It has been quite a week in our World. The war in Ukraine rages on, the Presidential Election in the United States has begun in earnest (as another Russian Effort to undermine the Elections was uncovered), France entered a period of instability as we present a snapshot of our world courtesy of The Knowledge, France 24, Jacobin, Heather Cox Richardson, Defense One and the BIll and Melinda Gates Foundation:
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Putin’s secret sons | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vladimir Putin has two young sons – Ivan, nine, and Vladimir Jr, five – who are hidden away at a heavily guarded presidential palace and rarely interact with other children, according to a report published by the Dossier Centre investigative journalism website. Their mother is the former Olympic rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabaeva, 41, and the boys spend most of the year at their father’s residence on Lake Valdai, northwest of Moscow, surrounded by governesses, nannies, teachers and officers from the Kremlin Federal Guard service. Since the invasion of Ukraine, the house has been protected by air defence systems. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ivan and Vladimir have a huge collection of Lego, two ponies, rabbits and a St Bernard, and when they travel – to ski in the Russian resort of Krasnaya Polyana, or to spend July on Putin’s yacht in the Gulf of Finland – do so only on armoured trains or private jets. Though the Russian dictator has long despised American cartoons, comparing them unfavourably to Soviet-era animations, Ivan is said to be a huge fan of Disney, and annoys his father by impersonating characters from its most popular films. Each boy has a personal chef who prepares separate meals, and, like their dad, each has his own mug and drinks only from it. Putin has never acknowledged the boys and is notoriously touchy about his personal life. When a newspaper in Moscow reported in 2008 that he was in a relationship with Kabaeva, he said: “I have always had a negative attitude toward those who, with a runny nose and their erotic fantasies, interfere in other people’s lives.” The newspaper was shut down soon after.
Is it time for Zelenskyy to go?An exhausted leader of an exhausted nation, and the choices we must make under extreme pressure.
IT’S A STRANGE QUESTION, ISN’T IT? HOW COULD WE even ask this in the middle of an ongoing war? But it’s worth considering: Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected president of Ukraine in 2019, and his five-year term officially ended on May 20. By standard democratic processes, he should step down when his term concludes. So, is it time to renew the leadership? Should we be thinking about a change? Zelenskyy is certainly not a unanimous choice among Ukrainians, just as no politician in the world is. This is true even in a country under brutal invasion. While the majority supports him, not every citizen backs his leadership. People are exhausted — both physically and emotionally — but they understand the sacrifices needed to win the war. However, the pursuit of democracy is the very essence of this war. We are fighting for the right to choose our own future, including voting for leaders who best represent our aspirations. Is it not a contradiction to argue that Zelenskyy should remain in power beyond his elected term, even in the name of national security? Yet, the reality is clear: Ukraine is in a state of emergency. This is a country invaded by a foreign power with nuclear weapons, which has officially and publicly denied our right to exist as a state. Exceptional circumstances like this call for exceptional measures.
The conclusion is that no, he must remain. And his legitimacy comes not only from the assumption that we are fighting for survival, not just stability: contrary to what Russian and Russian-backed media keeps claiming, he is legally obliged to do so, as the constitution prohibits elections from being held under martial law. History gives us plenty of examples. The United States during World War II extended leadership beyond typical terms for Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill also ascended to power in the UK through exceptional processes in 1940. These decisions were made to protect their nations during times of existential crisis, and history has proven that these measures were the most adequate. Zelenskyy is in a similar position today. His presence provides a stability that Ukraine desperately needs. If he were to leave office or, worse, perish in this struggle, the vacuum left behind could potentially shake our resistance. Russia is aware of this and would be all too happy to exploit the chaos. Our president is the face of Ukrainian defiance, and Putin understands that. Keeping Zelenskyy as our president is not just a matter of political continuity, but of ensuring our spirit of resistance remains intact. For these reasons, it’s essential that Zelenskyy remains at the helm until the final victory — not just for Ukraine, but for the entire free world. We are fighting for democracy, and while that may seem contradictory when discussing extending a leader’s term, in a circumstance of war, survival must take precedence. After victory, there will be plenty of time to return to regular elections. Until then, we will stand united behind Volodymyr Zelenskyy, our leader, our inspiration, our hope, our commander-in-chief. By rights, tonight’s post should be a picture, but Trump’s behavior today merits a marker because it feels like a dramatic escalation of the themes we’ve seen for years. Please feel free to ignore—as I often say, I am trying to leave notes for a graduate student in 150 years, and you can consider this one for her if you want a break from the recent onslaught of news. Yesterday, Trump ranted at the press, furious that the American legal system had resulted in two jury decisions that he had defamed and sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll. He was so angry that, with