4s16 | Chamberlain and Daladier were prudent statesmen compared to ...
Just Peace Ukraine (Martin Curt `2024 s 16`) Hope. Help. Donate. Pray.
A letter from the publisher —
G’day cobbers!
In the 303rd year of Pyotr Romanov's empire, in the 551st week of R.F's invasion of Ukraine, and on the 946th day of the Russo-Ukrainian War, Kyiv is in Ukrainian hands.
Mick Ryan’s weekly begins with a summary of Ukrainian matters :—
☼¶ ☼Michael Ryan, QvM/aMMG
☼The Big Five - 14 September edition
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Arthur Neville Chamberlain (9 November 1940, aged 71) and Édouard Daladier (10 October 1970, aged 86) represented the opinion of the vast majority of their countries’ constituents as they sought to avoid a resumption of the Great War1. After the Munich Agreement of 30 September 1938 (of Germany, Italy, Britain and France), Adolf Hitler announced that the Sudetenland was his last territorial claim in Northern Europe.
After Germany broke the agreement and occupied Czechoslovakia in March 1939, the French and British governments offered a guarantee of Polish sovereignty against any act of aggression. When Germany and the USSR invaded Poland, and Germany refused to withdraw, France and Britain declared war2.
Chamberlain and Daladier seem likes models of prudent statesmanship in comparison to the current leaders of the Atlantic group, if Peter Dickinson is correct :—
☼¶ The Atlantic
Escalation management is the appeasement of the 21st century By Peter Dickinson
When Vladimir Putin first began the invasion of Ukraine with the seizure of Crimea, he did so using troops without identifying insignia and was careful to hide his attack behind a veil of deniability, however implausible. Ten years later, the Russian dictator now routinely threatens Western leaders with nuclear apocalypse if they dare to disrupt his methodical destruction of Europe’s largest nation. This dramatic escalation in Russian aggression is the bitter fruit of a decade spent trying to avoid provoking Putin rather than confronting the Kremlin.
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I found the twelve observations about China, which Yascha Mounk shared without a paywall, helped me to form a better picture about life in the PRC. Corrections or supplements from readers who’ve visited recently are welcome.
☼¶ ☼Persuasion (Yascha Mounk & al.)
☼[Twelve] Observations About China What I saw when I visited Shanghai.
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This Just Peace Ukraine is coming out early — I hope to see some of you tomorrow at the Ukrainian Orthodox parish (60 Vallely Street, Moorooka) where there’s a food fest tomorrow from about 11 am; proceeds to Ukraine. It's likely a pleasant, casual affair.
The hard-working staff intend to have an internet-free day.
Шабат Шальом,
Martin.
☼☼
☼☼
+The Woes of the West+
☼☼America and Other Problems☼☼
☼¶ ☼ ψ The Kyiv Independent group, including Ukraine Daily, Belarus Weekly
We asked 5 prominent Ukrainians about Trump's debate comments on Ukraine | by Chris York
☼¶ ☼Nick Cohen (Writing from London)
☼Kamala Harris makes Trump look a weak and washed-out leader The alpha male is growing stale
☼¶ ☼Bulwark
☼What More Do You People Want from Kamala Harris? Free thoughts on the proceedings of the Harris-Trump debate. Jonathan V. Last
JD Vance and the "Southern Bourbons" Kind of weird to see yourself as part of a modern incarnation of the Civil War—and that you're on the side of the slaveholders.
☼¶ ☼Michael Judge
☼'A Lot to Live Up To' Out drinking with New York's bravest, my name brought me undeserved honor.
☼¶ ☼Timothy Garton Ash
☼From a G-zero to a G-Ego world
☼¶ ☼William L Brown
☼Super Hero or villain?
☼¶ The Atlantic
Escalation management is the appeasement of the 21st century By Peter Dickinson
The Americans Who Yearn for Anti-American Propaganda Russian-backed influencers with an authoritarian message find a ready audience. By Anne Applebaum
The quote below, from
☼¶ ☼Noah Smith (Noahpinion) ☼At least five interesting things for your weekend (#48) Information war; Chinese VC; land reform; India's garment industry; degrowth research; Trump vs. Harris on deficits; good news
My thesis is that liberalism is losing because, in effect, it has refused to fight — liberal countries decided that our own governments were omnipotent leviathans who must be forever kept away from the arena of speech, while foreign governments are simply one more kind of atomistic “private” actor whose rights are never to be infringed. If the government of China controls our information diet, we decided, that is freedom, while if the government of America dares to push back, that is oppression.
I think we’re now just starting to realize how badly this idea has cost us.
This calm analysis by a ‘pro-capitalist’ economist :—
Kamala Harris Might be Less Injurious to the American Economy than Trump Neither is exactly a devotee of Milton Friedman but at least Harris won’t use fiscal and economic policy to settle personal scores and violate the rule of law Steve Chapman
+... and in the Left corner ...+
(For everyone, but perhaps of special interest to Social Democrats, Bolshevik imperialists, and other lefties)
☼¶ ☼Nick Cohen (Writing from London) — not a leftie, but often worth reading by lefitsts.
☼The abuses of secrecy: the Spycatcher scandal then and now
How bureaucrats destroy the careers of artists The Jenny Lindsay witch-hunt
They will never forgive J. K. Rowling for being right
Keir Starmer cannot govern as an autocrat He must acknowledge he won a stunning victory on a stunted vote
Dirty Russian money and the American far right: The case of Dave Rubin Corruption is a many-headed monster
+Wayfarers' Watch+
(For everyone, but especially for people interested in religion and theology)
☼¶ ☼Church Life Journal of the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame
Six Steps Into Mystery Lewis Ayres on a theological category.
☼¶ ☼Orthodox Christian Studies Center of Fordham University — Public Orthodoxy
Fullness of Grace in Answer to Our Prayer
by VK McCarty
☼¶ ☼CathNews New Zealand
‘Proclaiming the Gospel is not about imposing one’s own faith’ Pope Francis told gatherings of clergy, religious sisters, and catechists in Indonesia and PapuaNG.
