A presidency transformed

By artappraiser on Mon, 02/28/2022 - 8:36am |

By Ryan Lizza, Rachel Bade and Eugene Daniels

.@playbookdc: "It was Biden and his team’s patience and close consultation with European allies that has led to the extraordinary unity now on display." https://t.co/BFBvWzFC53
— Andrew Bates (@AndrewJBates46) February 28, 2022

URL:

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2022/02/28/a-presidency-transformed-00012220

22452 reads

Comments

Bates is the White House Deputy Press Secretary, so what he wants to stress from the article in his followup tweets is of interest:

"Biden’s patience waiting to impose sanctions until after the invasion, even in the face of intense criticism, has been vindicated because Putin would have pointed to preemptive sanctions as a provocation and a reason to invade."
— Andrew Bates (@AndrewJBates46) February 28, 2022

"Biden said that Germany would abandon the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline if Putin attacked and he was right, because he had been engaged in quiet diplomacy on the issue all along."
— Andrew Bates (@AndrewJBates46) February 28, 2022

"Biden’s surging of forces into NATO countries pushed other countries to do the same. Biden’s leadership on sanctions helped reluctant allies follow along. All of it was done without shaming and finger pointing."
— Andrew Bates (@AndrewJBates46) February 28, 2022

I really agree with this reply tweet, it was a big selling point for me in Biden being the presidential candidate, it was exactly the correct way to counter Trump, among other things

I love a POTUS who doesnt seek the limelight or credit. That is maturity in action.
— MM (@ccvtmaureenl) February 28, 2022

Back in the day, Biden didn't use to be like this so much. But 8 years of being the Vice-President and age tempered all of that. He's a grownup's grownup, ready to meet his maker.

by artappraiser on Mon, 02/28/2022 - 8:45am

I think his positive relationship with Boris Johnson demonstrates how inflated fear of rising Putin style nationalism may have been.

by Orion on Mon, 02/28/2022 - 9:41am

After FMR White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley Credits President Biden's Leadership in Unifying, Strengthening US, EU, NATO Alliance Trump Hack Joe Kernan gets bent trying to discredit Pres Biden, Bill daily makes it clear "Biden fixed what Trump Broke in EU, NATO, Allies" pic.twitter.com/g29OQWxEo7
— Kamatsu (@DarkWebWarrior) February 28, 2022

by artappraiser on Mon, 02/28/2022 - 12:12pm

Artappraiser, you've said some nice things about the men out of work stuff that I'm posted.

I have been thinking that this crisis ties directly in to that subject. We haven't really had archetypal male figures in our public life for a very long time - Bill Clinton was/is seen as a pervert, George W. Bush was seen as a privileged kid trying to prove himself to his daddy, Barack Obama was a ?, Donald Trump was the personification of all the repulsion that "toxic masculinity" was intended to describe.

In Volodymyr Zelenskyy, you have the archetype that is so vital to men - the man who will use force for the right purpose - to defend what he loves. In Joe Biden, you have the Clint Eastwood figure (Eastwood wasn't a fan of Trump, I'm not sure who he voted for) - a bit weathered but still with a good heart.

by Orion on Tue, 03/01/2022 - 12:17am

Joe Biden as Clint Eastwood? And I'm Bruce Willis. Zelensky's simply not in America and he's an underdog. We had our Zelensky, the comedian-turned-polition Al Franken - he got taken down by GOP dirty tricks plus US media cluelessness/complicity.

by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 03/01/2022 - 12:52am

Really see few similarities between the two besides them being Jewish and comedians. Maybe Jon Stewart could be an apt comparison.

by Orion on Tue, 03/01/2022 - 1:27am

Sorry, Jon Stewart was a Senator?

Did you ever see Al Franken grill gov officials in Senate hearings? The guy did his homework.

by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 03/01/2022 - 1:53am

I MOST DEFINITELY do NOT see Jon Stewart, nor Al Franken for that matter, as strong male role models. Both you and PP seem to be talking nonsense to me. Male role models are about culture and sociology, not politics. Best to keep in mind that few people care about politics, and a lot of people despise politicians in general and look down on them as scum. Though it's true that many look up to the same when they rise to an executive position such as president or governor rather than a political or legislative one (unfortunately, in mho.)

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/01/2022 - 6:13am

Dwight Eisenhower tho.

by Orion on Tue, 03/01/2022 - 7:14am

Eye of the beholder- my mom and dad. children of the Depression and typical post war newlyweds (she never worked after marriage, he was the boss, they had five children and hoped to climb the ladder) hated everything about Eisenhower and Mamie and their years in the White House, thought of them as horribly depressing role models and were filled with hope and joy when the Kennedy's moved into the White House. My mom would have left my dad for Jack Kennedy in a NY minute, he was llike her ideal male role model (and she had four boys.)

