Yes, Thank You, Patricia, “1984” for the past how many years? I keep quoting Orwell’s brilliant and disturbing words, his crystal ball, the human need for power beyond reason. Our grandchildren, our planet. I’m so scared.
I had a phone conversation with one of my ex-students who is in her late 50s this weekend. Granted that she is dealing with a serious medical problem with one of her eyes, but she was also scared about what is in the future. She has children; I do not. We both agreed that all young people are up against it.
Well, to be perhaps more accurate, he is following Stalin. His hero. Our Moron in Chief, Shrubby Bush, to the glee of Mother Russia, stumbled down the same path that the USSR took in Afghanistan (for a similarity, see France and Vietnam) in the Brezhnev era. And, to the glee of Europe and the UK, the US stumbled down similar paths worn down by France and Britain in the 20th century in the Middle East. Promoting fascist dictators who "like" us while getting rid of democratic movements and strongmen who were a little peskier because they were not as willing to line the Bush and Cheney family pockets (to name only two of the legions of white men whose pockets were lined by the Saudis). The US's activities in global politics, with the exception of WW1 and WW2, has always been abysmal. And the US did plenty wrong in the two world wars, as well, including all the dithering about which side to join (FDR did put a stop to that but it took a helluva long time before he could get the rest of the government around the idea of joining the Allies).
I read yesterday that Putin is a little worried about getting literally bogged down in the mud in Ukraine, as it is their spring thaw and (what we called in Western NY) "mudsoon" season. Perhaps what he hoped was that he could lure Europe into Russia in the middle of winter, as occurred in the 1810s and 1940s. . .
OMG! I need to go back to the 'beginning' and start fresh...since her start, I've followed Dr. R religiously. Since COvid began I virtually shut myself in, and started reading (mostly via audiobooks) and I was (still am) insatiable. I don't believe it was a conscious decision, but an evolution, but I felt the need to understand everything. I'm 2 years older now, 70 years old, and I still feel so woefully naive and confused. My sources often were found in these pages, and I remain consumed by history, psychology, sociology, and whatever sources of light available. I don't want to run out of time before I get 'it' enough (surely it's impossible for me to 'get it all') to do something!
'Do something'!? And what would that look like?! I have made phone calls, written post cards, tried to share the wee shreds of wisdom whenever I can from here behind the closed doors... (I often think my obsession with feeding the birds and the critters in our woods is a desperate metaphor for my need to give something that I have to offer, which surely is not much more than seeds and crumbs...)
Fearful of sounding dramatic, I can't imagine what is before us? Cyber wars alone will cripple Ukraine and the rest of the world. The financial doom is pending, and is there anything we can do about it? And, my anger towards TFG and the Republican idiots , Tucker Carlson, Jim Jordan, all of them, is heating up to a boiling point. I am sure that I am not alone.
When I read Putin's statement a few days ago when he listed his targets within Ukraine, (ethnic minorities, LGBQT, and so on) I called out to my husband that the list was the same as the the lists in Florida, Texas, Tennessee and on! Who's going to get us first?! Us or them?! And what the heck are we to do?!
Cynthia O’Connor, your post really spoke to me this morning! “ Do something'!? And what would that look like?! I have made phone calls, written post cards, tried to share the wee shreds of wisdom whenever I can from here behind the closed doors..”. That feeling has been stalking me for a long time also! This moment in time I feel like I’m trying to consume knowledge by drinking out of a fire hose. We are drowning in information for the first time in history since the invention of the printing press. I’m aware of the information warfare tactic being used: Flood the Zone with Shit. So, I too am grateful to HCR for cutting through it all. But what can “we” do actively beyond what we are currently doing? For myself, I sum it up to “Resist”; as in resist hate, resist feeling impotent, resist staying in my silo, resist click-bait, resist myths, resist not caring, resist hoarding…. And most recently to pop in my head: Help Young People. All this crap happened on our watch. I don’t want to leave with out a few young people knowing an older person who worked to make a positive difference for them.
Thank you... I do care, and I am eager to help... I have been discipling myself in so many ways...for most of us, the covid isolation period became a universal call to downsize; not just from 'stuff' but from the cobwebs and the cozy isolation that we perhaps were unaware we were cloaked within. I am trying to clear out the detritus of my life and culling the gems, the books, my photography, and constructing something to leave behind... When you talk about the young... I feel challenged to try and reach them. For years I have fought to save the elephants, and gone around speaking at schools and community centers to raise awareness and compassion for these magnificent creatures and their precarious stature on our planet. It is right alongside the many other species and the planet as a whole, and while we all can't give a lot to everything, if I can be an inspiration to a few who spread the word, I will feel I have succeeded... or at least spread the seeds, hopefully to fertile ground. Covid, put handcuffs on my work..both my photography and my elephants, unfortunately... I am trying to reestablish myself as a force for good in the world, albeit by my one (wo)man show. It does seem so overwhelming... quoting my Mom (whose birthday is today! She would be 108!) "The 'huirrieder' I go the 'behinder' I get"!
Yes indeed ... and the faster and more furious the world moves, the only way I know to keep up with anything, is to s.l.o.w. d.o.w.n and just do what I can - one breath at a time ... trust in the sincerity of your heart and true intent ... everything is passing - the whole planet is going through a massive dimensional shift ... like we are being sucked into the singularity of a gravitational vortex - who knows where it will lead? I don't - and I don't foster any illusion that I can control it ... just take it one breath at a time and do the best I can to live with sincerity and true intent ... what else can we do ...?
YES! Every day, in every way, our little acts of resistance work to keep hope alive. Doing what we can, with what we have, when we can -like your one woman show- is awesome! You have people here cheering you on!
I am not sure if you were speaking to me, but although this is a few years old, this was how I first got really involved with my dear elephants...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM53cCL5pwU
Cynthia, what you have written resonates with me, you put in words EXACTLY how I feel. (Sadly, I had to stop feeding the birds as rats became a problem in our area. I am resigned but at the time I thought "seriously? I can't even enjoy the birds?!") I am absolutely amazed, incredulous really, that tfg's followers seem to embrace Russia and Communism! And Carlson--what part of hell did he get spat out of?
You have a tribe of people here, I wish I knew exactly what the readership numbers were, but regardless--you are not alone.
I feel exactly what you said, and as she said. Postcards, Resistbot, emails, decluttering, reading - have learned more history in the past 2 years (💜 Dr. Heather!) than before. We must persist and try to engage the young people we know.
Cynthia O’Conner, Your comment: “(I often think my obsession with feeding the birds and the critters in our woods is a desperate metaphor for my need to give something that I have to offer, which surely is not much more than seeds and crumbs...)” makes me realize that those seeds and crumbs (of understanding) are much more valuable than all the hot air of ‘Foux News’ talking heads right now. Thank you.
Yes. What to do? At 71 I am with you. Would Ukraine like to have a salty old door gunner to help them. A burst of glory sounds better to me than a pending cremation. Especially for freedom American style.
Cynthia, seeds and crumbs to feed the birds and critters are a fine metaphor for the seeds we plant in whatever small ways we each can, hoping the soil will nourish them and create meadows and forests of millions of people sowing their own seeds to sustain themselves now and into a brighter future. Whatever we do to help each other, our democracy and our planet is at least something, so let's not fear or despair stop us.
I'm not a huge fan of Andrea Bocelli, but he does a particularly fine job in this version:
Sorry, but the Barbara Streisand version was over the top, though I do love her voice. I guess I should have posted the YouTube clip of the song beautifully sung in "Carousel" by Claramae Turner. Well, here it is, Dana:
Linda Mitchell: We and our parents and grandparents have lived through this 20th Century 100 years of war. The burden of those three generations of memories is very heavy this morning.
Also reference to Walter Benjamin's comment on Klee's Angel of History:
This is how one pictures the angel of history. His face is turned toward the past. Where we perceive a chain of events, he sees one single catastrophe which keeps piling wreckage and hurls it in front of his feet.
I think we reach consensus on the provisional truths of science and the contextual truths of history through coming to consensus on interpretations of the empirical evidence. And revisions. Wordy. But helpful to spell these things out.
Each discipline has protocols for interpretation and for distinguishing between valid and invalid interpretations.
You can say a lot of different things about the biblical Garden of Eden but you cannot say there are 'little green men' in Genesis. Although they seem to be in Ukraine.
I thank you Lin and all who share your stories. I feel like I will spend the day crying, maybe from what I know to be true and maybe from what I will never know. Who are we but our stories!?
You and I have agreed that our wars have been stupid and horrific. But what we did in all of our despicable adventures (going back 100s of years) is no excuse for Putin's impunity.
I think he is more interested in being a Stalin or Alexander the Great. His ego is driving this insanity.
Let's hope that Global Warming gives us the bonus of an early thaw and his tanks are mired deeply in the mud. Of course, he may not go further physically right now. His hackers can cripple Ukraine. He can infiltrate the country with more political saboteurs. There are many ways he can entertain himself. And he has already gained Belarus as a bonus (or maybe his original target for now!).
Sadly, Americans look at this stuff like it's a football game - with a start and a finish. We have no patience for the long game of life. Our attention spans are like that of goldfish. We think we can do something "big" to end it all. Nope.
This IS Putins life - the reason he lives. This is just another quarter in an endless series of games for him. This guy is a KGB fox. And he is having the time of his life with nobody to stop him. He is a terrorist and should be treated as such.
But this grand generalization about Americans. "Sadly, Americans look at this stuff like it's a football game - with a start and a finish. We have no patience for the long game of life. Our attention spans are like that of goldfish. We think we can do something "big" to end it all."
No doubt it is true of many across the political spectrum. And of almost the entire GOP as far as I can tell. Fortunately I think many Democrats in Congress and in the Biden administration, at career people at State even the Pentagon, see the long game.
They might have taken a tip from angela Merkel. Her opinion was that Putin would always overstep, and if you give him enough rope he will hang himself. Meanwhile there are Russian colonies in all former Soviet states, and even in Cuba. Russia is buying Venezuelan oil as well to prop up that state. Expect Putin to pull stunts everywhere. The mothers of Moscow and St. Petersburg won’t stand for invasions that lead to guerrilla war, however. We are powerless in Cuba because of our economic boycott of sixty years or so. Whichever party lifts the boycott will lose the Cuban vote in Florida and possibly Florida’s electoral votes and thus the presidency. “Winning isn’t everything. It’s the only thing.” talk about trapped. Younger Cubans in FL are not as avid as their parents, tho. One of these days those demographics will shift.
I should have been more specific. The current admin is quite wise and experienced. I was referring to Joe and Jane Sixpack as well as the GQP lackies who actually admire Putin.
Is there a difference between interfering with neighboring countries vs doing it to countries across the world? Is the US coup in Ukraine, acknowledged in a leaked phone call from Victoria Nuland of our State Department choosing a leader for Ukraine more forgiveable (because it's us and we understand our foibles) than actions by Putin next door to Ukraine, who is less understandable to our domestic politics oriented media? The assumption we often live into is that US interference is an act of generosity and destruction of entire countries (Iraq, Libya) was simply an unavoidable "oops" moment.
I doubt that anyone on this substack is unaware of the foibles of the US. I am certain we are talking apples vs. oranges, however. Who knows all the innermost vagaries of international intrigue? Nevertheless, Putin is a wannabe Czar whose greatest desire is to humiliate all democracies, the US most of all. No need to preach here, jc.
It is as important to read outside the mainstream press and video as it is to follow domestic political struggles examined and assembled by Dr. Richardson. Yes diplomacy is better than holding a gun to someone's head but we are led to see simply excusable foibles.
The people who actually negotiated reductions among countries holding guns at each others' heads are alarmed at the trashing of arms treaties by OUR recent administrations. If you imagine trusting the vagaries of international intrigue as being OK for us, check out the "adults in the room", the observations of VIPS a tongue in cheek name for Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity. The founder who drafts their analyses is Ray McGovern. See raymcgovern.com These are people acutely aware of counterproductive calculations that serve, among others, the industries pressing for more worldwide spending on arms, at the expense of the security of people worldwide.
As participant in observer missions to countries in Central America, I can add there is need for brisk grassroots engagement here in the US over the guns AND diplomacy serving international business and causing Hondurans, Colombians and others to leave their homes on foot.
Some years ago a busload of NC human rights advocates visited with State Department officials on the board of the School of the Americas whose courses included violent measures of every kind against democratic impulses in our neighboring countries. One of the senior officials said, why don't you do as Nobel Laureate and human rights leader Andrei Sakharov does and challenge the Russian government's abuses? We had to remind him that Sakharov sought to restrain the worst actions of his own government, and that is what we came to DC to do.
In an interview today on DemocracyNow.org, the great granddaughter of Premier Nikita Khrushchev (teaching international affairs at The New School) observed that both Russia and the US regard themselves as messianic forces... but war can still be avoided. Nuclear brinksmanship risks us all, beginning with the huge resources taken from human needs and potentially ending with miscalculations and outcomes that survivors would wish they/we had done more to avoid.
I am aware of these issues. I lived in Central America and was an observer in Nicaragua, myself. I was present during the Contra skirmishes, not a well known but a Reagan era foible nonetheless, when much of the brutal tone in Central and South America was set, and as you say, the fallout still pervades. I am aware of the Fascism and climate tragedies affecting Honduras, for example. I just feel you are talking down to us with assumptions of our ignorance of the issues behind the US' current involvements. I simply do not like Putin who I see as far more callous and calculating than our present government, and I salute what is at least an attempt to be diplomatic vs. some of the past episodes of our militant history. I am not an an apologist but I am an old Peacenik who often watches D
I had friends who protested at the School of the Americas and many/most of us by now know about our government’s unforgivable actions in Central America and more. Yes, here at home. That’s a given. A major difference at least since post-McCarthy (and I say mostly) is that I can and do stand on the corner of 16th and J or in front of the WH with a sign or hand out anti war flyers or send postcards. I can disagree. So far I haven’t been arrested. Lots of protesters are arrested, still, but not sent to Siberia. Even if we have a file somewhere we can likely read it. No, absolutely not perfect, but I’m more than grateful that I’m not worried about being transported to Siberia or poisoned for my opposition.
As we listen, I wonderhow it would sound to us if a powerful foreign country was using the same language, manipulating Canadian prime minister candidates and dismissing US interests. As for the term "coup" it most closely matches an overthrow of an elected president partly by "indigenous" uprising but forcefully pressed by US supported snipers and related violence. Others with more particular memory of sequence of events may add to this unless it is deleted first.
OK researched a bit. 2014. It was a candid working conversation which was bugged and released most likely by the Russians. Undiplomatic. Sure. But hardly a coup or installing a puppet. And certainly not comparable to what Putin is up to.
2014. "It is no secret that Ambassador Pyatt and Assistant Secretary Nuland have been working with the government of Ukraine, with the opposition, with business and civil society leaders to support their efforts," Ms Psaki continued. "It shouldn't be a surprise that at any points there have been discussions about recent events and offers and what is happening on the ground. Of course these things are being discussed. It doesn't change the fact that it's up to the people on the ground. It is up to the people of Ukraine to determine what the path forward it."
What is it called when one looks in a mirror yet cannot see themself, and then gets angry when someone else describe it and says, “yer image is perfectly clear to me”
"What is it called when one looks in a mirror yet cannot see themself, "
It's not that they can't recognize themselves — that's prosopagnosia, usually a symptom of brain damage. Rather, people with depersonalization disorder simply don't feel a connection to who they see in the mirror.
Russia started the demise of Afghanistan. It gave up when Afghanistan war lords got the best of Russian soldiers. I recommend reading A Bed of Red Flowers: In Search of My Afghanistan by Neloffer Pazira, who lived through it. She now resides in Canada. Anyone's understanding of Afghanistan will improve after reading this book. It reads so well, it's hard to put it down.
I cannot recommend enough Fredrik Barth's 'Political Leadership Among Swat Pathans'.