his lawyers standing awkwardly behind him, he told reporters: “I’m disappointed in my legal talent, I’ll be honest with you.” Today, Trump held a rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin, a small city in the center of the state, where he addressed about 7,000 people. A number of us who have been watching him closely have been saying for a while that when voters actually saw him in this campaign, they would be shocked at how he has deteriorated, and that seems to be true: his meandering and self-indulgent speeches have had attendees leaving early, some of them bewildered. In today’s speech, Trump slurred a number of words, referring to Elon Musk as “Leon,” for example, and forgetting the name of North Dakota governor Doug Burgum, who was on his short list for a vice presidential pick. But today’s speech struck me as different from his past performances, distinguished for what sounded like desperation. Trump has always invented his stories from whole cloth, but there used to be some way to tie them to reality. Today that seemed to be gone. He was in a fantasy world, and his rhetoric was apocalyptic. It was also bloody in ways that raise huge red flags for scholars of fascism. Trump told the audience that when he took office in 2017, military officers told him the U.S. had given all the military’s ammunition away to allies. Then he went on a rant against our allies, saying that they’re only our allies when they need something and that they would never come to our aid if we needed them. This echoes the talking points put out by Russian operatives and flies in the face of the fact that the one time the North Atlantic Treaty Organization invoked the mutual defense pact in that agreement was after the attacks of September 11, 2001, in support of the U.S. He embraced Project 2025’s promise to eliminate the Department of Education and send education back to the states so that right-wing figures like Wisconsin’s Senator Ron Johnson can run it. He reiterated the MAGA claim that mothers are executing their babies after birth—this is completely bonkers—and again echoed Russian talking points when he said these executions are happening—they are not—but “nobody talks about it.” He went on: “We did a great thing when we got Roe v. Wade out of the federal government.” He reiterated the complete fantasy that schools are performing gender-affirming surgery on children. “Can you imagine you're a parent and your son leaves the house and you say, Jimmy, I love you so much, go have a good day at school, and your son comes back with a brutal operation. Can you even imagine this? What the hell is wrong with our country?” Trump’s suggestion that schools are performing surgery on students is bananas. This is simply not a thing that happens. And then he went full-blown apocalyptic, attacking immigrants and claiming that crime, which in reality has dropped dramatically since President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took office after a spike during his own term, has made the U.S. uninhabitable. He said that “If I don’t win Colorado, it will be taken over by migrants and the governor will be sent fleeing.” "Migrants and crime are here in our country at levels never thought possible before…. You're not safe even sitting here, to be honest with you. I'm the only one that's going to get it done. Everybody is saying that." He urged people to protest “because you’re being overrun by criminals.” He assured attendees that "If you think you have a nice house, have a migrant enjoy your house, because a migrant will take it over. A migrant will take it over. It will be Venezuela on steroids." He reiterated his plan to get rid of migrants. “And you know,” he said, “getting them out will be a bloody story.” He went on to try to rev up supporters in words very similar to those he used on January 6th, 2021, but focused on this election. “Every citizen who’s sick and tired of the parasitic political class in Washington that sucks our country of its blood and treasure, November fifth will be your liberation day. November fifth, this year, will be the most important day in the history of our country because we’re not going to have a country anymore if we don’t win.” He promised: “I will prevent World War III, and I am the only one that can do it. I will prevent World War III. And if I don’t win this election,... Israel is doomed…. Israel will be gone…. I’d better win.” "I better win or you're gonna have problems like we've never had. We may have no country left. This may be our last election. You want to know the truth? People have said that. This may be our last election…. It’ll all be over, and you gotta remember…. Trump is always right. I hate to be right. I’m always right.” Trump's hellscape is only in his mind: crime is sharply down in the U.S. since he left office, migrant crossings have plunged, and the economy is the strongest in the world. Then, tonight, Trump posted on his social media site a rant asserting that he will win the 2024 election but that he expects Democrats to cheat, and “WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again. We cannot let our Country further devolve into a Third World Nation, AND WE WON’T! Please beware that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials. Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country.” Is it the Justice Department indictments that showed Russia is working to get him reelected? Is it the rising popularity of Democratic nominees Kamala Harris and Tim Walz? Is it fury at the new grand jury’s indicting him for his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election and install himself in power? Is it fear of Tuesday’s debate with Harris? Is it a declining ability to grapple with reality? Whatever has caused it, Trump seems utterly off his pins, embracing wild conspiracy theories and, as his hopes of winning the election appear to be crumbling, threatening vengeance with a dogged fury that he used to be able to hide.
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