his insights are most welcome, but I love the story about his covert trip to the river on that long ago night in Kiev, when your brother was maybe 20. Impossibly young...
Actually, I realized I was only 19. Nixon was still in the White House. But as my brother knows, Jim took me on adventures like this even when I was a young teenager.
I am far from an expert, or even knowledgeable amateur, on international relations, but when I heard and read about Putin's description of Ukraine as an illegitimate creation of the Bolsheviks/Communists, I thought immediately "well, that's both historically absurd, and a shout out to Xi Jinping re Taiwan". In other words, I thought Putin was trying to win support from China by making an argument that China could clearly make in the case of Taiwan: "That country was birthed by an illegitimate regime, and is therefore illegitimate". Now, the issue of China and Taiwan is more complex than this, but in a sense this is the crux of the Chinese beef with Taiwan, so I have to wonder if Putin made this argument in the hopes it would buy Chinese acquiescence in the Ukraine invasion. So, having read your brother's thoughts on the history of Russia/Ukraine I am glad to have some more evidence to argue that Putin's description made no sense. 🤓
On reflection, I think Putin was simply trying to denounce Ukraine, and I don't think he had a 'nod-and-a-wink' to Xi about Taiwan. But maybe you are right, perhaps that came up in their own love-fest in Beijing for the Olympics and announcement of China/Russia friendship. We won't know for a few years probably.
Tom F (below) is obviously the authority here. My **hope** is that the disaster Putin is creating for himself, in addition to the disaster he is wreaking on Ukraine and elsewhere, might be cautionary for XJP and the rest. But I am careful to say that this is hope rather than prediction.
Many thanks or this review. As it happened, I was in the USSR on a student trip about the same time (1971) and met some Ukrainian students who made it very clear that they were NOT Russian. Regarding the present inflation and possible energy sanctions, one problem I've not seen discussed anywhere is that the Biden administration has punted on the task of educating the American public regarding how inflation increases happen rather naturally during times of disruption; and how prices also come down. The news media are pretty useless regarding this problem, so the general public is stuck with remotes of TV reporters in front of daily gas price signs at service stations.
It’s the media’s job to give people this kind of information whether or not politicians do. When it comes to reporting on the economy the media has been doing a terrible job. They have given far more coverage to inflation than to our strong gdp and jobs growth. Biden and other Democrats have repeatedly tried to increase awareness of these numbers but the media narrative has drowned them out. As a result the public has a very distorted view of our economy.
Media critic Dan Froomkin recently wrote an article about the data showing the public is badly misinformed about our economy — for example only 28% of people in one poll knew that jobs increased over 2021. The article is well worth reading:
One thing worse than a [supposedly] clueless media is relying on polls to tell us everything we know or think we know about what "the public" thinks. Sure sometimes the media may misinform but what polls don't show is the extent to which "the public" is uninformed, willfully ignorant or hopelessly opinionated. Most folks get their news on the fly from TV. So . . . duh. As an obsessive reader of the Times, WaPo, NYer, The Atlantic etc etc I think "the media" is actually doing a pretty good job on the economy. Don't read the polls to judge. Read the damn papers!
I read all the same sources you do, plus The Economist, The Guardian and media critics like Dan Froomkin and Eric Boehlert. I also read “Breaking the News: How the Media Media Undermines Democracy” — the book written my Mr. Fallows back in 1996. (Read his response to my post above.)
Very fine personal history. Thanks for the share: Your brother's experience and rationality helps a little bit to ameliorate today's depression. Most obliged, --Barry
Interesting history and well-informed analysis of where best to go from here. Thank you!
Exceptionally interesting and, in the best possible way, informative, i.e., via storytelling. Thank you!
his insights are most welcome, but I love the story about his covert trip to the river on that long ago night in Kiev, when your brother was maybe 20. Impossibly young...
Actually, I realized I was only 19. Nixon was still in the White House. But as my brother knows, Jim took me on adventures like this even when I was a young teenager.