I read it for Anthro 101 around 1968. I read it twice. I could not shake the thought that people woke each morning with one thought 'who am I obliged to kill today.' One of few school texts I've saved, I reread it recently. It is crazy that we thought centralized government would be welcomed. It is crude to speak of warlords. This moderate Islamic society, successfully, socially excluded Saudi extremists until we favored religious extremists against Soviets. As our involvement deepened, the harm of our ignorance increased exponentially. In some areas we were played by goons, worse than the Taliban, to consolidate their stranglehold on local populations.
Yes. Warlords was not a good term. Each region of Afghanistan "ruled" itself in its fight against Russia, and the Afghans knew the territorial boundaries of each region. The regions did not infringe on adjacent regions, and each region fought Russia as it chose.
I am reminded of the numerous nation-building actions spearheaded and funded by the U.S. and the CIA. We do not "annex" those nations. We simply orchestrate them to meet our felt needs or wants. Too often, the "better" leader we put in place turned out to be far worse then their predecessor -- who we had removed.
Your point is well-taken. And it is a sad one indeed. But I believe Putin is nuts and deeply unstable. I might add that he has been trying very hard to destabilize the United States, most recently with his support of Donald Trump and the right-wing. The US is far from blameless as a super power, but I would still prefer to keep up the fight to "create a more perfect union" than support a dictator who poisons his opponents and has deep ties with both oligarchs and the former KGB.
That is well put and it is deeply disturbing to think our planet is in the hands of such unstable and self-absorbed individuals. I too am disheartened by the snipping at Biden and Democrats by the left. This is not junior high. This is mind-numbingly serious business.
Lin if you’re not a Linguist or is it Neologist, you should be.I love you’re Makeup words and how you connect to you’re point. “Apparachiks coming home to roost “. Very clever.
Oops. I cannot spell. And ThankYou for seeing the pun before I did
"An apparatchik (/ˌæpəˈrættʃɪk/; Russian: аппара́тчик [ɐpɐˈrat͡ɕːɪk]) was a full-time, professional functionary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union or the Soviet government apparat (аппарат, apparatus), someone who held any position of bureaucratic or political responsibility, with the exception of the higher ranks of management called nomenklatura."
The master of neologisms was John Milton. Milton is credited with 630 neologisms, from “ensanguined,” “emblazonry” and “horrent” to the more commonly used “earthshaking,” “lovelorn,” “fragrance” and “by hook or crook,” as well as “pandemonium.”
Also 'trip the light fantastic.' All that and Paradise Lost!
Is it possible that Putin made the gambit and lost? That Biden got the NATO allies to act together and now full on invasion would be too disastrous for Putin and Russia economically? However, he can't just go home emptyhanded. So, he recognizes the rebel areas held by his troops already (and those loyal to him), and gets to declare victory and go home? For Ukraine, they haven't really lost control of more land, as they weren't holding those easternmost areas. For Putin, he gets to make a statement and move some troops into the area without incurring the full sanctions regime. He gets to say he's gotten a victory but he is really slinking off.
I guess we will know in a few days, but it hit me that they were saying he'd been outmaneuvered, but needs a face saving way to call it off.
Anyway, that's what I was thinking. And if I'm right, "Sleepy Joe" just kicked some a**.
Belarus has Russian groups on the border with Ukraine and now also Lithuania. Ukraine first, then Moldova, Lithuania, Poland… I expect Hungary and his bff Oban will be doing some backstabbing in the EU in the meantime… Putin doesn’t want a local war - he wants a world war 3 (and it started today).
I am counting on Biden to continue kicking butt, but boy this is scary.
It is very scary. China is saber-rattling in Australia’s economic exclusionary zone, far outside the South China Sea. WW3 early steps are in motion. I believe the reliance by too many endowments, retirement portfolios, and other investments on stock markets for growth during these years of low interest rates is a major impediment to kicking out oligarchical money laundering.
“Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS (/ˈtʃeɪmbərlɪn/; 18 March 1869 – 9 November 1940) was a British politician of the Conservative Party who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeasement, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement on 30 September 1938, ceding the German-speaking Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany led by Adolf Hitler.”
I am sure that Washington had the Sudetenland 1938 ‘peace in our time’ appeasement when they crafted the Biden Doctrine to thwart Putin’s grandiose Lebensraum (‘living space’) delusions. In October, 2021, with irrefutable evidence that Putin was assembling a prospective invasion force on Ukraine’s border, President Biden knew that we could not militarily stop a Russian invasion of its neighbor.
As riposte the Biden Doctrine has greatly escalated the cost to Putin and Russia of any Lebensraum creep, while providing enhanced NATO support elsewhere in Eastern Europe. NO APPEASEMENT THIS TIME!
Lisa ‘Biden Doctrine’ is my phrase for President Biden’s full court press a against Putin’s efforts to push the West out of Eastern Europe and establish Russian hegemony over former Soviet satellites in Eastern Europe. This is my catch phrase for everything Biden has initiated to organize broad economic sanctions, increase NATO physical presence in Eastern Europe, and vigorously expose Putin’s misinformation program intended to obscure his Lebensraum (see my earlier commentary this morning) efforts in Eastern Europe.
Thanks, Keith, for this. It's a great phrase to include all the things Biden has done to stop Putin's agression. And Biden sees clearly the movement of authoritarian leaders, especially Putin, to test and overcome democracy.
H.A. Thanks for the reminder about the consequences of appeasement. Now, in today's world, Chamberlain's mistake looks less like a mistake and more like a practical move to attempt to minimize dead bodies.
Unfortunately, Hitler was more interested in dead bodies than anything else in his sorry life.
Chamberlain did not get the rest of Europe lined up against Hitler before going into diplomacy. There were no cyber attacks, and far less cross border dependence. Britain's deterrent capability was pretty minimal at the time. These are not true now. As I said, Biden and the west were dealt a weak hand, but they seem to be playing it well and together. Maybe Putin still moves, but this might have been a face saving move before most of his troops back off. I don't know.
Some historians give Chamberlain credit for realizing that the British military was far from being mobilized. [An extra year facilitated the rapid production of Spitfires and Hurricanes that proved vital in the Battle of Britain.] Also, France, with its coalition governments, was in no position to support Chamberlain with a ‘line in the sand’ riposte to Hitler.
Churchill was bleating from the back benches while Chamberlain was between a rock and a hard place.
You make points about Chamberlain that I hadn't thought of. It was damn lucky we got into the war. I don't know whether our allies could have done it without us. Our industrial might was critical.
David You are spot on. There were a series of events that brought us into the war, FDR, early on, feared Hitler. He sought carefully to bring Americans from their isolationist views (‘We fought in WW I and look what happened. We shouldn’t fight another European war.’) In fact Charles Lindbergh was leading the isolationist America First movement.
After WW II broke out in Europe, FDR was desperately (and slyly) seeking to help England. Some of his top military aides said it couldn’t survive, after Hitler took France. Also, there were Neuttality Acts that severely limited what assistance America could provide to those fighting Hitler.
Churchill, British PM in May, 1940, tried desperately to bring America into the war. WE started a military draft in 1940. A year later it was renewed by only one vote in Congress. FDR was able to launch an extraordinary Lend Lease programs that enabled us to provide massive military aid to England.
Hitler helped the situation by invading the Soviet Union in June, 1941. After Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1841, FDR declared war on Japan on Dec 8th. The clear opinion is that he could not have declared war on Germany at that time. Hitler made a monumental error by declaring war on us on December 11th. Without us (and the Soviet Union) the war in Europe could have turned out quite differently.
I remember the Pearl Harbor investigation in which Admiral Kimmel and General Short were made the scapegoats for a deep and diverse American failure to anticipate such a Hail Mary. We see this every Monday, once sports ‘analysts’ know the results. There was lots of naysaying when President Truman bet the ranch on a dicey Berlin Airlift in 1948. Ultimately the naysayers did a back flip.
I don't think he wants a shooting war. I think he wants to intimidate with his armed forces. He is spending a lot of Russia's money on keeping them mobilized. He thought he would get another Crimea, but I think the stakes have been made a lot higher. Like most bullies, he wants to scare and get what he wants. I think the most brilliant thing that's been done is the west outing all the possible false flag operations ahead of time. It's like calling out a narcissist's next temper tantrum right before they do it.
I agree, Danny. While it is all fluid and terribly dangerous, I agree that Putin's enormous ego and probably his miscalculation of Biden caused him to think that taking control of Ukraine would be met with little resistance. I'm sure that his long-term goal is to reassemble the former Soviet "empire." Joe Biden calling his cards and also having united fractious NATO members was not what Putin expected. Part of the calculus might also have been that there is a lot of resistance among Russian citizens, no matter that they're not free to demonstrate. Your last sentence says it all - "If it works."
What might keep him at bay would be our success in keeping the Republicans out of control here. I think that Putin, like many here and elsewhere, thought that President Biden was a doddering fool. He has proved otherwise.
Since Crimea, Russians use a phrase “we don’t mind doing it again” referring to World War II, as a semi joking threat to the West. Russians may not want a war with Ukraine, but if Putin offers them a war with the US, they might be much more interested.
No. In Russia there are (unfortunately) a number of crazed bloodthirsty goons in high places, but don't believe the propaganda.
I'd expect to find a far greater proportion of those in the general population in America, with absurd arsenals to boot.
Bear in mind, Russia is an occupied country, under the heel of bandits. America came very close to suffering a similar fate and no one in the world can be safe until the home-grown political hoodlums have been dealt with.
I sincerely hope you are right. I am afraid that Putin and many Russian people don’t have “human lives saved” as a measurement of success. It’s very much like Republicans focus on owning the Libs. To me it comes from patriarchal notions that feminine values (like counting children killed) is for weaklings. Real men through their life into the fire and teach the feminine west a lesson in toughness.
No, be very careful what you project onto the people of that vast country ruled by a mean, resentful backyard Capone who couldn't feel for other beings if he wanted to.
For one thing, American propaganda is infinitely more effective than Russian (but no less pernicious). The regime's down to the bottom-of-the-barrel motivation: fear.
Most of the people just want to get on with living their hard lives. Or, in the case of the upwardly mobile, to get on with living it up.
Yes. Also Latvia. Lt. Col. Vindman just stated on the ReidOut that Finland and Sweden, long reluctant to join NATO, are now considering it. BTW, Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland are all members of NATO. Interestingly (concerningly), Russia controls a small patch of Russian land (Kaliningrad) which is between Poland & Lithuania and is not contiguous with Russia.
I hope and pray that you are correct...although I suspect Putin is still looking for an excuse to go in with all guns blazing--his "fiery assertion" that Russia created the Ukrainian state and therefore it was and would forever belong to Russia. The true history of the Ukraine differs greatly from the fantasy that Putin either believes (doubtful), or which he cynically espouses. To me the speech seems designed to provoke any patriotic Ukrainian citizen into anger and/or unwise actions that would provide Putin's excuse.
I just hope the sanctions are severe enough to hurt Putin and the Russian oligarchs enough to make them think a couple more times than twice about the risk that Putin is taking. action
For me it's just a feeling. I've had a lot of personal experience with those who would be bullies, and this sounds like the thug who took your lunch box and has claimed he didn't have it for the past 6 months, now showing up and writing his name on it in Sharpie. You've not had the lunch box for a while, but he had to do something because when he tried to take your new one, 10 of your friends were there taking videos. (I'm stretching the analogy, and I may be wrong, but I wondering if now he's making a face saving show.)
It is a bread basket, and it's much more than that. It has all kinds of resources that Putin would love to get his hands on. Here's a summary that's been making the rounds:
Jeff Larivee
F9fe7t07brufacry 1p3 1o438alt 2:2e3d3 PihM ·
For those who ask: “Why does Ukraine matter?" This is why Ukraine matters: 🇺🇦
It is the second largest country in Europe by area and has a population of over 43 million persons - more than Poland by about 6 million.
Ukraine ranks:
1st in Europe in proven recoverable reserves of uranium ores;
2nd place in Europe and 10th place in the world in terms of titanium ore reserves;
2nd place in the world in terms of explored reserves of manganese ores (2.3 billion tons, or 12% of the world's reserves);
2nd largest iron ore reserves in the world (30 billion tons);
2nd place in Europe in terms of mercury ore reserves;
3rd place in Europe (13th place in the world) in shale gas reserves (22 trillion cubic meters)
4th in the world by the total value of natural resources;
7th place in the world in coal reserves (33.9 billion tons)
Ukraine is an important agricultural country:
1st in Europe in terms of arable land area;
3rd place in the world by the area of black soil (25% of world's volume);
1st place in the world in exports of sunflower and sunflower oil;
2nd place in the world in barley production and 4th place in barley exports;
3rd largest producer and 4th largest exporter of corn in the world;
4th largest producer of potatoes in the world;
5th largest rye producer in the world;
5th place in the world in bee production (75,000 tons);
8th place in the world in wheat exports;
9th place in the world in the production of chicken eggs;
16th place in the world in cheese exports.
Ukraine can meet the food needs of 600 million people.
Ukraine is an important industrialised country:
1st in Europe in ammonia production;
Europe's 2nd’s and the world’s 4th largest natural gas pipeline system;
3rd largest in Europe and 8th largest in the world in terms of installed capacity of nuclear power plants;
3rd place in Europe and 11th in the world in terms of rail network length (21,700 km);
3rd place in the world (after the U.S. and France) in production of locators and locating equipment;
3rd largest iron exporter in the world
4th largest exporter of turbines for nuclear power plants in the world;
4th world's largest manufacturer of rocket launchers;
4th place in the world in clay exports
4th place in the world in titanium exports
8th place in the world in exports of ores and concentrates;
9th place in the world in exports of defence industry products;
10th largest steel producer in the world (32.4 million tons).
Ukraine matters. That is why its independence is important to the rest of the world. 🇺🇦
How so have we kicked butt? The sanctions imposed mirror what Obama did after the invasion of Crimea. See the link below. I can’t find broad, strong, sanctions against Russia from the annexation of Crimea. Do they exist? It seems that we are now sanctioning the economy and people in Ukraine once again, rather than the economy and citizens in Russia. President Biden promised severe sanctions if Ukraine was invaded. I don’t think the current sanctions meet that standard.
Unfortunately I believe it's a genuine 'Catch 22'! We've got the keys to the money box, but if we unlock it the Taliban will likely 'take the money and run'!
My point is, Biden was dealt a very weak hand, but by bringing NATO together, he has raised the stakes of a full on invasion so much that Putin may well be doing a face saving move and stopping. I don't know. If that is what happened, then yes, he's kicked butt. If it hasn't, no. As for the post-Crimea sanctions, they were after the fact, and they have hurt Russia's economy, but not Putin and the oligarchs personally. Apparently, these new ones will do more against both, and they are being threatened before the potential invasion.
" For Putin, he gets to make a statement and move some troops into the area without incurring the full sanctions regime." Nonetheless, the Donbas is an additional tent that the Russian camel has inserted his nose. Belarus is the primary tent. So far. With arms and troops in both locations, Putin is positioned to move further when and if he decides to do so unless the sanctions are effective. Remains to be seen.
As Heather has written, the "financial laxness of western democracies" supports the Russian oligarchs and their colonizing expansion. In this world of global finance, what is the difference between Russian oligarchs and American oligarchs? How is it that Great Britain and South Dakota have become international tax havens? What are the financial interests of the Sedition Caucus, the 147 members of Congress who voted against accepting the electoral votes for Biden? Which corporations then donated money to members of the Sedition Caucus in 2021? What can we do about it?
As Heather frequently reminds us, we can make our voices heard. We can and must make phone calls, write letters, send emails, posts messages on Facebook and/or Twitter, and rally our friends to call out these corporate bad actors for undermining democracy.
The good people of Civic Sundays have organized a campaign for corporate accountability on behalf of democracy: a spreadsheet with data detailing which corporations donated how much to whom and contact information for the corporations, along with sample letters, messages, and tweets. A prefab action kit--check it out this coming Sunday on their Zoom meeting.
Top corporations that donate to the Sedition Caucus: Boeing, UPS, Lockhead Martin, Walmart, Amazon, Morgan Stanley, ATT, DeLoitte, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, etc.
