Uncategorized – Page 17

Putin on His Glory

He’s pacing in his office in his bunker.
He looks a bit tense but controlled, mostly an enjoyable feeling. He’s just finished a half glass of vodka with his filet of salmon, done ‘a la Vladimir’ by his personal chef. He is careful with his drinking. Always has been. He remembers Boris Yeltsin very well, and how drink undid him.
On the other hand, if it hadn’t been for Yeltsin, who handpicked him, he wouldn’t be where he is now.
He thinks about freedom, how the West carries on and on about it. Absurd.

‘There’s no freedom on earth, not really, it’s all in heaven. Which is why I’m not disturbed by all the casualties I inflict, death merely passage to a great and fair world. I mean… sometimes it does occur to me that heaven is a useful fiction but… what are the chances of that? Minimal. Have to play the odds… and I’m a gambling man.’

He paces some more.

‘The thought of the cartel drug lord in Chihuahua, Mexico, enters his mind. ‘How interesting. The young fellow kills two Jesuit priests and gets the third one to hear his confession. He didn’t kill him, so the likelihood is the priest pardoned him. What was he going to do, staring at the two dead bodies in front of him? “No, you’re a murderer, I’m not going to pardon you.” Of course, he pardoned him. Then said a couple of prayers with him, to console and send him off. I would’ve done exactly the same thing. Save your skin. Oh, the power of the gun.’

He stops and takes another sip of his vodka.

‘I have thought of putting a military base in Mexico. Just to piss off the Americans. I doubt the president of Mexico would let me, but just the talk of it would be enough to rile the Americans, which I love to do. I can even talk of putting bases in other countries, too, say Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba. Just to keep the Americans guessing.’

On the TV monitors affixed to the wall, scenes of the destruction in Ukraine flash by.

‘I am the toast of the world. I am reviled in some sections, sure, but in others I am a hero.
And I love the invitation to the upcoming G-20 meeting in November. Joko Widodo, the Indonesian president, personally extended the invitation. Just beautiful. I’d love to attend. By then I will have conquered all of Ukraine, or if not, at least destroyed most of their infrastructure, their schools, universities, hospitals, industries, malls, whatever. Turned them into beggars. Just so they never forget what it means to defy me.
The West will soon forget them, anyway, worried as they are of having to pay more for gas and so on.
And when I get to the meeting, there will be leaders of nations lining up to shake my hand and bow and have a photo taken with me. For posterity. Beautiful.
Narendra Modi will be there, and Xi Jinping, and I’ll try to mediate between them. Wouldn’t that be wonderful, if India would join our bloc? They’re cooperating so far. Then it would be Russia, China and India, against the West. We would be invincible.’

He crosses to a mirror on the wall adjacent and looks at himself. He smiles.

‘I’m strong and fit, good for another 20 years in power.’

He thinks of Trump.

‘I’m sorry to hear about what he went through after his defeat at the polls. I can only imagine what it would be like for me. Of course, I’d never give Russians the chance. But I’m sorry for Donald because I like him. I wish there was some way… well… not now. I certainly hope he runs again. If it hadn’t been for him, I wouldn’t have felt so certain that I could get away with invading Ukraine. I mean… I knew it wasn’t in him to rally the Europeans to oppose me… and he wouldn’t have started something on his own. Instead, he would’ve called me up and said something like, “Vladimir, you’re making me look bad by threatening to go in all the way like that… so in the open… instead, do it with stealth… get one of your people to run for president of Ukraine and get the comedian out. No military intervention, just infiltrate the government… meddle with the electoral process… and I’ll make sure NATO never makes Ukraine a candidate for membership. Be more subtle.” And just that thoughtfulness on his part, would’ve saved lives… Russian and Ukrainians both, and we would all be grateful.
Of course, they wouldn’t be free… they would be part of my growing empire… but again, what’s all the fuss about freedom?’

He paces a little more.

‘This freedom thing is a ruse the Americans play on their people. Are people killing each other, free? Of course not. This freedom thing is a mirage. Opium for the masses. Hmm. I know that’s not original but sounds good. Can’t remember who said it. Must be the vodka.
Are all those homeless people in America free? Right.
All the poor people free, too? Sure.
The only really free people in America are the ones with money. The rest don’t even vote or are too tired after work to think about it, which is why Trump stands a chance of getting elected and… if he plays his cards right, even getting the constitution changed so he can run again, for a third term, though he might be too old by then. But good for his successors. Anyway, he’s sure to beat Biden easily. Biden doesn’t have a chance, not with the drubbing I’m going to give Ukrainians and the relentless inflation.
Hmm.
The supreme court voided Roe vs Wade. The two term limit is next. Beautiful.
Count on me, Donald, even if you can’t hear me.
And, yes, I’d love to accept an invitation of yours to Mar-A-Lago and play a couple of rounds of golf. And do an appearance with you in your platform, Truth Social, and the world would be a more peaceful place. With fewer dead and ill. And Donald would let the Russian vaccine be used worldwide. Or talk to Xi, so he would use it in China. Not that their vaccine is bad. Just not as effective as mine.’

He opens his arms wide, a smile on his face.

‘Oh power, how grateful I am that I can hold you, how grateful that I will have you until I die.’

He frowns. His thoughts turn to the testimony of Ms Cassidy, a White House aide, on her recollections of what happened while the January 6th rioters were headed to the capitol.

