DAYLEE PICTURE: Rice paddies in China. From the Daily Mail from the UK.
"In the most comprehensive sanctions against Russia since the end of the Cold War, President Barack Obama on Monday froze the U.S. assets of seven Russian officials, including top advisers to President Vladimir Putin, for their support of Crimea's vote to secede from Ukraine. Obama said he was moving to "increase the cost" to Russia, and he warned that more people could face financial punishment."
America Is Too Broke to Rescue Ukraine (Peter Beinart) from the Atlantic
"The real contest between Russia and the West involves economics, not military might."
Against Disengagement (Brian Katulis) from Democracy Journal
"Today’s progressives are often as muddled in their thinking about U.S. involvement in the world as conservatives are divided. ... progressives must resist the lure of simply focusing inward; instead we should lead the American public toward embracing the current wave of geopolitical change underway in order to guide and shape that transformation."
Vladimir Putin and the Lessons of 1938 (Gary Kasparov) from Politico Magazine
"He’s not Hitler. But we’ve got to stop him all the same."
Another historical reference point:
The Unlikely Road to War (Roger Cohen) from the New York Times
"The institutions and alliances of a connected world ensure the worst cannot happen again. The price would be too high, no less than nuclear annihilation. Civilization is strong, humanity wise, safeguards secure. Anyone who believes that should read Tim Butcher’s riveting “The Trigger,” a soon-to-be-published account of the long road traveled from a remote Bosnian farm to Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, the 19-year-old Bosnian Serb nationalist whose assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914 ..."
And from another point of view:
Is Crimea the Next Yugoslavia? (Jochen Bittner) from the New York Times
"What if Vladimir V. Putin no longer has power to prevent bloodshed in Ukraine, even if he wants to? The idea first crossed my mind during a chat this week at a checkpoint on the main road from Simferopol to Sevastopol in Crimea."
Obama Aims to Hit Putin Where it Hurts (Dana Milbank) from the Washington Post
"The U.S. president wants to go after the Russian leader’s cronies."
If History Is Guide, Crimea’s Enthusiasm May Wane from the New York Times
"South Ossetia’s optimism gave way to corruption and a weak economy after Russia wrested the enclave from Georgia."
Already happening?
Tourism Dollars Dry Up, Alongside Crimea’s Bank Funds from the New York Times
"A continuing lack of visitors is a chilling prospect in a place beloved as a vacation playground since czarist times."
Theater of the Absurd (Dmitri Kenarov) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"Armed thugs, parties with Lenin, and watching Gogol as Crimea secedes."
People Think We’re in a Recession. Don’t Blame Them (Josh Barro) from the New York Times
"People don’t take this as a technical economic research question; they take it to mean, “Is the economy good?” And for much of America, despite years of modest gross domestic product growth and strong stock market gains, the economy isn’t good."
To me, this column showcases the weakness of standard econometric measures as descriptors of how the economy is doing. What actually do you call an economy that leaves "millions who would like to work but can’t, and those who do work have limited ability to demand higher wages" and an economy where "wage gains have not kept pace with economic growth"? Economists wouldn't call it an economy in a "depression" or in a "recession" because there are other indicators that say the economy is growing, It is wrong to characterize it as an economy that is experiencing a "sluggish recovery" because, on the wages point, wage gains have remained flat for FORTY YEARS! To even call it a "recovery" is, I think, a form of political rhetoric that helps lawmakers and policymakers distance themselves from the economic and human reality of it. In this light, a "jobless recovery" seems an oxymoron. Why bother to define it as "recovery" at all when such essential elements (jobs and wages) are systematically left out?
God's Countries: The Countries Where People think Faith is Necessary to be a Good Person from the Atlantic
"Last week, the Pew Research Center released the findings of a survey that asked a single question: Is it necessary to believe in God in order to be a moral person? Between 2011 and 2013, more than 40,000 people in 40 countries were asked to answer this question."
Journalist Tom Ricks 'Beginning To Believe The Worst' About Greenwald And Snowden from Talking Points Memo
"Bottom line: I am no longer going soft on Greenwald and Snowden," he wrote. "In fact, rather the opposite, I am beginning to believe the worst about them. If they acting on moral beliefs, now would be the time for both of them to speak out against Putin. It could have a great impact, I think."
GOOD QUESTION! Where are Misters Greenwald and Snowden on Putin's latest antics? So far -- silence.
The Voluntarism Fantasy (Mike Konczal) from Democracy Journal
"Conservatives dream of returning to a world where private charity fulfilled all public needs. But that world never existed—and we’re better for it."
Weak Tea (Molly Ball) from Democracy Journal
"Far from getting stronger, the Tea Party is now just another faction within the GOP, and an arriviste one at that. A response to the "Is the Party Over?" symposium."
TX-GOV: Wendy Davis Is One Step Closer To Turning Texas Purple (Sally Kohn) from the Daily Beast
"A new poll shows Wendy Davis within single digits of her Republican opponent—one more sign that Texas’s voters are no longer reliably red."
CLINTON PHOTO NUGGET!!
Hillary Clinton Like You've Never Seen her Before from the Washington Post
No comments:
Post a Comment