"Edward Luce of the Financial Times identified the larger picture: “Cannot be stated strongly enough,” he wrote. “If the west—chiefly America, but also Britain—doesn't burn its financial ties to Russia's oligarchy then Putin will prevail. This means taking on Wall Street, the City, law firms[,] realtors, the prep schools and western laundering outfits.”"
Last paragraph. First steps. Make business as usual - especially the business of 'living well' - impossible for the oligarchs. And clean up our big money mess as well.
And this from an aristocrat in the Financial Times. I hope it is sincere and not just trying to get rid of Russian arrivistes buying up the best real estate and buying their way into the best schools. Oh and starting wars and ruining the markets.
And what are Putin's ties to Russia's military industrial complex.
The Commonwealth Club interviewed Rupert Russell, author of Price Wars: How the Commodities Markets Made Our World Chaotic, and he connects the markets to world events such as Russia's invasion. The interview was fascinating, and I bet the book is, too.
You know, the unintended consequence of reading HCR’s Substack is that so many of us ARE buying book after book after book, thus raising the algorithms of those titles, funding historical research, and raising awareness. A good source of “seeds and crumbs” for change.
Another unintended consequence of buying book after book rather than borrowing some from your local library is that public libraries may eventually go away in many places. In our very small town, we've been fortunate to have a wonderful library and staff but in recent years Free Staters and Libertarians have lobbied to decrease funding for them to reduce the tax burden on residents. Like all departments, they have to justify their expenses to some extent and being able to document a high rate of use is crucial to demonstrate their value to the community. Please support your local library by using it frequently, including requesting books through interlibrary loan.
For something completely different, try Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World by Tyson Yunkaporta. I'm reading it with my local permaculture book discussion group but some are listening to him read it and find that even better.
I will! You've reminded me of another fabulous book as well! 'Braiding Sweetgrass', by Robin Wall Kimmerer! May not be similar at all, but it's a real treasure!
Similar philosophy, very different styles, both wonderful. I'd love to hear what you think. Tyson's style is different, but stick with it and stay open. I don't understand all he says but I'm catching on to enough to give me a lot to think about.
So the Good News is: We know what to do to really bring Putin and his Oligarchs to their financial knees. The Bad News: Our Oligarchs won’t let it be done. “So Ukrainians suffer!” they say, “Most Americans can’t even pick Ukraine out on a map! And we can make sooooo much money selling weapons! Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!”
Well I am not sure we have oligarchs exactly. We do have Republican populists and paymasters - both with a hankering for authoritarianism. And yes, you put it exactly as Republicans do: god, guns, and greed = truth, security, and jobs jobs jobs.
They have a conflict. Isolationism vs America First vs profiteering off the military industrial complex.
I've heard HCR refer to American oligarchs. Though the term usually refers to Russians, regardless of nationality, oligarchs are uber wealthy business leaders with a great deal of political influence--think of our billionaires who wield extreme power. Koch anyone? Mercer, etc. Jane Mayer's book "Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right" is enlightening in revealing how the Koch brothers have been organizing the right wing for the past 50 years.
I heard HCR say that she specifically chose this term for the title of her latest book "How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America." I don't recall her naming our oligarchs--perhaps she left that for Jane Mayer. :) Reading Arundhati Roy's nonfiction makes me realize that oligarchs enriching themselves at the expense of the poor is a globally entangled pattern and problem.
Interesting to frame it as a battle among the oligarchs, but some are more subject to democratic state regulation than others. And no doubt the Ukrainian oligarchs are still part of the picture—targets that Putin’s crew is trying to subjugate.
In order to be effective, a regime of sanctions have to be comprehensive and coordinated. It needs consensus on enforcement.
I listened to an UN council meeting. Members from each regional group testified to the impact Russia's actions would have on their countries. For instance both Ukraine and Russia are major exporters of wheat. Imagine that disruption.
It is tempting to imagine metaphorically cutting off Putin's head. But putting it - and those of his oligarchs - in a relentlessly closing vise may be a better tactic.
Like you, lin, I’m thrilled to read Edward Luce’s decisive statement! Arundhati Roy, in her brilliant nonfiction, delineates how Modi and the Hindu nationalist group have been moving India to the extreme right in organized ways that manipulate and oppress India's poor, while using racism to inflame them and saying that they are helping them, and simultaneously enriching the wealthy in India and around the globe. Roy sheds light on an elite acting in globally connected systemic ways to enrich each other at the expense of the poor. While it is deeply disturbing, it is invaluable to understand this. Luce gives a roadmap to creating the necessary change!
I have watched this development - don't laugh - in Bollywood movies. No seriously. Many social phenomena which show up belatedly in Western media (ie Eve-teasing, the casual bullying of and assaults on women) show up much earlier in the films. And of course the devolution from Ghandi and Nehru's inclusive vision to Modi's exclusionary vision.
"In response to Putin’s machinations today, the U.S. and U.K. immediately imposed limited sanctions. Biden signed an executive order economically isolating the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, banning all U.S. investment and business there, along with any imports from there, although it makes an exception for humanitarian aid. The executive order also allows the government to sanction individuals participating in the seizure of the region, as well."
Is this a joke? A slap on Russia's pinky? These sanctions won't have any effect at all. They are basically a nod to Putin. Instead, all Russian assets should be frozen (or confiscated) until Russia leaves Ukraine. Biden's plan of "possibly" sanctioning a few individuals misses the point. Putin orchestrated this. He is the leader of Russia. Sanction all of Russia so that Russians feels the pressure and demand that Putin leave Ukraine.
Also - - who is Putin to recognize Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states? He has no authority. The authority belongs to Ukraine, because Donetsk and Luhansk are within Ukraine. I just found out that Donetsk has natural gas resources, and this is likely the impetus behind Putin's invasion. So essentially, Russia is stealing Ukraine's natural resources.
Russia created the unrest in Eastern Ukraine and then sent in its troops to quell the unrest that it created. Dictators have used this playbook over and over again throughout modern history. I wish Russia could be taken to a world court for violating treaties and for intentionally causing unrest in Donetsk and Luhansk.
I am trying to like this, but sub stack won't let me, so this is first post on the blog this am that actually made me smile. Otherwise, there is nothing much to smile about. As I read about what Putin is doing and who he has targeted in Ukraine, I can't help but think of the Nazis as they began their campaign to take over Europe.
There are work-arounds for the inability to "like". Sometimes a refresh, sometimes a comment that is farther to the left on the page serves as a refresh.
Writing this comment refreshed all my hitherto invisible "likes".
Wrap him up like a Christmas present and send him to Russia, which Tuckie seems to love so much. I'm sure Putin will figure out what to do with the pesky tick-like insect, once he arrives.
That was my first idea...but the two will sit at their feast sucking up the caviar and vodka, and laugh about the little kids fighting below their windows...the only good Carlson in a ...hmmm, is a Carlson who somehow just disappears!
diana, are you sharing this view with Biden and people with influence here? Also, I wonder who has the credibility to take Russia to a world court for violating treaties ... America hardly holds the high ground when it comes to honoring treaties ... just saying ...
I don't know, but right now, in light of the history of our blunders, I say that this has to be treated like a new game of chess. All bets are off, we're just at the starting line and we must act decisively and fast. I trust our President, but sadly we are all (here on this world stage) so limited. Every move we make will create a domino effect. It's a matter of deciding which chips we're willing to let fall, and where.
It's over my head Cynthia, I don't presume to have the knowledge or insight to speak to this level of reality. I wonder if Americans are facing a call to challenge the hubris of always having to be the big winner and leader of all things good ((even if it is not exactly true)) ... to muster up a measure of humility and willingness to acknowledge pretense and own up to the truth - by what standards ...? I have to trust that sincere people with true intentions and honest hearts will persevere through whatever political/economic circumstances come to pass - I do believe that goodness will prevail - what that will look like and how it will unfold, I do not know ... if every move we make will create a domino effect, maybe stillness is the best way through ... not static, but dynamic, vital presence in the face of chaotic uncertainty ...? Peace in one breath ... one breath at a time ....
America has not always acted honorably, but this is a different animal. Putin has a Soviet mindset which closely mirrors the psychopathic mindset: human life has no value, and do whatever you have to do to get what you want - - that is the only rule that counts. My family lived under soviet rule. The soviet mindset is so different from that of the West's that the West can't grasp it, and that is part of West's problem in dealing with Russia. And the West's failure to understand that mentality may lead to global instability. (It already has - look at the stock markets around the world.)
Greg Olear articulates it well in his article, below.
I hear you diana ... I am concerned that the same psychopathic mindset is at work here as well - in people whose lives are dedicated to competing for money, status/power and 'winning' at all costs which for some, defines personal freedom regardless of consequence to others ... hearing the words of Zelensky in Ukraine and Navalny in Russia next to the rhetoric of Putin and the Trumpian gambit here in America ... different brands of freedom appealing to different interest groups - a test of character for every one of us - here and there - I know what resonates more authentically in my heart ... I still believe truth and goodness will prevail - what it will look like, and how it plays out, I don't know - maybe this is part of what humanity has to grow through toward wholeness ... I know what I will choose ....
Allen, I wasn't sure what to make of your short 10:40 am post, but then I touched your photo and understood. I guess you're getting a pretty strong dose of history and current events these days. Hey man, stay safe!
Russia is broke and totally broken. Navalny threatens from jail. Feeding the hungry brutal wealthy often disobedient semi controlled oligarchs inspires death and rage - all around. Instability rules. Putin is savage, brutal, ugly, paranoid, lonely, enraged, isolated, living within his Covid-19 bubble, threatened and trapped, incredibly rich, incredibly hated and frightened and very, very dangerous. Our intel on display suggests intel leaks, spreading disloyalty, a dystopian violent future and an end that’s risky for Putin. Ukrainians will resist. Stalin died. Three followed and failed. More and more failed. Failed. We bribed one with fancy cars. Soccer loving Andropov failed. Leukemia. Shoe pounding Nikita Khrushchev failed. Beautiful Raisa’s husband M. Gorbachev succeeded and drunk Yeltsin failed. Markets will collapse, oil will surge, Russia’s history is littered with failed dictators, dead failed Tsar’s, a destroyed people and whole ravaged areas. The Soviet Chernobyl sits in Ukraine. The national mood resents Soviet control. They’ve tasted better. Corruption is rampant. The swelling unstable NATO concept provoked Putin. Cornered many. Ukraine soil is the best. Ukrainians cut off the water… to Crimea, the first conquest on the Black Sea. The NYTImes is inside. Lines are tapped. WhatsApp and Signal are used, Signal has a rival. We won’t engage. MAD rules with nuclear weapons. We will act as we are. Passive aggressive. The UN will meet. Covid-19 will spread. Dead bodies will frighten the people. Instability will increase. Dictators never last. Mussolini and Hitler fell. Our GOP and Fox will collapse. The people will wise up sooner or later. Leaders will emerge. Joe Knows Us and Black women brought One Six. Leaked txt messages will out the Trump ring. Frightened Pence and rich Moscow Mitch are flipping. Racism is exploding. Muslims and Chechens got pounded. Putin was vicious. All lost in Afghanistan. Putin was vicious in Syria. His methods are producing pushback. France is playing him. He’s going in, he’s lying, this can go fast or take time. The end is not MAD. The end is change in Europe. And elsewhere. Germany and Poland and France may unite. Moscow may blow up. 1914 may repeat. Covid-19 may explode or fade. Our debt markets may implode. Currencies will mirror the mess. Biden might die. Trump et al may be jailed. This period will bring change. We need it. DOJ is not dead. The draft is not dead.
I just read an article from March of 2021, about the severe water crisis in Crimea, and how much it's costing Russia. If Russia assumes control of Ukraine, they could send badly needed water to Crimea via the North Crimean Canal (which Kyiv has cut off). This was from Bloomberg. I just wonder why I have never seen this situation mentioned in the recent news coverage. Is it still an issue? Here's a link to the article: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-03-19/russia-vs-ukraine-crimea-s-water-crisis-is-an-impossible-problem-for-putin.
I have mentioned in a previous post that when the little green men took over Crimea, the Kremlin seemed to have forgotten that the peninsula's water resources are far too small to cover its needs.
Yet another very expensive piece of wasteful negligence.
Many thanks. I have been looking for a real reason why Putin might want to invade Ukraine, and, have seen many hypothesis, but, this one makes good sense for sure.
BIDEN TO PUTIN: “UP YOUR TUSH, WITH MY PERSONAL REGARDS”
President (Cool Hand Luke/Make my day) Biden is giving Putin a master class on how America can, in real time, shove Russia’s Ukrainian Disinformation/Misinformation, Program up Putin’s ass. [I can almost hear Putin shouting to his AgitProp manipulators: “But Americans have never acted this way.”]
Russia has launched its normal Disinformation/Misinformation Program:
1) ‘Nothing unusual about assembling 150,000 troops on Ukraine’s border;’
2, ‘Russia increasingly upset by Ukraine’s aggressive actions towards Russia;’
3) ‘After normal military exercises with Belorussian troops the 30,000 Russian troops will be withdrawn’;
4) ‘NATO is exacerbating the situation by providing assistance to Ukraine and placing more troops in other Eastern European countries’;
5) ‘Ukraine historically is an integral part of Russia’;
6) ‘Ukraine may spark a war by lobbing artillery shells into Eastern Ukraine’;
7 ‘Russian troops are not on the edge of invading Ukraine and Biden and his buddies are wrong and mean spirited to proclaim otherwise’;
To all of this President Biden has replied BULLSHITSY! For the first time in my memory an American president has authorized that the most sensitive American intelligence be unleashed in real time against Russian (or Soviet) disinformation.
[From my years working in COMINT (communications intelligence) I am acutely aware of the extraordinary steps we took not to expose the source of vital information. Ditto with CIA protection of its ‘human resources.’]
What Biden unleashed is akin to the end of a July 4th celebration: launch all of the remaining fireworks in one magnificent display—WOOZER DOOZER!
1) ‘Our aerial photos (and COMINT) have tracked a massive Russian military build up—about 150,000 troops with top-line combat units’;
2) ‘We are following Russian misinformation endeavoring to blame Ukraine for threatening Russia’;
3) ‘The 30,000 Russian troops engaged in extraordinary military. Exercises with Belarus close to the Ukrainian border are staying there’;
4) ‘Russian reports that some troops are being withdrawn are false—they are simply being redeployed’;
5) ‘Russian reports reports that Ukrainians have been the instigators of ‘major military actions’ in Eastern Ukraine are false’;
6). ‘We have intelligence that Russia army leaders have orders to attack Ukraine’;
7). ‘Russia, after invading Ukraine, has a lengthy list of Ukrainians slated to be killed or “disappeared”’;
President Biden has focused the world on Putin’s Ukranian shenanigans, while uniting the West, Eastern European countries, and others. Whatever Putin decides to do, he will be as butt naked as was the Wizard of Oz, when Toto pulled open the curtain.
I recall one dramatic incident when President Kennedy, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, declassified highly sensitive U-2 photos. During the UN Security Council discussions, at which the Soviet ambassador denied that there were Russian missile sites in Cuba, Ambassador Stevenson pulled back a curtain to reveal blown up U-2 photos of these missile sites. Game/match U. S.
Many months after public accusations that Russian cyber gum shoes were interfering in American presidential elections, sensitive American intelligence was included in judicial indictments identifying Russian individuals and specific cyber units. But this intelligence was not released in real time, as this subterfuge was occurring.
Kudos to ‘Dirty Harry’ Biden who has challenged Putin to ‘make my day.’
What JKF did was incredibly powerful. He proved to the world that the Russian government was lying and then took bold action to stop the threat. I clearly remember the moment as a junior high student in Central Florida, 400 miles from Cuba. The Cuban Missile Crisis and later JFK's assassination were the biggest defining world events for me in those years.
Michael I believe that everyone has personal powerful memories of extraordinary events.I was serving in Congo during the Cuban Missile Crisis and JFK’s assassination. All communications were severely curtailed. For me these were frightening evenings, but ones that I had to witness from a distance.
I vividly remember Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. We had a friend over for Sunday lunch whose husband was a pilot on an aircraft carrier stationed at Pearl. She didn’t know that the carriers were not in harbor. (Her husband, part of Torpedo Squadron 8, was killed at the Battle of Midway. VE and VJ Day were marvelous endings to WW II, after nearly six years (my mother was British) of family risking their lives.
