Terrible stories. Agreed that Russia does not deserve to exist but it's not going anywhere and will hopefully atomize into dozens of small nation-states and the nuclear arsenal will be in the hands of international agencies.
No traction there because no connection. China will broker a deal to get relief on The Chips Act that American impose. Check out my "The Fuss over Chips" newsletter awhile ago.
I met Anna, a beautiful woman , maybe 40s, who was our waitress at Niagara on the lake.A survivor of Mariupol invasion.
Building gone, friends dead, stripped naked, violated,sent to crimea ,Moscow, Georgia and now Canada ( humanitarian program).husband lawyer now janitor, mother doctor now maid, Anna educator now waitress. Kids ptsd. Putin and the oligarchs ,the Brown shirt butchers of today. How can this happen again is the question that really haunts me. Does Russia deserve to exist with the potential of more corrupt, psychopaths ruling this morally and financially bankrupt state?
An excellent assessment, Diane. There is, however, one point in your blog that may require clarification: "Medvedev has gotten mixed reviews, due to his “partying” as well as a string of out-of-character, obnoxious, non-statesmanlike, and threatening tweets that he posted during the war."
The statement appears to suggest that Medvedev would be one of the better alternatives after putin. But all of Medvedev's statements appear to be even more extreme in their hatred for Ukrainians, the need to win the war at all costs, and elimination of the Ukrainian state and nation than even those expressed by the most deranged of the nationalist rabble. Where is the "mix" in his "mixed reviews"? Why are his statements and tweets "out of character"? Is there any indication that he harbors some private "moderate" sentiments but is merely currying the favor of the crazies as a political tactic? But - based on his public statements - the man is poison.
Thank you, Diane. If China helps to broker a deal to restore the Ukraine, will they want the international community to support their desire to re-integrate Taiwan; i.e. restore their homeland?
Every great negotiation ends with a win for both parties.
1.
In this case return all lands to the Ukrainian rightful owners and create a broadly based recovery for The great Ukrainian people .
Assist Ukraine to diminish residual corruption.
2.
For Russia pay reparations to Ukraine but don’t make the world war 1 mistake of continuous humiliation of Russia as we now know that fascist state could be the result. Create a western path for rehabilitation of the Russian state to truly serve the Russian people and establish a Democratic order. Think postwar Japan and Germany.
Putin and his imperialist cronies must pay.
Pergosin is a malignant force to be excised.
The West needs to reinforce its moral compass to clean up its many problems and weaknesses.
Well, Putin at least showed he can walk down a flight of stairs, though probably wishing he had a golden. escalator with a Melania to accessorize it. If Putin is weakened, who is strengthened? Presumably the siloviki, but about them Pope's line comes to mind: Willing to wound and yet afraid to strike. One is bound to feel sorry for them because it's a tough call in a corrupt and rotting dictatorship with a failed war like a bleeding abscess and knowing the moment of your greatness has already flickered. In London the bookmakers may already be setting odds - on who and when. I pray the Ukrainians will achieve a decisive breakthrough.
There was something very phoney and fishy about the so called Wagner group takeover , the March to Moscow , the leaked conversations, the sudden turnabout and then, the leader of Belarus (?!) negotiating in under an hour , amnesty for all concerned ? It smells like a set up to me! Now Putin looks somewhat more powerful , has quelled the dissent , incorporated the Wagner mercenaries into his Russian military forces , and was able to make a rallying speech on a regal looking red carpet to reassure his people that he is in fact in charge (Not to mention that he was able to walk down the red carpet steps without support or railings! ) . A two day exercise which was an attempt to show that he is in fact in control at home . Total set up in my view, just a bit of theatre, nothing more !
Excellent post Diane. I hope everything you say comes true. Putin is a tenacious ogre and I fear when he asks himself-“what would Stalin do?”-he will decide to blow up the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Surely, he wouldn’t go that far, would he?
Terrible stories. Agreed that Russia does not deserve to exist but it's not going anywhere and will hopefully atomize into dozens of small nation-states and the nuclear arsenal will be in the hands of international agencies.
No traction there because no connection. China will broker a deal to get relief on The Chips Act that American impose. Check out my "The Fuss over Chips" newsletter awhile ago.
