The horror-clown

“Vladimir Putin dressed up like an evil clown with a crazy expression 

and surrounded by guns, tanks, and symbols of war.”

This pix is more than apt as Putin showed incredible stupidity in going after Ukraine. Prior to the invasion, he had it all, close ties with Germany with a reliable source of income in supplying natural gas to Europe via Nord Stream I & II, perception as a viable superpower, complete with a strong military and an arsenal of nukes considered to be on par with the US and last but not least, a nation led by a competent leader able to play the great game of foreign policy at deep level. Now exposed to be an inept leader of a corrupt state for the ages, the status of Russia is uncertain at best thanks to actions taken by Putin to "restore" mother Russia, driven by religion and a misguided sense of self importance.

In the long term, Ukraine will be divided, with a DMZ equivalent to Korea's while at the same time, Russia becomes a vassal state to China. 

Good job Vlad, good job.

Russia lost this conflict way, way back in 2004, and has yet to come to terms with it. It wasn’t some western plot organized by the CIA, the Illuminati, or the evil corporations. It wasn’t NATO in their constant desire to just not be attacked by Russia. It wasn’t even Ukraine’s own desire for freedom and self determination. Russia’s loss is self-inflicted, and it is driving the knife deeper in its own denial.

Ukraine and Russia had many things in common — they are both large countries with massive agricultural potential. They are both scientifically inclined countries, who have built space rockets and intercontinental missiles, great ships of war and powerful industrial machines. They share a blended cuisine, music, and many cultural traditions. They are, in short, natural allies and friends. So what went wrong?

Russia went wrong when it refused to enter the modern world, and has for centuries strived to recreate a mythical past where it was once great. It is caught in its own version of MAGA, eternally running on a cultural hamster wheel, pressing harder and faster but never getting anywhere. Russia has failed to realize that Ukraine, and the other former colonies of the USSR, are moving forward and onward.

When Putin admitted to himself that he had to wage war against Ukraine he should have realized that he was already losing, and changed strategies. When Ukraine didn’t want to lease the base in Crimea anymore, he should have asked himself why, and changed course. When Ukraine wanted to join NATO, he should have asked himself why, and taken a different path. Russia could have prevented all of this by simply acting like a friend and neighbor, and not an irrational and abusive horror-clown.

Yours truly disagrees with the first paragraph regarding NATO.

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first NATO supreme veallied commander. Shortly after assuming that post, he wrote these words in February 1951:

“If in 10 years, all American troops stationed in Europe for national defense purposes have not been returned to the United States, then this whole project [NATO] will have failed.”

NATO Expansion Would Be an Epic ‘Fateful Error’

We failed.