Vladimir Putin has a decision to make. To destroy the planet as we know it and risk nuclear annihilation, or to not do that at all. I’m thinking it’s a pretty easy choice, but sadly, I’m not the one responsible for making it. With Russia embroiled in the ongoing war with Ukraine and running out of allies, Putin has circled back to his threat of using nuclear weapons to avoid what’s looking like an embarrassing military defeat. Which begs the question: what would you do and how far would you go to avoid embarrassment?
“If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people. It’s not a bluff.”
-Putin, in an apparent non-bluff reference to Moscow’s sizable nuclear arsenal
By bringing up issues like “territorial integrity”, Putin keeps a vague threatening tone without providing examples of how his invasion of another country equates to a threat against Russian land. Russian nuclear doctrine has maintained that nukes would be used only in defense of Russian territory, so Putin’s apparent solution is to make up more territory.
As anti-war protests continue to grow in Russia, Putin has cracked down on dissent, with more than 1,000 civilians arrested yesterday alone. Some independent news outlets reported that some of those arrested were served a draft summons to report to a military enlistment office on Thursday, the first full day of conscription. This may be Putin’s final card, sending dissenters to the front line, untrained and under-equipped, to defend his dying dream.
Side Items
Protests in Iran continue to grow in size and severity as anger at the death of Mahsa Amini spreads across the country. Amini was arrested by “morality police” last week and died in custody, causing widespread outrage. With no sign of the protests easing, Iranian officials decided to restrict access to the internet, shutting down access to Instagram and Whatsapp among other services
Embattled/racist & misogynistic NBA owner Robert Sarver announced yesterday that he would begin the process of selling the two sports franchises he owns, the Phoenix Suns and the Phoenix Mercury. His decision comes days after the NBA’s initial punishment and after continued outcry from players and fans alike who feel that there’s no room in the league for a wrinkled old bigot…
Speaking of wrinkled bigots….retired quarterback Brett Favre is under continued scrutiny for his decision to defraud the government of the poorest state in our nation out of millions of dollars. For some reason (racism), he hasn’t been as publicly castigated as Michael Vick was when he was found guilty of dogfighting in 2007. Let’s be clear, I’m anti-dogfighting. I’m also anti-stealing from poor families, so I guess I can’t be a Favre fan anymore