But overall, Eisenhower really wasn't seen by anyone as a family man! Not a good father for sure.

Once again, I think you are mixing politics with sociology and that's a big mistake.

Eisenhower had a real deadening effect on the world culture, people still felt lost and existential pain, he did not help them get over the war.

Culturally Kennedy really did and was a HUGE male role model for a whole generation worldwide, including teen Bill Clinton who stood in line to shake his hand. It was very exciting for everyone "a torch passed to a new generation" and he had little kids in the White House and had a close relationship with them as a father, no longer that 'children should be seen and not heard" Culturally Kennedy a VERY STRONG male role model! Keep in mind that all of his philandering and similar was all hidden until long after his death. The main takeaway at the time: ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/01/2022 - 8:16am

p.s. Kennedy as role model was planned and manipulated (i.e.,not only was his philandering hidden, but his bad health), and that was new, and it was successful -- it was started with his book "Profiles in Courage" which was also about male role models, was a wildly best seller, my frigging father bought it and he did not buy books, he had no time to read them...everyone bought it, everyone talked about it, and it was about: male role models

Edit to add: VIRILITY was the ideal male role. Strong masculine male (Richard Burton or Jack Kennedy) and strongly feminine females (Liz Taylor or Jackie Kennedy)

Eisenhower:yuck old boring grampa, respect but he should go be retired now.

Warning for ya: no way are you going to go back to that with the GENDER FLUID millennials or Gen Z. I do not even understand why you are looking for male role models, nothing like that is going to work for the foreseeable future, even conservative kids don't want to play 1950's family and they ALL seem to despise boomers.

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/01/2022 - 8:11am

Don't know how I would define a role model but as an interesting side note Kennedy wore a particular style of suit jacket that would hide the back brace he often wore. It soon became the most popular style of suit in America

by ocean-kat on Tue, 03/01/2022 - 5:20pm

well thanks for that little tidbit I didn't know!

as far as I am concerned, the definition of "role model" definitely includes doing things like wearing similar clothing to your "model", though it's not a requirement

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/01/2022 - 6:04pm

Kennedy & staff knew how to make him a worldwide star as well as role model! Check out the contemporary photos from the Berlin visit, for one example -

President Kennedy made only one official trip to a divided Germany in 1963. All White House photographs documenting that visit are available online. https://t.co/Wp8FXagBfj #JFK @JFKLibrary pic.twitter.com/MqnOuYje5h
— US National Archives (@USNatArchives) March 2, 2022

by artappraiser on Wed, 03/02/2022 - 2:14pm

seriously, Eisenhower as a male role model, that's ridiculous, he had no such effect on the culture at the time! nada zilch. old and tired finisher of old business, a caretaker, General/brass/Pentagon excited no one! NOBODY wanted to be a warrior anymore, for chrissakes, that's the last thing they wanted to do. (Plastics, young man, that's the future.) I dunno, you need to go watch some Mad Men or something. Eisenhower, sheesh. Lookit how his V-P Nixon did on the presidential tv debates if you want to talk "role models". The boringest of all the generals, yet. I can see a conservative going for Patton as a role model, that I can see. I get the impression that you don't even get how this role models thing works? They are supposed to be exciting, so much so that you want to emulate them.

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/01/2022 - 8:29am

FWIW -- body language

Senior American commanders of the European theater of World War II

Seated are (from left to right) Gens. William H. Simpson, George S. Patton, Carl A. Spaatz, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, Courtney H. Hodges, and Leonard T. Gerow; standing are (from left to right) Gens. Ralph F. Stearley, Hoyt Vandenberg, Walter Bedell Smith, Otto P. Weyland, and Richard E. Nugent.

by EmmaZahn on Tue, 03/01/2022 - 6:58pm

They look rough & tough, but with the clip below i can't help wondering how they'd be in spike heels... ;-)

by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 03/02/2022 - 12:51am

hmmm no wonder the hero of the time was: G.I. Joe using the G.I. bill. Gets me thinking about the campaign slogan "I like Ike" - was an attempt to civilianize him, make him an average guy? Omar Bradley perhaps looks the most interesting there to me...

by artappraiser on Wed, 03/02/2022 - 8:19am

by Orion on Wed, 03/02/2022 - 11:52am

Zelensky didn't seem like a "strong male role model" dancing in high heels, but whatevs.

