The unfortunate reality is that Putin can’t be stopped without significant costs, but allowing him to normalize the use of weapons of mass destruction would start the inevitable clock to a direct and possibly catastrophic US-Russian conflict. It is a strategy that could require yet further investment of American blood and treasure today in requiring Putin to face consequences designed to prevent a full-scale war and potential nuclear escalation, but costs that are necessary to preserve international peace and security in the long term.
Category Archives: Good reads
Inspired and interesting text online … things worth reading.
Male rage, lethargic politicians and compassion – new SA doccie ‘57’ unravels the complexities of crime
“The doccie confronts topics head-on and explores why male rage is so prevalent in South Africa, issues relating to patriarchy, the unemployment rate, poverty, and, of course, gender-based violence.
South Africa’s past, including apartheid and colonialism, is also focused on. So too are the country’s politicians who seem to lack the will to effectively fight crime. (State Capture, touched on in 57, clearly has something to do with that.)
Critical questions are asked. For example, if the government could act so swiftly when Covid numbers started spiking – enforcing lockdowns and getting vaccination stations up and running – why can’t it do the same when it comes to tackling different kinds of crime?
Clearly government is capable of driving processes affecting all residents – as demonstrated with its response to Covid – but in terms of crime, it seems to be at a loss.
Another issue 57 focuses on is policing, or, as is so often the case, the lack thereof. The topics it explores are heavy, but these are presented conversationally, so the subject matter doesn’t bog down the documentary or slow its pace.
While leaving one feeling overwhelmed at just how extensive crime is in this country, 57 manages to inspire hope.”
Ukraine Pulled Off a Masterstroke
Though the war is far from over and Russia can find new ways to punish Ukraine, collapsing Russian forces have not only been pushed back; in abandoning their former headquarters in Izium, they also left behind large stores of equipment and ammunition that the Ukrainians can now use against them. Even if the Russians stabilize the line in the coming days, they will be in a far worse position than they were on September 1. Building on months of careful efforts to both prepare Ukrainian forces and waste Russian ones, Ukraine has achieved a strategic masterstroke that military scholars will study for decades to come.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/09/ukraine-russia-putin-kharkiv-kupyansk/671407/
Putin has already lost war with Ukraine -Ex-US Special Forces Officer
We have such an expression in American English: ‘It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog’. In my opinion Ukraine has the will to fight, they have a reason to fight, they have been bullied by Russia for a long, long time, even back before the starvation in the 30s.
www.kyivpost.com/russias-war/putin-has-already-lost-war-with-ukraine.html
‘I don’t see justice in this war’: Russian soldier exposes rot at core of Ukraine invasion
“Most people in the army are unhappy about what’s going on there, they’re unhappy about the government and their commanders, they’re unhappy with Putin and his politics, they’re unhappy with the minister of defence, who has never served in the army,” he wrote.
Guide to wartime Kyiv: City on the frontlines of European history
A fledgling wartime tourism sector is gradually emerging in and around the Ukrainian capital. Many visitors travel out to the Kyiv suburbs to witness the scenes of Russian war crimes and pay their respects to the victims. The city itself has several open air exhibitions featuring a range of captured Russian tanks and other weapons of war on display.
While these sights are all worth seeing, the real value of a visit to Kyiv comes from observing European history taking shape in real time. The war currently raging in Eastern Europe is likely to mark the final chapter in three hundred years of Russian imperial domination over Ukraine and confirm the country’s emergence as a genuinely independent European democracy. Given Ukraine’s status as the largest nation wholly located in Europe, this has profound implications for the entire continent.
Putin’s entire Ukraine invasion hinges on the coming Battle of Kherson
“A Ukrainian victory would have huge psychological and practical implications for both sides. It would demonstrate to international audiences that the Ukrainian military is more than capable of forcing Russia to retreat from well-established defensive positions and convince Ukraine’s partners to continue providing military and financial support. Meanwhile, defeat in Kherson would be personally humiliating for Vladimir Putin and would spark further demoralization within the ranks of his depleted invasion force.”
Chief Executive Leadership Institute Research Insights: “Business Retreats and Sanctions Are Crippling the Russian Economy”
Putin is already at war with Europe. There is only one way to stop him
“Intent on inflicting maximum disruption, Putin openly menaces the heartlands of European democracy. The writing is on the wall and may no longer be ignored. Enough of the half-measures and the dithering! Nato should act now to force Putin’s marauding troops back inside Russia’s recognised borders.
It’s not only Ukraine that requires saving. It’s Europe, too.”
The War in Ukraine Is the True Culture War
“War isn’t about death, war is about life.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/15/arts/design/ukraine-war-culture-art-history.html
PrettyApt 