DAYLEE PICTURE: Mauna Kea on Hawaii. From National Geographic.
China Challenges Philippines in the South China Sea (Donald K. Emmerson) from the East Asia Forum
"While much of the world was busy watching Russia swallow Crimea, few realised that an also dangerous territorial tit-for-tat had begun to unfold earlier this month more in the South China Sea. ... For the first time in 15 years, Beijing stopped Manila from delivering supplies to the Sierra Madre. The Chinese Coast Guard forced two Philippine ships to turn away."
From the earliest days of the crisis in Ukraine I warned that China and Russia were going to tag team each other as the world's attention was focused on one area or the other. Here's the first evidence of it.
Moscow Moves to Destabilize Eastern Ukraine from Der Spiegel [of Germany in English]
"It's not only in Crimea where Russian President Vladimir Putin is playing with fire, but also in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the people in the economically powerful region speak Russian and reject the new government in Kiev."
How to Stop Putin in His Tracks (Fred Kaplan) from Slate
An extended excerpt is in order.
"He knows he’s weak. The West must show we know it, too. ... two things should be understood. First, Putin’s actions have been driven less by a belief that the West is weak than his knowledge that Russia is. Second, he dreams of restoring Russia’s empire—his March 18 Kremlin speech is, at heart, a cry of resentment against the West for its humiliation of his country during the early years after the Soviet Union’s collapse. A bitter autocrat with a head full of grandiose daydreams can be a dangerous creature. ... Right now, then, this is at most a regional conflict, not a global one, and the best thing that Obama can do—in both his threats and his inducements—is to keep it that way."
What We Learned in Crimea (David Ignatius) from the Washington Post via Real Clear Politics
"This Russian army, in short, is not the one that proved so feeble in Afghanistan. It is well-trained and stealthy, and effectively uses a "small footprint." And Putin clearly wasn't deterred by NATO military moves that signaled a commitment to protect member states -- but didn't convey a willingness to check Russian black operations in a friendly, neighboring region."
Ukraine and the Art of Crisis Management (Lawrence Freedman) from War on the Rocks
"The basic challenge of crisis management is to protect core interests while avoiding major war. ... A further requirement, that shaped thinking about nuclear strategy, was that military developments should not force the pace of diplomacy. This was the lesson of 1914..."
Putin’s Phony War (Lucian Kim) from Slate
"How Vladimir Putin concocted a conflict to soothe his own paranoid fears. ... Crimea’s actual conflict isn’t ethnic; it’s the split between the suspicious, fearful sovok, or Soviet, mentality and a new generation of free minds."
Three Questions for Ukraine Hawks (Michael Tomasky) from the Daily Beast
"America never fussed over Ukraine before, so why exactly should we now? Before the West makes moves, we need to define why we should defend the country and what, specifically, we’re willing to sacrifice to preserve its borders."
From Putin, a Blessing in Disguise (Thomas Friedman) from the New York Times
"You really want to be free to export oil and gas to global markets — so long as it’s consistent with our national interests — and affect global markets in ways that could weaken Putinism? You really want the Keystone pipeline? Fine, I’ll give you all of it. And in return you’ll give me a bridge to a secure, clean-energy future for America.”"
Ukraine, the Birthplace of Strategic Europe? (Jan Techau) from Real Clear World
"There are signs that EU member states are a little more willing than in the past to prioritize long-term interests over short-term ones. And that is exactly what a strategic approach to foreign policy-as opposed to a merely tactical one-is all about. In the EU, the definition of strategic foreign policy is simple: thinking together and for the long term."
It is exactly what needs to happen -- it's ridiculous that America seems to care more about the EU's long-term regional security than the Europeans seem to care. As I have noted before, the EU has out-sourced so much of their energy and national security infrastructure to others, they have left themselves wide open to aggression from regional thugs like Putin and before him Milosovic in Serbia and others, they have little capacity to actually influence events that are far more critical to their own
self-interest than the United States. Having said that, I'm not holding my breath.
Ukraine To Leave Russia-Dominated Alliance from Talking Points Memo
"Ukraine's security chief says that the country has decided to leave Russia-dominated alliance of ex-Soviet nations."
The Myth of the Science and Engineering Shortage (Mark Teitelbaum) from the Atlantic
"American students need to improve in math and science—but not because there's a surplus of jobs in those fields."
Thank Goodness Romney Isn’t President (Daniel Larison) from the American Conservative
"Romney thinks that the U.S. could have headed off the crisis by threatening Russia with punishment for things it had not yet done, but that ignores that Russia has behaved the way that it has because it already thought that Western interference in Ukraine was too great."
The Missing White Poor (Paul Waldman) from the American Prospect
"Republicans may think persistent poverty in rural areas is a regrettable thing, but they aren't delivering lectures to those people about their "culture." It's kind of a generalized version of the fundamental
attribution error—people like me are poor because of conditions outside themselves, while people unlike me are poor because of their inherent nature."
Life of a Police Officer: Medically and Psychologically Ruinous from the Atlantic
"The intensely challenging job of law enforcement is linked to many health issues. I met a former officer who tried to protect my high school friend and learned the effect her death had on him."
Poll: More Voters Watch Video Online from Politico
"Voters increasingly are ditching live television in favor of streaming shows and movies on their smartphones or tablets, according to new research commissioned by digital firms and shared with POLITICO — findings that suggest campaigns need to embrace new types of advertising to reach them."
No surprise here. I know for myself that I stopped watching anything live on television (news, shows, advertising) years ago. In the realm of news, it has actually become painful to watch the networks or cable news outlets. If I corner the executives, I would send them into a time-out room so they could go and get themselves straight about what they are about. Is it presenting the news? Getting ratings? Do they have any interest in REAL investigative pieces? Or is it just about "scooping" the equally lame competition?
MEDICAL NUGGET!!
Landmark Alzheimer's Study Pinpoints Protein That Protects Aging Brain from the Huffington Post
"The conundrum has stumped doctors for years. Why do neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's affect only the elderly? Why do some people live to be over 100 with normal brain functioning while others develop dementia decades earlier? Now, a new study by Harvard scientists points to a possible answer, one that could spark further research that --
ultimately -- could lead to new drugs and treatments for dementia."
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