SHORT AND TO THE POINT .....

 

Humanity always considered questions of morality as an important feature of civilized existence, of social coherence, even assumed that morality was an essential part of religious theism and faith, as we always assumed that god is supposedly the optimum moral entity. Morality was always a key criterion for respectability toward any individual or group, be it political, social, economic or religious. 

Professor Jonathan Haidt, who calls himself a morality psychologist, has proposed six attributes, calling them the foundation of human moral behavior, they come as follows; 1- Care/harm, operating out of kindness and concern, never harming others. 2- liberty/oppression, enhancing opportunities for others, and not constraining them. 3- Fairness/cheating, as in acting in a way that the community considers to be impartial and honest, not taking advantage of others. 4- Loyalty/betrayal, being faithful to commitments and obligations. 5- Authority/subversion, properly exercising power and control given by others, not subverting them. 6- Sanctity/degradation, upholding sacredness of the dignity and rights of others as human beings, not deprecating them. 

Haidt discusses in details how individuals and groups' differences with respect to these attributes play out in human interaction of all kinds, including politics. I'm going to apply those, or the lack of them, to four different political entities in our actual times, three are represented by individual leaders and their oligarchies, the fourth one by an ideology and religious fervor. I'm going to site Israeli Zionism, Bashar Assad of Syria and his oligarchy, Vladimir Putin with his oligarchy and Donald Trump with his family and oligarchy. 

The first through their collective acts against an entire indigenous people of different religious and ethnic origins under their occupation. The second through his behavior during a 12 years civil war against his own people. The third through his behavior toward all his neighboring countries, the entire world peace and stability, to top it by invading twice and brutally annihilating Ukraine. The fourth through his acts and his behavior while president, after loosing and denying it, and being a major part of  destroying democracy and stability in his country. 

The four regimes as a matter of fact share most if not all of these attributes sited by the above mentioned professor, and each proved it for long enough time through unchecked cruelty and brutality, even bestiality. The four continue to affirm their religiosity, to the same Abrahamic religious faith; Jewish, Muslim, and Christian in all their different denominations. Technically the four of them claim to be driven by religious morality. 

The four of them endanger not only their immediate neighboring countries and peoples, but world safety and harmony, the four of them share the same ideological dogmas of total supremacy, hegemony and an upper look and attitude at every one under their control. The four of them come from exactly the same school of thought, and act in the same methodologies and tactics. Of course there are many more who share fully these principles presently on the world scene, as well as historically through the times. 

The West in general, including America did the same during their past, only with a major difference, Western populations always managed to convince themselves of acting with morality while executing their devilish atrocities throughout the times against other races and populations. The four mentioned regimes don't even come close, or bother to justify their immorality and bestiality. Again, a wrong act never justifies another wrong act, brutality and cruelty here doesn't justify other cruelty and brutality there, every act should be judged on its own merits and facts, then praised or condemned appropriately.  

There are large individual differences in what people regard as the base of morality and how they behave with respect to one another, but here in our case those four regimes and individuals broke every rule of decency and fair accepted morality. For humanity it had always been, and still is in our times, that a human being without the feeling of modesty, morality and deference is not human. 

     My usual many thanks to all.               

TURNING A TRAGEDY INTO A SHOW ......

 

It's unfortunate and sad, but America and many around the world are turning the Ukrainian invasion, the massacres and slaughters and destructions into a major show. Whereby some are revolted by what is happening and are condemning it, against some others who are turning the entire affair into a stage show, influenced by a well organized counter propagandist machine, run by Fox news, the Koch brothers empire and similar few other major corporations including the energy and military industry complexes, plus of course the original initiator of it all, the ex president Donald Trump and his machine. 

The American people, as many other individuals around the world are taking their stand and feeling better about themselves, and justifying their positions for totally other reasons than what is really happening on the ground. Here in America your love and admiration for Trump and the right's conservative push plus the religious fervor of white supremacists are becoming a dominant factor in finding excuses and justifications for Putin's deadly and destructive adventure into a neighboring inconvenient country. 

Some prominent Republican members complained openly that a Putin faction is well established within the Republican party. Even the Moscow propaganda machine is adopting and praising this group's language and demagoguery, while trying to come up with convincing arguments to the Russian and international audiences. The other side is reacting timidly, by confirming their rhetoric and position. But no one is seriously thinking or demanding forcefully an immediate sort of solution nor a stop to the barbaric situation that should end as quickly and effectively as possible. 