‘That got away from Donald. If we had spent more time together, I would’ve made clear to him that he was in his right, as president, to have a gun on him, just in case, and when he got in the limousine to go to the capitol and lead the charge of the protesters in an unprecedented act of heroism, and the driver refused, he would’ve flashed his gun and made it clear who was boss. I bet the driver would’ve taken him… and the counting of the ballots would’ve been tampered with and Donald’s election would’ve been ratified by the conservatives in the supreme court and the world would’ve been spared the misery of Ukraine. Trump would have, single handedly, changed the course of history.
But it got away from him.
Not too late, though. There’s still time. Overturning Roe vs Wade is just the start. We have another election coming up. And Russians and Americans will become the best of friends.’

He smiles

‘I love me.’

Oscar Valdes, medium.com, anchor.fm, buzzsprout, apple and google podcasts

Abortion Rights. Street Interviews

Right after the supreme court overturned Roe vs Wade, ending the constitutional right to an abortion for American women, a reporter from KNTX100 set out to find people in the street to share their views.
The reporter (Rept), a woman, addresses a man as he approaches.

Rept – Good afternoon, I’m with KNTX100 and would like to get your impressions on today’s momentous supreme court decision. Are you aware of it?
Man (stopping) – Oh yes. It shocked me. I mean, we knew there was the possibility but still it shocked me.
Rept – In which way?
Man – What business do old men have telling women what to do with their bodies? This Alito guy and Thomas, they’re just envious they didn’t get a uterus. I mean, a uterus is a beautiful thing, all of humanity has been there, all of humanity has been coddled and nurtured in that beautiful organ, every one of us has been there, Alito and Thomas too, and they don’t want to accept the fact that it’s up to the women who have the uterus to decide what to do with what’s in it.
Rept – You don’t think there should be limits, depending on when the fetus becomes viable, as in able to subsist on its own?
Man – Sure, I’m for that, too. Give it three months, that gives the woman enough time to decide if she wants to carry it or not. Because that’s a lot of responsibility. Not just for when we’re in the womb but afterwards. I mean, mothers… they’re really important.
Rept – So you think Justices Alito and Thomas are envious of women?
Man – Yeah, these guys, they’re the epitome of men who want to control women. That’s the bottom line here. I mean, us men, we’ve got to get a grip. We want women to give us life, pleasure, comfort, keep our secrets, look pretty, you name it, and we still want to control them? It’s too much. We men have to realize they have their own power and we have to trust they will use it in the best interest of humanity, like they’ve been doing all along.
Rept – So you’re for equal pay for women and for doing away with the glass ceiling in corporate America?
Man – Got that right. Not only should women get equal pay but women who conceive and give birth should get a tax break, too, as a way of saying, thank you. Definitively some time off. And we might have fewer wars in the world if we had more women in leadership. That’s not to say we haven’t seen some bad women leaders… but we’ve got to give them a chance.
Rept – What do you think women should do in the face of this decision?
Man – I was just thinking about it. Women who live in states where they will ban abortion should just leave. They should pack up and go, start a mass migration to states where they can have an abortion, and the reason is that if a state bans abortion, then they most likely have an antiwoman climate also, so women will be limited in what they can accomplish in ways that might not even be noticeable. So John will get promoted but Jill will not. Or Jill gets groped like that Hollywood producer was doing. If I had a daughter and she was living in a state that banned abortion, I’d tell her, ‘Get out!’
Rept – You don’t think they should stay and fight?
Man – If that’s what you want, sure. But those states will have a lot of hard headed men, and old fashioned women – brainwashed – who will make their life tough. So better get out and make a life elsewhere. Look, most women want to have children, it’s in them, that’s how nature made them, but in this modern age they deserve a chance to choose what to do with their lives and bodies. Mistakes happen and people get pregnant when they didn’t want to or just change their minds.
It shouldn’t be up to this Alito guy, or that dude Thomas, Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, Coney, you know the bunch.
I’d say to all women in states where abortion is banned, ‘get out, get out now!’
Believe me, if they start that migration, pretty soon the guys will follow them and those states will suffer. Maybe then they’ll rethink the matter. Meanwhile, I’m putting those states in my flyover list. Good riddance.
Rept – Any final comments?
Man – Yeah. God has nothing to do with it. God wants women to be happy and if they want to have an abortion, that’s okay with God.
Rept – What do you think of the war in Ukraine?
Man – Ghastly. We need to do all we can for Ukrainians. Give them planes so they can push Russians back.
Rept – Thank you so much for your thoughts, Mr…
Man – Joe… just call me Joe.
Rept – Thank you, Joe. (facing the camera) Reporting from Greenville, South Carolina, for KNTX100 and our sister affiliate in New Orleans, this is Tilly Pence.

She switches off her mike and the cameraman stops recording.

Man – Say, Tilly, you related to Mike Pence?
Rept – I am, by marriage to someone in the family tree.

Now a woman approaches. The cameraman notices and tells Tilly. Joe waves goodbye and leaves.
Tilly turns her mike back on as the cameraman starts to record the approaching woman.