And I was of course referring to transition from comedian/TV personality to serious politician, not necessarily measuring testosterone levels, muscle-to-fat ratio or amount of hair on back.

by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 03/01/2022 - 8:32am

he's definitely a guy open to many many ROLES

(which is why one of them was working as an actor doh)

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/01/2022 - 8:46am

Franken is 26 yrs older (now 70, was 58 when he took office), and obviously his Stuart Smalley character wasn't the epitome of virility even w/o spike heels.

But until recently Zelenskyy was a "clown", president series or not.

by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 03/01/2022 - 8:56am

How to win a media war

1) Pre-Bunking
In the past, Russia was essentially pushing against an open door.
This time, a network style coalition got ahead of it and preempted and pre-bunked the Russian goal of justifying a long planned invasion as an emergency response.
— Peter W. Singer (@peterwsinger) February 28, 2022

by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 03/01/2022 - 1:08am

How not to win a Ukraine sympathy-driven war (and bring in avg Russians on the wrong side - Russians *will* fight for the Motherland if that's how it's framed)

If NATO did intervene, and Russia widens its war to go after NATO nations, they will lose. But first, there will be a rally among Russians who would MUCH rather fight NATO than their brothers and sisters in UKR. /2
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) March 1, 2022

by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 03/01/2022 - 1:56am

I'm far from an expert and I really really hate to spend my time debating negatively against what I think is inaccurate, but since you ask, and only since it is you asking, personally I find everything you said here to be horribly horribly wrong. And I think your are totally on the wrong track here. Just some points

I don't think politicians nor government executives should serve as personal role models unless someone wants to be a politician.That's led to disaster. I think the best run countries are technocratic, with much shorter political campaigns.
I don't think Bill Clinton was seen by the majority in this country as a "pervert". (Where did you even get that idea? From working the culture wars with some Tea Party group at the time? If Clinton was a pervert, so was Newt Gingrich.) He maintained an exceptionally high approval rating all through his second term, all through his impeachment. He was famously known as an extremely hard worker, loved his work, loved his job, would work till he'd keel over. There was a booming economy with low unemployment and low inflation, continually decreasing crime, a rising tide lifting all boats and tax coffers overflowing enough to balance the budget and bring down the debt (the rest of my life before that everyone said it couldn't be done.) The only people who still had problems and weren't working were a ghetto underclass, yet even they called Clinton "the first black president." People were happy and looked positively towards the future. As my deceased spouse, who sometimes supported Republicans, once said "the Clinton years will be looked back on as a golden time."
The only similarity I see between Clint Eastwood and Joe Biden are their physical appearance in old age. Otherwise, they are as opposite as can be. The influence of the Dirty Harry persona was toxic male (in other films Eastwood did show characters with a hidden heart of gold but no one paid much attention to that.) Joe Biden is famously a kindly, touchy-feely father and grandtather type, not at all afraid to show emotions and sympathy and empathy.
I do not think Zelenskyy is becoming a male role model, nor do I see him as that. I think he is the opposite of an archetype, he is very individualistic. I think many people admire him because he is different from any norms, proving you should never count someone out. They are supportive because he and his people are underdogs.
Barack Obama became an extreme example of a male role model for black youth during his presidency. I saw examples of little Barack Obama's all the time on the #1 subway going through Harlem. All the black kids were dressing preppy and trying to outperform each other at school. They totally lost interest in rap and were interested in getting into college. It was the white and Latino kids from like, Yonkers, that were blasting rap from their cars in the Bronx, doing alcohol drugs and looking for "hos". I have no idea why black male culture regressed back to what it once was as soon as Trump appeared on the scene.

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/01/2022 - 6:03am

If you want to pursue something on this front I would suggest the influence of rap/hiphop. You know something about that, I don't much at all except that it's fucking dominated the music industry for decades now-I(And I for one am damn sick of it--I am like: when are young people going to come up with something new?) I don't know why as it's not even "music" and is often very toxic. I'm not ashamed to admit I suspect it's been enormously destructive to society. The culture surrounding it reinforces and values a lot of the wrong things and it seems to be mostly about complaining! Lots of toxic maleness to the max. It doesn't induce happiness or even positivity, it's very very negative, a very bleak view of the world (even to the point of glorifying death/martyrdom at a young age, just whining about oppression at its worst.) While that is a valid purpose for art, it is not a purpose that has dominated most successful cultures, people mostly use art to make them happy.