Americans, Europeans and several citizens from around the world, should desist and abstain from the traditional love and hate of America, the Biden administration, liberalism or conservatism, even the  naïve blind admiration of the macho looks of the eternal metamorphosed Putin. Our esteemed major corporations, including the energy and the military industries should feel and share with people from their countries and in Ukraine and its neighbors, rather than strictly their immediate sales and profits and accumulation of huge wealth. I'm mostly addressing the fossil energy corporations as well as the military industries. 

Again, I have to say, a mistake or a wrong doing doesn't and shouldn't justify another similar action. So let's stop finding good excuses to Putin's ugly self glorifying adventure, by mentioning the wrongs America did in Iraq or Afghanistan and elsewhere, nor justifying Putin's actions because of what Israel is doing to the Palestinians and to all its neighbors, we should all stand together and seriously condemn war crimes and brutality and hegemony in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen , Syria, Israel  and Ukraine, they are all unnecessary brutal and savage situations unworthy of our present civilization. 

Let us all seriously take part in the great drama of survival on our planet, ensuring some decency for our children and grand children's future, instead of finding excuses and justifications to vulgar brutality, annihilation, apartheid, colonialism and supremacy of some factions over the others. Let us all unite in growing our abilities to do the kind of clear thinking that will save life on earth, and not endorse ugly and stupid barbaric adventures just to glorify the few. 

All wars of our 21st century are terribly horrific and cruel, be it in Yemen or the Middle-East in general, the occupied Palestinian territories or Ukraine, they are all to be condemned and must be ended as quickly and swiftly as possible. Judging conflicts, social and civil uprisings, wars and hegemony, brutality and cruelty, should not follow one's group affiliations, nor who one likes or fancies or doesn't like. The issues and policies by themselves are the important facts to judge, back up or condemn, and not our feelings about the leaders or regime or oligarchy carrying them. 

    As always, my many thanks to all for following, stay safe and well.                     

CHARACTER ANALYSIS ......

 

Mr. Putin launched his war in Ukraine on the claim of "Unity", that Russians and Ukrainians are one people, sharing one common history, one language and one destiny, plus of course his long lasting security concerns from a presumed "NATO threat on his borders", plus maybe a way leading to his personal gratification and glorification. As well as an important step to achieve his grand ambition of reasserting Russia, under his absolute command, as a great world power. 

Instead, what he has done is the exact opposite in practically all and every domain. He shattered all possibilities of unity with Ukraine and replaced it with an unmeasurable hatred and loathing from all Ukrainians toward their once closer Russian allies. His concerns for a pseudo security on his borders is diminished by the doubling of NATO and other equipment and forces in all other bordering countries, plus a fear and hatred of all their people and governments combined. 

Remains his personal glorification and the Russian great empire he thought of accomplishing, where I believe that his country's economic collapse and the halting of being a world energy power will totally collapse his dreams, it's only a matter of time before the Russian populace will raise their voices and discontent, while debasing Russia's most important source of economic power, Imagine if on top of all that,  an internal elite struggle erupts to debase him, whether successful or resisted, that will kill all his dreams and aspirations of a historical figure of grandiose proportions. What a simple miscalculated step could lead to in life !!! Amazing. 

On a more personal note, I keep wondering, how can the world in general and more so the Russian people, plus many leaders and the many individuals who keep expressing their love and admiration and respect to Mr. Putin, a guy who started his effective life and career with the communist party, then got chosen and promoted to become an active KGB operator and disciple, trained and brainwashed continually for years while advancing in ranks, which was either some elaborate falsification and a big continuous lie on his part, pretending all the way, or being a genuine convinced novice and accomplished member of the system. 

Eventually, later in life, and with the KGB's full backing, his bright manipulations, elevated him to the highest post of the Russian oligarchy, he turned around a full 180 degrees, and became the exact opposite of all his training and his supposed political philosophy, ideologies and principals, he is now a devote Orthodox Christian with the full backing of the Russian church, one of the richest men on the planet, presiding a ruling oligarchy of very, very rich loyal ruling friends, having alliances with some of the most corrupt political and economical leaders of the world. We have one ,still fighting to come back here in our own backyard. 

The entire world is busy trying to categorize and find the oligarchy's real wealth, including his, their acquired properties, estates and palaces, and seizing their crazily luxurious and very expensive yachts and fleets of private airplanes and motor vehicles. These numerous people were technically all communists, pure and simple, with modest salaries, working hard to elevate the working classes of Russia and the world and defend it from extreme and savage Western wealth and power. 