I awakened my young children in Chile to watch the landing on the moon, July 20, 1969. The opening of the Berlin Wall was, for me, emotional, since it represented the ending of the Cold War. 9/11 was unforgettable, especially with family living in Manhattan. Then, of course, there are family events that are unforgettable. We all have our special moments.
Thanks for sharing those memories, Keith. The momentous events of world import and how we experienced them are remarkably vivid, even today \so many decades later.
By the way, our son Atticus, 16, spent two weeks in Chile, including one with a Chilean family in Temuco, as part of 8th-grade Spanish. He still talks about the trip, including how welcoming and kind the family was.
This letter is a master class in how to comprehensively summarize fast-moving developments of a complex, volatile story. Congratulations to the professor. The last paragraph is quite a kicker ending: the conclusion from the Financial Times writer that Putin will prevail if the West doesn't "burn its financial ties to Russia's oligarchy." It's a money-laundering system operating not exactly in secret but beyond the view or understanding of most Americans.
Does this Congress have the will to take action on many financial fronts? Doubtful. You can almost see cash-laden lobbyists lining up in the morning outside the Capitol. I have trouble seeing much of anything happening on this front, sadly. Perhaps Biden can make some inroads via executive orders.
"Does this Congress have the will to take action on many financial fronts? Doubtful. "
Based on the powerful support Trump received from Republicans in Congress for his attempted coup, we know which members are already being paid off by the money source from some right wing Oligarchy.
Because, now, today, monied interests in the US have gained control of most of our "representatives".
Furthermore, we have formally legalized congressional representative ownership, like dog ownership, with Citizens United.
So, it is LEGAL for a Russian Oligarch to buy and own, say, Ted Cruz.
Ted must only sit, or roll over, when he is told to do so to become rich beyond his wildest dreams.
Yes, that's true. I was referring to U.S. financial companies donating to congressional campaigns. They're among beneficiaries of oligarch money flowing into the country. Forgive my cynicism, but they're unlikely so sacrifice profits to punish rich Russians over Putin's madness.
I fully understood your excellent post, which I take as a criticism of Citizens United. It was Mike S who asserted that it was legal for a Russian oligarch to buy a US senator. Not to say it doesn’t happen, by the convoluted chain you describe, but it’s not legal.
Anyone who follows the consequences for people of target countries when sanctions are wielded may have a different opinion on their frequent use. As for consequences on the economic front, I was surprised to read in a long commentary by economist Michael Hudson that defensive measures by countries concerned over such frequent impositions... are bringing their gold home from the US and other asset parking countries and also edging away from the dollar as universal tender. An image he offered was of tons of German gold being flown home from New York. I looked this up and found the business press commenting that Germany was ahead of schedule with this repatriation.
Excellent comment, Michael Bales. For what it’s worth, -and to many it will seem an act of emptying the ocean with a thimble - HCR’s final paragraph inspired me to write both of my senators and ask for the burning of those financial ties. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, right?
I just have to wonder at the timing of all of this, and how it has obscured the Trump fiasco. Perhaps, Putin efforts to use Trump to bring down the US haven't panned out quite the way he would have liked and how convenient for Trump that we are now facing this world crisis and are looking away from him for the moment.
Been thinking the same. Putin distracts from Trump’s “worst week” (now forgotten in the chaos) and does his best to make Biden look weak, with tons of help from mainstream media still harping on Afghanistan, and using his tools like Tucker Carlson to continue to use our political divisions, more accurately the anti-democracy GOP against us.
Well, not entirely forgotten. Tonight, just now, Lawrence O'Donnell is about to launch into a segment about "Trump's worst week plus" including today's denial by the Supreme Court to block National Archives release of "all Trump" documents to the Select Committee.
On the other hand, since I have been expecting WWIII from this, unless the Russian military rebels on Putin, which I am hoping they can be convinced to do, if we are embroiled in a war, Biden can just continue on, isn't there a law that says that the president can just continue on and elections don't have to be held if there is a war. So, if we are embroiled in a war of the kind that Putin is creating, I can hardly see how we could risk changing leadership and therefore Biden would have to continue on. So, in that sense Putin is playing into Biden's hands. The question is does that extend to other offices as well?
However, I am looking at Trump even more and the role he has played in bringing us to this point. Just what is in the classified documents he gave to Putin. If we get involved militarily in WWIII because of Russia going after our NATO allies, which he is sure to do if given a chance, Trump should be tried for high treason, for giving secret documents to our enemy, who was clearly that all along. Once KGB, always KGB! I am now calling him Adolf Putin!
BINGO! Yes, or course he gave Putin classified documents... and who knows what else? I hope that changed the combination on the lock on the 'football'... and if we are embroiled in some sort of war could that hinder the mid-terms? Either legally or just the wake-up call that hopefully people will hear before then??
The Committee will not be distracted, and as far as the ramifications of the Russia/Ukraine situation, we all need to keep in mind that our intelligence community has managed to get inside of Russia's intelligence (perhaps some of them see how dangerous Putin's adventures are and hope that we can deter him to some extent). We knew in advance of his plans for false flag operations. Putin can cause a great deal of damage with cyber hacking, but so can we! Remember months ago when we discovered the hacking that had been done by the Russians, and we took down their hacking system - wrecked it. We're certainly not unsophisticated or unable to defend our turf, even after TFG had four years to do his damage.
Yes...I was trying to work through these thoughts since yesterday... there are NO such things as coincidences. I keep repeating that 'of course these two situations are strongly linked...'and my cat agrees!
"Putin’s recognition of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) as independent states within the country of Ukraine" is a clear sign that Putin is annexing Ukraine to fulfill his megalomaniac totalitarian agenda. The man is losing his mind and will do nothing but harm to both Russia and Ukraine. No Wonder tfg idolized him -- they are most definitely birds of a feather.
Heather, my deepest thanks for your thorough unraveling of the day's events. In the meantime, let's keep the Ukrainian people in our thoughts and in our hearts..
"Edward Luce of the Financial Times identified the larger picture: “Cannot be stated strongly enough,” he wrote. 'If the west—chiefly America, but also Britain—doesn't burn its financial ties to Russia's oligarchy then Putin will prevail. This means taking on Wall Street, the City, law firms[,] realtors, the prep schools and western laundering outfits.'"
Wish I knew specifics on that quote! Let's see what funds buying Americans' farmland and private homes implode tomorrow and which Congresspersons start tomorrow by selling and shorting on opening bell. Would love to see the rats flushed out into daylight.
I have been wondering for sometime how Russia is doing with Covid, so this evening, I looked up all I could find on it. The latest info is about a year old, but it does not look good. At best, only about half of the population is vaccinated, and that with Russian vaccines which were never fully tested. And Putin prefers to not deal with it, but to push the problem on to someone else.
How are 190,000 soldiers going to do, bunched together, out in the cold, I assume with limited quality food stores, and Covid doing it's nasty best to spread itself as far as possible?
To me, it sounds like a disaster ready to explode!
Russia is not in good shape financially already. Adding health issues on to it can only make it's people very unhappy.
I’ve read Twitter accounts from journalists in the area that are reporting that Putin’s troops are suffering from the excessive alcohol intake and Covid. 🤷🏻♀️ Not sure what he impact will be.
I saw that too. The troops are terrorizing the civilians in more ways than one, it appears. Not just their weapons, but their drunkenness and debauchery and their Covid. Not to mention all those young men are stationed away far from home and most likely are bored. I understand the food is pretty awful and they are stealing animals from the citizens.
Thank you Heather for the updates on this extremely tense and dangerous time. “According to Russia analyst Julia Davis, Russian state television last night said of the former president: “Trump gave us a 4-year reprieve.”” That quote confirms the political dangers Trump, Manafort and the other “operatives” in that administration engaged in while lying, smoke-screening, distracting, and half the American people believed it. Imagine the failed Impeachment. And tfg’s sarcastic “ Russia, Russia, Russia.” Even more confirmation that tfg is a psychopath as is Putin. How much more evidence do the repubs and tfg supporters need? Now we (NATO, U.S., other countries) must work to prevent war spreading, not only deeper into Ukraine but to other countries. There’s great concern as antisemitism and fascism are continuing to spread throughout Russia, Ukraine and Europe and those most affected may not be ready or able to leave. How threatened are the citizens? A NYT article about Jewish community in Odessa described some people preparing and others waiting. This tension especially along the borders isn’t new.
Putin to World: I need you to know I am still here, in the worst way
At what point of absolute power does a bee in the bonnet of a dictator metamorphose into bats in his belfry? It happens. These men claw their way to power, strategically and tactically, and then lose their shit and turn irrational. It does not even end well for them.
A shooting war is so 20th C.
Unless Russia wants a bloodbath to terrorize the civilian population. Chaos to provide cover for mass arrests and
assassinations. And to stand atop the rubble. Mission Accomplished. And then what? And who are the Russians and Ukrainians willing to carry this out?
And here at home. We came *this* close to a coup. To a crazy man and his apparatchiks ruling the roost. Republicans are still on that crusade.
And some on the Left are still reflexively
sniping at Democrats / Biden.
But it is heartening to watch all those who are trying to do the serious work of pushing back.
"A shooting war is so 20th C"?
lin, I thought, we, the USA, just finished one (shooting war) up after after we "stood on the rubble" for years in Afghanistan......but......we still have one going ...... in Iraq....where we created so much rubble out of what were formally beautiful, ancient, cities.
So, Putin is not nuts. He is just following the leader.
US.
Mike, when I read your comment I did not want to 'like' it. But with humility and sadness I concur. After reading Heather's letter this morning I read an article in the NYTIMES about what we are doing in and to Afghanistan. (I will post it shortly.)
And Lin, I do agree so much with your comments, especially about the near coup of our former president. Yesterday was such an upsetting day. I felt overwhelmed by 'a disturbance in the force'. And while I hovered on Twitter, and kept the news on in the background, I struggled with this sense of confusion beneath it all that I could not explain....? It was as though there was some mysterious juxtaposition in between the situation in Ukraine and TFG and I struggled to figure out what the connection, other than the obvious, and it's becoming so clear how truly dangerously close we came and how precarious our current situation is! I sound inarticulate now, and I will try to clarify my thoughts today, but I am, frankly, terrified of what is around the corner.
". . . terrified of what is around the corner."
We all are. But that is the point of terrorism.
The histories of Russia and Ukraine, of Russia and Europe, of Russia and NATO, of Russia/USSR/Russia ... the long threads these tangled skeins need to be teased out. And even then ... the manifestations of irrationality.
I used to laugh that my father's family was from some area which was one day Poland another Lithuania another Russia - their preAmerican past was never spoken of, I was vague. Now I think of the people in Kyiv, Lviv ... it becomes vivid.
Ha! My grandmother used to say she didn't know whether her heritage was German or Austrian, because they kept changing the borders!
I used to laugh that as my mother's family was from Vienna, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, all her cooking had either cinnamon or paprika.
This is my family, too!
Yes!
Greg Olear's "Prevail" substack lays out those intertwined histories very clearly in his most recent post. As complex as it is, he manages to make it understandable to folks like me!
Yes, thank you Lin, there was a time when the map and our family history were almost a fantasy of yesterday. In fact that time is now. Even the ship’s manifest when my grandparents escaped Kiev, 1909, together reads Russia, country of origin. And Vilnius, Lithuania for other grandparents. But departure on the Martha Washington, exact same day and time, one Trieste and one Austria. Wars and maps and humans. Is History Fiction or Nonfiction? And then “ What is Past is Prologue.”
Mapping boundaries is an interdisciplinary project. From philosophy to physics to geopolitics to art. You are correct to bring in questions of fiction and non fiction. It is a puzzle over time and space.
https://thewellground.com/products/map-exploring-the-world-by-john-hessler-regular
Thank you, Lin. I feel like I’m in another world, trying to find my way out with a map in hand. The Diaspora of Life? Even today?
Did you ever read "The Tin Drum"?
Eons ago. Why particularly?
Kind of like the people in Kentucky.
But for a much different reason....
This comment made me laugh. I needed that today!
ROFLMAO !
The crackling sense of danger was thick with electricity yesterday. My hair felt as if it would stand straight up. I lives in the Middle East for a decade during the 70's. We knew terror and fear. Yesterday felt oddly similar yet more frightening. Forgive my rambling. I'm very worried.
Please do not feel you need apologize. Your experiences, reactions, and words help us all understand the human element. ThankYou.
You're not rambling, I believe you are incredibly in touch with the Zeitgeist.....
Yes, my family lived through it in WWII. I also am worried.
Thank you for sharing your feelings today. I woke up trying to reassure myself that we were not actually, finally, at the point of living the book, “1984”. Rational thought knows that, and yet . . .
Yes, Yes, Thank You, Patricia, “1984” for the past how many years? I keep quoting Orwell’s brilliant and disturbing words, his crystal ball, the human need for power beyond reason. Our grandchildren, our planet. I’m so scared.
I had a phone conversation with one of my ex-students who is in her late 50s this weekend. Granted that she is dealing with a serious medical problem with one of her eyes, but she was also scared about what is in the future. She has children; I do not. We both agreed that all young people are up against it.
yes, stay close...we will all stick together...
I need to read this book! I have the time now!
And then read Orwell’s “Animal Farm”! They call his books Fiction!!!
Well, to be perhaps more accurate, he is following Stalin. His hero. Our Moron in Chief, Shrubby Bush, to the glee of Mother Russia, stumbled down the same path that the USSR took in Afghanistan (for a similarity, see France and Vietnam) in the Brezhnev era. And, to the glee of Europe and the UK, the US stumbled down similar paths worn down by France and Britain in the 20th century in the Middle East. Promoting fascist dictators who "like" us while getting rid of democratic movements and strongmen who were a little peskier because they were not as willing to line the Bush and Cheney family pockets (to name only two of the legions of white men whose pockets were lined by the Saudis). The US's activities in global politics, with the exception of WW1 and WW2, has always been abysmal. And the US did plenty wrong in the two world wars, as well, including all the dithering about which side to join (FDR did put a stop to that but it took a helluva long time before he could get the rest of the government around the idea of joining the Allies).
I read yesterday that Putin is a little worried about getting literally bogged down in the mud in Ukraine, as it is their spring thaw and (what we called in Western NY) "mudsoon" season. Perhaps what he hoped was that he could lure Europe into Russia in the middle of winter, as occurred in the 1810s and 1940s. . .
OMG! I need to go back to the 'beginning' and start fresh...since her start, I've followed Dr. R religiously. Since COvid began I virtually shut myself in, and started reading (mostly via audiobooks) and I was (still am) insatiable. I don't believe it was a conscious decision, but an evolution, but I felt the need to understand everything. I'm 2 years older now, 70 years old, and I still feel so woefully naive and confused. My sources often were found in these pages, and I remain consumed by history, psychology, sociology, and whatever sources of light available. I don't want to run out of time before I get 'it' enough (surely it's impossible for me to 'get it all') to do something!
'Do something'!? And what would that look like?! I have made phone calls, written post cards, tried to share the wee shreds of wisdom whenever I can from here behind the closed doors... (I often think my obsession with feeding the birds and the critters in our woods is a desperate metaphor for my need to give something that I have to offer, which surely is not much more than seeds and crumbs...)
Fearful of sounding dramatic, I can't imagine what is before us? Cyber wars alone will cripple Ukraine and the rest of the world. The financial doom is pending, and is there anything we can do about it? And, my anger towards TFG and the Republican idiots , Tucker Carlson, Jim Jordan, all of them, is heating up to a boiling point. I am sure that I am not alone.
When I read Putin's statement a few days ago when he listed his targets within Ukraine, (ethnic minorities, LGBQT, and so on) I called out to my husband that the list was the same as the the lists in Florida, Texas, Tennessee and on! Who's going to get us first?! Us or them?! And what the heck are we to do?!