Yes, Tom has always been the leading adventurer in the family!
I am far from an expert, or even knowledgeable amateur, on international relations, but when I heard and read about Putin's description of Ukraine as an illegitimate creation of the Bolsheviks/Communists, I thought immediately "well, that's both historically absurd, and a shout out to Xi Jinping re Taiwan". In other words, I thought Putin was trying to win support from China by making an argument that China could clearly make in the case of Taiwan: "That country was birthed by an illegitimate regime, and is therefore illegitimate". Now, the issue of China and Taiwan is more complex than this, but in a sense this is the crux of the Chinese beef with Taiwan, so I have to wonder if Putin made this argument in the hopes it would buy Chinese acquiescence in the Ukraine invasion. So, having read your brother's thoughts on the history of Russia/Ukraine I am glad to have some more evidence to argue that Putin's description made no sense. 🤓
On reflection, I think Putin was simply trying to denounce Ukraine, and I don't think he had a 'nod-and-a-wink' to Xi about Taiwan. But maybe you are right, perhaps that came up in their own love-fest in Beijing for the Olympics and announcement of China/Russia friendship. We won't know for a few years probably.
Tom F (below) is obviously the authority here. My **hope** is that the disaster Putin is creating for himself, in addition to the disaster he is wreaking on Ukraine and elsewhere, might be cautionary for XJP and the rest. But I am careful to say that this is hope rather than prediction.
Thanks. I too am very attentive to the Taiwan topic when I think of Russia's war against Ukraine.
Many thanks or this review. As it happened, I was in the USSR on a student trip about the same time (1971) and met some Ukrainian students who made it very clear that they were NOT Russian. Regarding the present inflation and possible energy sanctions, one problem I've not seen discussed anywhere is that the Biden administration has punted on the task of educating the American public regarding how inflation increases happen rather naturally during times of disruption; and how prices also come down. The news media are pretty useless regarding this problem, so the general public is stuck with remotes of TV reporters in front of daily gas price signs at service stations.
It’s the media’s job to give people this kind of information whether or not politicians do. When it comes to reporting on the economy the media has been doing a terrible job. They have given far more coverage to inflation than to our strong gdp and jobs growth. Biden and other Democrats have repeatedly tried to increase awareness of these numbers but the media narrative has drowned them out. As a result the public has a very distorted view of our economy.
Media critic Dan Froomkin recently wrote an article about the data showing the public is badly misinformed about our economy — for example only 28% of people in one poll knew that jobs increased over 2021. The article is well worth reading:
https://presswatchers.org/2022/03/when-the-public-thinks-up-is-down-its-time-to-rethink-coverage/
Froomkin is right that when polls show the public is so badly informed about important topics the media needs to look in the mirror.
Yes, I agree — on this specific Dan Froomkin post, and on the larger point.
One thing worse than a [supposedly] clueless media is relying on polls to tell us everything we know or think we know about what "the public" thinks. Sure sometimes the media may misinform but what polls don't show is the extent to which "the public" is uninformed, willfully ignorant or hopelessly opinionated. Most folks get their news on the fly from TV. So . . . duh. As an obsessive reader of the Times, WaPo, NYer, The Atlantic etc etc I think "the media" is actually doing a pretty good job on the economy. Don't read the polls to judge. Read the damn papers!
I read all the same sources you do, plus The Economist, The Guardian and media critics like Dan Froomkin and Eric Boehlert. I also read “Breaking the News: How the Media Media Undermines Democracy” — the book written my Mr. Fallows back in 1996. (Read his response to my post above.)
I fully agree
Very interesting; thanks, and thanks to Tom for this report.
And, yes, I agree on the inflation point. Will address that again.
Excellent.
Very fine personal history. Thanks for the share: Your brother's experience and rationality helps a little bit to ameliorate today's depression. Most obliged, --Barry
Barry, thank you. All credit to Tom for knowing enough to put things in this perspective.