Rept – Hi, I’m Tilly with KNTX100… I wanted to ask you a few questions…
Woman (smiling) – I know who you are. I saw you interviewing the gentleman, so I figured I could put in my two words.
Rept – Of course. So what do you think of the supreme court’s decision?
Woman – I’m so relieved with the decision, my prayers finally answered. Can’t thank enough the good judges. We’re truly blessed in America to have such people.
We now have God’s wishes, no tampering with creation and respect for the sanctity of life.
We are vessels for the will of God.
Our primary responsibility is to deliver to the world God’s gift – human beings. Men can’t do what we do. We conceive, carry and deliver humanity to the world, assuring our survival and progress. It’s a grand task and we women should be very proud of our capacity.
Rept – You have children?
Woman – Five. And I’ve been doing well professionally, too, so it hasn’t interfered.
Rept – Congratulations. One person I interviewed today said that, in light of the decision and as protest, women in states that don’t allow abortion should leave and migrate to states that permit it.
Woman – No, that would be disastrous. We women are fighters, we don’t give up and leaving would be giving up. Plus that would mean shrinking the pool of women available for procreation.
Rept – That was his point…
Woman – It’s not right… we need to populate all of America, not just the East and West coast.
Rept – What do you think of the war in Ukraine?
Woman – Oh, God, It’s so wrong. Those images… haunting… any destruction is wrong…
Rept – You think we’re doing the right thing in helping them out?
Woman – Actually, some help is okay but we’re spending too much… they’re just too far away… Biden’s spending like they’re his cousins… but there’s so much to do here now… and the gas prices keep going up. Everything.
(She smiles)
I have to go now. thanks for the interview. When will it air?
Rept – This evening…
Woman – Will I be in it?
Rept – Yes. Of course, we edit a little.
Woman – Of course. I just want to see myself on TV. Thank you

She turns and walks away.

Rept- So there it is folks, two different views on this difficult and divisive issue.
This is Tilly Pence, for KNTX100, until next time.

Oscar Valdes, medium.com, anchor.fm, buzzsprout, apple and google podcasts

Trump on Roe vs Wade, Putin and the War

He’s standing in front of the window of his office in Mar-a-Lago, which looks out onto the golf course.

‘Finally… my vindication… Roe vs Wade is overturned because I put in those judges. My vision and determination have been proven right.’

He smiles to himself, rubs his chin gently.

‘And this marks the beginning of my return to the White House. I feel very excited.
The nation is longing for sanity. What are we doing in Ukraine?
Unbelievable.
If I had been president, as I should have because the election was stolen from me… there would not have been a war in Ukraine. We wouldn’t have had this god awful problem with inflation, people wouldn’t be suffering with high gasoline prices… and thousands and thousands of Ukrainians and Russians would be enjoying their lives with their families.
All that upheaval, the mass migrations, lives destroyed or turned upside down, buildings demolished… unbelievable… all of it… I cry when I see the scenes… all of it was preventable… but the democrats didn’t see it… they just can’t… it’s not in them… they’re an inferior brand of politicians.’

He shakes his head ruefully.

‘If I had been in office, Putin wouldn’t have had any reservations about picking up the phone and calling me up, “Donald… I’m feeling very uncomfortable with Zelensky in Ukraine carrying on about wanting to apply for membership in NATO… I don’t like it. I need your help. I’m feeling like they’re setting a trap for me.”
Yes… Putin would’ve been honest with me… because we had that kind of relationship… and I would’ve helped. I would’ve asked him what he wanted… and he might’ve said something like, “I need to take Ukraine back… like when we had the Soviet Union. Since then, they have been a shambles, riddled with corruption and now they have all these neofascists infiltrating the government…’’
And I would’ve said… “Vladimir… make it quick… if it drags on it becomes a problem… so do it fast… it’s the humanitarian thing to do, anyway, so we can spare lives. Can you do that?”
And we wouldn’t have had this disaster that the democrats and the EU have created.
Amazing. What a difference a man can make in the course of history.’

Next to the window stand a few golf clubs. He crosses and selects one, which he now holds in his hands and start to motion as if he were about to tee off.

‘What this obsession with freedom? If you feel unfree take a vacation… that will do it. If you feel unfree, go out and make money, lots of it, that will do it.
With me in the White House… the moment the EU members would’ve felt rattled by Putin’s move to take over Ukraine, I would’ve invited them over and said, let’s be practical, what use is Ukraine to us? And they would’ve looked at each other and nodded. And I would’ve added, if we put sanctions on Russia, then they will retaliate and cut your oil and gas supplies… which will hurt the economy and nobody will be happy. Anyway, I’ve been onto you guys to increase your defense spending to 2% of GDP and you haven’t done it, so why get all upset now?
Go with the flow.
“But what about Ukraine’s freedom?” some would’ve asked, and I would’ve answered that it’s up to each nation to deal with it. We can’t do it for them. I’ve known men who were in relationships where they were henpecked and they loved it. So it’s up to each individual nation. If Putin is still president of Russia is because Russians like it that way, otherwise they would’ve thrown him out.
Same with the Chinese, if they haven’t revolted against Xi Jinping is because they love it.
We’re not created equal. Law of nature. So with freedom.’

He swings the golf course. And again. Still dreaming with that hole in one he’s never got. But the Roe vs Wade decision has come close to giving him that sense.

‘If I had been in office there wouldn’t have been this horrible problem with inflation and people starving. Instead the markets would be soaring, everybody getting richer and richer. But the democrats, instead of putting Zelensky in his place and telling him to cool it, fell for his act. Freedom!’

He laughs.