These few people , playing politics and power games like no one of even the slightest socialistic inclinations could even dream of doing. Such total metamorphosis and change of mind set and interests, is enough by itself to deter or warn any sane person to avoid and condemn such dangerous characters and personalities. Still he's allowed to govern, enrich himself, send his armies and generals to invade destroy and massacre entire towns and districts with their civilian populations, while creating a very dangerous situation for the entire world, his neighbors, and his people. He's endangering and recklessly playing with life on earth as we know it, all for his own glorification.

    My usual thanks to all, stay safe and well.                           

DISCORDING AND COMPETING AMONG RIVALS .....

 

After emerging from the cold war in the early nineties as the lone superpower, the U.S. steadily grew weaker, its supremacy stalled and stymied by failed wars and adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan, and several other smaller spots. As well as its deep internal chronic problems, deep divides and uncontrolled inequalities. It didn't take too long to fill this gap, Russia and China evolved into more formidable powers, military for one, economically for the other.

A partnership of these two will lead to a better position for supremacy that will challenge a world order shaped by American norms and rules, as well as weakening all or most of our allies. It is starting with invading and subduing Ukraine, and will hit many other spots, including the greater Middle-East and Israel, and eastern Asia, hence the changing and modified policies plus the pseudo neutrality of many assumed allies shifting positions, and the joy and the sheering of many individuals around the world, driven by pure jealousy, envy and hatred to America.  

The purpose of attaining and asserting dominance in any realm is to avoid accountability of the dominating and domineering. The U.S. and Israel in modern times, both mastered and excelled at this game, and could play all their dominating policies and imperialist ambitions with absolutely no impunity,  Europe or several European powers played this same game for centuries prior to the last few decades within Europe and on the world scene. Now the game is changing, it's being taken over by China and Russia, or the alliance of both, if it really materializes, as many rivalries and obstacles are in the way.

At the end, if things don't go well enough for Russia in Ukraine, or the Russian/Chinese alliance, Putin could be removed in a pseudo coup, or claiming that he's sick or loosing it physically, and stop the entire adventure, but the long lasting results and consequences of the Ukrainian affair will have its impact on the world and its geopolitical management and structures.  

 By drawing clear parallels between these powers and the past history of hegemony and colonial acts, and present ones, even future events in store, as in China/Taiwan, or some new annexation of Arab territories by Israeli forces or Persian or Turkish powers, even Russian further domination of more neighboring countries and not so close ones, should be the main focus of the entire global scene, as a deterrent to very likely catastrophic apocalyptic scenarios ending the world and life as we know it. 

While the Russian invasion of Ukraine opened up and fortified several fronts, in America itself and Europe, as well as most of the industrialized world, internally and externally, it surely strengthened Atlantic NATO, and the European union, as well as American /European cooperation and trust, and all southern and eastern Asian and Pacific industrialized and advanced countries, it's to be seen if this cooperation will endure if the situation further escalates to other spots of the world. 

The present conflict surely didn't improve much of the situation through the Middle-East and the Arab world in general. Which will remain a weak spot in any future new world order. The Russians and Chinese are surely advancing their agendas, and quickening their steps to exclude America and its allies from any real influence or even the ability to interfere or set foot in the M-E entirely, America is slowly handing it all to Israel, and Europe is not interested enough, what might not be calculated is if Israel doesn't prove to be the good ally Americans believe it is, and shifts positions according to its own interests and hegemonic aspirations, otherwise it might be the next big looser in the area if and when the U.S. pulls out of it.  

But finally who cares, I don't think in all honesty this possibility is seriously considered by anyone at this time, except Israel itself playing the neutral chord left and right, and trying to forge different alliances, protec-ting its own security and future colonial expansions and share of the pie. 

   My, as always, profound thanks to all my good readers, stay safe and well.  

               

Putin and Trump have convinced me I was wrong about the twenty-first century

 

May I suggest to Mr. Reich adding a third name to his brilliant and obvious logic, Netanyahu of actual Israel.....  O.D.

It's the 29 of December 2024, and with sorrow I would like to add, two names to the list, ex-president of Syria, Bashar Assad, and still the actual president of the U.S. Joe Biden, all of these political personalities make our actual 21st century look like some four or five centuries old and not where we would like it to be, somehow humanity thought it was beyond barbarity, but maybe we're not. 

