Thoughts on Ukraine, Part 6: Mutual Destruction?

The attack on the Ukrainian nuclear plant was a risk. If the strike damaged the containment vessel, it could have unleashed nuclear radiation. That got me thinking about the broader risks of destruction.
• Russian destroys Ukrainian cities and infrastructure trying to take it. More adventures like the nuclear plant could do it.
• Oligarchs in Russia see both a crisis and an opportunity and arrest/kill Putin and take control and force a “favorable” settlement with Ukraine that lets the oligarchs buy Ukrainian assets and resources.
• The west’s sanctions cripple the west and the Russians, leaving an opportunity for the Chinese to go after both. Perhaps they are crocodile watching the two snakes fight it out to take them both.

Where the Brave Go When There’s Nowhere Left to Go: The Story of Colonel Nick “Five Years to Freedom” Rowe

Colonel Nick Rowe

Man, woman, young, old, soldier, civilian—everyone will find the inspiration, comfort, or push they need from James N. Rowe’s story of captivity. The Special Forces Intelligence Officer and man eventually responsible for developing the US Army’s SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape) training program was one of only two men to escape the Viet Cong.

Is Russia-Putin-Threatening to Use Nuclear Weapons-Weapons of Mass Destruction-in Ukraine? And We Were Told the Bad Orange Man was Gonna Cause This!

President Biden, President Putin

Doesn’t it seem strange that with all the hysteria over war mongering politicians and presidents over the past 60 years-including the egregious treatment of candidates like Barry Goldwater-recall the LBJ political cartoon of Daisy Girl happily holding flowers on a sunny day when a nuclear detonation suddenly reflects in her eyes (two additional great candidate …

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Thoughts on Ukraine, Part 5: Post-War Assessment and Rebuild

Ukraine Assessment and Rebuld

I understand the conflict is ongoing and does not have a known end date or end state conditions. But the sooner the USG, NATO, and the EU think through the dynamics of assessment, the quicker they can respond and conduct it. If they stand up coordinated assessment teams now, they can start assessing pre-conflict items, and conflict response now and gathering data.

“I’m from the government, and I’m here to help!”

Philadelphia

Remember the halcyon days of 2020 and 2021, in which Philadelphia, among most major cities, allowed restaurants which had been otherwise closed to indoor dining, to expand, where they physically could, to outdoor dining facilities? A challenging problem in a city which experiences severe winters, outdoor dining and increased carry-out ordering enabled many restaurants to …

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House Jan 6 Committee Court Filing: Trump ‘May Have Engaged in Criminal and/or Fraudulent Acts’

In August, Reuters reported that, according to their sources (four current and former law enforcement officials): “The FBI has so far found no evidence that he [Trump] or people directly around him were involved in organizing the violence.”

THOUGHTS ON UKRAINE, PART 4: HOLD THE KLEPTOCRATS RESPONSIBLE

Hold the kleptocrats responsible

I think we also need to keep in mind the problems that a harsh peace settlement can create. The Treaty of Versailles created WWII. We certainly do not want that. We need to use WWII’s peace as an example. Our goal should be to incorporate Russia into the west as a responsible state with an effective government that embraces human and western values.
Therefore, I propose a different way to handle these war crimes. Separate the kleptocrats from the state. Prosecute the kleptocrats and use their considerable personal wealth to pay for the damage they inflicted in Ukraine. By most accounts, this is billions of dollars.

Biden’s SOTU Was a Lost Opportunity

In a speech that really needed to move the needle on President Joe Biden’s tanking approval numbers, his Adderall-fueled State of the Union address was filled with gaffes, lies and most significantly, his stubborn refusal to abandon his administration’s dangerous policies.

NIMBY! Not in My Back Yard!

It seems that the left are much happier with liberal principles when they are applied to other people, on other neighborhoods! Why does a wealthy California town say it opposes affordable housing? To save mountain lions The town’s decision drew quick scorn as a brazen attempt to evade even minimally denser development in one of …

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