☼¶ ☼Hart (The brethren Addison Hodges, David Bentley & Fr Robert Hart) Vedanta Christianity — non-dual Christianity, such as is expounded by Meister Eckhart —>
Mark Vernon on YAG [You Are Gods, D B Hart’s book] A link David Bentley Hart
Mark Vernon
-- 'blog
https://www.markvernon.com/blog
-- Owen Barfield
https://www.markvernon.com/consciousness
Christianity & Consciousness
Owen Barfield: an introduction and Barfield’s big idea
It’s not just what we know that changes over the centuries.
How we know about the divine, nature and life radically alters, too.
It’s an evolution of consciousness and it has an inner purpose.
It leads to the freedom that grows with inner awareness.
The modern sense of alienation is a crucial part of this process.
It develops personal agency and imaginative sight.
Barfield the world,argued for his big idea in two ways:
Using the changing meanings of words as fossils to track shifts of consciousness.
Understanding Christianity as a spiritual turning point that must keep developing now.//
If you’re at all interested in the New Testament, or literary composition in the Old Roman Empire, you likely wish to read :—
☼¶ ☼Psephizo
Paul wrote none of his own letters—and it really matters September 12, 2024 by Ian Paul
+Greensleeves+
(On the world-room and its conservation, but also a magazine of interesting matters which don’t fit into the earlier sections)
☼¶ ☼Gordian Knot (Jack Devanney & al.)
☼¶ _People & Nature_
Technologies that work for people, not profiteers, in the climate emergency. “Public ownership is not enough. It needs to be combined with a liberatory vision of the future, and of the ways that technologies, liberated from capital, can be re-made". Based on a talk at the Roads to Ecosocialism event by Simon Pirani
Have you heard of the Cucuteni–Trypillia Culture?
Trypillia: 7000-year-old civilisation silenced by [bolsheviks] | BBC | 6m22s
+Klaus Wits+
(About war)
☼¶ ☼Researching Ukraine (Benjamin Cook)
☼NATO or Nuke, Ukraine's Only Options NATO allies should fully expect Ukraine to produce a nuclear arsenal in the absence of NATO membership. “In 1994 leaders from Russia, Ukraine, the US and the UK agreed to protect Ukraine should it ever be invaded in exchange for Ukraine giving up its nukes. It was called the Budapest Memorandum of Security Assurances. Once completed, the US, wanting to engage with Ukraine post Soviet collapse, supported the creation of the NATO-Ukraine Commission. (The NATO-Ukraine Council is what was started in 2023.) | These efforts did not help Ukraine keep Russia from invading. Nor is there any clear sign that current support will expel Russia short of a palace coup inside Russia.”
Russia Wants Chaos Above All Else They don't care about the particular "wing" of the party.
How vulnerable is Ukraine to AI chip shortages? How will Ukraine use AI?
AI Used in Ukraine, Part 2 Corrections and additions to part one.
☼¶ War Translated and other like journals
What is ‘Strategic’? The Who, What, When, Where, and Why of Strategy Emily Meierding, James J. Wirtz, Jeffrey A. Larsen | What makes a problem, operation, capability, or specific organization “strategic”?
China to ‘Crush’ Foreign Encroachment in South China Sea: Military Official | Staff Writer With AFP
☼¶ The Atlantic
Escalation management is the appeasement of the 21st century By Peter Dickinson
+Commentary for the Student+
A detailed critique of Kirby and US policy is in —>
☼¶ ☼Stefan Korshak (Defence Correspondent at Kyiv Post).
☼Sept. 7, Day 927 — Bridges Too Close, Mendacious Big Shots, Counting Drops in a Bucket
The way it looks to me, America is leading the West in a Russia policy best described as “Contain them somehow, do nothing that might be construed as inflammatory, and above all do everything possible to win the next election.” In other words, ceding not just influence, but the pretense of trying to influence, security and stability throughout the world to Russia and China. And the likes of Iran, ISIS, Hamas, the Taliban, North Korea and Venezuela.
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☼¶ ☼MIT Tech. Review
Meet the radio-obsessed civilian shaping Ukraine’s drone defense Since Russia’s invasion, Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov has become an influential, if sometimes controversial, force—sharing expert advice and intel on the ever-evolving technology that’s taken over the skies. His work may determine the future of Ukraine, and wars far beyond it. | Charlie Metcalfe
Chatbots can persuade people to stop believing in conspiracy theories AI is skilled at tapping into vast realms of data and tailoring it to a specific purpose—making it a highly customizable tool for combating misinformation. By Rhiannon Williams
+Right on+
(About Conservatives and Right Liberals)
☼¶ ☼Persuasion (Yascha Mounk & al.)
☼Why Men Are Drifting to the Far Right Many men are falling behind. They need meaning and belonging. Rachel Kleinfeld
Diversity Won't Make Your Company More (Or Less) Productive A new study shows that when it comes to performance, there isn’t much to either fear or to gain from diversifying. Zaid Jilani
Raj Vinnakota on How to Stop Campus from Boiling Over Yascha Mounk and Raj Vinnakota discuss how to build a healthy campus community (and keep it). “I started to have conversations with college presidents [i.e., vice-chancellors], and they kept telling me over and over again that higher ed, frankly, had lost its way; that the pendulum had swung way too far in its being viewed as a private good; and that actually higher education has a public good set of responsibilities around developing citizens and engaging in our democracy. And we heard that over and over again in the conversations we had with presidents.”
Reflections on Right-Wing Cancel Culture Justifying censoriousness because “the left started it” is dumb. It’s also untrue. Jacob Mchangama
☼¶ ☼Tenzer Strategics (Nicolas Tenzer)
☼Freedom at Home and Abroad A Plea for a Coherent Struggle
NATO and the Illusions of Deterrence Did the Alliance Die in Kyiv?
