Day 1017
Security, Lex, revanchism
A steel door with a kill zone behind it will stop the latest escalation in its tracks. Even the occasion crazy who manages to sneak in with a knife is going to be in real trouble.
Security capo di tutti capi Chris filled the hall with a long, feedback-less solo spiel reminding the audience of Gustav Holst’s “The Planets, Mars, the Bringer of War,” capturing the ominous and violent nature of our situation.
Catering for the event reminded me of Merck Sharpe and Dohme’s gala launch at Moscow’s Radisson Slavyanskaya Hotel & Business Center 30 years ago.
He says he understands the risks. Sigh.
I’m only amused by anything Lex has to say about Ukraine, or what most of his podcast guests think and have said — with zilch pushback — about our little war. The Trey Yingst approach to genocidal acts is almost as unhip as Shawn Ryan’s Christianity shtick. Lex’s produkt is somewhere in the middle.
Podcast platforms have become more than just entertainment. They are now serious venues for complex discussions, political dialogue, and cross-cultural understanding. Lex Fridman’s willingness to travel to an active war zone for an honest conversation speaks volumes about the power of genuine dialogue. — After Joe Rogan’s Rejection, Lex Fridman Offers To Host Ukranian President On His Podcast (Total Pro Sports, December 2, 2024)
Platforming MAGA people who are clueless about what they are talking about is a bad look, always. Why should anyone take seriously what Vivek thinks is a good deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war? Same goes for giving Lavrov an opportunity to rant hooey justifying the pointless deaths of millions. If Lex does go to Moscow to chat up Vova, he should make a citizen’s arrest or die trying, maybe of Carlson.
Ditto for Dan Bongino and Patrick Bet-David, whose grasp of history in this part of the world, er, depends on whomever is writing the check, er, script.
Almost all Bet-Davis says is either deliberately false or misleading.
Looking on the postive side, Jake tells us Team USA has learned a lot from the fighting.
Although his remarks involving Ukraine do not jive with “Визия оборонных аспектов внутреннего плана Победы,” a report authored by a consortium of Ukraine’s leading independent defense experts.
In other news, one more screw-up:
At least a couple kilos of kickback cash.
Revanchism
Russia and Ukraine: Russia's military actions in Ukraine, particularly since the 2014 invasion, are driven by manaical, revanchist sentiments.
Armenia and Azerbaijan: The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh has seen revanchist rhetoric from Baku.
China's Territorial Claims: China's assertive claims over Taiwan and its activities in the South China Sea can also be viewed as revanchistic.
Russia and Georgia: Viewing Russia and Georgia through a revanchist lens is indeed relevant, particularly in the context of their historical conflicts and ongoing territorial disputes and the bloodbath currently underway.
Rebels and Syria: The recent recapture of Aleppo and Hama by rebel forces in Syria is also revanchistic.
Revanchism, a term originating from the French word revanche, meaning "revenge," describes anything related to or characterized by a desire to regain lost territory or power, often associated with nationalist sentiments and historical grievances.
There's a connection between revanchism and schadenfreude that I can't quite put a finger on...
hi, vaughan. if team russia successfully undermines ukraine, satisfaction with the *victory* will be intensified by feelings of pleasure reveling in not only our misfortune, but the failure of western liberal democracies to prevent it