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/01/2022 - 6:26am

secondarily - I am sure it doesn't help interest in productive work to be addicted to video games. I have little knowledge of the iconography of them, I am sure there is something there. I know early hacker culture for a large part grew out of programming and designing them, and that was very outlaw and pro-anarchy. Anarchists generally don't like the idea of working for someone else.

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/01/2022 - 6:32am

“We produce energy cleaner than anybody in the world,” Senator Joe Manchin says adding he wanted the U.S. administration to encourage more domestic energy production.

“We’re buying 650,000 barrels a day from Russia. It’s ridiculous. Totally ridiculous.” https://t.co/0n3hMEUBSH
— Bloomberg (@business) March 1, 2022

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/01/2022 - 9:31am

Yglesias:

Manchin statement today.

I say let’s do it and be legends. pic.twitter.com/E09ziaa3Dh
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) March 1, 2022

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/01/2022 - 6:54pm

"America Is Remarkably United Against Putin" FREE ACCESS via msn.com to article at The Atlantic by Russell Berman, with "what to watch for at the SOTU speech"

America Is Remarkably United Against Putin https://t.co/qD86LGZ86q
— J. W. (@wolfjon4) March 1, 2022

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/01/2022 - 4:23pm

This is why I don't think Trump is about to make a return.

Maybe the GOP could, but not anyone from the Putin superfan wing of the party.

by Orion on Wed, 03/02/2022 - 4:58am

Tonight's biggest loser might be the culture war.

Did he mention "equity," "POC," "inclusion," "White Supremacy," "racism"? Did he actually forgo mentioning the race of the woman he just nominated for supreme court justice?

— Kmele (@kmele) March 2, 2022

by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 03/02/2022 - 2:19am

he dissed them and they know it

by artappraiser on Wed, 03/02/2022 - 10:17am

can't erase this photo, tho; it will always be easy to find:

https://t.co/OzTwtVO50a pic.twitter.com/ieHPO026ap
— Gita Jackson (@xoxogossipgita) March 2, 2022

by artappraiser on Wed, 03/02/2022 - 10:29am

Here's some comments from some swing voter types:

Honestly this was music to my ears. The American way is law and order. pic.twitter.com/NfeYqRAoYS
— Barrington Martin II (@_BarringtonII) March 2, 2022

Problem, reaction, solution. They pandered to their base. Crime exploded. Now they get to look competent by reducing crime again and use it as political capital. Sadly, their base is dumb enough to fall for it.
— Miserable Old Sod (@AK_Photo7) March 2, 2022

Now, how do Nancy, Chuck et. al. cancel that "taking a knee" for Geo. Floyd photo so it's not used by GOP ops? (Comes to mind that Romney knew better how to handle that, he marched along with a very peaceful march of a mixture of non-tribal 'Mercans for some select photo ops, saying "it's important")

by artappraiser on Wed, 03/02/2022 - 11:17am

FWIW Eric Swalwell is claiming all the Republicans stayed seated during the "fund the police" part:

I guess the whole Black Lives Matter things over, huh?

We’re back to “tough on crime” “thin blue line” Democrats.” https://t.co/txDpI5xbFJ
— (@benigma2017) March 2, 2022

so there's an "us v. them" midterm meme

by artappraiser on Wed, 03/02/2022 - 1:03pm

Charles Blow also noticed the lack of divisive race words and he's really bitching about it, among many other things in "Open Letter to President Biden From a Dispirited Black Voter", March 2

....In the State of the Union you didn’t once say the words Black or African-American, white or Hispanic.

Race, as a word, magically disappeared from your rhetorical repertoire. Why? I assume because the political winds have shifted. What polled well last spring isn’t polling well this spring.

Even when you mentioned increasing support for historically Black colleges and universities, you used the acronym, H.B.C.U.s. Minor? Yes. But I noticed...

You couldn't make this stuff up

by artappraiser on Thu, 03/03/2022 - 3:50am

Bidens historic SOTU address: https://youtu.be/cdFWmfJpM1g

by Orion on Wed, 03/02/2022 - 4:19am

Rep. Lauren Boebert, a critic of Biden’s immigration policies, chanted “Build the wall!” as the president spoke of the southern border.