Events in the Middle-East and elsewhere, genocidal wars, and grandiose political dreams happening all over, is surely a reminder that our times are not civilized and our human species is not what we were hoping for, maybe in another two or three centuries we might be if we manage to survive.  

Robert Reich - Published March 12 on Substack.

I used to believe several things about the twenty-first century that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and Donald Trump’s election in 2016 have shown me are false. I assumed:

Nationalism is disappearing. I expected globalization would blur borders, create economic interdependence among nations and regions, and extend a modern consumer and artistic culture worldwide.

I was wrong. Both Putin and Trump have exploited xenophobic nationalism to build their power. (Putin’s aggression has also ignited an inspiring patriotism in Ukraine.)

Nations can no longer control what their citizens know. I assumed that emerging digital technologies, including the Internet, would make it impossible to control worldwide flows of information and knowledge. Tyrants could no longer keep their people in the dark or hoodwink them with propaganda.

Wrong again. Trump filled the media with lies, as has Putin. Putin has also cut off Russian citizens from the truth about what’s occurring in Ukraine.

Advanced nations will no longer war over geographic territory. I thought that in the “new economy” land was becoming less valuable than technological knowhow and innovation. Competition among nations would therefore be over the development of cutting-edge inventions.

I was only partly right. While skills and innovation are critical, land still provides access to critical raw materials and buffers against potential foreign aggressors.

Major nuclear powers will never risk war against each other because of the certainty of “mutually assured destruction.” I bought the conventional wisdom that nuclear war was unthinkable.

I fear I was wrong. Putin is now resorting to dangerous nuclear brinksmanship.

Civilization will never again be held hostage by crazy isolated men with the power to wreak havoc. I assumed this was a phenomenon of the twentieth century, and that twenty-first century governments, even totalitarian ones, would constrain tyrants.

Trump and Putin have convinced me I was mistaken. Thankfully, America booted Trump out of office — but his threat to democracy remains.

Advances in warfare, such as cyber-warfare and precision weapons, will minimize civilian casualties. I was persuaded by specialists in defense strategy that it no longer made sense for sophisticated powers to target civilians.

Utterly wrong. Civilian casualties in Ukraine are mounting.

Democracy is inevitable. I formed this belief in the early 1990s when the Soviet Union had imploded and China was still poor. It seemed to me that totalitarian regimes didn’t stand a chance in the new technologically driven, globalized world. Sure, petty dictatorships would remain in some retrograde regions. But modernity came with democracy, and democracy with modernity.

Both Trump and Putin have shown how wrong I was on this, too.

Meanwhile, Ukrainians are showing that Trump’s and Putin’s efforts to turn back the clock on the twenty-first century can only be addressed with a democracy powerful enough to counteract autocrats like them.

They are also displaying with inspiring clarity that democracy cannot be taken for granted. Democracy is not a spectator sport. It’s not what governments do. Democracy is what people do.

Ukrainians are reminding us that democracy survives only if people are willing to sacrifice for it. Some sacrifices are smaller than others. You may have to stand in line for hours to vote, as did tens of thousands of Black people in America’s 2020 election. You may have to march and protest and even risk your life so others may vote, as did iconic civil rights leaders like the late John Lewis and Martin Luther King, Jr.

You may have to knock on hundreds of doors to get out the vote. Or organize thousands to make your voices heard. And stand up against the powerful who don’t want your voices heard.

You may have to fight a war to protect democracy from those who would destroy it.

The people of Ukraine are also reminding us that democracy is the single most important legacy we have inherited from previous generations who strengthened it and who risked their lives to preserve it. It will be the most significant legacy we leave to future generations — unless we allow it to be suppressed by those who fear it, or we become too complacent to care.

Putin and Trump have convinced me I was wrong about how far we had come in the twenty-first century. Technology, globalization, and modern systems of governance haven’t altered the ways of tyranny. But I, like millions of others around the world, have been inspired by the Ukrainian people — who are reteaching us lessons we once knew.

As always, my many thanks to all for following my blogs and chosen articles. Pls. stay safe and well.

DANGEROUS AND FATAL TRENDS............

 

In the 20th century, liberal democracy beat fascism, communism and nationalism, even religious fanaticism. In the 21st century, the autocrats and fascist type leaders are winning, wrote Anne Applebaum in the Atlantic. I would add; both fascism and nationalism are definitely on the rise world wide. Did lack of education, scientific advancement, or too much brain washing, fake news and indoctrination lead to a Brexit vote in Europe, a rise to new levels of white supremacy and extreme right wing parties, and a full Trump era and its aftermath in the U.S. plus our latest version of hegemonic imperialist war in Ukraine. 

