Day 150ish
Spontaneous mass confusion
Cognitive science professor Steven Pinker has brought our attention to what he calls a bold idea for ending fascistic Russia’s genocidal campaign in Ukraine:
The proposal was published in The Hill on July 19 by former Costa Rica President and Nobel Peace Laureate Oscar Arias and Jonathan Granoff, President of the Global Security Institute, and a Nobel Peace Prize nominee.
If history has taught us anything it’s that appeasing dictators does not work. The goal should be getting rid of Putin, not placating him. We thank Steven for bringing to our attention the proposal, which we can immediately disregard.
In other news, Kim and Fred have teamed up with IBM and the boys and girls at the ISW’s David Petraeus Center for Emerging Leaders to help us visualize FUBAR.
Remember David? He’s the US general turned CIA director who jogged too much and lost his moral compass1. US President Barack Obama fired him for the faux pas in 2012, the same year he picked Mike Flynn as the 18th director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. It’s been downhill every since.
We recall that it was the ex-West Point geography whiz kids at ISW who assessed Putin as a rational actor, mistakenly, in December 31, 20212.
And this:
The New York Times, which last week announced the creation of its new Ukraine bureau, published this dispatch on July 26.
I enjoyed the photos, but had difficulty reading all 1,000 words. The cuddling part reminded me of tips for preventing the spread of monkeypox.
Avoid close, skin-to-skin contact with people who have a rash that looks like monkeypox.
Do not touch a person with monkeypox.
Do not kiss, hug, cuddle or have sex with someone with monkeypox.
Do not share eating utensils or cups with a person with monkeypox.
Do not handle or touch the bedding, towels, or clothing of a person with monkeypox.
Wash your hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Avoid contact with animals that can spread monkeypox virus, usually rodents and primates. Also, avoid sick or dead animals, as well as bedding or other materials they have touched.
Wut? No, Sorry. Kyiv, especially the venues on Reiterska St. in the center, does not have a reputation of being cool. Club Skrat in Rakhiv is, but probably not this year because of the war and monkeypox.
Mick Jagger Makes Petraeus Crack. New York Post (November 14, 2012)
Strategic Misdirection: An Alternate Framework for Understanding Russia’s Play in Ukraine. ISW (December 21, 2021)