The chant was drowned out by bipartisan applause for Biden’s comments on immigration. https://t.co/b6kPNP9YDu pic.twitter.com/MhswVqKEP5
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) March 2, 2022

by artappraiser on Wed, 03/02/2022 - 9:06am

on CNN tv they just showed Biden taking a few questions on the way out the door, explained he's making a trip "to promote the SOTU address", surprise (NOT) it's to the heart of swing country: "Wisconsin"

by artappraiser on Wed, 03/02/2022 - 12:43pm

It's nice to see an American administration that sees Putin clearly and realistically. After Putin's 22 years in power, we finally have one. https://t.co/EeQHLvOrip
— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) March 4, 2022

by artappraiser on Fri, 03/04/2022 - 3:01pm

Finland and Sweden get priority attention from Biden at the White House, and then he tweets about it. Wonder what that's about NOT.

Today I welcomed President Niinistö of Finland to the White House to talk about European security. During our meeting, we called PM Magdalena Andersson of Sweden to discuss enhancing our cooperation. Both countries are valued defense partners to the United States and NATO. pic.twitter.com/F15RdYcdpa
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 5, 2022

by artappraiser on Fri, 03/04/2022 - 8:03pm

^ and do note he chose a picture of them laughing to illustrate the tweet! (Uncle Joe wants you kids to know everything is gonna be okay.)

by artappraiser on Fri, 03/04/2022 - 8:06pm

Jobs reach pre COVID levels: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c_De-pKbyEs

by Orion on Fri, 03/04/2022 - 8:06pm

America added 678,000 jobs in February, exceeding economist expectations. Unemployment fell to 3.8%, a new pandemic-era low. https://t.co/Qqw45ilBeJ
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) March 4, 2022

by artappraiser on Sat, 03/05/2022 - 1:01am

As war loomed, U.S. armed Ukraine to hit Russian aircraft, tanks and prep for urban combat, declassified shipment list shows

By Karoun Demirjian and Alex Horton @ WashingtonPost.com, March 4 at 10:13 p.m. EST

The United States drastically enhanced its shipments of lethal military aid and protective equipment to Ukraine as the prospect of a Russian invasion became more apparent and then a reality, according to a declassified accounting of transfers and sales reviewed by The Washington Post.

The list indicates that as early as December, the Pentagon was equipping Ukrainian fighters with arms and equipment useful for fighting in urban areas, including shotguns and specialized suits to safeguard soldiers handling unexploded ordnance. Over the last week, the Biden administration has increased such shipments, sending Stinger antiaircraft missile systems for the first time and further augmenting Kyiv’s supply of antitank Javelin missiles and other ammunition.

Taken together, the variety, volume and potency of firepower being rushed into the war zone illustrate the extent to which the United States sought to prepare the Ukrainian military to wage a hybrid war against Russia, even as President Biden has expressly ruled out inserting American troops into the conflict.

“This is a continuous process. We are always, always looking at what Ukraine needs, and we’ve been doing this for years now,” a senior defense official told reporters Friday on the condition of anonymity under ground rules established by the Pentagon. “We have just accelerated our process of identifying requirements and accelerated our consultations as well with the Ukrainians, talking to them daily, as opposed to periodic meetings that we did before this crisis.”

John Kirby, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, declined to comment. The list of materiel reviewed by The Post generally tracks with the administration’s broad public statements about the transfers. It does not contain any information designated classified.

[....]

The shipment list suggests that the Biden administration anticipated Ukraine would need to arm itself for a multipronged invasion.

It affirms that the Biden administration has sent Stinger man-portable air defense systems, or MANPADS, to Ukraine in the last several days, weapons that would aid soldiers targeting Russian aircraft. Those were provided alongside shipments of Javelin missiles and launchers, a mainstay of military assistance to Ukraine since 2018, as well as ammunition.

About $240 million of the $350 million in military assistance that was approved in late February has already been transferred to Ukraine, according to a senior defense official.

Those shipments are in addition to about $200 million in military assistance approved for Ukraine in late December that included M141 single-shot shoulder-launched rocket launchers, M500 shotguns, Mk-19 grenade launchers, M134 mini guns typically used for firing from helicopters, and protective suits for explosive ordnance disposal.

The Pentagon has declined to specify the amount or confirm the full roster of military equipment being supplied to Ukraine since Russian threats against the country sharply escalated over the winter. U.S. officials have cited concerns about identifying what capabilities the Ukrainians have at their disposal.

The United States is one of 14 countries that have delivered security assistance to Ukraine, some of which includes materiel that was originally provided to other U.S. allies but was approved for transfer to Ukraine. Such third-party transfers include anti-armor and antiaircraft systems, according to the list reviewed by The Post.

In the last year, the United States has committed more than $1 billion in military assistance to Ukraine, the senior defense official said. That includes counter-mortar radars, secure radios, electronic equipment, medical equipment, vehicles and a steady supply of Javelin missile systems, according to the list The Post reviewed. At least nine Island-class patrol boats and five Mi-17 transport helicopters have also been provided to Ukraine from the U.S. reserve of excess defense articles.

Ukraine had previously received 210 Javelins through the State Department’s Foreign Military Financing program in 2018 and purchased an additional 150 Javelins that arrived in 2020.

The United States has committed about $3 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

by artappraiser on Sat, 03/05/2022 - 12:59am

Faced with partisan disagreement about whether we should crush Russia by promoting domestic oil/gas production or by promoting non-fossil energy it would be very dysfunctional to settle on neither rather than both.
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) March 5, 2022

Tell me your rich without—actually you’re just telling me you’re rich. https://t.co/UuQBOynJpX
— Alice (@AliceFromQueens) March 5, 2022

by artappraiser on Sat, 03/05/2022 - 4:08pm

The United States has walked to the edge of direct conflict with Russia in an operation that is reminiscent of the Berlin airlift of 1948-49, but far more complex:

Arming Ukraine: 17,000 Anti-Tank Weapons in 6 Days and a Clandestine Cybercorps

Long form reporting by team of 5 of NYTimes senior reporters! David E. Sanger reported from Wilmington, Del., and Eric Schmitt, Julian E. Barnes and Kenneth P. Vogel from Washington. Helene Cooper reported from Amari Air Base, Estonia. March 6, 2022 -

In less than a week, the U.S. and NATO have pushed more than 17,000 antitank weapons over the borders of Poland and Romania to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, and other major cities. But those are only the most visible contributions. https://t.co/Dxd2PS2biU
— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 7, 2022

by artappraiser on Mon, 03/07/2022 - 12:48am

especially interesting end of article on Congressional lobbyists that are working pro-bono

The Lobbyists Fight, Too

Ukraine has been receiving lobbying, public relations and legal assistance free of charge — and it is paying off. Mr. Zelensky held a Zoom call with members of Congress on Saturday, pushing for tougher sanctions on Russia and urging specific types of arms and other support.

An ad hoc team includes Andrew Mac, an American lawyer who has been volunteering as a lobbyist and nonstaff adviser to Mr. Zelensky since late 2019, and Daniel Vajdich, a lobbyist who had been paid by the Ukrainian energy industry and a civil society nonprofit group, but is now working for free. But American lobbyists are a sensitive topic in Ukraine, after Paul Manafort, later President Trump’s campaign chairman, worked for a pro-Russian president who was ousted in 2014, and after Mr. Trump tried to make military aid to Kyiv dependent on its willingness to help find dirt on then-candidate Biden and his son, Hunter.

Mr. Vajdich said he hoped his clients would redirect any funds they would have paid his firm to military defenses and humanitarian aid for Ukrainians forced from their homes by the fighting, drawing a comparison to early Nazi military aggression.

“Knowing what we know today, if we were living and operating in 1937 to ’39, would we have asked the Czechoslovaks for compensation to lobby against Neville Chamberlain and his policies?” he asked, referring to the British prime minister who ceded part of Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany in the Munich Agreement of 1938.

“No,” he said, “certainly not.”

by artappraiser on Mon, 03/07/2022 - 12:54am

why "walk to the edge" -

For those in the back… another reason why senators (or for that matter, anyone) should probably not gleefully call for violent regime change and tout it as a magic silver bullet to the crisis.

This is not a Marvel movie. Putin is not Thanos. https://t.co/aEAbRVfBv9
— Anderson Dodd (@AndersonDodd) March 7, 2022

by artappraiser on Mon, 03/07/2022 - 1:04am

A U.S. Ban on Russian Energy Adds to an Already Tight Market, Won’t Change Fundamentals

March 8, 2022 12:30 pm ET

Refined products from Russia account for about 6% of total U.S. consumption. https://t.co/ZIKfxyUBlt
— Barron's (@barronsonline) March 8, 2022

It's paywalled and I don't have a subscription but the tweet and the title says it all, it's only 6% of all our energy sources.

The economic problem is that it's far more in parts of Europe what happens there, that does affect our economy.

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/08/2022 - 12:48pm

As the US looks for alternative oil supplies to Russia's, the country is exploring a rapprochement with Venezuela. So far, President Nicolás Maduro has described talks he held with a US government delegation as 'respectful' and 'cordial' https://t.co/DzxkCwL2fM
— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) March 8, 2022

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/08/2022 - 2:32pm

Really walking on the edge here! Poland transfers MiG fighters to the U.S. as Ukraine asks for help

The announcement Tuesday came after a week of back-and-forth negotiations about the transfer

By PAUL MCLEARY @ Politico.com, 03/08/2022 02:22 PM EST

Poland has struck a deal with the United States to transfer all of its Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets “immediately and free of charge” to a U.S. air base in Germany, a likely precursor to the jets being delivered to Ukraine.

