DL Open Thread: Thursday, March 10, 2022

The Guardian Provides Excellent Source Of Up-To-Date Ukraine-Russia News.  A go-to resource.

Cause/Effect:  Trump plane (allegedly) makes emergency landing.  Trump fund-raises for new plane.  Which reminds me: Has anyone outside the Trump orbit confirmed the plane’s distress, or are we just once again believing serial liars?

Some More Ft. DuPont Stink.  It won’t dissipate, not even after this career scofflaw vacates the premises and the Town.

Putin’s Strategic Error:  He Created The Very Alliance He Had Feared:

When Vladimir Putin began laying the groundwork for his invasion of Ukraine, he pointed to what he regards as the existential threat posed by the West encroaching farther into the post-Soviet space. Nearly two weeks into Putin’s devastating and costly invasion, that fear has turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy: The once-remote possibility of Ukraine joining the European Union and NATO now seems more plausible, and even in historically neutral countries such as Finland and Sweden (both of which are already EU members), public support for joining NATO has surged to record levels.

Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has primarily succeeded in materializing his worst fears: a unified West, a more militarized Europe, and a stronger, more attractive NATO. No matter how the invasion ends, this will be one of its legacies.

Russian Economy Hit Hard, But Will Likely Survive.  Mainly because Russia has built “an economy that’s geared for conflict.”

What do you want to talk about?