☼¶ _The Washington Post_
U.S. says Russian state media outlet runs intelligence operations The State Department accuses RT, the Russian media outlet, of running intelligence operations and procuring weapons for the war in Ukraine. By Catherine Belton
+Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union+
(Mostly material from the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group)
Abducted Ukrainian labelled a ‘zombie’ and charged with ‘terrorism’ for supporting Ukraine and calling Russia an invader 09.09.2024
Russians carry out terror raids of families with school-age children in occupied Kherson oblast
Crimean imprisoned for criticising blocking of YouTube in occupied Ukraine and Russia 10.09.2024
Occupation 'court' increases already harsh sentence against abducted Crimean Tatar for not admitting to fictitious ‘crime’ 13.09.2024
Russia’s ‘Youth Army’ used to get Ukrainians on occupied territory to fight against Ukraine
+Toots etcetera+
ChrisO_wiki@ChrisO_wiki@mastodon.social
1/ At least 100,000 tons of Russian fuel is estimated to have been destroyed in Ukrainian drone attacks. The attacked fuel depots were built underground for protection but were rebuilt on the surface to save money. Now they may have to be buried again. …
1/ Badly injured Russian soldiers are being denied recuperation and are sent into frontline assaults on canes and crutches. Outraged Russian milbloggers blame field commanders for refusing to allow medical leave, but the blame likely goes much higher.
+In the offing+
1) An exhibition at the Ukrainian Museum of Australia :—
Connection/Collection, an exhibition co-curated by artists Kiera Brew Kurec and Eva Heiky Olga Abbinga | Connection/Collection will run until 17 November 2024.
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2) Australasian Catholic Coalition for Church Reform, Spirit Unbounded and Garratt Publishing present
SYNODALITY IN OCEANIA Webinar
Wednesday 18 September 2024 5:30 pm AEST
Speakers: Manuel Beazley, Vicar for Māori, Diocese of Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand | Kelly Paget, Chancellor and Head of Mission, Diocese of Broken Bay, Australia | Susan Sela, Director, Pacific Technical and Further Education, University of the South Pacific, Fiji | Victor Roche SVD, National Director of Pontifical Mission Societies for PNG and Solomon Islands
Respondent: Elissa Roper, Australian theologian with a focus on synodality and church.
Moderator: Christina Reymer, Core Group Leader, Be The Change Aotearoa New Zealand
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3) ☼¶ ☼Eastern European Institute of Theology
The Role of Christian Churches in Building Resilient Democratic Societies Seminar of the Series: “Public Theology in the Context of Overcoming the Totalitarian Past” | Friday, September 20 at 1:00 p.m. Kyiv time
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4) Milestone in the history of Ukrainian Studies in Australia —
the inaugural public lecture of Dr Iryna Skubii, Mykola Zerov Fellow in Ukrainian Studies at the University of Melbourne.
Dr Iryna Skubii — "The Tale of the Sunflower and Its Travels in Ukraine"
Time: Tuesday 15 October 2024. Light refreshments: 5:15 p.m.; lecture: 6.15 p.m. AEDT. Place: Forum Theatre (Room 153), Arts West Building, The University of Melbourne. To register: please follow this link.
Abstract:
The sunflower, a vibrant and essential part of global cuisine, holds a unique place in Ukraine's cultural and historical landscape. Today, sunflower oil is a staple in local and regional cuisine, and the flower's bright imagery is deeply woven into the nation's cultural fabric. Yet, many might be surprised to learn that the sunflower, known as soniashnyk in Ukrainian, is not native to the local forest-steppe and steppe lands. First cultivated by Indigenous peoples in the Americas, sunflowers were introduced to Europe, then to the Russian Empire, and eventually became one of the most common crops in Ukraine. The sunflower has thrived in Eastern Europe, evolving into a cornerstone of Ukraine’s economy as the country has emerged as the world’s leading exporter of sunflower seeds and oil.
While the sunflower is a cherished icon in Ukrainian literature and art and a popular symbol of resilience, its environmental impact has not received the critical attention it deserves, particularly regarding its role in soil degradation and the spread of monoculture farming. This lecture will delve into the complex history of sunflowers within Ukraine’s economic, cultural, and environmental landscapes. By examining this agricultural plant as a source of food, cultural significance, and national wealth, the talk will illuminate the intricate relationship between sunflowers, Ukraine’s history, and its land.
Iryna Skubii is the inaugural Mykola Zerov Fellow in Ukrainian Studies at the University of Melbourne. She obtained her PhD in History from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario (Canada) and a Candidate of Science degree in History from V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (Ukraine). Her publications focus on Ukraine’s history of trade, consumption, materialities, and human-environmental relationships during the early Soviet period, including the Soviet famines, as well as social and environmental history. She is the author of the book Trade in Kharkiv in the Years of NEP: Economy and Everyday Life (1921-1929).
The Mykola Zerov Fellowship in Ukrainian Studies is generously funded by the Ukrainian Studies Support Fund of the Association of Ukrainians in Victoria.
Those of us who have the good fortune to live in Queensland or the misfortune to live without Melbourne should not be downcast! We are assured that the lecture will be available on zoom.
+ Pi Jaws &c.+
Stronger than Fear
Rachel Pieh Jones
Life was harsh in the 1970s in Wajir, a remote region populated primarily by Somalis. A UNICEF survey declared the water unfit for human consumption. Lions attacked isolated nomads and snakebites were common. Temperatures soared to 105 degrees Fahrenheit and there was no electricity. Rain, on the rare occasions when it did fall, could lead to catastrophic flooding. The hospital lacked sufficient staff, equipment, and supplies. Tuberculosis, malaria, typhoid, cholera, and dengue fever raged.
Annalena Tonelli moved to Wajir in 1970 to teach, but during a cholera epidemic her work shifted to caring for sick children. Eventually, she turned all her attention to treating tuberculosis.
On October 5, 2003, extremists gunned down Annalena Tonelli as she made the evening rounds of her patients in the TB hospital she had founded.
+ Laughter, the best Medicine+
Phyllis Ada Diller (20 August 2012, aged 95)
I'm at an age when my back goes out more than I do.