‘If I had been in power I wouldn’t have insisted on any sanctions on Putin and said to my fellow Americans, let’s not push Russia onto China’s arms… instead let’s build a good relationship with them. I’m more worried about China wanting world supremacy than Russia. But I can work with China, too. For now we got the tariffs that I put on them and they’re working.
With me in power, American businesses would not have had to leave Russia and would be making all kinds of money. And when I returned to Moscow aboard Air Force One, I would’ve been able to get myself a Big Mac.’

He smiles to himself as he returns to the window and to look out onto the golf course again. In the distance he sees his son in law, Jared, and Ivanka, walking on the greens, golf clubs in hand.

‘This overturning of Roe vs Wade has made up my mind. I will run again. The hearings on the January 6th incident will amount to nothing, since I never incited any violence, all I wanted was for American patriots to remind the people counting the electoral ballots that there might be some cheating involved… but it got out of hand. I regret the loss of lives.
So… I will run for president in 2024 because the nation needs me. The country has lost its way and I can set it back on the right path. Get the wall finished also.
As far as running mate is concerned, I’ll have to think about it some more. But I’m starting to think of Nikki Haley. Between the two of us we’ll cream Biden – Harris. They won’t have a chance. And after 4 years I’ll retire as the most consequential American president ever.’

He looks up at the ceiling.

‘God, you’re with me, ain’t you? Ha! I know you are.’

Oscar Valdes, medium.com, anchor.fm, buzzsprout, apple and google podcasts

China and the US

We’re now in the thick of a struggle with China. A struggle for economic and technological primacy.
China has proved itself a formidable opponent. One that challenges us to the core, which is good for us.
Competition, with all its problems, has the advantage of pushing us to perform as best we can.
Unless we go to war, the likelihood is that this contest will last a long time.
Russia, for all its chest thumping in Ukraine and elsewhere, is not really part of this contest. They would like to be but, until they rid themselves of Putin and choose a different kind of leadership, they will remain a second level participant.
But back to China and the US.
This contest asks of us, which is the better social organization that can elicit the greater productivity from its citizens?
We both are presently thinking the social organization we presently have is the best one. But that is now in question.
China has shown a great deal of inventiveness and capacity for hard work. They acknowledged they needed to open themselves to other nations to promote internal prosperity, then did so and leaped forward in a spectacular manner in just 40 years. They have been called the factory of the world. Mastering the new information, they put it in their service.
Their social organization managed the transition effectively.
But will that same organization be able to address the complexities of the new environment they have created?
Recently we’ve seen how the political leadership, in the interest of ‘managed prosperity’, has inserted themselves in the governing of businesses and large conglomerates. My bet is that this approach will backfire and reduce the efficiency needed to compete.
The impulse of government to meddle in the running of successful businesses is ever present. We see attempts to do so here in America too, but in the end prove consistently detrimental to the creative and competitive impulse.
It will take time for the Chinese to acknowledge that flaw. The reason is their limits on free speech and the consequent drowning of critical voices.
We, in contrast, enjoy free speech, but are falling short on the discipline that must go with it.
How come, for instance, we’ve allowed ourselves to fall behind in the production of advanced semiconductors and so become dependent on a factory in Taiwan, which lies so close to China?
It is inexcusable. And it didn’t happen overnight.
Too many voices in America? No. We need them all. But we must be diligent in the setting of priorities and that’s a task for enlightened leadership.
Creativity is intimately connected to free speech. We need them both for ideas to fully flourish.
And while China continues to steal technology from the West, it is astonishing to see how they will not acknowledge the connection that makes it happen.
They know they have been enriched by trade with the West but are not willing to try and imitate the social and economic conditions that lead to such products, preferring to foist on the Chinese people a controlling system designed to preserve the elite’s political power at all costs.
To see China today, is to see a nation taking advantage of material advances but shrinking from their responsibility to mature politically.
The problem with immature political systems is that they turn violent on a whim. As is the sad case of Putin and Ukraine today.
Both China and Russia stand as examples of leadership manipulating their citizens.
As such they both should be subjects of study for all us here in America, since we also have witnessed recent serious attempts to manipulate us into believing false ideas.
Such study will show us how much we have got right and how much that can go wrong if we’re not on our game.
I would not want to live in any other political system than the one we have, but there is no doubt that we are a work in progress.
Democracy is a fragile affair, easily undermined by those whose main interest is their personal power.
Vigilance should be constant, and the journey worth every fight.

A quick aside:
On my way back home the other day, I saw a man standing at a corner holding an umbrella. I went up to him and said, ‘You’re making a statement with that umbrella.’
‘I am?’ he replied, amused.
‘Yes. You’re telling us that men also have sensitive skins.’
He laughed.