Cynthia O’Connor, your post really spoke to me this morning! “ Do something'!? And what would that look like?! I have made phone calls, written post cards, tried to share the wee shreds of wisdom whenever I can from here behind the closed doors..”. That feeling has been stalking me for a long time also! This moment in time I feel like I’m trying to consume knowledge by drinking out of a fire hose. We are drowning in information for the first time in history since the invention of the printing press. I’m aware of the information warfare tactic being used: Flood the Zone with Shit. So, I too am grateful to HCR for cutting through it all. But what can “we” do actively beyond what we are currently doing? For myself, I sum it up to “Resist”; as in resist hate, resist feeling impotent, resist staying in my silo, resist click-bait, resist myths, resist not caring, resist hoarding…. And most recently to pop in my head: Help Young People. All this crap happened on our watch. I don’t want to leave with out a few young people knowing an older person who worked to make a positive difference for them.
Thank you... I do care, and I am eager to help... I have been discipling myself in so many ways...for most of us, the covid isolation period became a universal call to downsize; not just from 'stuff' but from the cobwebs and the cozy isolation that we perhaps were unaware we were cloaked within. I am trying to clear out the detritus of my life and culling the gems, the books, my photography, and constructing something to leave behind... When you talk about the young... I feel challenged to try and reach them. For years I have fought to save the elephants, and gone around speaking at schools and community centers to raise awareness and compassion for these magnificent creatures and their precarious stature on our planet. It is right alongside the many other species and the planet as a whole, and while we all can't give a lot to everything, if I can be an inspiration to a few who spread the word, I will feel I have succeeded... or at least spread the seeds, hopefully to fertile ground. Covid, put handcuffs on my work..both my photography and my elephants, unfortunately... I am trying to reestablish myself as a force for good in the world, albeit by my one (wo)man show. It does seem so overwhelming... quoting my Mom (whose birthday is today! She would be 108!) "The 'huirrieder' I go the 'behinder' I get"!
"The 'huirrieder' I go the 'behinder' I get"!
Yes indeed ... and the faster and more furious the world moves, the only way I know to keep up with anything, is to s.l.o.w. d.o.w.n and just do what I can - one breath at a time ... trust in the sincerity of your heart and true intent ... everything is passing - the whole planet is going through a massive dimensional shift ... like we are being sucked into the singularity of a gravitational vortex - who knows where it will lead? I don't - and I don't foster any illusion that I can control it ... just take it one breath at a time and do the best I can to live with sincerity and true intent ... what else can we do ...?
YES! Every day, in every way, our little acts of resistance work to keep hope alive. Doing what we can, with what we have, when we can -like your one woman show- is awesome! You have people here cheering you on!
🐘💙🐘
Seems to be a very good attitude. Hope you don't mind sharing some.
I am not sure if you were speaking to me, but although this is a few years old, this was how I first got really involved with my dear elephants...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM53cCL5pwU
And this was really how it all started! : ) https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/find-maintain-your-passion-paul-steinmetz?trk=pulse-det-nav_art
Yes!
Cynthia, what you have written resonates with me, you put in words EXACTLY how I feel. (Sadly, I had to stop feeding the birds as rats became a problem in our area. I am resigned but at the time I thought "seriously? I can't even enjoy the birds?!") I am absolutely amazed, incredulous really, that tfg's followers seem to embrace Russia and Communism! And Carlson--what part of hell did he get spat out of?
You have a tribe of people here, I wish I knew exactly what the readership numbers were, but regardless--you are not alone.
Thank you so much..I always feel safe here at Heather's Cafe... more so every day! xxx
I feel exactly what you said, and as she said. Postcards, Resistbot, emails, decluttering, reading - have learned more history in the past 2 years (💜 Dr. Heather!) than before. We must persist and try to engage the young people we know.
Cynthia O’Conner, Your comment: “(I often think my obsession with feeding the birds and the critters in our woods is a desperate metaphor for my need to give something that I have to offer, which surely is not much more than seeds and crumbs...)” makes me realize that those seeds and crumbs (of understanding) are much more valuable than all the hot air of ‘Foux News’ talking heads right now. Thank you.
Yes. What to do? At 71 I am with you. Would Ukraine like to have a salty old door gunner to help them. A burst of glory sounds better to me than a pending cremation. Especially for freedom American style.
YES! I will carry your bag!
Cynthia, seeds and crumbs to feed the birds and critters are a fine metaphor for the seeds we plant in whatever small ways we each can, hoping the soil will nourish them and create meadows and forests of millions of people sowing their own seeds to sustain themselves now and into a brighter future. Whatever we do to help each other, our democracy and our planet is at least something, so let's not fear or despair stop us.
I'm not a huge fan of Andrea Bocelli, but he does a particularly fine job in this version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP1_JQ1VPnw
I needed this on so many levels today. Bless you, Mim
It IS perfect, isn't it, Eileen?
thank you sooo much!
You're welcome, Cynthia. And thank YOU for your lovely metaphor.
Thanks - for reminding me how much I TRULY DISLIKE Bocelli!!!! That's a beautiful song - now I have to go "clean" my ears! Just 3 seconds worth. ugggg
Sorry, but the Barbara Streisand version was over the top, though I do love her voice. I guess I should have posted the YouTube clip of the song beautifully sung in "Carousel" by Claramae Turner. Well, here it is, Dana:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1izigJX1pxI
John Raitt did the trick...phew
😪
Linda Mitchell: We and our parents and grandparents have lived through this 20th Century 100 years of war. The burden of those three generations of memories is very heavy this morning.
yes it is..... sad
Unfortunately, you are correct, Mike, as U.S. interventions in Latin America were common in the 20th century: https://revista.drclas.harvard.edu/united-states-interventions/
Rose, thank you. I will mention to my wife that you think I am correct, because, she often thinks I am not.
:-)
It won't help, but good luck anyway.
HA!😝
😂
That is her job!
It is the way of wives...
As if Mission Accomplished were sane?
Also reference to Walter Benjamin's comment on Klee's Angel of History:
This is how one pictures the angel of history. His face is turned toward the past. Where we perceive a chain of events, he sees one single catastrophe which keeps piling wreckage and hurls it in front of his feet.
Oh lord, yes....
The Truth shall set us free? Does it matter Truth or Fiction?
I don't think the binary is 'truth or fiction'.
I think we reach consensus on the provisional truths of science and the contextual truths of history through coming to consensus on interpretations of the empirical evidence. And revisions. Wordy. But helpful to spell these things out.
Each discipline has protocols for interpretation and for distinguishing between valid and invalid interpretations.
You can say a lot of different things about the biblical Garden of Eden but you cannot say there are 'little green men' in Genesis. Although they seem to be in Ukraine.
I thank you Lin and all who share your stories. I feel like I will spend the day crying, maybe from what I know to be true and maybe from what I will never know. Who are we but our stories!?
You and I have agreed that our wars have been stupid and horrific. But what we did in all of our despicable adventures (going back 100s of years) is no excuse for Putin's impunity.
I think he is more interested in being a Stalin or Alexander the Great. His ego is driving this insanity.
Let's hope that Global Warming gives us the bonus of an early thaw and his tanks are mired deeply in the mud. Of course, he may not go further physically right now. His hackers can cripple Ukraine. He can infiltrate the country with more political saboteurs. There are many ways he can entertain himself. And he has already gained Belarus as a bonus (or maybe his original target for now!).
Sadly, Americans look at this stuff like it's a football game - with a start and a finish. We have no patience for the long game of life. Our attention spans are like that of goldfish. We think we can do something "big" to end it all. Nope.
This IS Putins life - the reason he lives. This is just another quarter in an endless series of games for him. This guy is a KGB fox. And he is having the time of his life with nobody to stop him. He is a terrorist and should be treated as such.
I agree with almost all you write
But this grand generalization about Americans. "Sadly, Americans look at this stuff like it's a football game - with a start and a finish. We have no patience for the long game of life. Our attention spans are like that of goldfish. We think we can do something "big" to end it all."
No doubt it is true of many across the political spectrum. And of almost the entire GOP as far as I can tell. Fortunately I think many Democrats in Congress and in the Biden administration, at career people at State even the Pentagon, see the long game.
They might have taken a tip from angela Merkel. Her opinion was that Putin would always overstep, and if you give him enough rope he will hang himself. Meanwhile there are Russian colonies in all former Soviet states, and even in Cuba. Russia is buying Venezuelan oil as well to prop up that state. Expect Putin to pull stunts everywhere. The mothers of Moscow and St. Petersburg won’t stand for invasions that lead to guerrilla war, however. We are powerless in Cuba because of our economic boycott of sixty years or so. Whichever party lifts the boycott will lose the Cuban vote in Florida and possibly Florida’s electoral votes and thus the presidency. “Winning isn’t everything. It’s the only thing.” talk about trapped. Younger Cubans in FL are not as avid as their parents, tho. One of these days those demographics will shift.
I should have been more specific. The current admin is quite wise and experienced. I was referring to Joe and Jane Sixpack as well as the GQP lackies who actually admire Putin.
And in all fairness some on the Left - Jo and Jo Birkenstock - of whom I expect better, but ought not.
May the mud be so deep that the tanks sink up to their turrets.
Is there a difference between interfering with neighboring countries vs doing it to countries across the world? Is the US coup in Ukraine, acknowledged in a leaked phone call from Victoria Nuland of our State Department choosing a leader for Ukraine more forgiveable (because it's us and we understand our foibles) than actions by Putin next door to Ukraine, who is less understandable to our domestic politics oriented media? The assumption we often live into is that US interference is an act of generosity and destruction of entire countries (Iraq, Libya) was simply an unavoidable "oops" moment.
I doubt that anyone on this substack is unaware of the foibles of the US. I am certain we are talking apples vs. oranges, however. Who knows all the innermost vagaries of international intrigue? Nevertheless, Putin is a wannabe Czar whose greatest desire is to humiliate all democracies, the US most of all. No need to preach here, jc.
It is as important to read outside the mainstream press and video as it is to follow domestic political struggles examined and assembled by Dr. Richardson. Yes diplomacy is better than holding a gun to someone's head but we are led to see simply excusable foibles.
The people who actually negotiated reductions among countries holding guns at each others' heads are alarmed at the trashing of arms treaties by OUR recent administrations. If you imagine trusting the vagaries of international intrigue as being OK for us, check out the "adults in the room", the observations of VIPS a tongue in cheek name for Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity. The founder who drafts their analyses is Ray McGovern. See raymcgovern.com These are people acutely aware of counterproductive calculations that serve, among others, the industries pressing for more worldwide spending on arms, at the expense of the security of people worldwide.
As participant in observer missions to countries in Central America, I can add there is need for brisk grassroots engagement here in the US over the guns AND diplomacy serving international business and causing Hondurans, Colombians and others to leave their homes on foot.
Some years ago a busload of NC human rights advocates visited with State Department officials on the board of the School of the Americas whose courses included violent measures of every kind against democratic impulses in our neighboring countries. One of the senior officials said, why don't you do as Nobel Laureate and human rights leader Andrei Sakharov does and challenge the Russian government's abuses? We had to remind him that Sakharov sought to restrain the worst actions of his own government, and that is what we came to DC to do.
In an interview today on DemocracyNow.org, the great granddaughter of Premier Nikita Khrushchev (teaching international affairs at The New School) observed that both Russia and the US regard themselves as messianic forces... but war can still be avoided. Nuclear brinksmanship risks us all, beginning with the huge resources taken from human needs and potentially ending with miscalculations and outcomes that survivors would wish they/we had done more to avoid.
I am aware of these issues. I lived in Central America and was an observer in Nicaragua, myself. I was present during the Contra skirmishes, not a well known but a Reagan era foible nonetheless, when much of the brutal tone in Central and South America was set, and as you say, the fallout still pervades. I am aware of the Fascism and climate tragedies affecting Honduras, for example. I just feel you are talking down to us with assumptions of our ignorance of the issues behind the US' current involvements. I simply do not like Putin who I see as far more callous and calculating than our present government, and I salute what is at least an attempt to be diplomatic vs. some of the past episodes of our militant history. I am not an an apologist but I am an old Peacenik who often watches D
I had friends who protested at the School of the Americas and many/most of us by now know about our government’s unforgivable actions in Central America and more. Yes, here at home. That’s a given. A major difference at least since post-McCarthy (and I say mostly) is that I can and do stand on the corner of 16th and J or in front of the WH with a sign or hand out anti war flyers or send postcards. I can disagree. So far I haven’t been arrested. Lots of protesters are arrested, still, but not sent to Siberia. Even if we have a file somewhere we can likely read it. No, absolutely not perfect, but I’m more than grateful that I’m not worried about being transported to Siberia or poisoned for my opposition.
Seriously. Please provide citations because ... wow ... what a mash up.
Thanks for asking. It's been a long time since I heard a broadcast of the conversation between Nuland and the US ambassador to Ukraine.
Most comment in our media was over the hands on project director at the State Dept's language: "F*** the EU". Just listened again to the audio:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSxaa-67yGM
As we listen, I wonderhow it would sound to us if a powerful foreign country was using the same language, manipulating Canadian prime minister candidates and dismissing US interests. As for the term "coup" it most closely matches an overthrow of an elected president partly by "indigenous" uprising but forcefully pressed by US supported snipers and related violence. Others with more particular memory of sequence of events may add to this unless it is deleted first.
OK researched a bit. 2014. It was a candid working conversation which was bugged and released most likely by the Russians. Undiplomatic. Sure. But hardly a coup or installing a puppet. And certainly not comparable to what Putin is up to.
https://www.npr.org/2014/02/08/273181826/a-possible-explanation-for-how-u-s-diplomats-call-was-tapped
2014. "It is no secret that Ambassador Pyatt and Assistant Secretary Nuland have been working with the government of Ukraine, with the opposition, with business and civil society leaders to support their efforts," Ms Psaki continued. "It shouldn't be a surprise that at any points there have been discussions about recent events and offers and what is happening on the ground. Of course these things are being discussed. It doesn't change the fact that it's up to the people on the ground. It is up to the people of Ukraine to determine what the path forward it."
Yup. That Ms. Psaki.
Seriously? You have provided a link to a Russian youtube video.
What is it called when one looks in a mirror yet cannot see themself, and then gets angry when someone else describe it and says, “yer image is perfectly clear to me”
What’s the word for that anger?
"What is it called when one looks in a mirror yet cannot see themself, "
It's not that they can't recognize themselves — that's prosopagnosia, usually a symptom of brain damage. Rather, people with depersonalization disorder simply don't feel a connection to who they see in the mirror.
https://www.bustle.com/wellness/signs-you-might-have-depersonalization-disorder
And is their reaction anger?
😄
Russia started the demise of Afghanistan. It gave up when Afghanistan war lords got the best of Russian soldiers. I recommend reading A Bed of Red Flowers: In Search of My Afghanistan by Neloffer Pazira, who lived through it. She now resides in Canada. Anyone's understanding of Afghanistan will improve after reading this book. It reads so well, it's hard to put it down.
I cannot recommend enough Fredrik Barth's 'Political Leadership Among Swat Pathans'.
I read it for Anthro 101 around 1968. I read it twice. I could not shake the thought that people woke each morning with one thought 'who am I obliged to kill today.' One of few school texts I've saved, I reread it recently. It is crazy that we thought centralized government would be welcomed. It is crude to speak of warlords. This moderate Islamic society, successfully, socially excluded Saudi extremists until we favored religious extremists against Soviets. As our involvement deepened, the harm of our ignorance increased exponentially. In some areas we were played by goons, worse than the Taliban, to consolidate their stranglehold on local populations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredrik_Barth
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/12/20/the-secret-history-of-the-us-diplomatic-failure-in-afghanistan
Yes. Warlords was not a good term. Each region of Afghanistan "ruled" itself in its fight against Russia, and the Afghans knew the territorial boundaries of each region. The regions did not infringe on adjacent regions, and each region fought Russia as it chose.
I am reminded of the numerous nation-building actions spearheaded and funded by the U.S. and the CIA. We do not "annex" those nations. We simply orchestrate them to meet our felt needs or wants. Too often, the "better" leader we put in place turned out to be far worse then their predecessor -- who we had removed.
Chile. Allende. Pinochet.
