To Frederick! I hear you Mr.Lucies, so at 79, I’ve learned to discard the useless and many emails I get and concentrate on the jewels like Robert Reich’s newsletter. I listen while I’m preparing dinner or when I go to bed. It makes me feel good to listen to an educated ethical man who continues to fight against inequality. Well worth my time!
There are only two realistic ways to stop Putin. 1. Kill him. We've read a lot of words about sanctions, NATO, finding and taking away his money, etc. It's clear that the sanctions are inadequate, that the result is longterm war, that Putin would not hesitate to nuke anywhere, anyone, anytime, that he doesn't love anyone or anything well enough to cave if they are threatened, that he doesn't actually care about his money. It's about Power. That's all. He doesn't even particularly need his cohort of yesmen. That leaves him in only one position. Do or die. So the second way to stop him, realistically, is 2. Kill him. Can he be divested of power? Sure. Heart attack, stroke, poison, firing squad. What becomes of Russia? Russia has had autocratic kleptocrats since Ivan the Terrible. Don't expect any changes.
I've noticed an interesting pattern. When a police officer feels threatened, the system believes they are justified in shooting to kill an unarmed suspect. Putin felt threatened by Ukraine which in his mind helped justify an invasion. The point here is that for us to imagine ourselves as threatened and that we know what Putin thinks might not be the right way to justify assassination.
Putin's actions in Ukraine are barbaric and totally inappropriate. None the less, we should think carefully about the possible consequences of our choices. Do we really want to continue the precedent of assassinating foreign leaders?
Putin desperately needs a victory in Ukraine. If he fails to achieve that, Russia will eventually remove him. Helping Ukraine defend itself to the fullest extent possible while letting Russians decide Putin's fate might be a better choice for now. As hard as it is to watch the suffering in Ukraine, rushing to expand the war into western Europe is unlikely to stop the chain of pain.
Someone's going to kill the sonofabitch, and it'll probably be Russians. As for precedents of killing other nations' leaders, also kidnapping them and removing them from the nations that elected them, let me recommend reading U.S. history.
The people of Russia can't remove him. They are not allowed to have openly opposite thoughts. A lot of them see a "strong" leader as the only kind. Even if they wanted to remove him they are stuck with him till he dies. This pattern of demagoguery is insidious. It just does not go away by itself or by regular means.
Sanctions aren’t working well because while we take away with one hand, we put money into Putin’s hands because we won’t choke off his gas, oil and coal exports. That would hit Putin’s pocketbook and strangle his war march.
Let's unpack this slowly. Putin's personal wealth is beyond the reach of sanctions. He will die rich. His wealth won't matter to him or to anyone else. Will sanctions impede the Russian war machine? If so, how? The assumption is that sanctions will cut off funding for food, fuel, weapons, bullets, tanks, ships, trucks, etc. Is that likely? No. What nation is supplying Russia with new planes, ships, trucks, ammo, etc? Iran is supplying Russia with oil, but we don't know the extent or limit of that maritime supply chain. Then if sanctions are not intended to choke off the weapons of war, what are they intended to do? https://www.vox.com/22968949/russia-sanctions-swift-economy-mcdonalds
Russians see propaganda on TV, but they also see the food in their refrigerator and shortages at the market. There's an old Russian saying that the refrigerator will ultimately win over the TV.
It read recently that production of Russian tanks has stopped because they can't get parts. There's no one lever that can turn the situation around quickly. Right now, Putin believes Russia is "winning". Changing that perception will be a step in the right direction.
Thank you for sharing your Koffee Klatch with us all. These are tough times for everyone. I am trying to figure out how to deal with a close-to 8.5% rate of inflation on a fixed income of SSA benefits only; debating whether I should attempt another foray into the retail scene--which is the only one I can get to without a car; wondering how my disabled senior neighbor will manage on a savings account of $1.08 until May 1st; trying to wake up someone in government to address the needs of fixed income people; and finding out ways I can continue to help the inspiring and devoted (and humorous, on occasion) VOldymyr Zelenskyy and his people. LIke Zelenskyy, I try to find humor and it is getting harder and harder but (as Zelenskyy has stressed) humor is necessary to make it through. (You know, one of the striking personality traits of both Trump and PUtin is a complete lack of a sense of humor...ridicule, mocking, and putting down others do not count as a sense of humor). One of the series that should be required watching for anyone at this time is in fact Zelenskyy's 'The Servant of the People.' Of course, it's a bit of propaganda but it also tells us something elemental about the struggle for Ukraine. I cannot think that the Ukrainians could have found a better leader in this time of crisis; too bad, we didn't do the same but chose a wealthy, self-involved child for the role fo leader of the free world. Let's get behind the oil and gas embargo and rationing--we'll be doing the world as well as Ukraine the best we can and also helping the world to recover from the damage inherent in using fossil fuels...Thanks for the chat. Send money to Unicef and Doctors without Borders and encourage our government to think of more than the acquisition of power and its twin, wealth.
Great conversation that touched on many of the issues that are on all of our minds these days. Love the suggestions on price controls, rationing and establishing a "Bureau of Profitability," all of these are an excellent idea. Happy you had the theater to yourself and enjoyed "West Side Story," I ended up watching it on my tv and you really do loose a lot of the impact that way, sigh. Thanks again for all your work to keep us all informed, motivated and inquisitive.
I'm thinkin' you should include a Bureau of Income Tax Evasion. Isn't it true that collecting all unpaid taxes would make a significant dent in the national debt? (I know, I know, the IRS is supposed to do that, but they're having a hard enough time wading through the tax returns these days! You could make the IRS one of its departments! LOL!)
Pandemic has done lots of terrible things to the world and it’s people. But it has also done some really good things. Probably the most powerful signal that civilization is in trouble that has ever occurred in our lifetimes. Nature has a way of limiting our population by evil means. First by disease and then by Putin! Some 100 million people died as a result of Stalin and Hitler et. al.. I predicted one million dead in the US from pandemic early the first year. I was pretty close. I don’t have a read on how many will die as a result of Putin but I hope the deaths will be less than a million. Ben Ferencz puts the predicament man faces so well.
As much as I love everything you do, Mr. Reich - I haven't the time at 75 to listen to something that lasts 16 minutes. I don't ever listen to podcasts. Sustaining myself takes a great deal of time, and all this online stuff is beginning to bog me down.
I appreciate passion - but I also don't use any social media (except Mr. Reich) so my life stays fairly quiet and gives me time to focus on all the tragic news.
You might need some extra magnesium if you're clenching your teeth. Magnesium citrate and B1 help me with occasional restless leg as well. Calcium helps muscles to contract and magnesium helps them relax...so they balance each other. My 2 cents.
We might all start to grind our collective teeth with the current news but RR enlivens the world and gives us hope that the meglomaniacs might not prevail.If we could divorce ourselves from social media a little more then sanity might prevail.
I think the best way to stop Putin is to negotiate a peace settlement between Ukraine and Russia. I wish the U.S. focused on ending the war instead of on winning. Neither side will accept losing, and that means an extremely dangerous and protracted proxy war between the U.S. and Russia, with the U.S. willing to sacrifice every last Ukrainian. I just don't understand the sense or morality of this - I never have from the very beginning - and I confess I'm not a little depressed that almost everyone disagrees with me.
I believe that President Zelenskyy has repeatedly requested meetings and negotiations with Russia in an effort to reach a settlement of some kind. He is fairly firm in his insistence that he will try to hold onto Ukrainian territory but he is also open to discussions concerning Crimea and other territories that Russia has claimed and is trying to seize. It is remarkable that Ukraine has refrained entirely from counter-attacking within Russia itself, even despite the heavy casualties inflicted by the Russian military on the innocent civilian population within Ukraine. I guess Ukraine has conducted itself admirably and honorably in a situation that has nothing else to commend it except for the bravery of the Ukrainians (civilians and military people) and the consistent and loyal leadership and charisma of Zelenskyy himself. (Would that the US had such a fine leader during the four years of the previous failed Trump administration). I do think we should demand some sort of embargo against Russian oil and gas and also attempt to shut Russia down over the failure to repay debts. Of course, this will cause undo hardship on the Russian civilian population--who always seem to bear the brunt of failed leadership and lack of truth. Russia is a failure nation on many fronts. I wonder whether the success of Ukraine on the economic and social front has drawn attention to the fact that there is not much to recommend Russia as the failed state that it is. But I think the way out of this is to end the war and bring both warring sides to a negotiated peace, not for the sake of glory and or victory but for the sake of the civilians on both sides of the border.
It was a disastrous and insane decision for Putin to start this war. But now like it or not the Russians are all in and will take the Donbas no matter what the cost. Maybe a fraction of the weapons from the U.S. will actually make it to the Ukrainian army, all the way to the east, without being destroyed on the way, but I believe this only prolongs the inevitable at a horrific cost of lives on both sides. I believe now that it's equally disastrous and insane for the U.S. to keep trying to win - the U.S. should push instead for an immediate cease fire and negotiate with the Ukrainians and Russians for a settlement that immediately stops the war. Russia wants Ukraine to be a neutral country and for the Donbas region to be independent of Ukraine - why is this such a catastrophe? Why is it worth reducing Ukraine to rubble and killing thousands on both sides and risking nuclear war over this? Isn't war itself a far worse catastrophe?
But what if the goal of Russia is not THe Donbas as an independent country but, instead, the reintegration of all of Ukraine into a reconfigured Soviet state? Just how much of Ukraine are the Ukrainians expected to surrender if, in fact, the Russians want it all. Putin has declared that Ukrainians and Ukraine are really parts of The MOtherland so there is some doubt as to whether Russia will take The Donas and let it go at that. And what if the people in The Donbas wanted to be entirely free and not a part of Ukraine or Russia? How would Russia deal with that? And what of the civilians in The Donbas who want to remain part of Ukraine? I believe that the only way out of a continual war is to negotiate a peace agreement that all sides will accept and honor. I believe that President Zelenskyy has indicated a constant willingness to return to the bargaining table but has also indicated he will defend the borders of his country and not surrender parts of it to the Russians. This is an admirable stance since most if not all of the civilian casualties have been on the Ukrainian side and no effort has been taken by the Ukrainian military to go on the offensive and cross the border into Russia. The atrocities have all been perpetrated by the Russians against ordinary people. Since we don't know how this plays out on the scene, we would do well to continue helping the Ukrainians...as President Zelenskyy has rather bluntly put it: "You do not know how it is to lose your son or brother, your family and neighbors who were living their lives peacefully." As long as things are as they are, we do well to refrain from trying to dismantle Ukraine (any of it) to appease Russia, especially since Russia wants not a piece of the pie but the whole thing.
There is no need for any "what ifs". Stop the fighting, start negotiating, and ask the Russians. Before the war started and during the war the Russians have always asked for the same thing: neutrality for Ukraine and an independent Donbas region. That's also what makes the most sense to me. As Prof. John Mearsheimer says, integrating Ukraine into Russia is like "swallowing a porcupine". I think we have plenty of evidence for that opinion already. The corporate media relentlessly pushes the story that Russia wants all of Ukraine, but to me that sounds like propaganda: this war is extremely profitable for many U.S. companies.
You will recall that, prior to the start of World War II, HItler kept invading independent states and adding them to his Third Reich: the Nordic countries (Norway and Denmark); the Netherlands, Poland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary. The Allies' policy up until Hitler marched into France was appeasement, that is, the Allies watched as Hitler nibbled off small bits of Europe and then took France and Belgium. As CHurchill knew and stated: "You cannot negotiate with a tiger when your head is in its mouth." There is no certainty that The Donbas will be the end of Russia's design on Ukraine, especially since Putin has declared quite openly that Ukraine is not an independent state but part of Russia. He will just keep on expanding his territory and invading neighboring countries. I am not at all certain that Russia should play a role in the neutrality or NATO membership of Ukraine...isn't that an issue between the member states in NATO and Ukraine itself? What Russia has done with its aggressive and untoward attack on Ukraine is spark the interest of Finland and Sweden in joining NATO since they are aware of the designs Russia might entertain on their lands. I wonder whether what might be at the heart of this is the miserable state of affairs in Russia itself and the improving conditions in Ukraine. As you well know, Ukraine is very much involved in high-tech companies and start-ups; it is also a long term agricultural power-house, the third largest producer of grains in the world. It has had a history of corruption but, well, I don't think we are in a position of discussing corruption abroad when our system is so rife with corruption at present. By contrast, Russia is a huge country, the largest country in the world and one hindered by its relatively sparse population (150 million) and its dinky little economy. It would seem that Russia would have enough to do tending its own garden but, of course, the actual and metaphorical gardens of Ukraine might look a bit inviting to a nation that is a basket-case determined to remain in a retrograde state.
Listen to either of these famous scholars on Russia: John Mearsheimer from the University of Chicago or Stephen Cohen from Princeton (sadly recently deceased). Russia is not Nazi Germany and Putin is not Hitler. After the NATO Bucharest meeting in 2008, Russia made it clear multiple times that Georgia or Ukraine joining NATO posed an existential threat to Russian security and that Russia would never ever allow it. NATO is a military alliance and Russia did not want nuclear missiles on its border. The U.S. did not accept the "right" of Cuba to allow Russia to deploy nuclear missiles in its country. Russia's invasion of Ukraine was a terrible and disastrous action, but the U.S. has strongly encouraged the "right" of Ukraine to join NATO for many years, especially since the coup of 2014. The U.S. has completely disregarded all of the many warnings from Russia.
Do we have to hold our honest complaints in because it may hurt someone else's feelings? What you have an honest "beef" about someone else's personality. Are there certain people we can complain about on here, like Donald Trump, and others we can not express an opinion about, like Heather????? Where does my freedom of expression stop? I think Heather brings your discussion down. I think she is a pushy woman. People like this have to control everything. I find her personality most distasteful. Maybe you could have rotating "guests" to minimize our exposure? Is this comment going to be taken down too? Will I have to keep putting it back up? It is ALWAYS THE RIGHT of someone to complain when another person delivers a service of some kind that is consumed by the public and it is found by one or more to be offensive. In fact, it is a DUTY.
Cynthia, You are more than free to complain -- about me, about Heather, about anyone else. You can even say that you don't like someone's personality. But at least complain civilly, and be aware of others' feelings. Calling someone a "pushy woman" is uncivil and unkind. I do not want you or anyone else to treat this forum as if it's just another dumping place in social media. One of my purposes here is to encourage and model a sort of discussion that's going out of style in public -- where people are curious about each others' ideas, where the tacit agenda isn't to put down others but to discover more about others' ideas, where we respect each other and can safely disagree. As to rights and duties, I will never take down comments because I disagree with them; but I have the right to take down comments that are hurtful to others. In fact, that's my duty. You have a right to your opinion but you have no right to use this forum in a way that demeans someone else in this forum, or someone such has Heather with whom I work. This forum is not a "service" that you "consume." It is a community in which you participate.
I DISAGREE! That is my opinion, Mr. Reich, and I won't stop giving it. You are stepping in to defend her. I would rather you defend my right on this forum to say what I want. You are taking sides. I am not a bully. I am saying what I think. I do not like someone in a conversation who dominates it. I do not like her personality. I see her as a dominant personality. You could give your own opinion but you will not stop my right to give me mine. That is the only fair way. You have allowed other people to say wonderful things about you and her both. You have not stopped them from talking or castigated them. This is the other side of the argument. Why then don't you say that only those who have glowing opinions are allowed to speak? I respect my right to say how I feel as much as I respect their right to say how they feel. If you are disappointed in me, or you are disappointed in your choice of a co-host, then you can say so. That is your right. But I do not appreciate your trying to drown out my opinion because it offends you or hurts your feelings. And I really, really don't appreciate your defending her as if you are her protector. I see you as a protector of rights, not her as if she is your kin. I am not demeaning her. I DON"T like her personality. She is a dominant woman. Look how she treats you and you just shrug it off. THIS IS MY OPINION. If you take my opinion down, I will complain in any other way that I can about. And it IS IS IS a consumption, Mr. Reich, just like anything else that is for the public!!! It is a community forum that is for public consumption. I have a right to complain and criticize about what I consume. I am a consumer of your information and I have a right to voice my opinion about any information I consume. There may be only me or there may be many, many more people who feel the same as I do. But if you criticize and try to stop other's opinions so everyone feels good all the time, then you squash parts of the community's voice. Uncivil is your reprimand of ME!!! This is civil discourse. This is what it looks like. I don't like her influence. Keep the "uneasy peace" and keep people feelings from being hurt and you don't allow them to grow and take responsibility for any negative influence that they may have on the world. Would you do that for Putin? Or would rather allow him to "grow up" so he realizes that the only one who likes what he is doing IS HIMSELF!!!! (And he has lots of defenders.) Narcissists are the only ones who like what they are doing. You rob her of her chance to change and become more socially viable by stepping in to always make her right in all she does. I thought you stood for equality all the way around. I have lots of good things that I have already said about you. You responded to none of them to tell me I don't have to. But my criticism of you is that you do not stand for equality. I think you are defending someone who has narcissitic behavior while you are willing to silence my voice. When the situation demands that they change their behavior they have to be able to hear it. It does not work any other way. This is what it is to have a profession especially where money or any other forms of compensation is exchanged. It is called responsibility and I have a duty to myself to talk about WHAT IS NOT RIGHT for me. Don't tell me to go elsewhere or remove my voice because I WILL OBJECT. And don't forget that I learned a lot about my rights from you, so you can credit yourself for a lot of my new-found ability to not back down when it comes to having a voice in a civil society and on a forum interested in what everyone has to say in a community who cares about societal freedom. Pushy, Pushy, Pushy.... what else can I say????
I am worried about what happened to my comment saying I did not like someone. Are comments on here reviewed and the ones that are not well received removed???? I really have to object, if that is the case. All my opinions are honest opinions. If I do not like the input of someone, I feel I have the right to say so. I am much irritated by certain personalities. And it is my opinion to say so. I do not like the input of Heather. Others say they like her and my opinion is dissenting. Since when are dissenting opinions obliviated... especially here? We pay to offer our opinion.. distasteful to others are not. And Robert Reich has said on more than one occasion that is in our best interest to at least listen to opinions other than the ones we hold closest to our heart in order to grow. I don't object to her opinion... it is her personality that I find most offensive.
Aye ! Rifle thru the periferreral . Without the recindence of corporate citizenry . Without the revisiting of anti-trust and anti monopoly regulation of corporate america we are DOOMED . Unfettered capitalism DOES NOT WORK ! WAKE UP AMERICA ! !
To Frederick! I hear you Mr.Lucies, so at 79, I’ve learned to discard the useless and many emails I get and concentrate on the jewels like Robert Reich’s newsletter. I listen while I’m preparing dinner or when I go to bed. It makes me feel good to listen to an educated ethical man who continues to fight against inequality. Well worth my time!
President Biden's Made In America tax plan includes "4. Enacting a 15 percent minimum tax on book income of large companies that report high profits, but have little taxable income; https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/MadeInAmericaTaxPlan_Report.pdf"
There are only two realistic ways to stop Putin. 1. Kill him. We've read a lot of words about sanctions, NATO, finding and taking away his money, etc. It's clear that the sanctions are inadequate, that the result is longterm war, that Putin would not hesitate to nuke anywhere, anyone, anytime, that he doesn't love anyone or anything well enough to cave if they are threatened, that he doesn't actually care about his money. It's about Power. That's all. He doesn't even particularly need his cohort of yesmen. That leaves him in only one position. Do or die. So the second way to stop him, realistically, is 2. Kill him. Can he be divested of power? Sure. Heart attack, stroke, poison, firing squad. What becomes of Russia? Russia has had autocratic kleptocrats since Ivan the Terrible. Don't expect any changes.
I like #1.
I've noticed an interesting pattern. When a police officer feels threatened, the system believes they are justified in shooting to kill an unarmed suspect. Putin felt threatened by Ukraine which in his mind helped justify an invasion. The point here is that for us to imagine ourselves as threatened and that we know what Putin thinks might not be the right way to justify assassination.
Putin's actions in Ukraine are barbaric and totally inappropriate. None the less, we should think carefully about the possible consequences of our choices. Do we really want to continue the precedent of assassinating foreign leaders?
Putin desperately needs a victory in Ukraine. If he fails to achieve that, Russia will eventually remove him. Helping Ukraine defend itself to the fullest extent possible while letting Russians decide Putin's fate might be a better choice for now. As hard as it is to watch the suffering in Ukraine, rushing to expand the war into western Europe is unlikely to stop the chain of pain.
Someone's going to kill the sonofabitch, and it'll probably be Russians. As for precedents of killing other nations' leaders, also kidnapping them and removing them from the nations that elected them, let me recommend reading U.S. history.
Thank you Martha for voicing my same opinion.
Agree. I'm well aware the US has also behaved badly. I'd prefer the past not dictate the future. There has to be a better way.
The people of Russia can't remove him. They are not allowed to have openly opposite thoughts. A lot of them see a "strong" leader as the only kind. Even if they wanted to remove him they are stuck with him till he dies. This pattern of demagoguery is insidious. It just does not go away by itself or by regular means.
You mean the people of Russia, yes?
Actually, you are right. This problemic leadership is over the people of Russia (proper). My mistake.
Sanctions aren’t working well because while we take away with one hand, we put money into Putin’s hands because we won’t choke off his gas, oil and coal exports. That would hit Putin’s pocketbook and strangle his war march.
Let's unpack this slowly. Putin's personal wealth is beyond the reach of sanctions. He will die rich. His wealth won't matter to him or to anyone else. Will sanctions impede the Russian war machine? If so, how? The assumption is that sanctions will cut off funding for food, fuel, weapons, bullets, tanks, ships, trucks, etc. Is that likely? No. What nation is supplying Russia with new planes, ships, trucks, ammo, etc? Iran is supplying Russia with oil, but we don't know the extent or limit of that maritime supply chain. Then if sanctions are not intended to choke off the weapons of war, what are they intended to do? https://www.vox.com/22968949/russia-sanctions-swift-economy-mcdonalds
Russians see propaganda on TV, but they also see the food in their refrigerator and shortages at the market. There's an old Russian saying that the refrigerator will ultimately win over the TV.
It read recently that production of Russian tanks has stopped because they can't get parts. There's no one lever that can turn the situation around quickly. Right now, Putin believes Russia is "winning". Changing that perception will be a step in the right direction.
Convergence, a game that we should attempt as a country!
Thank you for sharing your Koffee Klatch with us all. These are tough times for everyone. I am trying to figure out how to deal with a close-to 8.5% rate of inflation on a fixed income of SSA benefits only; debating whether I should attempt another foray into the retail scene--which is the only one I can get to without a car; wondering how my disabled senior neighbor will manage on a savings account of $1.08 until May 1st; trying to wake up someone in government to address the needs of fixed income people; and finding out ways I can continue to help the inspiring and devoted (and humorous, on occasion) VOldymyr Zelenskyy and his people. LIke Zelenskyy, I try to find humor and it is getting harder and harder but (as Zelenskyy has stressed) humor is necessary to make it through. (You know, one of the striking personality traits of both Trump and PUtin is a complete lack of a sense of humor...ridicule, mocking, and putting down others do not count as a sense of humor). One of the series that should be required watching for anyone at this time is in fact Zelenskyy's 'The Servant of the People.' Of course, it's a bit of propaganda but it also tells us something elemental about the struggle for Ukraine. I cannot think that the Ukrainians could have found a better leader in this time of crisis; too bad, we didn't do the same but chose a wealthy, self-involved child for the role fo leader of the free world. Let's get behind the oil and gas embargo and rationing--we'll be doing the world as well as Ukraine the best we can and also helping the world to recover from the damage inherent in using fossil fuels...Thanks for the chat. Send money to Unicef and Doctors without Borders and encourage our government to think of more than the acquisition of power and its twin, wealth.
Great conversation that touched on many of the issues that are on all of our minds these days. Love the suggestions on price controls, rationing and establishing a "Bureau of Profitability," all of these are an excellent idea. Happy you had the theater to yourself and enjoyed "West Side Story," I ended up watching it on my tv and you really do loose a lot of the impact that way, sigh. Thanks again for all your work to keep us all informed, motivated and inquisitive.
Thanks, Susan.
Thank you!
I'm thinkin' you should include a Bureau of Income Tax Evasion. Isn't it true that collecting all unpaid taxes would make a significant dent in the national debt? (I know, I know, the IRS is supposed to do that, but they're having a hard enough time wading through the tax returns these days! You could make the IRS one of its departments! LOL!)
Bureau of Profitability . . . Yes!
I love your relationship with Heather! This is so fun being a party to a klatch. I wear a night guard since the pandemic! I klench at the klatch. Lol
Pandemic has done lots of terrible things to the world and it’s people. But it has also done some really good things. Probably the most powerful signal that civilization is in trouble that has ever occurred in our lifetimes. Nature has a way of limiting our population by evil means. First by disease and then by Putin! Some 100 million people died as a result of Stalin and Hitler et. al.. I predicted one million dead in the US from pandemic early the first year. I was pretty close. I don’t have a read on how many will die as a result of Putin but I hope the deaths will be less than a million. Ben Ferencz puts the predicament man faces so well.
Note: A bite guard -- which I got nearly 10 years ago -- was one of the best investments I EVER made! ...
Same!
where is the written copy of this conversation??? my friend is deaf.
As much as I love everything you do, Mr. Reich - I haven't the time at 75 to listen to something that lasts 16 minutes. I don't ever listen to podcasts. Sustaining myself takes a great deal of time, and all this online stuff is beginning to bog me down.
A transcript could be made available...?
Great idea
I was simply expressing myself and no one has to agree with me.
I appreciate passion - but I also don't use any social media (except Mr. Reich) so my life stays fairly quiet and gives me time to focus on all the tragic news.
You might need some extra magnesium if you're clenching your teeth. Magnesium citrate and B1 help me with occasional restless leg as well. Calcium helps muscles to contract and magnesium helps them relax...so they balance each other. My 2 cents.
We might all start to grind our collective teeth with the current news but RR enlivens the world and gives us hope that the meglomaniacs might not prevail.If we could divorce ourselves from social media a little more then sanity might prevail.
I think the best way to stop Putin is to negotiate a peace settlement between Ukraine and Russia. I wish the U.S. focused on ending the war instead of on winning. Neither side will accept losing, and that means an extremely dangerous and protracted proxy war between the U.S. and Russia, with the U.S. willing to sacrifice every last Ukrainian. I just don't understand the sense or morality of this - I never have from the very beginning - and I confess I'm not a little depressed that almost everyone disagrees with me.
I believe that President Zelenskyy has repeatedly requested meetings and negotiations with Russia in an effort to reach a settlement of some kind. He is fairly firm in his insistence that he will try to hold onto Ukrainian territory but he is also open to discussions concerning Crimea and other territories that Russia has claimed and is trying to seize. It is remarkable that Ukraine has refrained entirely from counter-attacking within Russia itself, even despite the heavy casualties inflicted by the Russian military on the innocent civilian population within Ukraine. I guess Ukraine has conducted itself admirably and honorably in a situation that has nothing else to commend it except for the bravery of the Ukrainians (civilians and military people) and the consistent and loyal leadership and charisma of Zelenskyy himself. (Would that the US had such a fine leader during the four years of the previous failed Trump administration). I do think we should demand some sort of embargo against Russian oil and gas and also attempt to shut Russia down over the failure to repay debts. Of course, this will cause undo hardship on the Russian civilian population--who always seem to bear the brunt of failed leadership and lack of truth. Russia is a failure nation on many fronts. I wonder whether the success of Ukraine on the economic and social front has drawn attention to the fact that there is not much to recommend Russia as the failed state that it is. But I think the way out of this is to end the war and bring both warring sides to a negotiated peace, not for the sake of glory and or victory but for the sake of the civilians on both sides of the border.
It was a disastrous and insane decision for Putin to start this war. But now like it or not the Russians are all in and will take the Donbas no matter what the cost. Maybe a fraction of the weapons from the U.S. will actually make it to the Ukrainian army, all the way to the east, without being destroyed on the way, but I believe this only prolongs the inevitable at a horrific cost of lives on both sides. I believe now that it's equally disastrous and insane for the U.S. to keep trying to win - the U.S. should push instead for an immediate cease fire and negotiate with the Ukrainians and Russians for a settlement that immediately stops the war. Russia wants Ukraine to be a neutral country and for the Donbas region to be independent of Ukraine - why is this such a catastrophe? Why is it worth reducing Ukraine to rubble and killing thousands on both sides and risking nuclear war over this? Isn't war itself a far worse catastrophe?
But what if the goal of Russia is not THe Donbas as an independent country but, instead, the reintegration of all of Ukraine into a reconfigured Soviet state? Just how much of Ukraine are the Ukrainians expected to surrender if, in fact, the Russians want it all. Putin has declared that Ukrainians and Ukraine are really parts of The MOtherland so there is some doubt as to whether Russia will take The Donas and let it go at that. And what if the people in The Donbas wanted to be entirely free and not a part of Ukraine or Russia? How would Russia deal with that? And what of the civilians in The Donbas who want to remain part of Ukraine? I believe that the only way out of a continual war is to negotiate a peace agreement that all sides will accept and honor. I believe that President Zelenskyy has indicated a constant willingness to return to the bargaining table but has also indicated he will defend the borders of his country and not surrender parts of it to the Russians. This is an admirable stance since most if not all of the civilian casualties have been on the Ukrainian side and no effort has been taken by the Ukrainian military to go on the offensive and cross the border into Russia. The atrocities have all been perpetrated by the Russians against ordinary people. Since we don't know how this plays out on the scene, we would do well to continue helping the Ukrainians...as President Zelenskyy has rather bluntly put it: "You do not know how it is to lose your son or brother, your family and neighbors who were living their lives peacefully." As long as things are as they are, we do well to refrain from trying to dismantle Ukraine (any of it) to appease Russia, especially since Russia wants not a piece of the pie but the whole thing.
There is no need for any "what ifs". Stop the fighting, start negotiating, and ask the Russians. Before the war started and during the war the Russians have always asked for the same thing: neutrality for Ukraine and an independent Donbas region. That's also what makes the most sense to me. As Prof. John Mearsheimer says, integrating Ukraine into Russia is like "swallowing a porcupine". I think we have plenty of evidence for that opinion already. The corporate media relentlessly pushes the story that Russia wants all of Ukraine, but to me that sounds like propaganda: this war is extremely profitable for many U.S. companies.
You will recall that, prior to the start of World War II, HItler kept invading independent states and adding them to his Third Reich: the Nordic countries (Norway and Denmark); the Netherlands, Poland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary. The Allies' policy up until Hitler marched into France was appeasement, that is, the Allies watched as Hitler nibbled off small bits of Europe and then took France and Belgium. As CHurchill knew and stated: "You cannot negotiate with a tiger when your head is in its mouth." There is no certainty that The Donbas will be the end of Russia's design on Ukraine, especially since Putin has declared quite openly that Ukraine is not an independent state but part of Russia. He will just keep on expanding his territory and invading neighboring countries. I am not at all certain that Russia should play a role in the neutrality or NATO membership of Ukraine...isn't that an issue between the member states in NATO and Ukraine itself? What Russia has done with its aggressive and untoward attack on Ukraine is spark the interest of Finland and Sweden in joining NATO since they are aware of the designs Russia might entertain on their lands. I wonder whether what might be at the heart of this is the miserable state of affairs in Russia itself and the improving conditions in Ukraine. As you well know, Ukraine is very much involved in high-tech companies and start-ups; it is also a long term agricultural power-house, the third largest producer of grains in the world. It has had a history of corruption but, well, I don't think we are in a position of discussing corruption abroad when our system is so rife with corruption at present. By contrast, Russia is a huge country, the largest country in the world and one hindered by its relatively sparse population (150 million) and its dinky little economy. It would seem that Russia would have enough to do tending its own garden but, of course, the actual and metaphorical gardens of Ukraine might look a bit inviting to a nation that is a basket-case determined to remain in a retrograde state.
Listen to either of these famous scholars on Russia: John Mearsheimer from the University of Chicago or Stephen Cohen from Princeton (sadly recently deceased). Russia is not Nazi Germany and Putin is not Hitler. After the NATO Bucharest meeting in 2008, Russia made it clear multiple times that Georgia or Ukraine joining NATO posed an existential threat to Russian security and that Russia would never ever allow it. NATO is a military alliance and Russia did not want nuclear missiles on its border. The U.S. did not accept the "right" of Cuba to allow Russia to deploy nuclear missiles in its country. Russia's invasion of Ukraine was a terrible and disastrous action, but the U.S. has strongly encouraged the "right" of Ukraine to join NATO for many years, especially since the coup of 2014. The U.S. has completely disregarded all of the many warnings from Russia.
The haven of your coffee klatch is, we’ve all been wondering??
Do we have to hold our honest complaints in because it may hurt someone else's feelings? What you have an honest "beef" about someone else's personality. Are there certain people we can complain about on here, like Donald Trump, and others we can not express an opinion about, like Heather????? Where does my freedom of expression stop? I think Heather brings your discussion down. I think she is a pushy woman. People like this have to control everything. I find her personality most distasteful. Maybe you could have rotating "guests" to minimize our exposure? Is this comment going to be taken down too? Will I have to keep putting it back up? It is ALWAYS THE RIGHT of someone to complain when another person delivers a service of some kind that is consumed by the public and it is found by one or more to be offensive. In fact, it is a DUTY.
Cynthia, You are more than free to complain -- about me, about Heather, about anyone else. You can even say that you don't like someone's personality. But at least complain civilly, and be aware of others' feelings. Calling someone a "pushy woman" is uncivil and unkind. I do not want you or anyone else to treat this forum as if it's just another dumping place in social media. One of my purposes here is to encourage and model a sort of discussion that's going out of style in public -- where people are curious about each others' ideas, where the tacit agenda isn't to put down others but to discover more about others' ideas, where we respect each other and can safely disagree. As to rights and duties, I will never take down comments because I disagree with them; but I have the right to take down comments that are hurtful to others. In fact, that's my duty. You have a right to your opinion but you have no right to use this forum in a way that demeans someone else in this forum, or someone such has Heather with whom I work. This forum is not a "service" that you "consume." It is a community in which you participate.
I DISAGREE! That is my opinion, Mr. Reich, and I won't stop giving it. You are stepping in to defend her. I would rather you defend my right on this forum to say what I want. You are taking sides. I am not a bully. I am saying what I think. I do not like someone in a conversation who dominates it. I do not like her personality. I see her as a dominant personality. You could give your own opinion but you will not stop my right to give me mine. That is the only fair way. You have allowed other people to say wonderful things about you and her both. You have not stopped them from talking or castigated them. This is the other side of the argument. Why then don't you say that only those who have glowing opinions are allowed to speak? I respect my right to say how I feel as much as I respect their right to say how they feel. If you are disappointed in me, or you are disappointed in your choice of a co-host, then you can say so. That is your right. But I do not appreciate your trying to drown out my opinion because it offends you or hurts your feelings. And I really, really don't appreciate your defending her as if you are her protector. I see you as a protector of rights, not her as if she is your kin. I am not demeaning her. I DON"T like her personality. She is a dominant woman. Look how she treats you and you just shrug it off. THIS IS MY OPINION. If you take my opinion down, I will complain in any other way that I can about. And it IS IS IS a consumption, Mr. Reich, just like anything else that is for the public!!! It is a community forum that is for public consumption. I have a right to complain and criticize about what I consume. I am a consumer of your information and I have a right to voice my opinion about any information I consume. There may be only me or there may be many, many more people who feel the same as I do. But if you criticize and try to stop other's opinions so everyone feels good all the time, then you squash parts of the community's voice. Uncivil is your reprimand of ME!!! This is civil discourse. This is what it looks like. I don't like her influence. Keep the "uneasy peace" and keep people feelings from being hurt and you don't allow them to grow and take responsibility for any negative influence that they may have on the world. Would you do that for Putin? Or would rather allow him to "grow up" so he realizes that the only one who likes what he is doing IS HIMSELF!!!! (And he has lots of defenders.) Narcissists are the only ones who like what they are doing. You rob her of her chance to change and become more socially viable by stepping in to always make her right in all she does. I thought you stood for equality all the way around. I have lots of good things that I have already said about you. You responded to none of them to tell me I don't have to. But my criticism of you is that you do not stand for equality. I think you are defending someone who has narcissitic behavior while you are willing to silence my voice. When the situation demands that they change their behavior they have to be able to hear it. It does not work any other way. This is what it is to have a profession especially where money or any other forms of compensation is exchanged. It is called responsibility and I have a duty to myself to talk about WHAT IS NOT RIGHT for me. Don't tell me to go elsewhere or remove my voice because I WILL OBJECT. And don't forget that I learned a lot about my rights from you, so you can credit yourself for a lot of my new-found ability to not back down when it comes to having a voice in a civil society and on a forum interested in what everyone has to say in a community who cares about societal freedom. Pushy, Pushy, Pushy.... what else can I say????
I am worried about what happened to my comment saying I did not like someone. Are comments on here reviewed and the ones that are not well received removed???? I really have to object, if that is the case. All my opinions are honest opinions. If I do not like the input of someone, I feel I have the right to say so. I am much irritated by certain personalities. And it is my opinion to say so. I do not like the input of Heather. Others say they like her and my opinion is dissenting. Since when are dissenting opinions obliviated... especially here? We pay to offer our opinion.. distasteful to others are not. And Robert Reich has said on more than one occasion that is in our best interest to at least listen to opinions other than the ones we hold closest to our heart in order to grow. I don't object to her opinion... it is her personality that I find most offensive.
Aye ! Rifle thru the periferreral . Without the recindence of corporate citizenry . Without the revisiting of anti-trust and anti monopoly regulation of corporate america we are DOOMED . Unfettered capitalism DOES NOT WORK ! WAKE UP AMERICA ! !