Good Night

Oscar Valdes, medium.com, anchor.fm, buzzsprout, apple an google podcasts

A Military Solution to an Economic Problem

The news today is not uplifting.
Russia continues to gain against Ukraine in the Eastern regions, is now targeting grain terminals in Ukraine’s port of Mykolaiv (WSJ) to damage the country’s food exports, is increasing cyberattacks on the western alliance (WSJ), while Turkey goes on obstructing Finland and Sweden’s push for NATO membership (NYT).
Meanwhile, the growing costs of inflation have spread widely and the rise in interest rates is slowing down the economy globally, all of which weakens the collective resolve of western nations to support Ukraine.
How long before Ukraine stops getting what it needs and is then trounced by Russia?
Not long.
Not all countries in the EU have contributed equally to the war effort, Germany and France underperforming significantly, yet public shaming seems to go only so far.
Nations are protesting they have limits.
If we keep going at this pace, Russia will devour Ukraine. And everyone watching will shake their heads and say, ‘what a shame… but really… there’s only so much we can do. Now we just hope they won’t invade us. So let’s be nice to Putin and the Russians.’
Something like that.
Do we want to live that way?
Hell, no!
If we do so, it amounts to a grand failure of leadership.
We started out giving much support to Ukraine but have not gone all the way.
Hasn’t Ukraine’s courage earned them the right to get all the arms they need?
Do we allow all their suffering and lives lost to be in vain?
Judging by the increasing protests of western nations, their economic concerns with the soaring price of energy, there is not much time left to act decisively.
So the time to give Ukraine all they need is now. That may not assure a victory but it will say we did all we could.
The slowing of the support given to Ukraine is a veiled effort to ask them to give up.
But they will not. It is their land and they won’t have it.
Which then throws it back in our face.
Ukraine will go all the way, help or no help from the West.
Are we expecting them to die in the battlefield and then live with the notion that we didn’t do all we could? That we didn’t give them the proper weapons?
The idea that our giving Ukraine fighter jets to push back Russia is going to trigger a nuclear war is a farce.
Putin may well be infuriated by it but we are as well armed as Russia and China combined.
Acting decisively now by giving Ukraine all they need is allowing ourselves the chance of victory.
Once victorious, sanctions should be lifted partly or completely, and the world economic crisis will begin to resolve.
The sanctions have been only modestly effective and there is no way we can influence China and India to stop buying Russian oil. Why, even western nations are asking for exemptions from the sanctions on one or another commodity.
We’re too interdependent to cut things off quickly and expect a powerful result. That will take time to plan.
But a military victory today is possible. Which will then permit the lifting of sanctions.
For us not to push for a military victory is a failure of courage.
It is saying we allowed Putin to frighten us.
Today, we stand awash in over caution, while letting Putin throw at Ukrainians everything he has.
Let us act now, damn it!
We should not back away from this confrontation without the sense that we gave it our best. And our best is to arm Ukraine to the fullest, short of nuclear weapons.
Ukrainians are saying to us, here we give our lives, helps us!
Who in recent history has said that loudly for all the world to hear?
No one.
So let us act.
Putin should not be allowed to intimidate us.
He needs to be confronted now.

Note to Mr Biden.
You’re heading out to the Middle East in the days to come. Word is that you’re expected to meet with MBS (Muhammad Bin Salman) who, our intelligence agencies have determined, is responsible for the murder of journalist and Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018 after he entered the Saudi Arabian consulate in Ankara, Turkey. He had been publicly critical of the Saudi regime.
I understand that Saudi Arabia can play a role in stabilizing the tensions in the region and is willing to ally with us to counter Iran’s threats.
As our president you need to look at the big picture.
But that does not mean you have to bow to that nation’s leadership. It sends a bad signal.

Oscarvaldes.net, medium.com, anchor.fm, buzzsprout, apple and google podcasts.

Parenting. Power. Envy

Being a parent implies we guide our child as they take their first steps into the world.
We brought them in so we owe it to them.
It is a journey with an uncertain destination which makes it the more unique.
Here’s my take on it.
Guide the child in the direction of their finding their own power.
It’s in them somewhere.
They just have to find it.
We can’t do it for them but we can have a hand in guiding them there.
They will need all their power because the world can be a rough place to be in.
Nature endows each one of us with a set of abilities. Helping the child connect to those abilities early on helps them find a reliable source of joy to offset the inevitable disappointments and failures.
At the start every child is a big question.
Yet what lies in them, when expressed, will have the capacity to dazzle, invent or soothe, discover or comfort, and so open the way for humanity’s betterment.
We have a huge role to play in facilitating the process.
Conversations with observant teachers, or anyone who interacts with the child, can be enlightening, for as the child is exposed to different situations their abilities will begin to reveal themselves.
Some abilities may not manifest themselves early on because they need time to mature, but so long as the child is experiencing moments of joy in exploring their world, sooner or later they will move toward something dear to them and which hard challenges they will endure.
Exposing the child to our interests is desirable, but they should not be imposed on the child.
Interests that flow freely are the ideal.
As we journey with our child we will come across envy. It is part of living, since nature scatters her gifts widely and entirely at her discretion, giving more to some and less to others.
The world being so competitive, envy is part of our daily existence.
Parents have a great deal to say as to how envy is addressed and managed.
We should not shy from calling it what it is.
Envy, the ‘painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another, joined with a desire to possess the same advantage’ (Merriam-Webster’s) is a powerful emotion that is seldom mentioned.
Think back on your own upbringing. How often was the word or sentiment expressed?
And yet it was often the source of conflict, hidden or manifest. Introducing it in our daily vocabulary becomes essential.
We learn to live with it by looking it in the eye, accepting it, then telling ourselves, ‘whatever the other has that I don’t have is their power. They found it. It is theirs. I must respect that. In turn I must focus on finding my own power. As I do I will better manage my resentment, and not let it fill me with hatred.’
If we say that, then we will be back on our own journey to find what gives us the most satisfaction.
We’re on the right path if what we’re doing is making us stronger and wiser. That goes for both parent and child.
Keep doing what makes us stronger and wiser and we stand a good chance of finding personal peace, while exciting our ambitions and capacity to love.
Our children can’t live our lives for us. It is up to every one of us.
It’s critical for the parent not to be envious of their children. Not to stand in their way.
Their course in life is for them to set.
We guide, encourage, assist, nurture, because that’s the agreement we entered when we brought them into this world.
And yet the process affects the parent, too.
The more a parent endeavors to recognize their own abilities and follow their own path, the more respectful they will be of the abilities of the child they brought into this world.
To parent a child is to learn to better parent ourselves. Overcome the deficits we’ve had to live with and work with what nature gave us.

