April, 2022 archive
All That Was Old Is New Again 0
Der Spiegel interviews British historian Antony Beevor about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It is a fascinating read. Beevor sees many echoes of Russia’s imperial past (and echoes of previous military miscalculations) in what is happening right now. Here’s one exchange:
Beevor: Putin’s distorted mindset, obsessed with the triumphant war against Nazism, has turned everything inside out. Isn’t it a great propaganda task to liberate the enemy of Nazism? Putin and his ideologues grotesquely depict the Ukrainians as born-again Nazis who need to be eliminated and re-educated, as the utterly manic article in RIA Novosti by Timofei Sergeitsev describes. The role of liberator from Nazism did indeed give the Red Army the idea that it could behave as it wanted both personally and politically. It was a notion of superiority. Rights of conquest meant not only imposing a Soviet regime on neighboring states. It also involved the comprehensive looting of the country as a form of reparation, and the idea that what Ilya Ehrenburg called “the blonde witch” – German women and girls – should pay for their menfolk’s crimes in the Russian motherland.
All the News that Fits 0
Thom explores why Republicans seem to be so susceptible to fake news.
Maskless Marauders 0
It’s been a while since I last read the Declaration of Independence, but, to the best of my recollection, nowhere in it did the Founders argue that persons have an inalienable right to “life, liberty, and the perpetuation of a pestilence.”
Driving to Distractions 0
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gene Collier is not enamored of all the tech in his new car. A snippet:
Well too late, my intrepid researcher.
(snip)
Frankly, I’d love to act as if the vehicle doesn’t have any of this stuff, but the vehicle continues to flaunt it. My ever-changing instrument cluster is consistently flashing unsolicited messages such as “Keep both hands on the wheel,” and “Lead car has departed,” comments that seem about a step removed from “Don’t pick your nose.”
Thank heavens, my new(er) car is free of most of the nagware. The most annoying thing is that, when the fuel gets low, it displays a message reading “[mumble] miles to empty,” as if I am incapable of seeing the fuel gauge right in front of me. I have to punch the okay button on the steering wheel to make it go away, but at least it goes away until the next time I start the car.
Other than that, though, it pretty much lets me drive it; it doesn’t try to drive me.
QOTD 0
Peter Scolari, in the voice of Michael Harris:
I guess somehow the world seems like a nicer place when you don’t know what’s going on in it.
Fly the Fiendly Skies . . . 0
. . . and see (has-been) celebrities reveal their inner selves.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” (Updated) 2
Sometimes the polite are hoisted on their own petards.
Aside:
Of course, no one these days really knows what a petard is. The only definitions I could find (here’s an example”) seem to have nothing whatsoever to do with hoisting.
Addendum:
See drouse’s comment below. drouse gave me a new perspective on that quotation from Shakespeare.
(Broken tag fixed.)
Penalty Call 0
At the Austin American-Statesman, John Young throws the flag.
Psychopaths on the War Paths 0
Does this remind you of anyone in the news?
A Tune for the Times 0
Mangy comments at the Youtube page:
For all their patriotic bluster, it seems Republicans have an incredibly long list of fears and insecurities. Mangy Fetlocks has no problem with admitting to fears, since many fears make total sense. It’s presenting yourself as heroic and fearless when you are nothing but a bundle of insecurities that Mangy feels compelled to call ‘BS’ on.