How did wars and mass killing and annihilation of the other get to be our only alternative to any other solution, this is a mentality of past centuries, violent, brutal and absurd, many of us thought that our 21st century will carry us away from, that we were headed to a more logical, rational and advanced  civilized and unified common world. 

Instead of trying to make an unaccommodating world in its image, policed and ruled by international laws, America and a post hegemonic West, as well as few big powers elsewhere, should all seek to fortify a model, their model, that others would want to emulate. The rights of the individual, self determination, consent of the governed, checks and balances on political powers, cultural tolerance and free expression, eradicate all apartheid rules and practices, they are all quickly fading out in several spots of the world including the Western hemisphere. 

Americans, and to a lesser degree Europeans, are not promoting and defending these values. On the contrary all advanced nations are eroding these basic rules of the civilized world, and some super powers are transforming these same values into their own twisted hegemonic versions. How can America, or the advanced powers defend and lecture the world today, when in just few years, they all practically lived through insurrections against the democratic transfer of power, almost total coups to grab and maintain power by small groups against the majority, a galloping spread of wealth and inequality by powerful oligarch and super rich entities in all these countries without exceptions. offering themselves exuberant and fraudulent tax systems, as well as huge political power. 

Wars and foolish adventures, mostly to the benefits of the war industries and special contractors, even the official armies and their commanders, driven by special interests foreign and interior lobbies, are becoming the norms. All these combinations of modern politics and governance are creating a dysfunctional environment preventing America and the West in general from reading correctly the dynamics of the global scene and the power shifts and preventing us from being the primary movers and shakers on the global scene that we believed ourselves to be for a long time. 

Finally, we should all remember that no crime excuses any other crime, that blaming anyone doesn't absolve anyone else, and recognize that the solutions now being offered of more weapons and a bigger NATO are also what got us here, nobody's forced to commit mass murder, the president of Russia and its military elites may simply love war, or find the timing convenient to fulfill their ambitions, they have wanted an excuse for one, and they probably would not have had that excuse had we not operated our strategic policies defiantly and arrogantly, we could have answered some of their more reasonable demands and met them half way. 

    As always , my gratitude to all my good readers, stay safe and well.             

UKRAINIAN PERSPECTIVES AND BEYOND........

A good friend sent me this short  poignant comment about the situation in Ukraine, and how a Palestinian looks at it.

Oh my God !!! It is a truly scary situation. I can certainly empathize with the Ukrainian people. And, Ukraine is in grave danger of becoming yet another "Palestine": IF, yes IF Russia occupies Ukraine for 74 years, conducts genocide and ethnic cleansing of 80% of the Ukrainian population, destroys 535 Ukrainian towns and villages, prevents Ukrainian refugees from ever returning to their homeland (against UN Resolution 194), builds 250 colonial settlements, and establishes an apartheid regime.

But, please don't fret too much. Please calm down. No one expects more than "a fraction" of that to actually happen in Ukraine. Remember that Zelensky is a comedian and Putin is bound to finally give up and smile. Please, just relax and take it easy, like us Palestinians who have endured an Ultra-Form of Occupation for 74 years and counting.                 Signed Awad.

I will continue, by copying this quick short article, by Robert Reich, complimenting and describing the situation from a Western and American point of view, Mr. Reich is a leading political analyst in the U.S and international arena.

We must do what we can to contain Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Ukraine. But we also need to be clear-eyed about it, and face the costs. As I’ve said before, economics can’t be separated from politics, and neither can be separated from history. Here are eight sobering realities:

1. Will the economic sanctions now being put into effect stop Putin from seeking to take over Ukraine? No. They will complicate Russia’s global financial transactions but they will not cripple the Russian economy. After Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, the U.S. and its allies imposed economic sanctions which slowed the Russian economy temporarily, but Russia soon rebounded. Since then, Russia has taken steps to lessen its reliance on foreign debt and investment, which means that similar sanctions will have less effect. In addition, the rise of crypto currencies and other digital assets allow Russia to bypass bank transfers, which are the control points for sanctions. Bottom line: The sanctions already imposed or threatened could reduce Russia’s gross domestic product, but only by a few percentage points.

