Новости за 28.02.2022

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, closely watched by its European neighbors and the rest of the world, has prompted a mass exodus of hundreds of thousands fleeing their homes. In all likelihood, this will become the greatest displacement of European people since World War II. As the situation evolves, the United States will have to calibrate its response to the conflict, not only with crippling sanctions targeting Russia and military aid to Ukraine but with assistance to address the growing humanitarian crisis. Читать дальше...

Over the weekend, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his finance minister, Christian Lindner, announced a sea change in European foreign policy. Germany will at last liberate itself from its dependence on Russian fossil fuels and begin making serious contributions to the military defense of Europe. This was welcome if belated news—the final step in unifying the continent against imperialist Russian aggression.  

President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address comes at a time of fear and confusion. At core is a frustrating political puzzle. By historical standards, the economy has recovered remarkably well and quickly from the pandemic. Given the state of the world two years ago, when Covid-19 first shut down most of the international economy, jobs, wages, growth, and capital investment are all far better than anyone predicted or expected. And yet the American public is sour. Inflation dominates the headlines. Читать дальше...

Collapsing the Russian economy is turning out to be much easier than anybody guessed.

On January 6, 2021, as insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol, a far less high-profile protest was taking place outside City Hall in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Trump flags waved, and handmade signs bobbed amid the snow in front of the municipal building’s plain granite facade.

By now, it’s likely that you must have encountered at least one viral video of an airplane passenger having a capillary-bursting meltdown-in-the-sky over federal mask mandates—and if not, there are dismayingly many to choose from. According to Federal Aviation Administration data, 2021 was a watershed year in significant behavioral incidents sparked by unruly passengers; Delta Airlines has claimed that such events have skyrocketed by over 100 percent since 2019. Wherever passengers behave badly... Читать дальше...

Once again, albeit indirectly this time, Vladimir Putin has managed to upend American political discourse. And as before, grifters and strivers, Democratic politicians among them, are doing what they can to whip a legitimately alarmed and outraged public into a confused and ugly froth. On Thursday, California Congressman Eric Swalwell—best, and yet least, remembered as an also-ran in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary —appeared on CNN to recommend a set of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Читать дальше...

Is the world really united against Vladimir Putin? I’d love to be able to say so. I read some moving things over the weekend, like this anecdote from a Haaretz journalist: