I have long been intrigued at how men who inflict torture and murder on their fellow human beings can consider themselves moral leaders. History is replete with authoritarians of various hues who fit the mould. One who exemplifies the type at the moment is Russia’s very own Vladimir Putin. One
Continue readingTag: Putin (Vladimir)
Views from the Beltline: A warrant for the world’s “most brazen mobster”
If there has been a knock on the International Criminal Court (ICC) it’s that it has focussed excessively on developing countries. Of the over 50 individuals the court has indicted, the majority are from Africa. The court has now issued a warrant for a European and they couldn’t have made
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: A warrant for the world’s “most brazen mobster”
If there has been a knock on the International Criminal Court (ICC) it’s that it has focussed excessively on developing countries. Of the over 50 individuals the court has indicted, the majority are from Africa. The court has now issued a warrant for a European and they couldn’t have made
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Putin and Peter—What’s NATO got to do with it?
NATO is frequently brought up in the discussion of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. Some pundits suggest it is a cause, even to some a justification. I would suggest NATO has little to do with it except as an excuse for Putin’s imperialism. Putin was a child of the Soviet
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The noble Nobels
The collapse of the Soviet Union, the “Evil Empire,” was perhaps the most welcome event of the latter part of the 20th century. Almost three hundred million people freed from totalitarian rule in a historical moment, and peacefully at that. Tragically not all have remained free. Half of them are
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: And after Putin?
Russian President Vladimir Putin is not happy in the modern world. A child of Soviet Communism and of that particular enthusiasm bred by service in the KGB, he prefers government with a firm hand, preferably his. And his nostalgia for the old days carries him back even further. He has,
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Putin making Russia great again
Both the two major world powers during the Cold War have had leaders who wanted to “make their nations great again.” Both hark back nostalgically to some imagined golden age. One, former U.S. president Donald Trump, MAGA-man, largely failed. He did, however, sow the seeds for a successor by pushing
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: There is a Russian opposition
Russian’s new tsar, Vlad the shirtless, is not a man to entertain opposition. People who cross him have been known to be poisoned, shot, imprisoned or, in the case of the Chechens, bombed back to the Stone Age. Draconian measures have been signed into law to silence critics of his
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: NATO advances
Vladimir Putin. Yet another megalomaniacal psychopath pursuing Lebensraum, a true heir to the Nazis he claims to despise. If he has accomplished anything in his invasion of Ukraine, it is justifying the existence of NATO. Ironically, he claims that it was the advance of NATO, presumably threatening Russian security, that
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The international macho fraternity
Macho men have throughout history dominated societies—kings, warlords, military leaders and assorted demagogues. Despite the advance of democracy in the past few centuries, modern societies still have their share. Three good examples today, presidents all, are Vladimir Putin of Russia, Xi Jinping of China and Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil. These
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: An unholy duo
Christianity has often sucked up to power. Even in these days of generally more enlightened religion, there are still Christian leaders who will kiss the king’s ring in order to advance the interests of the church, or at least of the church leadership. There is no better example than the
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Putin and NATO
A proposed explanation, if not a justification, for Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is that NATO pushed too far east and thus posed a threat. Actually it wasn’t so much a matter of NATO pushing east as being invited east. Countries that had been part of the Soviet Union, including
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Putin’s apologists
Russia’s war-mongering president, Vladimir Putin, has many admirers in the West. Various notable European politicians have paid homage, including the leader of France’s far right National Rally party, Marine Le Pen; former prime minster of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi; and Britain’s Brexit leader Nigel Farage. Other prominent fans include President of
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: A tale of two presidents and the rule of law
We can draw an interesting comparison between two politicians currently concerned that the long arm of the law may catch up to them upon leaving the sanctuary of the presidency. One has little to worry about. As an autocrat, he can manipulate both the people and the legislature to his
Continue readingDemocracy Amid COVID
As COVID-19 advances around the world, political opportunism is not far behind. This is to be expected. The pandemic, like all crises, presents a combination of circumstances that is ripe for exploitation. As fear escalates, people look for leaders to bring calm and maintain order. And with publics constrained by
Continue readingFrom Emperors to Emperors and Tsars to Tsars—Plus ça change
The French proverb plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose (the more things change, the more they stay the same) most aptly describes what has been happening at the pinnacle of government in China and Russia. Two years ago, the Chinese Communist Party, completely dominated by its 64-year-old president
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The Baby Boosters
According to the Worldometer (the world population clock), at 12:22 p.m. today the planet’s population of Homo sapiens was 7,769,974,138 with a net gain (births over deaths) of 114,862 so far this morning. You might think this was more than enough of us, given that we are multiplying on the
Continue readingThe EU Declares War
I apologize for the alarmist headline. The European Union hasn’t actually declared war, more a case of having recognized a war, a shadow war. Vera Jourova, Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency, claims Russia and China are engaging in a “digital war” with fake news and
Continue readingDemocracy or Putinism?
Vladimir Putin has been quoted as saying that the collapse of the Soviet Union was the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.” Whether or not his words have been interpreted correctly is a matter of dispute; nonetheless, his compatriots apparently agree with the sentiment. According to a recent survey by
Continue readingPutin Fails Liberal Democracy 101
Vladimir Putin is perhaps first among the anti-democratic strongmen that have emerged to soil the world. At the recent G20 summit he couldn’t resist taking a shot at liberal democracy, suggesting that it is becoming obsolete. The fact is that while the system he so loved, and faithfully served—Soviet Communism—lies
Continue reading