+Resources+
A friend asked us about Church Slavonic —
There is an excellent article on Church Slavonic by George Yurii Shevelov in the Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine:
https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CC%5CH%5CChurchSlavonic.htm
though you may wish to mostly skim after the sentence beginning “The earliest and most significant of these were: (1) the third-person endings of verbs in tь (in Church Slavonic, -tъ); …”
The Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine is a reliable source for inquiries about Ukraine; it's also a 'first-stop' place for inquiries about the Ukrainian region. A good place to go before Wiki.
The matter in Shevelov's article is covered more briefly by Encyclopedia Britannica:
Old Church Slavonic language - Britannica www.britannica.com › Geography & Travel › Languages -- Old Church Slavonic was the first Slavic literary language and was written in two alphabets known as Glagolitic and Cyrillic (the invention of Glagolitic has ...
Todd B. Krause and Jonathan Slocum at the University of Texas have made a course in Old Church Slavonic available on-line.
Introduction to Old Church Slavonic - The Linguistics Research Center
lrc.la.utexas.edu › eieol › ocsol
Old Church Slavonic is the name given to the language that is preserved in several manuscripts and a few inscriptions originating from the regions of the ...
Slavonic Glossary · Slavonic Dictionary · Slavonic Meanings · Table of Contents
If you read Shevelov's article, the Britannica entry, and the introduction to the course at Uni / Texas, you'll know more about Church Slavonic than most Queenslanders!
+Publication Details+
Just Peace Ukraine is published by the Rvrd Martin Arnold (Abbe.Martincurt@gmail.com) who welcomes comments & suggestions and notification of typos.
For more information about Martin, go to https://gravatar.com/martinoarnold
*_* Хай живе вільна Україна *_* L’Ukraine a toujours aspiré à être libre - Voltaire *_* Няхай жыве вольная Украіна *_* Larga vida a Ucrania libre *_* Да здравствует свободная Украина *_* Long live free Ukraine *_* 自由乌克兰万岁 *_* Bandera rossonera la trionferà!
*_* تحيا أوكرانيا حرة *_*
Rationale for Just Peace Ukraine —
The Russo-Ukrainian War is illegal
The Russo-Ukrainian War is immoral
The Russo-Ukrainian War is inexpedient
If you like, send in your own thoughts about any or all of these headings — or other material.
In brief —
RF forces must leave Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and any other occupied territories. It must assist prisoners and the deported, whether children or adults, to return home. The Kremlin must use its fossil-fuel and other loot to recompense for damages its forces have caused.
+Tl;dr+ Samvydav Review
Scores of Substack and similar samvydav sites sifted by the strenuous staff at Just Peace Ukraine.
Some interesting or worthy items are marked with some combination of the banner with the strange device [|εξηλσιορ*ψ|] — ψ, the Greek letter ‘psi’, may denote matter especially relevant to the Russo-Ukrainian War and anti-imperialism. (Mnemonic: ‘psi’ has the form of a trident, which is an ancient symbol for Ukrainian government. The symbol was used in the Greek settlements on the Black Sea (or Psi). Tim Snyder reminds us that Greeks and Jews have the longest recorded settlements in Ukraine, and capital psi, “Ψ”, looks like an infant menorah.)
☼¶ ☼After Babel &c. (Jon Haidt, Jean Twenge & al.)
☼The Fundamental Flaws of The Only Meta-Analysis of Social Media Reduction Experiments (And Why It Matters), Part 2 Fives types of errors in a recent meta-analysis bias the analysis in the same direction: that there is no effect of social media use on mental health Zach Rausch and Jon Haidt
Transgender identity: How much has it increased? We finally have hard data Jean M. Twenge
☼¶ ☼Bulwark
☼What More Do You People Want from Kamala Harris? Free thoughts on the proceedings of the Harris-Trump debate. Jonathan V. Last
JD Vance and the "Southern Bourbons" Kind of weird to see yourself as part of a modern incarnation of the Civil War—and that you're on the side of the slaveholders.
☼¶ ☼Centre for Defence Strategies (CDS — Ukrainian security think tank)
☼Russia's war on Ukraine. 01.09.24
Russia's war on Ukraine. 02.09.24
Russia's war on Ukraine. 03.09.24
Russia's war on Ukraine. 04.09.24
Russia's war on Ukraine. 05.09.24
Russia's war on Ukraine. 06.09.24
Russia's war on Ukraine. 07.09.24
Russia's war on Ukraine. 08.09.24
Russia's war on Ukraine. 09.09.24
Russia's war on Ukraine. 10.09.24
Russia's war on Ukraine. 11.09.24
Russia's war on Ukraine. 12.09.24
Russia's war on Ukraine. 13.09.24
☼¶ ☼Comment is Freed (Sam & Lawrence Freedman)
☼How Labour can fix the public sector Figuring out how to let the workforce do their job Dan Honig and Sam Freedman
State of Play Assessing the US election with two months to go
Can anyone save the Conservative Party? Notes on a dismal leadership contest
☼¶ ☼Cosmopolitan Globalist (Claire Berlinski & al.)
☼I'm Back I took a vacation. I had a great time. But I'm back, now.
Macron nominates Michel Barnier as Prime Minister After months of negotiations, consultations, and political tumult, Emmanuel Macron has finally nominated former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as Prime Minister. Hugh Vuillier
Global Eyes Part I: The Middle East and Russia's information war
Global Eyes Part II: Asia, Africa, and the Americas
Our Cretins The US role in Brazil's insurrection
Hostage murders cast an angry shadow over Netanyahu's Gaza campaign Hamas murdered six hostages last week after using them to wage psychological warfare against Israel Vivian Bercovici
Could Jordan become another Middle East flashpoint? The fall of the Hashemite Kingdom would be a nightmare scenario for the West Dan Perry
☼¶ ☼Counteroffensive (Tim Mak & al.)