Envy, release me from your hold,
Let my powers grow bold,
For as they do, my freedom soars.

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Putin on The Way It Is

The war rages on – almost 4 months now – inflation is hurting the world economy – food shortages are forecast – while Putin gloats in Moscow, ‘I made this happen,’ he says proudly.
‘I command the world’s attention. This is my moment. I have killed and killed Ukrainians and still millions and millions of people adore me and hold me up as a model. People in China, in India and all those smaller, peripheral countries destined to never amount to anything.
All the while China and I have a lock on the United Nations. Interesting organization… yes… and toothless, too. A place where every country can come in and blah blah blah until they run out of spit but where Russia and my great ally China hold veto power in the security council. So if we say no, then it is no. Never mind the secretary general. Without us he’s nothing.
The West talked about sanctions. I laugh. I have worked around them. I keep selling my oil and gas and our profits are growing.
And I have done it all because I know how to scare people.
I say I have nuclear weapons and most leaders pee in their pants, run around in circles crying, oh no, he will fire his nuclear weapons!
Don’t confront him, he’s dangerous, please, he cannot be humiliated!
Poor things. Afraid of a little inflation. Afraid of protests because the price of gasoline has gone up. I laugh. I would send the fire department with their water cannons to hose them down and wash them off the street and into the gutters, and those who insist on protesting I’d throw in a dungeon. That’s how you govern. And to be sure, Russians love my style. The want to be like me. Ha!
On this war, America started out with enthusiasm, with determination, but now they’ve lost their oomph. Now they’re back to their citizens complaining about the price of gas and how they don’t know any Ukrainians and how they’re so far away and what’s in it for them.
Of course, that’s when true leaders come in and set the record straight. Tell the complainers what needs to be done and why and enough with the whimpering. But they can’t do it. So it’s my game, all the way until I conquer all of Ukraine. All of it, damn it. All of it. And I’ll have Zelensky tried on charges of crimes again humanity. I’ll do it because no one will stand in my way.
What a joke the West is. Promising missiles and this and the other. But it takes them forever to deliver. Meanwhile I gain more and more ground. I love it. Before long I’ll have all of Ukraine’s eastern region under my foot. Beautiful. Then we’ll finish off occupying all their coast. Then back to Kyiv. Then push West, all the way to the borders with Poland and Rumania, scare them and their NATO bullshit.
I’m making the world my world. Slowly. This is the start of Putin’s world. And I’ve done it not with diplomacy but with bravado. With daring. With guts. With flair.
While the mighty West shits in their pants.’

He laughs.

Now, if I were them… from the very start I would’ve said, Putin, you can’t do it. Don’t do it. You’ll be sorry. Look, we have intelligence telling us you’re going to invade. We’re going to give planes and missiles to Ukrainians so they can defend themselves. We won’t let you slaughter them. Don’t do it.
But I can see how Ukrainians had not yet proven themselves on the battlefield. But they have now, so what’s the excuse to not give them all they need to fight me?
What’s amazing in their story, is they’re willing to fight so hard for what they believe. That’s what’s amazing. I would love to have them on my side instead.
The reason Ukraine is so important today is just that… the show of commitment in defense of what you believe.
But the world is not getting it. The French and Germans are not getting it.
The Poles, on the other hand, have got it. From the very start.
In fact the French and Germans seem to be in a hurry to sit down to negotiate a deal to cease hostilities. And Macron wants France to be the mediator. Works for me, since Macron doesn’t want me to be ‘humiliated’ but if I were Zelensky, I’d choose the Poles to be the negotiators. Doesn’t matter to me that much who it is because in the end, if it’s not going my way, I’ll get up and leave and start shooting and bombing again.
One of my greatest achievements, of course, is to have convinced Europe that they could rely on me for all their energy needs. Convinced them that I was not just a nice bear, but a teddy bear. And they fell for it. Mind you, all this time I have been teaming up with Assad in Syria to slaughter their opposition, so it’s not like I was hiding anything. We’re Europeans, not Syrians, it won’t happen to us, they told themselves. We’re so chic. Oh, so cultured. So distinguished. So unique. Oh, dear, you name it. Until it happened. Denial is the word for it.

He laughs.

I was born for this moment. As far as China is concerned, they’re stuck with me. Who else are they going to turn to? India? No. They can’t stand each other. China doesn’t have anywhere near the nuclear warheads I have, and I’ll keep close tabs on them. I’m going to keep building even more, and if they start to pile them up, too, I’ll give Xi a courtesy call, say Xi, you can’t keep building so many warheads. Look, we’ve been good friends but you got a whole lot more people than I have… so you could run me over… but so long as I have more weapons, you’ll have to chill. So please stall on the building of nuclear weapons. I know your politburo designated you a ‘historical figure’, but that’s the way it is.
And they will do as I say because, in a confrontation between the two of us, they don’t have a chance. I have the upper hand and will keep it that way’
Life is beautiful… yes, indeed.
As to the next American elections, haven’t made up my mind whom to campaign for, using my team of cyber experts. Not Trump, though. I think his time has passed. I liked him. But now I need someone with even deeper isolationist sentiments. Someone who wants to isolate into oblivion. Build a wall in the South, in the North, East and West. The more chances for Russia and my buddy Xi, to go deeper into Africa, South America, the Middle East, the rest of Asia.