The announcement Tuesday came after a week of back-and-forth negotiations about the transfer, and amid Russian warnings that delivering the jets to Ukraine would be seen as a provocation.

In a statement, the Polish Foreign Ministry said Warsaw “requests the United States to provide us with used aircraft with corresponding operational capabilities. Poland is ready to immediately establish the conditions of purchase of the planes.”

Poland also called on other NATO allies that operate MiG-29 jets “to act in the same vein.”

I don't even really fully get what they are trying to do with this manuever!

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/08/2022 - 2:54pm

according to Dr. Adekoya who is 1/2 Polish heritage, apparently is what I thought - we - the U.S.- are taking on the full risk of retaliation from Russia!

Clever way for Poland to get round Putin's threat any nation hosting jets Ukraine use will be considered "involved" in war against it.

"Giving" its MiG-29s to US means them leaving for Ukraine from US Air Base in Germany. So if Russia wants to retaliate, well...#Ukraine #Poland https://t.co/meM9VCvVCY
— Dr Remi Adekoya (@RemiAdekoya1) March 8, 2022

But - Russia not that stupid, are they?

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/08/2022 - 2:58pm

This whole MIG transfer thing is becoming a fiasco. I kinda feel artillery and medium range SAM systems would be more useful anyhow. Plus armor even—if we are thinking about the Ukrainians actually taking back lost territory with combined arms operations.
— Wayne W. S. Hsieh (@whsieh) March 8, 2022

he's a military historian

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/08/2022 - 5:52pm

FUGGEABOUT THE MIG'S, not going to happen

Pentagon nixes Polish plan to give MiG’s to Ukraine via Ramstein:

“departing from a U.S./NATO base in Germany to fly into airspace that is contested with Russia over Ukraine raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance…simply not clear there is substantive rationale.” pic.twitter.com/DQv5MlUcvX
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) March 8, 2022

I have noted that Politico "breaking" and "gets" on this type of thing are often a waste of time. They are trying to apply political reporting style to international relations and it doesn't work. They need someone savvy, an old hand like Julian Borger at The Guardian, to filter out the noise....

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/08/2022 - 6:18pm

Instead of the Polish MIG's deal, Pentagon's sending two Patriot missile defense batteries with the radar to Poland

Pentagon will deploy two Patriot missile defense batteries to Poland, U.S. military says in statement tonight. They include not only the missiles, but powerful radar designed to spot incoming fire.

As of Tuesday, Russia has launched 670~ missiles at Ukraine since invading.
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) March 9, 2022

with clear statement of intent

“This defensive deployment is being conducted proactively to counter any potential threat to U.S. and Allied forces and NATO territory,” the new Pentagon statement says, adding that the missiles “will in no way support any offensive operations.”
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) March 9, 2022

YUP

For folks who might ask: Why not send the Patriots to Ukraine? That would mean deploying U.S. troops to Ukraine. Assessment I have heard several places is that it's a sophisticated system that takes time to learn.
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) March 9, 2022

I know that cause the first news junkie website I was a moderator on was run by a dude that did his stint in the military working on the Patriot team during Gulf War I. He was a super techy and he used to talk about how specialized the work was all the time.

BTW Ret. Lt. Gen. was confused:

https://t.co/KHkpesm98s
— Deb Evans (@evansdeb) March 9, 2022

AND evidence is it's not like they are ignoring details on the stuff they send:

By removing a handful of screws, the Pentagon was able to withdraw classified gear from the Stinger missile’s handheld launcher, opening the way to sending them from U.S. stocks https://t.co/kLrTZcdiKT
— Michael R. Gordon (@mgordonwsj) March 8, 2022

by artappraiser on Wed, 03/09/2022 - 12:40am

Travels with Milley: The general brings his ‘big green map’ to NATO’s flank https://t.co/xCv9l0JLq8
— David Ignatius (@IgnatiusPost) March 8, 2022

by artappraiser on Tue, 03/08/2022 - 6:00pm

PERSIAN GULF MONARCHIES SIGNAL THEY WON'T HELP EASE SURGING OIL PRICES UNLESS WASHINGTON HELPS THEM IN YEMEN, ELSEWHERE

Doesn’t the CIA have a coup-sponsoring division for this kind of situation? Bring back Muhammad bin Nayef! pic.twitter.com/1hzhFxUXrF
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) March 8, 2022