☼My favorite Kyiv-born writer was canceled Alessandra admires a Kyiv-born Russian author Bulgakov and grew to love Kyiv through his works, but Myroslava sees him as an imperialist against Ukrainian independence. Alessandra Hay and Myroslava Tanska-Vikulova
Why Ukrainians love K-pop (and Korean artillery shells) Korea has been a great help to Ukraine during a full-scale war. And Ukraine repays it with a crazy love for Korean culture: K-pop, dramas, cosmetics and food. Myroslava Tanska-Vikulova and Mariana Lastovyria
Russian propaganda, funded by Canada Former RT employee Anastasia Trofimova embedded with Russian troops in eastern Ukraine, paid for by Canadian taxpayer dollars. She wants to debut her film tomorrow in Toronto. Mariana Lastovyria and Tim Mak
☼¶ ☼Foreign Policy Research Institute
☼If It Were Me, I'd Pull the Trigger By Matt Martin
☼¶ ☼From Baltic to the Black Sea (Cemil Kerimoglu)
☼The Curse of The Comfort Zone How the West miscalculated Russia's motivations
In the past week, Russia has launched multiple missile strikes against several Ukrainian cities, including Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, and Lviv. These attacks specifically targeted schools and residential areas, with no military significance. What stands out among these is the location of Lviv. This city, with its rich history and beautiful historic center designated as UNESCO World Heritage Site, lies far from the frontlines, nestled in western Ukraine, close to the Polish (i.e., NATO) border. It’s particularly striking that the Polish Air Force, equipped with sophisticated anti-missile systems, could have intercepted these attacks with ease. But they didn’t. Not because they lacked the capability or the will, but because they are under strict orders from the United States, specifically the Biden Administration, not to intervene.
☼¶ ☼Gordian Knot (Jack Devanney & al.)
☼¶ ☼Hart (The brethren Addison Hodges, David Bentley & Fr Robert Hart)
☼The Christian concept of dispassionate love (an audio recording)
Vernon on YAG A link David Bentley Hart
Memoriam Ravindra Digitally Remastered The Musical Platypus Bob Hart
MUSICAL IMPRESSIONISM Pictures in Sound
☼¶ ☼Letters from an American (Heather Cox Richardson)
☼September 2, 2024
September 3, 2024
September 4, 2024
September 5, 2024
September 7, 2024
September 8, 2024
September 9, 2024
September 10, 2024 — that debate.
September 11, 2024
September 12, 2024
☼¶ ☼Liberal Patriot
☼Is Social Media Driving Young People Crazy? John B. Judis
Harris’s Working-Class Problem The Democratic Achilles’ heel remains. Ruy Teixeira
☼¶ ☼Mathworlds (Dan Meyer & al.)
☼Why Teaching Is Harder Than Surgery And why your app or product or thing might not be helping.
Teachers Are Doing UNBELIEVABLE Things With AI! Not even the TEACHERS believe it!
☼¶ ☼Persuasion (Yascha Mounk & al.)
☼Why Men Are Drifting to the Far Right Many men are falling behind. They need meaning and belonging. Rachel Kleinfeld
Diversity Won't Make Your Company More (Or Less) Productive A new study shows that when it comes to performance, there isn’t much to either fear or to gain from diversifying. Zaid Jilani
Raj Vinnakota on How to Stop Campus from Boiling Over Yascha Mounk and Raj Vinnakota discuss how to build a healthy campus community (and keep it). “I started to have conversations with college presidents [i.e., vice-chancellors], and they kept telling me over and over again that higher ed, frankly, had lost its way; that the pendulum had swung way too far in its being viewed as a private good; and that actually higher education has a public good set of responsibilities around developing citizens and engaging in our democracy. And we heard that over and over again in the conversations we had with presidents.”
Reflections on Right-Wing Cancel Culture Justifying censoriousness because “the left started it” is dumb. It’s also untrue. Jacob Mchangama
To Win, Kamala Must Move to the Center Americans view Harris as too progressive. Tonight may be her last best chance to course correct.
The Unexpected Relief of Politics-As-Usual Harris grinds out a win with a calm, professional performance. Sam Kahn
21 Observations About China What I saw when I visited Shanghai.
Scenes From The Literary Blacklist Widespread censorship is killing writers’ careers before they begin. Elizabeth Kaye Cook and Melanie Jennings
☼¶ ☼Polemology Positions and Osborne Ink (Matt Osborne)
☼Why Our Politics Are Lagging The Culture Woke is going broke, except at the top, for this reason
The Electronic Battle of Kursk
Beneath the Rings of Rabba on the Curated Worlds A short story
The Secret Lives Of Secret Workers A.G. Denniston and Room 40
Farther, Better, Faster Bomber: Ukraine's War Is Never Over
On Lies And Damned Lies And keeping hope in truth alive
Brain Bucket: The American Game of War An annotated link repost
The Deeper Battle of Kursk An update on some themes
Cold Front, Warm Front, Battle Front The invention of weather forecasting in the First World War
This Is Why We Park In A Driveway And Drive On A Parkway Mystery solved
The New Nord Stream Plot Twist Is The Weirdest And Most Wonderful Yet Inject this into my veins please
Dragon Drones And Other Developments A video analysis of the UAV war for Ukraine
☼¶ ☼Reactionary Feminist (Mary Harrington), Inspecting Gender (Genspect) & al.
