HAPPY 46TH BIRTHDAY, MY DARLING SON!

Clearly there’s a lot going on in the world. What will happen next to Cecilia – currently bleeding to death on the floor in Olga’s room? That occupies a fair amount of my thinking. However, I’ve found time to concern myself with three other, important topics. I’ll write about each of them per day so as not to overwhelm you with information.

Let’s start with the what’s happening in Ukraine. I wrote about this a few months ago, but then with everything else going on in the world (Gaza and Israel, baseball, fictional impending nuclear world war), the topic fell off everyone’s radar screen, including mine. Then the Russians upped the ante by giving Opie a new slingshot to play with. Sure enough, the next day, he shot and killed a bird, leaving the babies in the nest to fend for themselves. Just wait ’til Andy finds out?

But apparently not. Opie learned a lesson from his mistake, but that’s not what is likely to happen with these dopey Opies. They are basically thugs and ne’er- do-wells. Rootin’ Putin has manipulated the entire situation to his benefit, and is now remaining silent on the topic. No life lesson for these dopey Opies. But to make matters worse, all the countries in Europe – including the Dutch whose citizens made up a preponderance of the passengers – are caught by the short ones with their economies dependent on Russia’s energy shipments. So they remain silent too. Remind you of another time in history? Fear and Loathing in Donetsk…and we are in no position to take a stand without Europe. Where’s Winston Churchill when you need him?

Since I like to make assessments and predictions, this is what I think will arise out of this debacle. There will be the usual speeches at the UN, a little bit of protest from Europe and Malaysia (bet their insurance rates will go up, eh?) and no action will be taken except by the U.S., and that will only be rap-on-the-knuckles sanctions that take decades to have any effect. So Rootie Tootie Pootie will have his way in the short term. Airlines will obviously avoid this area for the duration. And Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine and Chocolateer Extraordinaire, will be caught squarely in the middle between Russia and Germany, the only two countries that can make a difference in this situation. Is it a coincidence that Angela Merkel came from East Germany and is 61 years old, a product of the Eastern bloc? I think not, gentle readers. Germany and Russia had an unholy alliance until Germany invaded Russia in Operation Barbarossa back in June, 1941. There now exists an unholy alliance between western Europe and Russia, as a function of their mutual economic dependence. Just like FDR, we have to watch and wait for another 9/11-scale incident aimed directly at American interests, vis-a-vis Pearl Harbor, linked to Russian adventurism. That will be a sad and scary day, but one that is most likely inevitable. Putin, like Hitler before him, has played the long game. His plan is to clear the chess board of all eastern and then western Europe. In the interim, he’s aligning himself with Asia – first China with a multi-billion dollar energy deal, and next comes Japan and Korea. Then he’ll come after Great Britain and the US, the Queen and King on the chess board of world geography. In his dreams, you say? Watch, wait, and take notes.

One thing I’ve learned in old age is that whoever dreamed up the phrase It’s the economy, stupid for the ’92 Clinton presidential campaign didn’t realize the profundity of that phrase. Economics have been the true cause of every major clash of geographies, throughout history. History, as it’s taught in school – at any level – never really helps us understand that reality. An eye opener for me came from a book, A Nation of Deadbeats by Scott Reynolds Nelson. He explains every conflict in which America has become involved from the post-Revolutionary late 1700’s through the lead-up to World War II. I recommend you buy, borrow or download it as a precursor to understanding the current situation involving all the above. Then we’ll talk some more. And yes, there will be a test, so plan accordingly…ha ha.