Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock insisted today that Ukraine will not receive any German weapons to defend itself against Russia. She explained that Germany’s role in WWII imposes a special duty to “seek other ways to secure peace.” Of course, it’s self-evident that Germany remains haunted by this past. But this smacks of an ironic form… Read more.
Ukraine
The Plot to Kill Vladimir Putin…?
I laughed at Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron sitting so far apart at a big marble table. It made them look like two wannabe Napoleons. I thought Putin was trying in vain to snub Macron. But then I saw him keeping similar distance in a staged meeting from his own foreign… Read more.
Russian Skater Kamila Valieva Caught Doping. So Putin Threatens to Invade Ukraine?
Russia state-sanctioned doping That Russia runs a state-sanctioned doping program to enhance the performance of its athletes is an open secret. I decried this phenomenon in the blog post “In Putin’s Russia Even Athletics Is a Criminal (Doping) Enterprise” on November 9, 2015. Therefore, nobody should be surprised that Kamila Valieva has the women’s figure skating competition embroiled… Read more.
Biden Should Threaten Olympic Boycott with Pincer Move Against Putin…
On Monday, President Biden was caught on a hot mic calling the White House correspondent for Fox News a “stupid son of a bitch.” Within hours, in a very un-Trumpian manner, he called that correspondent and offered a personal apology. But it seems he was still apologizing on Tuesday. Because only that explains the way… Read more.
Russian Chess Grandmaster Kasparov Ridicules Washington on Putin’s Intent re Ukraine …
Chess grandmaster -cum- political dissident Garry Kasparov is generally recognized as every bit the authority on Russia today that political dissident Andrey Sakharov was on the old Soviet Union. Therefore, when Kasparov speaks about Vladimir Putin’s maneuvers, everyone in Washington listens. No doubt this was the case last week when Kasparov made a rare appearance… Read more.
To Deflect from Retreat at Ukrainian Border, Putin Bullies Human Rights Group Inside Russia…
Since last November, pundits have been commenting on the buildup of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border as if Russia were poised to mount the kind of blitzkrieg invasion of Ukraine that Germany mounted to invade Poland in 1939. To be fair, though, no less an authority than The Washington Post gave credence to their… Read more.
Now on Ukraine… Why Is Everybody Always Plagiarizing Me?
If I got a dollar every time someone told me they saw a commentator on TV parroting something I wrote in one of my commentaries, I’d be very rich indeed. I’ve seen this phenomenon myself. As it happens, I felt moved to write about one such occasion just yesterday in “Writer Paul Auster Says Tea… Read more.
Crises at Poland-Belarus and Ukraine-Russia Borders Make One at US-Mexico Border Look like Picnic…
Just weeks ago, Europe was hurling moral indignation at the migrant crisis America allowed to unfold under a bridge near the US-Mexico border in Del Rio, Texas. As it happened, I alluded to Russian mischief in the title to my commentary on that crisis, namely “Er, VP Harris, the Migrants Are Coming, the Migrants Are… Read more.
Alas, Giuliani Has Become the Consigliere He Once Prosecuted
One of the more Orwellian features of Donald Trump’s dystopian presidency is the role Rudy Giuliani is playing. Because this former celebrated prosecutor and mayor of New York City is now playing a cross between Tom Hagan, consigliere to the “Corleone Family”, and Roy Cohn, counsel to Senator Joseph McCarthy. But, as mobster capos invariably… Read more.
Trump Is Putin’s ‘Useful Idiot’ and He Keeps Showing Why
There’s no denying that Russian President Vladimir Putin interfered in the 2016 presidential campaign to help Donald Trump. Only that explains why Trump keeps acting like Putin’s useful idiot. And yes, Trump is really that stupid and transparent. Trump is Putin’s useful idiot Of course, Putin keeps playing the coy mastermind who pulled off that electoral feat. He started mere days… Read more.