☼Portugal: What to Expect from the Political Environment Regarding Gender Medicine By Marisa Antunes
Vindictive Busybodies On curtain-twitchers, Anglo eccentrics, and Why Post-Liberalism Failed | Mary Harrington
Dispatches from the Operating Room: The Butcher’s Cleaver By Daniel Rosen and Eithan Haim3 Genspect
Books and the Woman How my life comes in small paper packets bound with a spine Regina Doman
Queer Lies told to My Daughter: A Parent’s Agony, and Fury by an Anonymous Parent
Beyond the Anglosphere: The Bigger Picture Conference in Lisbon Genspect
☼¶ ☼Reimagining Liberty (Aaron Ross Powell)
☼☼The Misuse of Meritocracy How “interpretive communities” can explain why some men insist women don’t understand or appreciate merit.[|εξηλσιορ*ψ|]
Twitter/X as a Bubble for Bad Ethics X is no longer representative of the national discourse. [|εξηλσιορ*ψ|]
☼¶ ☼Researching Ukraine (Benjamin Cook)
☼NATO or Nuke, Ukraine's Only Options NATO allies should fully expect Ukraine to produce a nuclear arsenal in the absence of NATO membership. “In 1994 leaders from Russia, Ukraine, the US and the UK agreed to protect Ukraine should it ever be invaded in exchange for Ukraine giving up its nukes. It was called the Budapest Memorandum of Security Assurances. Once completed, the US, wanting to engage with Ukraine post Soviet collapse, supported the creation of the NATO-Ukraine Commission. (The NATO-Ukraine Council is what was started in 2023.) | These efforts did not help Ukraine keep Russia from invading. Nor is there any clear sign that current support will expel Russia short of a palace coup inside Russia.”
Russia Wants Chaos Above All Else They don't care about the particular "wing" of the party.
How vulnerable is Ukraine to AI chip shortages? How will Ukraine use AI?
AI Used in Ukraine, Part 2 Corrections and additions to part one.
☼¶ ☼Sarcastosaurus (Tom Cooper)
☼Ukraine War, 1 September 2024: Vanity Fair
Ukraine War, 3 September 2024: Q & A
NATO - or Nuke: Ukraine's only Options by Benjamin Cook
IADS, Part 1
Rickshaws for the 151st, Update 6 Collection on behalf of the 151st Mechanised Brigade, ZSU
Ukraine War, 8 September 2024: Part 1
Ukraine War, 8 September 2024: Part 2
The Mess of Russo-Iranian Arms Deals, Part 2
Ukraine War, 13 September 2024
How vulnerable is Ukraine to AI Chip Shortages? by Donald Cook
Don's Weekly, 2 September 2024: Part 1 by Donald Hill
Don's Weekly, 2 September 2024: Part 2
Don's Weekly, 2 September 2024: Part 3
Don's Weekly, 9 September 2024: Part 1
Don's Weekly, 9 September 2024: Part 2
Don's Weekly, 9 September 2024: Part 3
Don's Weekly, 9 September 2024: Part 4
☼¶ ☼Tales from Old England (Brother Alexander)
☼King Alfred: David and the Psalms
Heaven knows we're miserable now A modest case for optimism and for giving Keir Starmer's government a chance Alex Massie
☼¶ ☼Tenzer Strategics (Nicolas Tenzer)
☼Freedom at Home and Abroad A Plea for a Coherent Struggle
NATO and the Illusions of Deterrence Did the Alliance Die in Kyiv?
☼¶ ☼Ukraine Conflict Monitor (Konrad Muzyka & al.)
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☼¶ ☼Ukrainian Writer in London (Kateryna Babinka)
☼Teaching (and learning) goodbyes People come into our life, and they leave too. Sometimes we see them again next week or in a year; others are gone, never to be met again, and some are just done with this life altogether.
The Capital of Our Motherland I was 7, and it was officially my first act of civil disobedience — a small and, unfortunately, pro-soviet demonstration.
☼¶ ☼UnPopulist (Aaron Ross Powell)
☼Climate Catastrophism Leads to Illiberalism but Doesn’t Solve the Problem There are liberal solutions available but the right’s denialism and the left’s alarmism are getting in the way
Trump’s Manifestly Bogus Narrative of American Decline The country is way ahead of its peers but he and Harris are both proposing economic policies that’ll kill a good thing Eli Lehrer
Free Speech Means Allowing Full-Throated Condemnations of Odious Views: A Conversation with Popehat Heterodox free speech advocates can’t stand criticism
El Salvador Is a Terrorized State Under Nayib Bukele His brutal authoritarianism is a threat to innocent civilians just like the gangs it is allegedly fighting Joel Looper
MAGA Wants to Evade Accountability for Trump's Campaign of Lies and Fear Mongering The UnPopulist's Post-Debate Analysis: Shikha Dalmia on Trump's populist demagoguery and Berny Belvedere on the right-wing meltdown over the moderators Shikha Dalmia and Berny Belvedere
Kamala Harris Might be Less Injurious to the American Economy than Trump Neither is exactly a devotee of Milton Friedman but at least Harris won’t use fiscal and economic policy to settle personal scores and violate the rule of law Steve Chapman
☼¶ ☼Walking the World (Chris Arnade & al.)
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☼¶ ☼Zeitgeist (Katja Hoyer)
☼Thuringia was Hitler's stronghold, now it's the AfD's. That doesn't mean it's 1924. An appeal for a different debate about the AfD
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☼¶ ☼Adam Kinzinger
☼The First To Break In Inside the Role of Michael Sparks and the Continuing Fight for Accountability After January 6
A Clip From “The Last Republican”
The Trump S*@# Storm Has Begun Don’t expect it to stop
☼¶ ☼Adam Tooze
☼A tale of two wars. How the US tax system was built. Eurozone real wage stagnation. RIP Hvaldimir, the Spy’ Whale.
Chartbook 314 Analyzing the right-wing swing in Germany
Nvidia, AI and macroeconomics. Dürer and the wire factory. Enzensberger & the history of needles & sewing machines.
Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania. Copper looking sick. How private assets surged & the man who loved plastic bags.
Chartbook 315 Talking about Bangladesh. Or, rather, why aren't we talking about Bangladesh?
Low-pay Americans & the Big Mac index. Japan's LNG empire & how WWI made Gillette & the disposable razor.
Warhol's skulls. American-made cars for Americans. Cooling off the hotpot business & wild honey.
Selling Treasury Bills. The storm clouds at VW. Longshoremen poised to strike & the timeline of falconry.
Use dollars or face Trump's tariff wrath. Eds & Meds. Rejigging the US Army and a strike in Formula One.