Trailer, Patricio Guzman Nostalgia for the Light
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j6VDlxFYmKg
Thank you for this. Pinochet. Of course!
Your point is well-taken. And it is a sad one indeed. But I believe Putin is nuts and deeply unstable. I might add that he has been trying very hard to destabilize the United States, most recently with his support of Donald Trump and the right-wing. The US is far from blameless as a super power, but I would still prefer to keep up the fight to "create a more perfect union" than support a dictator who poisons his opponents and has deep ties with both oligarchs and the former KGB.
Lin, I wish I'd written this: "At what point of absolute power does a bee in the bonnet of a dictator metamorphose into bats in his belfry?"
Yes very heartening to know we have Biden and team for about 3 years.
yes... as long as we can keep the dogs at bay...
I like dogs a lot— I prefer to think of the Tucker Carlson types as ravenous wild boars.
I don't think we should insult animals by comparing Tucker Carlson to them. He is beneath all animals.
That is well put and it is deeply disturbing to think our planet is in the hands of such unstable and self-absorbed individuals. I too am disheartened by the snipping at Biden and Democrats by the left. This is not junior high. This is mind-numbingly serious business.
Lin if you’re not a Linguist or is it Neologist, you should be.I love you’re Makeup words and how you connect to you’re point. “Apparachiks coming home to roost “. Very clever.
Oops. I cannot spell. And ThankYou for seeing the pun before I did
"An apparatchik (/ˌæpəˈrættʃɪk/; Russian: аппара́тчик [ɐpɐˈrat͡ɕːɪk]) was a full-time, professional functionary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union or the Soviet government apparat (аппарат, apparatus), someone who held any position of bureaucratic or political responsibility, with the exception of the higher ranks of management called nomenklatura."
The master of neologisms was John Milton. Milton is credited with 630 neologisms, from “ensanguined,” “emblazonry” and “horrent” to the more commonly used “earthshaking,” “lovelorn,” “fragrance” and “by hook or crook,” as well as “pandemonium.”
Also 'trip the light fantastic.' All that and Paradise Lost!
https://time.com/82601/the-origins-of-writerly-words/
That’s funny still. That you didn’t intend it. 👍
Thank you, Lin!
Is it possible that Putin made the gambit and lost? That Biden got the NATO allies to act together and now full on invasion would be too disastrous for Putin and Russia economically? However, he can't just go home emptyhanded. So, he recognizes the rebel areas held by his troops already (and those loyal to him), and gets to declare victory and go home? For Ukraine, they haven't really lost control of more land, as they weren't holding those easternmost areas. For Putin, he gets to make a statement and move some troops into the area without incurring the full sanctions regime. He gets to say he's gotten a victory but he is really slinking off.
I guess we will know in a few days, but it hit me that they were saying he'd been outmaneuvered, but needs a face saving way to call it off.
Anyway, that's what I was thinking. And if I'm right, "Sleepy Joe" just kicked some a**.
Belarus has Russian groups on the border with Ukraine and now also Lithuania. Ukraine first, then Moldova, Lithuania, Poland… I expect Hungary and his bff Oban will be doing some backstabbing in the EU in the meantime… Putin doesn’t want a local war - he wants a world war 3 (and it started today).
I am counting on Biden to continue kicking butt, but boy this is scary.
It is very scary. China is saber-rattling in Australia’s economic exclusionary zone, far outside the South China Sea. WW3 early steps are in motion. I believe the reliance by too many endowments, retirement portfolios, and other investments on stock markets for growth during these years of low interest rates is a major impediment to kicking out oligarchical money laundering.
Yes! I haven't even been able to do a deep dive into the 'China syndrome' that is unfolding!
Some relevant history on appeasement.
From WiKi.
“Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS (/ˈtʃeɪmbərlɪn/; 18 March 1869 – 9 November 1940) was a British politician of the Conservative Party who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeasement, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement on 30 September 1938, ceding the German-speaking Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany led by Adolf Hitler.”
I am sure that Washington had the Sudetenland 1938 ‘peace in our time’ appeasement when they crafted the Biden Doctrine to thwart Putin’s grandiose Lebensraum (‘living space’) delusions. In October, 2021, with irrefutable evidence that Putin was assembling a prospective invasion force on Ukraine’s border, President Biden knew that we could not militarily stop a Russian invasion of its neighbor.
As riposte the Biden Doctrine has greatly escalated the cost to Putin and Russia of any Lebensraum creep, while providing enhanced NATO support elsewhere in Eastern Europe. NO APPEASEMENT THIS TIME!
Lisa ‘Biden Doctrine’ is my phrase for President Biden’s full court press a against Putin’s efforts to push the West out of Eastern Europe and establish Russian hegemony over former Soviet satellites in Eastern Europe. This is my catch phrase for everything Biden has initiated to organize broad economic sanctions, increase NATO physical presence in Eastern Europe, and vigorously expose Putin’s misinformation program intended to obscure his Lebensraum (see my earlier commentary this morning) efforts in Eastern Europe.
Thanks, Keith, for this. It's a great phrase to include all the things Biden has done to stop Putin's agression. And Biden sees clearly the movement of authoritarian leaders, especially Putin, to test and overcome democracy.
thanks from me too!
H.A. Thanks for the reminder about the consequences of appeasement. Now, in today's world, Chamberlain's mistake looks less like a mistake and more like a practical move to attempt to minimize dead bodies.
Unfortunately, Hitler was more interested in dead bodies than anything else in his sorry life.
Appeasement allowed Hitler to take Czechoslovakia, and then all the rest. Please, no appeasement. And still, there are no Churchills.
I think it was too obvious a mistake not to be considered one.
Chamberlain did not get the rest of Europe lined up against Hitler before going into diplomacy. There were no cyber attacks, and far less cross border dependence. Britain's deterrent capability was pretty minimal at the time. These are not true now. As I said, Biden and the west were dealt a weak hand, but they seem to be playing it well and together. Maybe Putin still moves, but this might have been a face saving move before most of his troops back off. I don't know.
Some historians give Chamberlain credit for realizing that the British military was far from being mobilized. [An extra year facilitated the rapid production of Spitfires and Hurricanes that proved vital in the Battle of Britain.] Also, France, with its coalition governments, was in no position to support Chamberlain with a ‘line in the sand’ riposte to Hitler.
Churchill was bleating from the back benches while Chamberlain was between a rock and a hard place.
You make points about Chamberlain that I hadn't thought of. It was damn lucky we got into the war. I don't know whether our allies could have done it without us. Our industrial might was critical.
David You are spot on. There were a series of events that brought us into the war, FDR, early on, feared Hitler. He sought carefully to bring Americans from their isolationist views (‘We fought in WW I and look what happened. We shouldn’t fight another European war.’) In fact Charles Lindbergh was leading the isolationist America First movement.
After WW II broke out in Europe, FDR was desperately (and slyly) seeking to help England. Some of his top military aides said it couldn’t survive, after Hitler took France. Also, there were Neuttality Acts that severely limited what assistance America could provide to those fighting Hitler.
Churchill, British PM in May, 1940, tried desperately to bring America into the war. WE started a military draft in 1940. A year later it was renewed by only one vote in Congress. FDR was able to launch an extraordinary Lend Lease programs that enabled us to provide massive military aid to England.
Hitler helped the situation by invading the Soviet Union in June, 1941. After Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1841, FDR declared war on Japan on Dec 8th. The clear opinion is that he could not have declared war on Germany at that time. Hitler made a monumental error by declaring war on us on December 11th. Without us (and the Soviet Union) the war in Europe could have turned out quite differently.
Good point. It's easy to be the Monday morning quarterback.
I remember the Pearl Harbor investigation in which Admiral Kimmel and General Short were made the scapegoats for a deep and diverse American failure to anticipate such a Hail Mary. We see this every Monday, once sports ‘analysts’ know the results. There was lots of naysaying when President Truman bet the ranch on a dicey Berlin Airlift in 1948. Ultimately the naysayers did a back flip.
OH!
I don't think he wants a shooting war. I think he wants to intimidate with his armed forces. He is spending a lot of Russia's money on keeping them mobilized. He thought he would get another Crimea, but I think the stakes have been made a lot higher. Like most bullies, he wants to scare and get what he wants. I think the most brilliant thing that's been done is the west outing all the possible false flag operations ahead of time. It's like calling out a narcissist's next temper tantrum right before they do it.
If it works.
I agree, Danny. While it is all fluid and terribly dangerous, I agree that Putin's enormous ego and probably his miscalculation of Biden caused him to think that taking control of Ukraine would be met with little resistance. I'm sure that his long-term goal is to reassemble the former Soviet "empire." Joe Biden calling his cards and also having united fractious NATO members was not what Putin expected. Part of the calculus might also have been that there is a lot of resistance among Russian citizens, no matter that they're not free to demonstrate. Your last sentence says it all - "If it works."
What might keep him at bay would be our success in keeping the Republicans out of control here. I think that Putin, like many here and elsewhere, thought that President Biden was a doddering fool. He has proved otherwise.
excellent point...but he's going to. have a lot of egg on his face...then what?
In Russia, the media will claim that he came away with eggs. Also on Fox News.
Since Crimea, Russians use a phrase “we don’t mind doing it again” referring to World War II, as a semi joking threat to the West. Russians may not want a war with Ukraine, but if Putin offers them a war with the US, they might be much more interested.
No. In Russia there are (unfortunately) a number of crazed bloodthirsty goons in high places, but don't believe the propaganda.
I'd expect to find a far greater proportion of those in the general population in America, with absurd arsenals to boot.
Bear in mind, Russia is an occupied country, under the heel of bandits. America came very close to suffering a similar fate and no one in the world can be safe until the home-grown political hoodlums have been dealt with.
The Nazis killed 20 million Russians in WWII. I think they do mind doing it again.
I sincerely hope you are right. I am afraid that Putin and many Russian people don’t have “human lives saved” as a measurement of success. It’s very much like Republicans focus on owning the Libs. To me it comes from patriarchal notions that feminine values (like counting children killed) is for weaklings. Real men through their life into the fire and teach the feminine west a lesson in toughness.
No, be very careful what you project onto the people of that vast country ruled by a mean, resentful backyard Capone who couldn't feel for other beings if he wanted to.
For one thing, American propaganda is infinitely more effective than Russian (but no less pernicious). The regime's down to the bottom-of-the-barrel motivation: fear.
Most of the people just want to get on with living their hard lives. Or, in the case of the upwardly mobile, to get on with living it up.
Terrifying....
Yes. Also Latvia. Lt. Col. Vindman just stated on the ReidOut that Finland and Sweden, long reluctant to join NATO, are now considering it. BTW, Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland are all members of NATO. Interestingly (concerningly), Russia controls a small patch of Russian land (Kaliningrad) which is between Poland & Lithuania and is not contiguous with Russia.
I hope and pray that you are correct...although I suspect Putin is still looking for an excuse to go in with all guns blazing--his "fiery assertion" that Russia created the Ukrainian state and therefore it was and would forever belong to Russia. The true history of the Ukraine differs greatly from the fantasy that Putin either believes (doubtful), or which he cynically espouses. To me the speech seems designed to provoke any patriotic Ukrainian citizen into anger and/or unwise actions that would provide Putin's excuse.
I just hope the sanctions are severe enough to hurt Putin and the Russian oligarchs enough to make them think a couple more times than twice about the risk that Putin is taking. action
Here is an excellent historical summary of the region. https://snyder.substack.com/p/kyivs-ancient-normality-redux?utm_source=url
One could read this as the Russian Federation is historical the step child of the Ukrainian Empire.
Wow. Thank You for this Charlie.
For me it's just a feeling. I've had a lot of personal experience with those who would be bullies, and this sounds like the thug who took your lunch box and has claimed he didn't have it for the past 6 months, now showing up and writing his name on it in Sharpie. You've not had the lunch box for a while, but he had to do something because when he tried to take your new one, 10 of your friends were there taking videos. (I'm stretching the analogy, and I may be wrong, but I wondering if now he's making a face saving show.)
if he's not, he will be... excellent point!
Putin wants the Ukrainian bread basket for the coming drout and food war.
It is a bread basket, and it's much more than that. It has all kinds of resources that Putin would love to get his hands on. Here's a summary that's been making the rounds:
Jeff Larivee
F9fe7t07brufacry 1p3 1o438alt 2:2e3d3 PihM ·
For those who ask: “Why does Ukraine matter?" This is why Ukraine matters: 🇺🇦
It is the second largest country in Europe by area and has a population of over 43 million persons - more than Poland by about 6 million.
Ukraine ranks:
1st in Europe in proven recoverable reserves of uranium ores;
2nd place in Europe and 10th place in the world in terms of titanium ore reserves;
2nd place in the world in terms of explored reserves of manganese ores (2.3 billion tons, or 12% of the world's reserves);
2nd largest iron ore reserves in the world (30 billion tons);
2nd place in Europe in terms of mercury ore reserves;
3rd place in Europe (13th place in the world) in shale gas reserves (22 trillion cubic meters)
4th in the world by the total value of natural resources;
7th place in the world in coal reserves (33.9 billion tons)
Ukraine is an important agricultural country:
1st in Europe in terms of arable land area;
3rd place in the world by the area of black soil (25% of world's volume);
1st place in the world in exports of sunflower and sunflower oil;
2nd place in the world in barley production and 4th place in barley exports;
3rd largest producer and 4th largest exporter of corn in the world;
4th largest producer of potatoes in the world;
5th largest rye producer in the world;
5th place in the world in bee production (75,000 tons);
8th place in the world in wheat exports;
9th place in the world in the production of chicken eggs;
16th place in the world in cheese exports.
Ukraine can meet the food needs of 600 million people.
Ukraine is an important industrialised country:
1st in Europe in ammonia production;
Europe's 2nd’s and the world’s 4th largest natural gas pipeline system;
3rd largest in Europe and 8th largest in the world in terms of installed capacity of nuclear power plants;
3rd place in Europe and 11th in the world in terms of rail network length (21,700 km);
3rd place in the world (after the U.S. and France) in production of locators and locating equipment;
3rd largest iron exporter in the world
4th largest exporter of turbines for nuclear power plants in the world;
4th world's largest manufacturer of rocket launchers;
4th place in the world in clay exports
4th place in the world in titanium exports
8th place in the world in exports of ores and concentrates;
9th place in the world in exports of defence industry products;
10th largest steel producer in the world (32.4 million tons).
Ukraine matters. That is why its independence is important to the rest of the world. 🇺🇦
How so have we kicked butt? The sanctions imposed mirror what Obama did after the invasion of Crimea. See the link below. I can’t find broad, strong, sanctions against Russia from the annexation of Crimea. Do they exist? It seems that we are now sanctioning the economy and people in Ukraine once again, rather than the economy and citizens in Russia. President Biden promised severe sanctions if Ukraine was invaded. I don’t think the current sanctions meet that standard.
https://sanctionsnews.bakermckenzie.com/u-s-government-imposes-comprehensive-sanctions-against-crimea/
Our US "Sanctions" against the Taliban are starving the Afghan people as we speak. Starving them to death.
A bunch of folk who had absolutely nothing to do with 911 are being starved by US.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/20/opinion/afghanistan-starvation-biden.html
Today!
I thought we were releasing Afghanistan money for humanitarian aid. Is the US starving them to death or the Taliban doing so?
Unfortunately I believe it's a genuine 'Catch 22'! We've got the keys to the money box, but if we unlock it the Taliban will likely 'take the money and run'!
I hope you get a chance to read the article Mike posted the link for...! Wow...
It amounts to sloppy population control.
Well stated summary. Thanks Mike for this important link.
My point is, Biden was dealt a very weak hand, but by bringing NATO together, he has raised the stakes of a full on invasion so much that Putin may well be doing a face saving move and stopping. I don't know. If that is what happened, then yes, he's kicked butt. If it hasn't, no. As for the post-Crimea sanctions, they were after the fact, and they have hurt Russia's economy, but not Putin and the oligarchs personally. Apparently, these new ones will do more against both, and they are being threatened before the potential invasion.