Pause

But what could America do to counter me at this time’
Give planes to Ukraine? More missiles? Sure. But what they should do yet I know they won’t because they don’t have the nerve, is to make a commitment to Ukraine and say, we will give you anything you need, planes, missiles, anything – except troops, of course – because we want you to win. And if in the end you don’t win, we’ll settle for whatever land you were able to defend, and we’ll help with negotiations, even the lifting of sanctions on Russia and so on, and we’ll do what we say we will, because with your heroism, you have behaved like no other nation in recent history… and so earned a place in our hearts and minds. Forever.’

Please see Ifw-Kiel.de. Kiel Institute for the World Economy. Ukraine Tracker

Oscarvaldes.net, medium.com, anchor.fm, buzzsprout, apple and google podcasts

Denial. The Power of It

Photo by Melanie Wupperman on Pexels.com

A while back, when working in a prison, I interviewed a young man who had arrived to serve a short sentence. At one point during our session I asked him about his parents and he said his father had died recently.
‘What happened?’
‘He had a heart attack.’
‘Had he been ill?’
‘No. He worked out all the time.’
‘Sorry to hear that. Did he go to the doctor?’
‘No, he didn’t.’
‘Why not?’
‘He didn’t see a need for it. He said he felt great.’
Pausing, he lowered his head for a moment. And I could sense the sadness in him as he reflected on the loss.
A couple of days ago I read an article in the Economist (6/11 edition) about the contest for the Senate in the state of Pennsylvania. John Fetterman, the state’s lieutenant governor and democratic candidate had suffered a stroke before the primary. It was later revealed by his campaign that he had a preexisting cardiomyopathy and though he was not feeling well, ‘he had been leery of seeing his doctor.’
Sad.
I once knew a man who was diabetic. He had been well controlled, was married and shared a bed with his wife. He knew he had to check his feet, which comes with being diabetic. But he didn’t. Then one day he discovered an area that had not been getting enough circulation. It was too late. He had to have the leg amputated below the knee.
And then there are the lucky ones. I read an article in a newspaper a year ago or so (WSJ or NYT) describing an incident at a hockey game. One of the coaches had a lesion in the back of his neck. In the audience sat a woman who had been trained to spot such lesions. She worked at a health care facility. From where she sat she saw the lesion in the man’s neck and got to wondering, does he know he has what he has?
She approached him at intermission and got his attention. Was he aware of the lesion?
What lesion?
So she took a look at it on the spot and said to him he needed to have himself checked right away.
He did. It was a melanoma, a deadly skin cancer.
The likelihood is he did know he had it and didn’t think much of it. But he got lucky.
Denial – the refusal to admit a truth or reality (Merriam-Webster’s) is a powerful force yet easily ignored, until it’s too late.
It is present in all areas of life, health, work, politics, finances etc. and requires the awareness that it exists to counter it. We’re all vulnerable to experience it and have already.
Last year, at Surfside, in Miami, Fla. a condominium building collapsed. People knew there were problems with the building but chose to ignore them. ‘Too costly,’ thought many – maybe they will go away. Of course. Until it was too late.
In politics – the European Union believed they could keep relying on Putin and Russia for their energy needs. No, the great Russian leader would never slaughter a neighbor country, they told themselves. Until he did.
As we speak, there still are those, even in high ranking posts, who say it will all blow off.
There are a lot of bright people in that European Union, but denial gets everyone. Unless you’re on your game.
Of course, there are just so many things we can give our attention to. But if the matter is deemed important yet must be deferred, let’s make a note of it. So it won’t go away.
Because the mind can trick us. All of us. Smart and not so smart.
Again and again.