I met Anna, a beautiful woman , maybe 40s, who was our waitress at Niagara on the lake.A survivor of Mariupol invasion.
Building gone, friends dead, stripped naked, violated,sent to crimea ,Moscow, Georgia and now Canada ( humanitarian program).husband lawyer now janitor, mother doctor now maid, Anna educator now waitress. Kids ptsd. Putin and the oligarchs ,the Brown shirt butchers of today. How can this happen again is the question that really haunts me. Does Russia deserve to exist with the potential of more corrupt, psychopaths ruling this morally and financially bankrupt state?
An excellent assessment, Diane. There is, however, one point in your blog that may require clarification: "Medvedev has gotten mixed reviews, due to his “partying” as well as a string of out-of-character, obnoxious, non-statesmanlike, and threatening tweets that he posted during the war."
The statement appears to suggest that Medvedev would be one of the better alternatives after putin. But all of Medvedev's statements appear to be even more extreme in their hatred for Ukrainians, the need to win the war at all costs, and elimination of the Ukrainian state and nation than even those expressed by the most deranged of the nationalist rabble. Where is the "mix" in his "mixed reviews"? Why are his statements and tweets "out of character"? Is there any indication that he harbors some private "moderate" sentiments but is merely currying the favor of the crazies as a political tactic? But - based on his public statements - the man is poison.
I don’t think it works as suggested in closing paragraph..nothing tidy about the future of this bad game of thrones..
Thank you, Diane. If China helps to broker a deal to restore the Ukraine, will they want the international community to support their desire to re-integrate Taiwan; i.e. restore their homeland?
Every great negotiation ends with a win for both parties.
1.
In this case return all lands to the Ukrainian rightful owners and create a broadly based recovery for The great Ukrainian people .
Assist Ukraine to diminish residual corruption.
2.
For Russia pay reparations to Ukraine but don’t make the world war 1 mistake of continuous humiliation of Russia as we now know that fascist state could be the result. Create a western path for rehabilitation of the Russian state to truly serve the Russian people and establish a Democratic order. Think postwar Japan and Germany.
Putin and his imperialist cronies must pay.
Pergosin is a malignant force to be excised.
The West needs to reinforce its moral compass to clean up its many problems and weaknesses.
General Petraeus said it:
“ win the Peace” for humanity.
Dr Jack Pacey
Vancouver
Canada
Well, Putin at least showed he can walk down a flight of stairs, though probably wishing he had a golden. escalator with a Melania to accessorize it. If Putin is weakened, who is strengthened? Presumably the siloviki, but about them Pope's line comes to mind: Willing to wound and yet afraid to strike. One is bound to feel sorry for them because it's a tough call in a corrupt and rotting dictatorship with a failed war like a bleeding abscess and knowing the moment of your greatness has already flickered. In London the bookmakers may already be setting odds - on who and when. I pray the Ukrainians will achieve a decisive breakthrough.
china ....what about land grabs east when russia collapses????as for putin ....he cannot be gone soon enough...
There was something very phoney and fishy about the so called Wagner group takeover , the March to Moscow , the leaked conversations, the sudden turnabout and then, the leader of Belarus (?!) negotiating in under an hour , amnesty for all concerned ? It smells like a set up to me! Now Putin looks somewhat more powerful , has quelled the dissent , incorporated the Wagner mercenaries into his Russian military forces , and was able to make a rallying speech on a regal looking red carpet to reassure his people that he is in fact in charge (Not to mention that he was able to walk down the red carpet steps without support or railings! ) . A two day exercise which was an attempt to show that he is in fact in control at home . Total set up in my view, just a bit of theatre, nothing more !
Thank you Diane. Let's not forget China and their quiet goal of Manchuria when they
discuss Ukraine. Your post
on that was excellent, Diane.
Excellent post Diane. I hope everything you say comes true. Putin is a tenacious ogre and I fear when he asks himself-“what would Stalin do?”-he will decide to blow up the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Surely, he wouldn’t go that far, would he?
Very good thank you
Agree. The question is , how do you kill this beast ?lots of foreign actors with big guns
Thanks for your response
However I don’t think this is as simple as blaming NATO or Biden
I urge you to read Red Notice
Stopping Putin and the even more violent villains who may replace him is complex
Hopefully the human spirit will prevail to rid the world of corrupt and evil leaders