Gorbachev, Putin, and a collapsing empire Gwynne Dyer — Sept. 7, 2022 This is not another pipe-sucking reassessment of Mikhail Gorbachev’s failed attempt to democratize the Soviet Union 30 years ago. He wasn’t actually trying to do that anyway; he was attempting to save the Soviet Union and Communism by civilizing and softening the harsh … Continue reading Gwynne Dyer on Russia’s Reluctant Decolonization
[NOTE: I respect Tom Ricks. When it comes to war, he knows his stuff. His Wikipedia entry explains that he is an American journalist and author who specializes in the military and national security issues. He is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting as part of teams from the Wall Street … Continue reading Tom Ricks thinks we can avoid a civil war. That could be huge.
Labor Day Secrets: 2026 Update (Enhanced by AI —Already Inscribed) Why can locksmiths stay open on Labor Day? Because they are key workers. Q: Why do managers never go bowling with their employees? A: Because they’re afraid of strikes! My Labor Day plans are simple: honor years of hard work by refusing to locate my … Continue reading This One Weird Trick Will guarantee to Fully Empty Your Brain Before Labor Day Brunch — Try It NOW!
Too busy . . . Someone here fits that description . . . Heading for Kyiv . . . then where? Will all our most extravagant hopes end this way? Ghosts: Gorby & Reagan . . . What if Mikhail had borrowed Ronnie’s astrologer .. .?? In post-Gorbachev Russia, this now passes for freedom of … Continue reading Gorbachev: An Elegy in Images
New York Times — September 2, 2022 I Was Onstage With Salman Rushdie That Day, and What I Saw Was Remarkable By Henry Reese Violence against writers was the topic I was about to interview the novelist Salman Rushdie about at the Chautauqua Institution on Aug. 12. We were being introduced onstage when out of … Continue reading A Network of Good Deeds: Providing Asylum to Threatened Writers