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This is the Moment to Act

Yesterday, the US Federal Reserve Bank raised the nation’s interest rate by .75 bps. Forecast had it that the figure would be either 0.5 or 0.75.
Markets went up after the news but today lost all the gains and are back down to where they were before the announcement.
To the extent that financial markets anticipate the state of the economy, the news is not good. We’re heading downhill.
The Federal Reserve may have been too aggressive, particularly since the markets had been heading down steadily. The bank’s chairman, Jerome Powell, had talked of a soft landing as he raised rates but instead gave in to the hawkish wing of the bank that pushed for the 0.75 hike.
Now think of how different things could be if we were winning the war instead?
Vastly different.
Optimism would fuel the markets and we would feel much more positive about being able to prevent a recession.
If only we were doing what we should be doing.
Macron, Scholz and Draghi (from France, Germany and Italy) met today with Zelensky, Ukraine’s president.
The public statements of the officials are all for supporting Ukraine’s fight for independence, but what happens behind close doors is likely very different.
For one, neither Germany nor France have delivered the heavy equipment Zelensky has called for.
Instead they are likely pushing for Zelensky to settle. To negotiate with Russia, to agree to terms.
Both Macron and Scholz would love to see themselves as the grand negotiators that brought the warring parties to the table. They may be already dreaming of the Nobel prize they’d be sharing for bringing peace to the region.
Zelensky should not give in.
Macron and Scholz are telling Zelensky, ‘look, inflation is hurting us badly. We have done enough. You need to think of compromising. We can’t get all we want in life, so give in a little.’
Zelensky should not give in.
The real problem with inflation is the war.
Russia has been able to circumvent the sanctions and managed to sell a good deal of its oil. They are filled with cash and confident that they’ll keep finding ways to do so.
Today I read that Russia has now cut back further on their gas supplies to Europe. The squeeze is on.
So why isn’t Zelensky and Ukraine getting all the help they need?
Because many nations in the western bloc are chickening out.
Surely there are real life obstacles to delivering the heavy equipment needed but if you’re dragging your feet then you’re chickening out. Then you’re saying, ‘Putin is really scary, he’s out of control, he just might target us. Oh, no. What will we do if that happens?’
The real problem with today’s inflation is the war.
Yes, it has to end, but not without first giving Ukraine all they need to fight back and that should include war planes.
Otherwise Ukraine should not negotiate with a killer who has butchered their nation.
Mr Biden, I’m not letting you off the hook.
I’m sure you were told in detail of Macron, Scholz and Draghi’s mission. Do not be a party to that weaklings’ effort.
Step up, do not back down now.
You’ve been courageous until now, but this is not over and not the time to call it quits.
This is a unique moment in our history, indeed, the world’s history.
We can’t let the bully win.
Ukraine wants to fight till the end. How often do you hear that from a nation?
Ukrainians who left are returning to their land in the middle of the war. It takes guts to do that.
If you do not fully back Ukraine you will lose your presidency. Period. But back Ukraine with all they need and your standing will be exceptional.
Damn it, make the difficult choice! You’ve been there before. Don’t join with the appeasers.
See, even if Ukraine doesn’t beat back Russia, if they get all the equipment they need they would have fought an exceptional battle. We haven’t seen anything like this since WWII.
It is your turn to shine, Mr Biden. Take the chance. Don’t back down.
Putin can be beat. He will not trigger WWIII. He won’t because he’s not crazy and has a lot to lose. But he’s good at scaring people and has been getting away with it.
Don’t let him scare you, too.
He’s already got Macron and Scholz in his back pocket.
This is your moment, Mr Biden, win or lose, this is your moment. Don’t flinch. Go forward.

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Mr Biden. Sell us the Story of Ukraine. Now

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Yes, sell it to the American public. Sell it now. In this century there is no story as compelling as theirs.
Take the bull by the horns. Do not underestimate the capacity of the American public.
Maybe diehard isolationists will blow you off, but the majority will not. When they go to the pump and see the high price tag, they just might think, ‘we’re doing it for Ukraine. A sister nation that is being massacred, not just pushed around, but massacred by Vladimir Putin, the man you rightly called ‘a killer, a war criminal’. No other leader had the guts to call Putin that. You did.
So, please, concentrate your efforts. We need you now more than ever.
Putin has been trying to scare us with the threat of a nuclear war. We cannot afford to be scared into inaction. Cannot afford to let his threat of firing his nuclear weapons keep us from arming Ukraine with the best weapons we have.
You have placed the restriction of not sending in American troops. I agree with that.
But Ukrainians urgently need to have war planes to stop the wholesale destruction Putin is inflicting on their people and push Russians back and out of their land.
A while ago Poland stepped up and offered to give Ukrainians Mig jets, aircraft Ukrainians are familiar with and so could put to use right away.
Poland was right. The Polish people have distinguished themselves for the enormous assistance they have provided in the war effort. Unlike Germany or Hungary.
The story of Ukraine is unique. Sell it to us, Mr Biden.
There are no assurances Ukraine, even with all the war planes we give them, will beat back Russia, but they will put up a fight unlike anything we’ve seen.
So let us help them now.
Giving Ukraine war planes will anger Putin. He will cry out loud that he has weapons he can fire at us. But so do we. He is not crazy. He and Russia has everything to lose in this confrontation but so far, he has got the upper hand because he has made us fearful.
There is no room for that.
Arm Ukraine fully, Mr Biden. Do it now. We will not regret it.
Ukraine is not a distant nation anymore. With the blood they have poured on the battlefield they have become one of us.
Mr Biden, go in front of the cameras and tell us their story. Again and again. If you are fearing that inflation is going to beat the democratic party in November, think of Ukraine’s story and their possible victory as providing the momentum to help democrats win instead.
Stand up for Ukraine fully and the American people can put the inflation woes in context.
You have the courage.
This is a unique opportunity to shine, Mr Biden. Do not let it pass. You will regret it dearly if you do.
By the way. I think it was Putin who came up with the idea that if we helped Ukraine, we would be seen as co combatants. So be it. We should not let that stop us.
As far as your upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia is concerned, I understand that you’re doing it in the interest of our nation benefitting from their oil producing capacities. But as our representative, please do not bow to them.
Not only do they not deserve it but bowing is a bad habit to get into. We should bow to no one. King, Queen, God, Pope, whatever.
We are a creative and industrious people who are not afraid of hard work.
Trust us. We are behind you. Lead us.

Good luck

Oscar Valdes oscarvaldes.net, medium.com, anchor.fm, buzzsprout, apple and google podcasts.