Chartbook 316: Putting the unipolar epoch of climate politics in its place. Or, the mixed economies of the climate crisis (Carbon notes #14)
Chartbook 317 Draghi's view of Europe (1): Investment, R&D & the US-EU comparison
Whiplash for low-income Americans. NIEO at 50. Who voted for the AfD & Anders on the world as "Phantom and Matrix"
Chartbook 318 How Europe became a failed model of state-capitalist relations. ... or Europe according to the Draghi report (2)
Monetary policy and the mortgage market. Fed "narrative table tennis". Syria's new uprising & the "uptown-girl view" on bows.
☼¶ ☼Alexander Vindman
☼Useful Idiots Unsealed Indictment Reveals $10 Million in Funding from RT to MAGA Personalities
"In their Own Words: Trump's Former Advisors on His Unfitness to Lead" My Video Message for the Democratic National Convention
A New Low for Trump in Arlington My Thoughts on Trump's Shameful, Disrespectful Stunt in Arlington
When We Fight, We Win! Message of Hope Sweeps Trump’s Message of Division
☼¶ ☼Anne Applebaum
☼"The confiscation of a few yachts is no solution. What if, instead, we shut it all down?" my pitch to fight kleptocracy, in the Financial Times — themes taken from AUTOCRACY INC ft.com/content/0876ef7a-bf88-463e-b8ca-…
Meet the patriotic vanguard The Democrats who have won in purple districts and swing states have lessons for Harris
The End of Democracy Has Already Begun In the first episode of our new podcast, a look at how lies prime a society for a fall By Anne Applebaum and Peter Pomerantsev Transcript available.
Start With Lies The first episode of AUTOCRACY IN AMERICA, my new podcast, is ready to go
Posted — Elon Musk’s misleading election claims reach millions and alarm election officials The X billionaire’s false posts about noncitizen voting spur officials to fact-check him, lead to requests to purge voter rolls, and add to worries about threats, election officials say. By Sarah Ellison, Amy Gardner and Clara Ence Morse
☼¶ ☼Daniel Baxter (Dan's social work musings and rantings <dbaxter@substack.com>)
☼The overlooked creativity of activism, social work, and social justice
☼¶ ☼Daniel W. Drezner
☼The Very Weird Media Coverage of the 2024 Presidential Race The media's coverage of the 2024 race has been a little odd. Whether that matters is another question.
Kamala Harris Is Not a Foreign Policy Ingenue If she wins, Harris would be the second-most experienced foreign policy president in this century.
Gone Conferencing A few reading suggestions while I attend the 2024 American Political Science Association annual meeting
It's Shameless Self-Promotion Weekend! I've been in the media -- and on the media -- in recent days
Has the Outbidding on Trade Protectionism Finally Ended? Kamala Harris is not great on trade, but she's sooooo much better than Donald Trump.
Harris-Trump Debate Thoughts
Will a Sorkin Debate Moment Matter? Kamala Harris and Donald Trump performed like they were reading a West Wing script. Will that have any effect?
Will the Second 2024 Debate Fallout Echo the First? History is not repeating itself but it could be rhyming.
☼¶ ☼Dave Keating (Gulf Stream Blues)
☼Draghi’s report makes it clear: Europe has a Germany problem The former ECB chief has warned that Europe will enter "a slow agony” unless it commonly invests €800 billion a year in its industry and more common debt. German ministers immediately shot that down.
☼Why Greece has a complicated relationship with Russia From its creation, the Greek state was torn between a Russian East that wanted to revive the Byzantine Empire and a Philhellene West that wanted to revive ancient Greece.
☼¶ ☼Denis MacShane (Tomorrow’s Europe)
☼Mon ami, Michel Barnier. France's Politician for All Seasons
☼¶ ☼Eliot Wilson
☼Observations on the defence review, Sergei Lavrov and possible sleaze Some brief remarks on a few stories which have flitted across the news and are wroth noting: the Strategic Defence Review, Sergei Lavrov and rail minister Lord Hendy
In the French style: Macron's hunt for a PM In theory the President can appoint anyone he likes; in practice, finding someone the National Assembly will tolerate is proving extremely difficult
Sunday round-up 8 September 2024 Who's a jolly good fellow? Bernie Sanders, Martin Freeman and Pink, it would seem; props to St Adrian of Nicomedia, and in the United Kingdom it is Accession Day
What is Michel Barnier's plan for France? The new prime minister faces almost-insuperable challenges: to understand how he will address them, you need to understand his long public career
New select committee chairs (1) Eight select committee chairs were elected unopposed on Monday: what are their immediate challenges and prospects?
New select committee chairs (2) Another 18 committees now have chairs, including those which oversee Whitehall departments, so who are potential stars? This is an initial examination
Reflections on politics of the week Some issues which have been on the news agenda (or my mind) but don't have enough material for a full essay (or I haven't thought deeply enough yet)
☼¶ ☼Jennifer Bilek
☼The Black Woman as Henchman for White Supremacist Males Donning Womanface
☼The monumental ignorance of Candace Owens
☼¶ ☼Julie Szego
☼Six murdered hostages ... and the MSO band plays on
Sense and census; Afghanistan and Amnesty; Tickle and Giggle It's been a wild few weeks in the trans wars
☼¶ ☼Kayla Haas
☼Whiteboard: How to be a Great Ambassador A Framework for Building Relationships, Upholding Values, and Telling Your Story — Purpose, Ethics, Narrative.
Whiteboard: Defining the Information Environment a visual snapshot of the JCOIE
Whiteboard: Start With Why Applying Simon Sinek’s Framework on How Great Leaders Drive Action with Purpose
☼¶ ☼Konstantin Kisin
☼Thou Shalt Not Criticise the Woke Right “the constant lying is not aimed at making the people believe a lie but at ensuring that no one believes anything anymore. A people who can no longer distinguish between truth and lies cannot distinguish between right and wrong. And such a people, deprived of the power to think and judge, is, without knowing and willing it, completely subjected to the rule of lies. With such a people, you can do whatever you want”.
