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This week we move from the pits of a senseless war to the mount of the royal jubilee, and cover quite a bit of terrain in between. Our first guest is exiled Soviet dissident Yuri Yarim-Agaev, whose extensive knowledge of Vladimir Putin is tough to match. We get his take on the man and his motivation; how the supposed mastermind of intelligence operations became the victim of Russian disinformation; and, of course, why he believes it matters to Americans.
Next up is Peter’s former Oxford classmate, Charles Hay, the 16th Earl of Kinnoull. The hosts pick his brain on the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the mysterious nature of her power, and his thoughts on a world which is lost–for better and for worse.
Also, Biden wants more credit! James reminisces on the old newspaper room; plus Peter and Rob speak about fraud in eduction.
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It’s a Star Trek reference, so I suppose you should be.
I am old enough to remember Elizabeth II’s coronation…(My mother explained to me that the crown is so heavy that she wore it only ceremonially. I had thought that she would also wear it while supervising the maids…) The monarch of the country of which I am currently a citizen is not the head of state, and his family has, at least ostensibly, no personal wealth…I admire the current British monarch but not, I think quite reasonably, most of her family. I have nothing against Anglophilia but confess that I started to chafe at what seemed to be Peter Robinson’s going a bit overboard on it: I admire the American republic, despite Joe Biden…Ah, but then PR came back with his most telling Uber story: I had “gender studies” out of my mouth, just as he said it. I speak as a retired prof, with experience in America…It’s great to have the three of you back! Long live Ricochet!
Ms. Ronin and I were in the crowd for Elizabeth’s 25th (we will spend a total of 7 years in the U.K.), but I was in Korea for her 50th. Now for her 70th we are retired and back were we started from. I can not imagine a time when she will not be here, but I know that too will come. Long live the Queen!
It is difficult for me to listen to a podcast with a description of the Russo-Ukrainian War as a “senseless war.”
Is this an accurate reflection of the opinions expressed in the podcast, or merely a careless summary?
There is nothing senseless about this war. Both sides seem to be pursuing certain geopolitical goals. You may or may not like the motivations of one side or the other — or even both — but that doesn’t make it “senseless.”
The use of this word seems, to me, to indicate either an unwillingness or inability to think seriously about the issues involved. Either that, or a desire to obfuscate and confuse with emotionalist rhetoric.
Perhaps senseless in retrospect: poorly thought out by Putin and not fit for his purposes. He probably didn’t intend to strengthen NATO, and drive more countries to join it. Nor did he intend, I think, to make Russia an international pariah.
It’s your typical post-modernist pseudo-intellectual response, to a subject they do not understand and don’t want to put any effort into to figure out; especially, when they think it has nothing to do about them. It’s a lazy attempt to win a argument without having to explain why the war “has no meaning.”
And speaking of war, here is a list of wars involving Ukraine. Not a quite neighborhood.
I think that it’s too early to tell about this.
I don’t think that the result has been a significant strengthening of NATO, though this may result eventually. I’ve heard that Sweden and Finland are interested in joining, but they’re not in yet. I doubt that the Russians would care about Swedish membership, though the probably care about Finland, though less than they care about Ukraine.
I also don’t think that Russia is an international pariah. Some of the Western countries are acting in this way, though doing relatively little as a practical matter (with an exception discussed next). For the most part, the rest of the world isn’t, including important nations like India and China. After a brief weakening in the couple of weeks after the start of the war, the ruble is stronger than it’s been in several years.
It appears that the EU has just decided to prevent some Russian oil imports. This seems likely to drive up the price of oil, which is already high. It’s not clear that this is a good idea in the long run. In the long run, I suspect that it will be mostly symbolic, as oil flows adjust. In the short run, it may well hurt our side — through higher prices — worse than it hurts the Russians. The Russians do make more money when oil prices are higher.
Let’s start with baby steps: Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
Not the name, no. But Pavlov himself does, or did.
I thought maybe it was a reference to Bill Dauterive’s ex wife.
Which Star Trek episode was that? :-)
Please change “who’s” to “whose” in the introduction.
Please change “whose” to “hooze” in the introduction.
Fewer
Not just “interested”: “On May 18, the Governments of Finland and Sweden applied for membership to the NATO defensive alliance.” https://editorials.voa.gov/a/finland-and-sweden-apply-for-nato-membership/6592320.html
Look at a map: The Baltic States will now be more easily reinforced and resupplied in the event of a war with Russia.
Meanwhile, Germany has finally agreed to increase defense spending to 2% of GDP, and to wean itself from Russian oil. Before the invasion, Germany was lobbying to get rid of the NATO 2% requirement altogether.
“In an emergency session [of the UN General assembly], 141 of the 193 member states voted for the resolution [condemning Russia], 35 abstained and five voted against”. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/02/united-nations-russia-ukraine-vote