" For Putin, he gets to make a statement and move some troops into the area without incurring the full sanctions regime." Nonetheless, the Donbas is an additional tent that the Russian camel has inserted his nose. Belarus is the primary tent. So far. With arms and troops in both locations, Putin is positioned to move further when and if he decides to do so unless the sanctions are effective. Remains to be seen.
Putin has a long term game plan which the Guardian wrote about 20 years ago. It's about the world. He may experience setbacks, but he won't stop.
As a counterpoint to my musings, Jennifer Rubin of WAPO: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/22/putin-invasion-ukraine-has-begun/?utm_campaign=wp_follow_jennifer_rubin&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl-jenniferrubin
As Heather has written, the "financial laxness of western democracies" supports the Russian oligarchs and their colonizing expansion. In this world of global finance, what is the difference between Russian oligarchs and American oligarchs? How is it that Great Britain and South Dakota have become international tax havens? What are the financial interests of the Sedition Caucus, the 147 members of Congress who voted against accepting the electoral votes for Biden? Which corporations then donated money to members of the Sedition Caucus in 2021? What can we do about it?
As Heather frequently reminds us, we can make our voices heard. We can and must make phone calls, write letters, send emails, posts messages on Facebook and/or Twitter, and rally our friends to call out these corporate bad actors for undermining democracy.
The good people of Civic Sundays have organized a campaign for corporate accountability on behalf of democracy: a spreadsheet with data detailing which corporations donated how much to whom and contact information for the corporations, along with sample letters, messages, and tweets. A prefab action kit--check it out this coming Sunday on their Zoom meeting.
We, too, engage in hybrid warfare. The sign-up link is here: https://www.mobilize.us/civicsundays/event/426019/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedition_Caucus
Good, Ellie! This is no time to slacken off, quite the opposite.
As always, thanks for your action oriented posts Ellie.
I attended Civic Sundays two days ago. Excellent group, and I am sharing the word. Thanks for posting the link for people.
just signed up!
Top corporations that donate to the Sedition Caucus: Boeing, UPS, Lockhead Martin, Walmart, Amazon, Morgan Stanley, ATT, DeLoitte, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, etc.
https://www.businessinsider.com/sedition-caucus-election-objectors-corporate-donations-capitol-siege-trump-biden-2022-1
Will do. Thanks.
A million thanks, Ellie!
"Edward Luce of the Financial Times identified the larger picture: “Cannot be stated strongly enough,” he wrote. “If the west—chiefly America, but also Britain—doesn't burn its financial ties to Russia's oligarchy then Putin will prevail. This means taking on Wall Street, the City, law firms[,] realtors, the prep schools and western laundering outfits.”"
Last paragraph. First steps. Make business as usual - especially the business of 'living well' - impossible for the oligarchs. And clean up our big money mess as well.
And this from an aristocrat in the Financial Times. I hope it is sincere and not just trying to get rid of Russian arrivistes buying up the best real estate and buying their way into the best schools. Oh and starting wars and ruining the markets.
And what are Putin's ties to Russia's military industrial complex.
The Commonwealth Club interviewed Rupert Russell, author of Price Wars: How the Commodities Markets Made Our World Chaotic, and he connects the markets to world events such as Russia's invasion. The interview was fascinating, and I bet the book is, too.
Thanks, here I go again! Any other suggestions? If I could only read more than one book at a time!
You know, the unintended consequence of reading HCR’s Substack is that so many of us ARE buying book after book after book, thus raising the algorithms of those titles, funding historical research, and raising awareness. A good source of “seeds and crumbs” for change.
Another unintended consequence of buying book after book rather than borrowing some from your local library is that public libraries may eventually go away in many places. In our very small town, we've been fortunate to have a wonderful library and staff but in recent years Free Staters and Libertarians have lobbied to decrease funding for them to reduce the tax burden on residents. Like all departments, they have to justify their expenses to some extent and being able to document a high rate of use is crucial to demonstrate their value to the community. Please support your local library by using it frequently, including requesting books through interlibrary loan.
Yes, but if I can't get the audio format I'll be unlikely to read it! Always moving!
Wonderful point! I was just savoring how the list of banned books are now all best sellers!
For something completely different, try Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World by Tyson Yunkaporta. I'm reading it with my local permaculture book discussion group but some are listening to him read it and find that even better.
I will! You've reminded me of another fabulous book as well! 'Braiding Sweetgrass', by Robin Wall Kimmerer! May not be similar at all, but it's a real treasure!
Similar philosophy, very different styles, both wonderful. I'd love to hear what you think. Tyson's style is different, but stick with it and stay open. I don't understand all he says but I'm catching on to enough to give me a lot to think about.
I will! I'm reading 'Mockingbird' again, and when I finish, Sand is next!
Oh boy. Another one to look up on interlibrary loan, then resale books, then Bookshop.org . Every time I read these comments, the bedside stack grows!
I am right there with you! I just ordered it on Audible!
Lin, I think we can safely presume that vlad and the oil-igarchs have a piece of that action as well....
Think? /s
So the Good News is: We know what to do to really bring Putin and his Oligarchs to their financial knees. The Bad News: Our Oligarchs won’t let it be done. “So Ukrainians suffer!” they say, “Most Americans can’t even pick Ukraine out on a map! And we can make sooooo much money selling weapons! Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!”
Well I am not sure we have oligarchs exactly. We do have Republican populists and paymasters - both with a hankering for authoritarianism. And yes, you put it exactly as Republicans do: god, guns, and greed = truth, security, and jobs jobs jobs.
They have a conflict. Isolationism vs America First vs profiteering off the military industrial complex.
I've heard HCR refer to American oligarchs. Though the term usually refers to Russians, regardless of nationality, oligarchs are uber wealthy business leaders with a great deal of political influence--think of our billionaires who wield extreme power. Koch anyone? Mercer, etc. Jane Mayer's book "Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right" is enlightening in revealing how the Koch brothers have been organizing the right wing for the past 50 years.
ThankYou. Yes. I had missed that.
Yes, Jane Mayer!!!
I heard HCR say that she specifically chose this term for the title of her latest book "How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America." I don't recall her naming our oligarchs--perhaps she left that for Jane Mayer. :) Reading Arundhati Roy's nonfiction makes me realize that oligarchs enriching themselves at the expense of the poor is a globally entangled pattern and problem.
ThankYou! From all my teachers I have learned!
Interesting to frame it as a battle among the oligarchs, but some are more subject to democratic state regulation than others. And no doubt the Ukrainian oligarchs are still part of the picture—targets that Putin’s crew is trying to subjugate.
I can't "like" this enough. I agree; sanctions need to be far more harsh than a mere trifling slap on the wrist.
In order to be effective, a regime of sanctions have to be comprehensive and coordinated. It needs consensus on enforcement.
I listened to an UN council meeting. Members from each regional group testified to the impact Russia's actions would have on their countries. For instance both Ukraine and Russia are major exporters of wheat. Imagine that disruption.
It is tempting to imagine metaphorically cutting off Putin's head. But putting it - and those of his oligarchs - in a relentlessly closing vise may be a better tactic.
Yes, we need to burn those ties.
Like you, lin, I’m thrilled to read Edward Luce’s decisive statement! Arundhati Roy, in her brilliant nonfiction, delineates how Modi and the Hindu nationalist group have been moving India to the extreme right in organized ways that manipulate and oppress India's poor, while using racism to inflame them and saying that they are helping them, and simultaneously enriching the wealthy in India and around the globe. Roy sheds light on an elite acting in globally connected systemic ways to enrich each other at the expense of the poor. While it is deeply disturbing, it is invaluable to understand this. Luce gives a roadmap to creating the necessary change!
I have watched this development - don't laugh - in Bollywood movies. No seriously. Many social phenomena which show up belatedly in Western media (ie Eve-teasing, the casual bullying of and assaults on women) show up much earlier in the films. And of course the devolution from Ghandi and Nehru's inclusive vision to Modi's exclusionary vision.
"In response to Putin’s machinations today, the U.S. and U.K. immediately imposed limited sanctions. Biden signed an executive order economically isolating the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, banning all U.S. investment and business there, along with any imports from there, although it makes an exception for humanitarian aid. The executive order also allows the government to sanction individuals participating in the seizure of the region, as well."
Is this a joke? A slap on Russia's pinky? These sanctions won't have any effect at all. They are basically a nod to Putin. Instead, all Russian assets should be frozen (or confiscated) until Russia leaves Ukraine. Biden's plan of "possibly" sanctioning a few individuals misses the point. Putin orchestrated this. He is the leader of Russia. Sanction all of Russia so that Russians feels the pressure and demand that Putin leave Ukraine.
Also - - who is Putin to recognize Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states? He has no authority. The authority belongs to Ukraine, because Donetsk and Luhansk are within Ukraine. I just found out that Donetsk has natural gas resources, and this is likely the impetus behind Putin's invasion. So essentially, Russia is stealing Ukraine's natural resources.
Russia created the unrest in Eastern Ukraine and then sent in its troops to quell the unrest that it created. Dictators have used this playbook over and over again throughout modern history. I wish Russia could be taken to a world court for violating treaties and for intentionally causing unrest in Donetsk and Luhansk.
“All Russian assets should be seized.”
OK, what do you do with Tucker Carlson once you’ve seized him?
Pickle his tongue, and serve it on Jewish rye bread with mustard. To Rupert and Jabba, without telling them where it came from.
You have exquisite taste! But what kind of mustard? Important.
Brown mustard of course. Like the invisible “brown shirt” he wears.
Let’s leave that up to Tucker—after all, it’s his tongue.
You might want to serve him with Swanson’s apple pie.
Dang, once again, I can't like, but LOL.
I am trying to like this, but sub stack won't let me, so this is first post on the blog this am that actually made me smile. Otherwise, there is nothing much to smile about. As I read about what Putin is doing and who he has targeted in Ukraine, I can't help but think of the Nazis as they began their campaign to take over Europe.
There are work-arounds for the inability to "like". Sometimes a refresh, sometimes a comment that is farther to the left on the page serves as a refresh.
Writing this comment refreshed all my hitherto invisible "likes".
Sometimes it lets me and sometimes not. I have a dental appointment this am, so am in a hurry.
Gus, you have made my day. Laughed my ass off reading this comment. Thank you.
LOL. Drop him off to my house.
He will be fine here.
:-)
Give me a call when he gets there... I have a few thoughts...
Trade him for Edward Snowden and pardon the latter.
I'm rolling hahahah Love it.
Q: What’s for dinner?
A: Meatloaf!
Wrap him up like a Christmas present and send him to Russia, which Tuckie seems to love so much. I'm sure Putin will figure out what to do with the pesky tick-like insect, once he arrives.
That was my first idea...but the two will sit at their feast sucking up the caviar and vodka, and laugh about the little kids fighting below their windows...the only good Carlson in a ...hmmm, is a Carlson who somehow just disappears!
Fox is nothing more than America's Russia's propaganda outlet. It pays for Republican campaigns, and for the demise of the USA.
May I handle that one?
Don’t care; just keep him.
Ha! Ha! That’s so much better than trying to place him at some point of disgrace in British history (just for laughs).
diana, are you sharing this view with Biden and people with influence here? Also, I wonder who has the credibility to take Russia to a world court for violating treaties ... America hardly holds the high ground when it comes to honoring treaties ... just saying ...
I don't know, but right now, in light of the history of our blunders, I say that this has to be treated like a new game of chess. All bets are off, we're just at the starting line and we must act decisively and fast. I trust our President, but sadly we are all (here on this world stage) so limited. Every move we make will create a domino effect. It's a matter of deciding which chips we're willing to let fall, and where.
It's over my head Cynthia, I don't presume to have the knowledge or insight to speak to this level of reality. I wonder if Americans are facing a call to challenge the hubris of always having to be the big winner and leader of all things good ((even if it is not exactly true)) ... to muster up a measure of humility and willingness to acknowledge pretense and own up to the truth - by what standards ...? I have to trust that sincere people with true intentions and honest hearts will persevere through whatever political/economic circumstances come to pass - I do believe that goodness will prevail - what that will look like and how it will unfold, I do not know ... if every move we make will create a domino effect, maybe stillness is the best way through ... not static, but dynamic, vital presence in the face of chaotic uncertainty ...? Peace in one breath ... one breath at a time ....
sounds a bit like Gandhi's Satyagraha - Soul Force. I like it.
this is a keeper...thank you so much...
America has not always acted honorably, but this is a different animal. Putin has a Soviet mindset which closely mirrors the psychopathic mindset: human life has no value, and do whatever you have to do to get what you want - - that is the only rule that counts. My family lived under soviet rule. The soviet mindset is so different from that of the West's that the West can't grasp it, and that is part of West's problem in dealing with Russia. And the West's failure to understand that mentality may lead to global instability. (It already has - look at the stock markets around the world.)
Greg Olear articulates it well in his article, below.
https://gregolear.substack.com/p/index-putins-invasion-of-ukraine?utm_source=url
I hear you diana ... I am concerned that the same psychopathic mindset is at work here as well - in people whose lives are dedicated to competing for money, status/power and 'winning' at all costs which for some, defines personal freedom regardless of consequence to others ... hearing the words of Zelensky in Ukraine and Navalny in Russia next to the rhetoric of Putin and the Trumpian gambit here in America ... different brands of freedom appealing to different interest groups - a test of character for every one of us - here and there - I know what resonates more authentically in my heart ... I still believe truth and goodness will prevail - what it will look like, and how it plays out, I don't know - maybe this is part of what humanity has to grow through toward wholeness ... I know what I will choose ....
Exactly, exactly, exactly
10:30 am. Just checking in. Utilities are still working. Dog and cats fed. So far so good.
Good column. Thanks, HCR, for your understanding of the situation and your support.
Thanks you for your update Allen. Keeping you close in thought.
United!
I second MLMinET Allen, be safe and keep us apprised of your situation.
Allen, I wasn't sure what to make of your short 10:40 am post, but then I touched your photo and understood. I guess you're getting a pretty strong dose of history and current events these days. Hey man, stay safe!
Thank you. Very close to home these days.
OMG David, thank you for the reminder of Allen Hingston’s location in Ukraine.
Allen, wishing safety for you and your family. If Internet goes down, do you have a communication back up?
Yell really loud?
Please continue to do this so we can keep you top of mind and know you’re safe, for the day at least.
Allen, your LFAA friends are with you and your family — fur babies, too!
Thank you. You all give me the warm fuzziness.
If wishes were horses.. we are close to the edge.
Russia is broke and totally broken. Navalny threatens from jail. Feeding the hungry brutal wealthy often disobedient semi controlled oligarchs inspires death and rage - all around. Instability rules. Putin is savage, brutal, ugly, paranoid, lonely, enraged, isolated, living within his Covid-19 bubble, threatened and trapped, incredibly rich, incredibly hated and frightened and very, very dangerous. Our intel on display suggests intel leaks, spreading disloyalty, a dystopian violent future and an end that’s risky for Putin. Ukrainians will resist. Stalin died. Three followed and failed. More and more failed. Failed. We bribed one with fancy cars. Soccer loving Andropov failed. Leukemia. Shoe pounding Nikita Khrushchev failed. Beautiful Raisa’s husband M. Gorbachev succeeded and drunk Yeltsin failed. Markets will collapse, oil will surge, Russia’s history is littered with failed dictators, dead failed Tsar’s, a destroyed people and whole ravaged areas. The Soviet Chernobyl sits in Ukraine. The national mood resents Soviet control. They’ve tasted better. Corruption is rampant. The swelling unstable NATO concept provoked Putin. Cornered many. Ukraine soil is the best. Ukrainians cut off the water… to Crimea, the first conquest on the Black Sea. The NYTImes is inside. Lines are tapped. WhatsApp and Signal are used, Signal has a rival. We won’t engage. MAD rules with nuclear weapons. We will act as we are. Passive aggressive. The UN will meet. Covid-19 will spread. Dead bodies will frighten the people. Instability will increase. Dictators never last. Mussolini and Hitler fell. Our GOP and Fox will collapse. The people will wise up sooner or later. Leaders will emerge. Joe Knows Us and Black women brought One Six. Leaked txt messages will out the Trump ring. Frightened Pence and rich Moscow Mitch are flipping. Racism is exploding. Muslims and Chechens got pounded. Putin was vicious. All lost in Afghanistan. Putin was vicious in Syria. His methods are producing pushback. France is playing him. He’s going in, he’s lying, this can go fast or take time. The end is not MAD. The end is change in Europe. And elsewhere. Germany and Poland and France may unite. Moscow may blow up. 1914 may repeat. Covid-19 may explode or fade. Our debt markets may implode. Currencies will mirror the mess. Biden might die. Trump et al may be jailed. This period will bring change. We need it. DOJ is not dead. The draft is not dead.