☼¶ ☼Latika M Bourke
☼What I'm Reading September 13: Five reads that piqued my interest this week
☼¶ ☼Lauren Wolfe (Chills)
☼Press Freedom Is on the Ballot A vote for Trump is an endorsement of his continued crackdown on the media.
☼¶ ☼Larissa Babij (A Kind of Refugee)
☼02.09.2024 / I'm fine
07.09.2024 / It's up to you
☼¶ ☼Maksym Eristavi
☼Matryoshka of Lies: Imperial Innocence. The culture of Russians pretending the centuries of colonial crimes are not done in their names.
☼¶ ☼Malcolm Nance (Special Intelligence)
☼Spy Catchers Win! DOJ Catches Moscow’s Covert American Influencers $10 million for Influencers – Are They Unwitting Assets, Useful Idiots or Russian Spies?
☼War in Ukraine: Fragmented Lives and Fragmented Histories
☼¶ ☼Michael McFaul
☼Trump’s Admiration of Putin Is Dangerous for America For a decade, Trump has remained consistently loyal to Putin. That may be good for Russia, but not America.
☼¶ ☼Michael (Mick) Ryan
☼Ukraine’s Victory Plan Why theories of victory matter and what Ukraine’s victory plan needs to achieve
The Big Five - 7 September edition My regular update on conflict and confrontation in Ukraine, the Middle East and the Pacific, accompanied by recommended readings on the character of modern war and planning for future conflict.
The Big Five - 14 September edition
A U.S. Strategy for Ukraine…Finally A Ukraine strategy has apparently been delivered to the U.S. Congress. What might this U.S. strategy look like and what impact will it have?
Putin's offensive slows as Russian push risks 'culminating before Pokrovsk' | Maj. Gen. Mick Ryan | Times Radio
☼¶ ☼Nick Cohen (Writing from London)
☼The abuses of secrecy: the Spycatcher scandal then and now
How bureaucrats destroy the careers of artists The Jenny Lindsay witch-hunt
They will never forgive J. K. Rowling for being right
Keir Starmer cannot govern as an autocrat He must acknowledge he won a stunning victory on a stunted vote
Dirty Russian money and the American far right: The case of Dave Rubin Corruption is a many-headed monster
Conservatives head for the extremes: Germany follows the US and UK Lowdown interview with Annette Dittert
Kamala Harris makes Trump look a weak and washed-out leader The alpha male is growing stale
☼¶ ☼Noah Smith (Noahpinion)
☼Biden did stuff, and it looks like it's working so far Only one President has taken actual concrete steps to address U.S. industrial weakness vis-a-vis China.
How do you deal with real, actual Nazis? They come back every few decades, spreading the same old lies.
Why Can't the U.S. Build Ships? A guest post by Brian Potter of Construction Physics. Brian Potter
Unrealized gains taxes are a pointless hassle There are much better ways to tax the rich. We don't need this one.
The U.S. needs to pay more attention to electronic warfare A guest post by Steven Glinert.
Six ideas for Poland Poland is a developed country. But it can still get richer.
At least five interesting things for your weekend (#48) Information war; Chinese VC; land reform; India's garment industry; degrowth research; Trump vs. Harris on deficits; good news
☼¶ ☼Paul Kingsnorth
☼Solace in Stone Fifty Holy Wells, #48
☼¶ ☼Phillips P. O’Brien
☼Episode 21: Donbas and Kursk Free podcast Phillips P. OBrien and Mykola Bielieskov
Weekend Update #97: Putin's Narrative is Supported, Zelensky's is Contradicted A Textbook Case of How the Russians have Taken Over the MAGA Mind; The US Should Stop With the Expressions of Solidarity.
The King of Battle for the USA, but not a Game-Changer for Ukraine? The Discordant Discussion of Long-Range Fires and Ukraine.
☼¶ ☼Sam Greene (TL;DRussia)
☼TL;DRussia Weekend Roundup 8 September 2024: Putin the meek, plus texts and tunes
Some ways authoritarian leaders establish a shared reality Bonus: Who is JD Vance? An in-depth podcast special Shane O'Mara
☼¶ ☼Stefan Korshak (Defence Correspondent at Kyiv Post).
☼September 1 — Day 921 — Russian punch, Ukrainian counterpunch, DC Wisdom, More Eyes in the Sky
Sept. 7, Day 927 — Bridges Too Close, Mendacious Big Shots, Counting Drops in a Bucket
☼¶ ☼Stephen Bradford Long
☼The Therapist's God And commentary from my audience
☼¶ ☼fr Thomas Plant
☼Mystical Theology III What are the affirmative expressions respecting God, and what the negative.
Ravens And relics
How to make angels of Angles Martyrdom, relics and persuasion in propagating the faith
☼¶ ☼Timothy Garton Ash
☼From a G-zero to a G-Ego world
Russia - is the IMF brain dead or just tone deaf?
☼¶ ☼Vira Vallee
☼Ukraine's Path to Freedom: Reflections in Times of War. This essay is focused on overview of the results of 30 years of Ukraine's independence. It describes its path from the collapse of the USSR to the present day and explains the prerequisites for a full-scale war Russia started against Ukraine.
☼¶ ☼William L Brown
☼Super Hero or villain?
Good-bye and bless you!
I’m not suggesting that Chamberlain and Daladier were perfect: holding the meeting in Munich and excluding Czechoslovak delegates were, in retrospect, major mistakes.
This is the last time that Britain (and Australia) have declared war. Conflicts since 1945 have been undeclared wars.
We have sought reactions from medicos to this essay. One writes:
Interesting perspective and one that is often ignored by woke advocates of gender reassignment. | Shockingly, when I was a second year med student [in the 1980s], I had a professor for the didactic portion of GYN class who did this surgery. He would “only make girls into boys” stating that he felt it was immoral to go the other way. Later I realized the level of twisted depravity of this ... And this was normalized thinking, as one had to pass this class, one chance only, or else wash out of med school.