(yes, I was shouting)

by artappraiser on Wed, 03/09/2022 - 2:12am

George Conway's praise for Anthony Blinken:

This man is doing a spectacular job, one for the history books. https://t.co/KH5aHSFOWn
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) March 5, 2022

by artappraiser on Wed, 03/09/2022 - 3:12am

says it all in one sentence:

Knowing whether to call the bluff of a lunatic despot with nuclear weapons is a big decision. I’m glad I’m not the one having to make it.
— Dr. Bendor Grosvenor (@arthistorynews) March 9, 2022

by artappraiser on Wed, 03/09/2022 - 2:12pm

My partner (@ashe_cs) was a Joe Biden supporter in 2019 because she's an effective altruist and thought that he would do a better job managing great power conflict with Russia and China.

Literally the only Biden supporter I met that entire year working in Dem politics.
— (((David Shor))) (@davidshor) March 3, 2022

by artappraiser on Wed, 03/09/2022 - 3:13pm

Assoc. Editor of The Financial Times:

Unusual tweet by me but we're fortunate Biden is president. His handling of this barbaric war has been practical & principled. Gives confidence it won't escalate into Nato-Russia war or end in Putin's victory. Biden has character, which in these times is worth its weight in gold.
— Edward Luce (@EdwardGLuce) March 9, 2022

by artappraiser on Wed, 03/09/2022 - 7:01pm

Jen Psaki would like to make things perfectly clear about a specific kind of agitprop from Russia (and China) and sums up with a warning for all:

We took note of Russia’s false claims about alleged U.S. biological weapons labs and chemical weapons development in Ukraine. We’ve also seen Chinese officials echo these conspiracy theories.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) March 9, 2022

This is preposterous. It’s the kind of disinformation operation we’ve seen repeatedly from the Russians over the years in Ukraine and in other countries, which have been debunked, and an example of the types of false pretexts we have been warning the Russians would invent.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) March 9, 2022

The United States is in full compliance with its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological Weapons Convention and does not develop or possess such weapons anywhere.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) March 9, 2022

It’s Russia that has a long and well-documented track record of using chemical weapons, including in attempted assassinations and poisoning of Putin’s political enemies like Alexey Navalny.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) March 9, 2022

It’s Russia that continues to support the Assad regime in Syria, which has repeatedly used chemical weapons. It’s Russia that has long maintained a biological weapons program in violation of international law.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) March 9, 2022

Also, Russia has a track record of accusing the West of the very violations that Russia itself is perpetrating. In December, Russia falsely accused the U.S. of deploying contractors with chemical weapons in Ukraine.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) March 9, 2022

This is all an obvious ploy by Russia to try to try to justify its further premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified attack on Ukraine.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) March 9, 2022

Now that Russia has made these false claims, and China has seemingly endorsed this propaganda, we should all be on the lookout for Russia to possibly use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, or to create a false flag operation using them. It’s a clear pattern.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) March 9, 2022

by artappraiser on Wed, 03/09/2022 - 7:25pm

I greatly appreciate that the US government is letting out more of its intelligence in real time than ever. It has turned out to be amazingly correct and it is a US service to democracy to let it out all early. I don't know whom to thank, but I do.
— Anders Åslund (@anders_aslund) March 10, 2022

Economist & author. Russia, Ukraine & Eastern Europe. Read my latest book: "Russia's Crony Capitalism" https://amzn.to/2WgLENO

Per Anders Åslund is a Swedish economist and a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. He is also a chairman of the International Advisory Council at the Center for Social and Economic Research.

His work focuses on economic transition from centrally planned to market economies.

.Åslund served as an economic adviser to the governments of Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine and from 2003 was director of the Russian and Eurasian Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Åslund was an advocate of early, comprehensive, and radical economic reforms in Russia and Eastern Europe.[1] He worked at the Peterson Institute for International Economics from 2006 to 2015. In 2013, David Frum wrote that “Anders Aslund at the Peterson Institute is one of the world’s leading experts on the collapse of the planned Soviet economy.” [2]

Anders Aslund lives permanently in Washington, DC [....]

continued at Wikipedia

by artappraiser on Wed, 03/09/2022 - 9:29pm

Franklin Foer at The Atlantic pegs it perfectly:

https://t.co/0OF9dVvbZM
— (@alixsharkey) March 8, 2022

by artappraiser on Thu, 03/10/2022 - 3:08am

A presidency transformed

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