Two Bits of Goofy Thinking
As with other civilized versions of our species, am caught in the dilemma between attention and distraction. Helplessness in the face of barbarism is excruciating. We want to know what is happening, chiefly in hope that the right side—and there very much IS a right side—will prevail. But hope is a thin reed. The news, […]
Russia Can’t Lose
In the latest example of judging Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Liana Fix and Michael Kimmage tell us that “Putin has made a strategic blunder by invading Ukraine. He has misjudged the political tenor of the country, which was not waiting to be liberated by Russian soldiers. He has misjudged the United States, the European Union, […]
If I were Putin
Success. Am putting the world back in order. I have everyone’s attention. Yes, the West howls. It (yet again) threatens sanctions. But when it comes to the choice between money and principle, we in Moscow know that the commercial interests in the West make politicians there dance like puppets. The daily stream of finger-wagging pronouncements […]
The Fastest Knee-Buckle in the West
Only hours after Russia recognized the “Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republic” — insurrectionist areas of Ukraine — and ordered Russian troops into it on a “peacekeeping” mission, Washington signaled its acquiescence to Moscow: Putin’s move “did not constitute a further invasion that would trigger a broader sanctions package”. Decency would have allowed for an interval […]
Ukraine: A Very Personal Decision
Russian claims about the national security threat posed by Ukraine and even NATO are absurd. Alas, the Western press looks to compete in the absurdity stakes through speculation over Putin’s intentions. When will Putin decide to invade Ukraine? Has he decided already? If he hasn’t, what can/should the West do to get him to decide […]
Ukraine: Thugs Don’t Forget
As officialdom in European capitals and Washington tries to discern Russian intentions on an invasion of Ukraine, speculation by observers in and out of government runs the gamut. What will Putin do? Why is he doing it? And why is he doing it now? Conventional wisdom—fed by relentless rhetoric out of Moscow—says Russia is fed […]
Trapped in the Past: #2
Which is worse: to be governed by a decent man who sees a country that no longer exists, or by a thug who sees it all to clearly and aims to extract from it every possible personal advantage? Cheery illusion-based optimism or clear-as-cut-glass reality? Stay with the former and the latter will prevail. On January […]
Trapped in the Past: #1
We’ve left port on our way through 2022. We sail into Year 3 of a global — and often lethal — pandemic, chiefly because a substantial and vocal minority interferes with sensible public health measures. We see the usual big-power wrangling over geopolitical influence, caused not in no small part by cults of personality. And […]
Generals and Parrots
Ukraine remains in the headlines. Russia has 100,000+ troops and materiel on the border. On cue, the curtain on the ballet goes up. Experts (self-professed and real) divine Putin’s intentions. The US does the two-step: concern that an invasion may come soon, and signals to Russia of “grave consequences” if it invades. And the press, […]
Ukraine, again … still
Give it credit for decades of consistency. The American foreign policy apparatus continues its streak of group-think and lack of imagination on geopolitical issues. Admittedly, such criticism reflects the casual observer’s (and taxpayer’s) assumption that, consistent with the rhetoric machined by government mouthpieces, the management of such issues to a useful, preferably non-lethal and stability-inducing […]
Ukraine: Not Quiet on the Eastern Front
Correction and Amplification The first paragraph of the piece below incorrectly suggested that the recent massing of Russian troops at the border with Ukraine was simply another attempt by Putin to put pressure on the government in Kyiv, to distract his own population from its economic and COVID-related woes, or both. This omits salient facts […]
The Washington Post to Garland Critics: Back off!
The Washington Post (with The New York Times lord protectors of whoever is in power) chastises Garland critics — “armchair quarterbacks” — not enamored of what appears to be a less than robust approach to the January 6 prosecutions. “The volume on these complaints is cranked way up — and it needs to stop.” Well, then. […]
Merrick Garland: All Attorney, No General
He’ll never admit it publicly, but when President Biden looks up the street toward DOJ, he sees Garland, all attorney, no general. Nine months in, the hope 81 million had in DOJ’s prosecuting the head of the Trump criminal enterprise for obstructing justice and fomenting insurrection is dead. Like Lincoln’s McClellan, Garland is about his […]
From the Grave: Carlo M. Cipolla (1922–2000)
Editor’s note: Cipolla was an economic historian who taught at UC Berkeley. In 1976, he published “The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity,” now in the public domain. In the near-half century since, humanity has continually proved the viability of his theory. The Laws are set forth below, lightly edited for clarity and concision, as a […]
South Carolina Spit Shine
The Washington Post has just told us that, on January 6, Gamecock Graham, the Palmetto State’s cheap imitation of a US senator, urged the Senate’s sergeant-at-arms to “Take back the Senate! You’ve got guns. Use them! … What are you doing? … We give you guns for a reason — use them.” He said this as […]