2. What sort of sanctions would seriously damage Russia? Sanctions on Russia’s enormous oil and gas exports could cause substantial harm. Russia produces 10 million barrels of oil a day, which is about 10 percent of global demand. It ranks third in world oil production (behind the United States and Saudi Arabia). It ranks second in natural gas (behind the United States), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

3. Then why not impose sanctions on them? Because that would seriously harm consumers in Europe and the US — pushing up energy prices and worsening inflation (now running at 7.5 percent annually in the US, a 40-year high). Although the US imports very little Russian oil or natural gas, oil and natural gas markets are global — which means shortages that push up prices in one part of the world will have similar effects elsewhere. The price of oil in the US is already approaching $100 a barrel, up from about $65 a year ago. The price of gas at the pump is averaging $3.53 a gallon, according to AAA. For most Americans, that gas-pump price is the single most important indicator of inflation, not just because they fuel their cars with gas but because the cost is emblazoned in big numbers outside every gas station in America. (The biggest beneficiaries of these price increases, by the way: Energy companies like Halliburton, Occidental Petroleum and Schlumberger, which are now leading the S&P 500. Anyone in favor of putting a windfall profits tax on them?)

4. Will stronger sanctions weaken Putin’s control over Russia? Possibly. But they could also have the opposite effect — enabling Putin to fuel Russia’s suspicions toward the West and stir up even more Russian nationalism. The harshest U.S. measures would cause the average Russian to pay higher prices for food and clothing or devalue pensions and savings accounts because of a crash in the ruble or Russian markets, but these might be seen as necessary sacrifices that rally Russians around Putin.

5. Any other foreign policy consequences we should be watching? In a word: China. Russia’s concern about the West has already led to a rapprochement with China. A strong alliance between the two most powerful world autocracies could be worrisome.

6. What about domestic politics here in the US? Foreign policy crises tend to drive domestic policy off the headlines, and weaken reform movements. Putin’s aggression in Ukraine has already quieted conversations in America about voting rights, filibuster reform, and Build Back Better — at least for now. Large-scale war, if it ever comes to this, deadens reform. World War I brought the progressive era to a halt. World War II ended FDR’s New Deal. The Vietnam War stopped Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society.

Wars and the threat of wars also legitimate huge military expenditures and giant military bureaucracies. America is already spending $776 billion a year on the military, a sum greater than the next ten giant military powers (including Russia and China) together. Wars also create fat profits for big corporations in war industries.

The possibility of war also distracts the public from failures of domestic politics, as the Spanish-American War did for President William McKinley and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq did for George W. Bush. (Hopefully, Biden’s advisors aren’t thinking this way.)

7. Could the sanctions lead to real war between Russia and the West? Unlikely. Americans don’t want Americans to die in order to protect Ukraine (most Americans don’t even know where Ukraine is, let alone our national interest in protecting it). And neither Russia nor the US wants to be annihilated in a nuclear holocaust.

But international crises such as this one always run the risk of getting out of hand. Russia and the US have giant stockpiles of nuclear weapons. What if one is set off accidentally? More likely: What if Russia cyberattacks the US, causing massive damage to US utilities, communications, banks, hospitals, and transportation networks here? What if Russian troops threaten NATO members along Ukraine’s borders? Under these conditions, might the US be willing to commit ground troops?

Those who have fought ground and air wars know war is hell. Subsequent generations tend to forget. By the eve of World War I, many in America and Britain spoke of the glories of large-scale warfare because so few remembered actual warfare. Today, most Americans have no direct experience of war. Afghanistan and Iraq were abstractions for most of us. Vietnam has faded from our collective memory.

8. What is Putin really after? Not just keeping Ukraine out of NATO, because NATO itself isn’t Putin’s biggest worry. After all, Hungary and Poland are NATO members but are governed in ways that resemble Russia more than Western democracies. Putin’s real fear is liberal democracy, which poses a direct threat to authoritarian “strongmen” like him (just as it did to Donald Trump). Putin wants to keep liberal democracy far away from Russia. Yet for nearly two centuries, Ukraine has been the leading edge of Western ideology and culture in the face of a reactionary Russia.

Putin’s means of keeping Western liberal democracy at bay isn’t just to invade Ukraine, of course. It’s also to stoke division inside the West by fueling racist nationalism in Western Europe and the United States. In this, Trump and Trumpism continue to be Putin’s most important ally.

As  always, my many thanks to all! Stay safe and well