Suicide and suicide by murder are endemic.
A republic if you can keep it.
Darkest Before the Storm.
You are heard, Sandy.
Sandy, I hope the day becomes brighter for you. Your summary, without paragraphs, albeit difficult to read, was not a bright summary to be sure.
But, it was accurate if I recognize the many hypotheses present within it may not occur.
In my opinion, Mike, you are not one to talk about “brighter”.
❤️ pot, meet kettle.
❤️, KR!
One of your better posts, Sandy.
agreed... I have to soak that up...again and again. Thanks Sandy
Yup.
This reminded me of the Billy Joel song We Didn't Start the Fire.
I just read an article from March of 2021, about the severe water crisis in Crimea, and how much it's costing Russia. If Russia assumes control of Ukraine, they could send badly needed water to Crimea via the North Crimean Canal (which Kyiv has cut off). This was from Bloomberg. I just wonder why I have never seen this situation mentioned in the recent news coverage. Is it still an issue? Here's a link to the article: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-03-19/russia-vs-ukraine-crimea-s-water-crisis-is-an-impossible-problem-for-putin.
Indeed amazing that such important facts are not in the tidal wave of information about the Russian conflict in Ukraine. Thank you for the link.
I have mentioned in a previous post that when the little green men took over Crimea, the Kremlin seemed to have forgotten that the peninsula's water resources are far too small to cover its needs.
Yet another very expensive piece of wasteful negligence.
Malika,
Many thanks. I have been looking for a real reason why Putin might want to invade Ukraine, and, have seen many hypothesis, but, this one makes good sense for sure.
I look to the honest and intelligent people who have spent a lifetime trying to figure out a question when I search for good information. McFaul on Putin’s thinking: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/01/26/vladimir-putin-does-not-think-like-we-do/
Understanding how your opponent approaches chess is as important as understanding the game itself
Yes! Common human trait to assume others think the same as oneself though. Some people can live a lifetime without learning differently.
Thank you!
Many thanks.
BIDEN TO PUTIN: “UP YOUR TUSH, WITH MY PERSONAL REGARDS”
President (Cool Hand Luke/Make my day) Biden is giving Putin a master class on how America can, in real time, shove Russia’s Ukrainian Disinformation/Misinformation, Program up Putin’s ass. [I can almost hear Putin shouting to his AgitProp manipulators: “But Americans have never acted this way.”]
Russia has launched its normal Disinformation/Misinformation Program:
1) ‘Nothing unusual about assembling 150,000 troops on Ukraine’s border;’
2, ‘Russia increasingly upset by Ukraine’s aggressive actions towards Russia;’
3) ‘After normal military exercises with Belorussian troops the 30,000 Russian troops will be withdrawn’;
4) ‘NATO is exacerbating the situation by providing assistance to Ukraine and placing more troops in other Eastern European countries’;
5) ‘Ukraine historically is an integral part of Russia’;
6) ‘Ukraine may spark a war by lobbing artillery shells into Eastern Ukraine’;
7 ‘Russian troops are not on the edge of invading Ukraine and Biden and his buddies are wrong and mean spirited to proclaim otherwise’;
To all of this President Biden has replied BULLSHITSY! For the first time in my memory an American president has authorized that the most sensitive American intelligence be unleashed in real time against Russian (or Soviet) disinformation.
[From my years working in COMINT (communications intelligence) I am acutely aware of the extraordinary steps we took not to expose the source of vital information. Ditto with CIA protection of its ‘human resources.’]
What Biden unleashed is akin to the end of a July 4th celebration: launch all of the remaining fireworks in one magnificent display—WOOZER DOOZER!
1) ‘Our aerial photos (and COMINT) have tracked a massive Russian military build up—about 150,000 troops with top-line combat units’;
2) ‘We are following Russian misinformation endeavoring to blame Ukraine for threatening Russia’;
3) ‘The 30,000 Russian troops engaged in extraordinary military. Exercises with Belarus close to the Ukrainian border are staying there’;
4) ‘Russian reports that some troops are being withdrawn are false—they are simply being redeployed’;
5) ‘Russian reports reports that Ukrainians have been the instigators of ‘major military actions’ in Eastern Ukraine are false’;
6). ‘We have intelligence that Russia army leaders have orders to attack Ukraine’;
7). ‘Russia, after invading Ukraine, has a lengthy list of Ukrainians slated to be killed or “disappeared”’;
President Biden has focused the world on Putin’s Ukranian shenanigans, while uniting the West, Eastern European countries, and others. Whatever Putin decides to do, he will be as butt naked as was the Wizard of Oz, when Toto pulled open the curtain.
I recall one dramatic incident when President Kennedy, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, declassified highly sensitive U-2 photos. During the UN Security Council discussions, at which the Soviet ambassador denied that there were Russian missile sites in Cuba, Ambassador Stevenson pulled back a curtain to reveal blown up U-2 photos of these missile sites. Game/match U. S.
Many months after public accusations that Russian cyber gum shoes were interfering in American presidential elections, sensitive American intelligence was included in judicial indictments identifying Russian individuals and specific cyber units. But this intelligence was not released in real time, as this subterfuge was occurring.
Kudos to ‘Dirty Harry’ Biden who has challenged Putin to ‘make my day.’
What JKF did was incredibly powerful. He proved to the world that the Russian government was lying and then took bold action to stop the threat. I clearly remember the moment as a junior high student in Central Florida, 400 miles from Cuba. The Cuban Missile Crisis and later JFK's assassination were the biggest defining world events for me in those years.
Michael I believe that everyone has personal powerful memories of extraordinary events.I was serving in Congo during the Cuban Missile Crisis and JFK’s assassination. All communications were severely curtailed. For me these were frightening evenings, but ones that I had to witness from a distance.
I vividly remember Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. We had a friend over for Sunday lunch whose husband was a pilot on an aircraft carrier stationed at Pearl. She didn’t know that the carriers were not in harbor. (Her husband, part of Torpedo Squadron 8, was killed at the Battle of Midway. VE and VJ Day were marvelous endings to WW II, after nearly six years (my mother was British) of family risking their lives.
I awakened my young children in Chile to watch the landing on the moon, July 20, 1969. The opening of the Berlin Wall was, for me, emotional, since it represented the ending of the Cold War. 9/11 was unforgettable, especially with family living in Manhattan. Then, of course, there are family events that are unforgettable. We all have our special moments.
Thanks for sharing those memories, Keith. The momentous events of world import and how we experienced them are remarkably vivid, even today \so many decades later.
By the way, our son Atticus, 16, spent two weeks in Chile, including one with a Chilean family in Temuco, as part of 8th-grade Spanish. He still talks about the trip, including how welcoming and kind the family was.
Thanks for this, Keith. I was wondering about the tactical decision to utilize the intel they had on Ukraine.
This letter is a master class in how to comprehensively summarize fast-moving developments of a complex, volatile story. Congratulations to the professor. The last paragraph is quite a kicker ending: the conclusion from the Financial Times writer that Putin will prevail if the West doesn't "burn its financial ties to Russia's oligarchy." It's a money-laundering system operating not exactly in secret but beyond the view or understanding of most Americans.
Does this Congress have the will to take action on many financial fronts? Doubtful. You can almost see cash-laden lobbyists lining up in the morning outside the Capitol. I have trouble seeing much of anything happening on this front, sadly. Perhaps Biden can make some inroads via executive orders.
"Does this Congress have the will to take action on many financial fronts? Doubtful. "
Based on the powerful support Trump received from Republicans in Congress for his attempted coup, we know which members are already being paid off by the money source from some right wing Oligarchy.
Because, now, today, monied interests in the US have gained control of most of our "representatives".
Furthermore, we have formally legalized congressional representative ownership, like dog ownership, with Citizens United.
So, it is LEGAL for a Russian Oligarch to buy and own, say, Ted Cruz.
Ted must only sit, or roll over, when he is told to do so to become rich beyond his wildest dreams.
... still, it's fake wealth ... it will only bury him in the long run - true value prevails ....
Mike, accepting foreign campaign contributions is not legal.
Yes, that's true. I was referring to U.S. financial companies donating to congressional campaigns. They're among beneficiaries of oligarch money flowing into the country. Forgive my cynicism, but they're unlikely so sacrifice profits to punish rich Russians over Putin's madness.
I fully understood your excellent post, which I take as a criticism of Citizens United. It was Mike S who asserted that it was legal for a Russian oligarch to buy a US senator. Not to say it doesn’t happen, by the convoluted chain you describe, but it’s not legal.
wait..what? legal how?
Anyone who follows the consequences for people of target countries when sanctions are wielded may have a different opinion on their frequent use. As for consequences on the economic front, I was surprised to read in a long commentary by economist Michael Hudson that defensive measures by countries concerned over such frequent impositions... are bringing their gold home from the US and other asset parking countries and also edging away from the dollar as universal tender. An image he offered was of tons of German gold being flown home from New York. I looked this up and found the business press commenting that Germany was ahead of schedule with this repatriation.
Excellent comment, Michael Bales. For what it’s worth, -and to many it will seem an act of emptying the ocean with a thimble - HCR’s final paragraph inspired me to write both of my senators and ask for the burning of those financial ties. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, right?
I just have to wonder at the timing of all of this, and how it has obscured the Trump fiasco. Perhaps, Putin efforts to use Trump to bring down the US haven't panned out quite the way he would have liked and how convenient for Trump that we are now facing this world crisis and are looking away from him for the moment.
Been thinking the same. Putin distracts from Trump’s “worst week” (now forgotten in the chaos) and does his best to make Biden look weak, with tons of help from mainstream media still harping on Afghanistan, and using his tools like Tucker Carlson to continue to use our political divisions, more accurately the anti-democracy GOP against us.
Well, not entirely forgotten. Tonight, just now, Lawrence O'Donnell is about to launch into a segment about "Trump's worst week plus" including today's denial by the Supreme Court to block National Archives release of "all Trump" documents to the Select Committee.
On the other hand, since I have been expecting WWIII from this, unless the Russian military rebels on Putin, which I am hoping they can be convinced to do, if we are embroiled in a war, Biden can just continue on, isn't there a law that says that the president can just continue on and elections don't have to be held if there is a war. So, if we are embroiled in a war of the kind that Putin is creating, I can hardly see how we could risk changing leadership and therefore Biden would have to continue on. So, in that sense Putin is playing into Biden's hands. The question is does that extend to other offices as well?
However, I am looking at Trump even more and the role he has played in bringing us to this point. Just what is in the classified documents he gave to Putin. If we get involved militarily in WWIII because of Russia going after our NATO allies, which he is sure to do if given a chance, Trump should be tried for high treason, for giving secret documents to our enemy, who was clearly that all along. Once KGB, always KGB! I am now calling him Adolf Putin!
BINGO! Yes, or course he gave Putin classified documents... and who knows what else? I hope that changed the combination on the lock on the 'football'... and if we are embroiled in some sort of war could that hinder the mid-terms? Either legally or just the wake-up call that hopefully people will hear before then??
Thanks, Patrice, my thoughts entirely.
Trump never wants to be out of the limelight, it's oxygen for him. I bet he's feeling Putin envy just about now.
I think that is his secondary disorder... putin envy.
Exactly
Remember, the Select Committee isn't looking away.
That is a comfort and I take those where I can find them.
The Committee will not be distracted, and as far as the ramifications of the Russia/Ukraine situation, we all need to keep in mind that our intelligence community has managed to get inside of Russia's intelligence (perhaps some of them see how dangerous Putin's adventures are and hope that we can deter him to some extent). We knew in advance of his plans for false flag operations. Putin can cause a great deal of damage with cyber hacking, but so can we! Remember months ago when we discovered the hacking that had been done by the Russians, and we took down their hacking system - wrecked it. We're certainly not unsophisticated or unable to defend our turf, even after TFG had four years to do his damage.
Yes...I was trying to work through these thoughts since yesterday... there are NO such things as coincidences. I keep repeating that 'of course these two situations are strongly linked...'and my cat agrees!
He is a traitor, pure and simple
"Putin’s recognition of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) as independent states within the country of Ukraine" is a clear sign that Putin is annexing Ukraine to fulfill his megalomaniac totalitarian agenda. The man is losing his mind and will do nothing but harm to both Russia and Ukraine. No Wonder tfg idolized him -- they are most definitely birds of a feather.
Heather, my deepest thanks for your thorough unraveling of the day's events. In the meantime, let's keep the Ukrainian people in our thoughts and in our hearts..
Rowshan, yes....."In the meantime, let's keep the Ukrainian people in our thoughts and in our hearts.."
"Edward Luce of the Financial Times identified the larger picture: “Cannot be stated strongly enough,” he wrote. 'If the west—chiefly America, but also Britain—doesn't burn its financial ties to Russia's oligarchy then Putin will prevail. This means taking on Wall Street, the City, law firms[,] realtors, the prep schools and western laundering outfits.'"
Wish I knew specifics on that quote! Let's see what funds buying Americans' farmland and private homes implode tomorrow and which Congresspersons start tomorrow by selling and shorting on opening bell. Would love to see the rats flushed out into daylight.
I have been wondering for sometime how Russia is doing with Covid, so this evening, I looked up all I could find on it. The latest info is about a year old, but it does not look good. At best, only about half of the population is vaccinated, and that with Russian vaccines which were never fully tested. And Putin prefers to not deal with it, but to push the problem on to someone else.
How are 190,000 soldiers going to do, bunched together, out in the cold, I assume with limited quality food stores, and Covid doing it's nasty best to spread itself as far as possible?
To me, it sounds like a disaster ready to explode!
Russia is not in good shape financially already. Adding health issues on to it can only make it's people very unhappy.
I’ve read Twitter accounts from journalists in the area that are reporting that Putin’s troops are suffering from the excessive alcohol intake and Covid. 🤷🏻♀️ Not sure what he impact will be.
I saw that too. The troops are terrorizing the civilians in more ways than one, it appears. Not just their weapons, but their drunkenness and debauchery and their Covid. Not to mention all those young men are stationed away far from home and most likely are bored. I understand the food is pretty awful and they are stealing animals from the citizens.
Wow, Linda, good observation!! I didn't think of that!
You know that not much more than half of Americans are vaccinated too, right?
wow...I hadn't even thought about that! oh yes, and oh dear...
Thank you Heather for the updates on this extremely tense and dangerous time. “According to Russia analyst Julia Davis, Russian state television last night said of the former president: “Trump gave us a 4-year reprieve.”” That quote confirms the political dangers Trump, Manafort and the other “operatives” in that administration engaged in while lying, smoke-screening, distracting, and half the American people believed it. Imagine the failed Impeachment. And tfg’s sarcastic “ Russia, Russia, Russia.” Even more confirmation that tfg is a psychopath as is Putin. How much more evidence do the repubs and tfg supporters need? Now we (NATO, U.S., other countries) must work to prevent war spreading, not only deeper into Ukraine but to other countries. There’s great concern as antisemitism and fascism are continuing to spread throughout Russia, Ukraine and Europe and those most affected may not be ready or able to leave. How threatened are the citizens? A NYT article about Jewish community in Odessa described some people preparing and others waiting. This tension especially along the borders isn’t new.
Boston College endowment 3.8, Colby 1, Amherst 2.5, Deerfield 2/3 of a billion.
Nice buildings, nice education. With dollars like that though it’s hard to believe some deals with the devil haven’t been made.
Glad that one writer is calling it out but not sure if anyone is listening. Do I even know if my portfolio is pristine? Probably not.