The following are my ‘takeaways’ from listening closely to the Tucker Carlson-Putin Interview of this past week. A number of revelations came out of the interview (e.g. repeated role of France, Germany, UK and CIA scuttling a resolution to the conflict) as well as Putin’s deep commitment to continue until Ukraine is no longer a threat to Russia. One comes away from listening to the interview that Putin feels he has been ‘had’ by the US/EU so often he no longer trusts its politicians and doesn’t believe US presidents have the power to decide; he, and Russians in general, have a deep belief that Russia and Ukraine (and Belarus) are ‘one people’ who have been divided by invaders in the past but always re-united again; and that he’s ready to negotiate but Zelensky and US/NATO have ruled it out and would have to initiate it. Finally, US sanctions have failed, the world is changing fast, and many countries have developed to the point they no longer do whatever the US wants and are demanding more independence.

Now that the Ukraine war is dragging to a close and NATO is running out of willpower, money, guns, tanks and artillery shells, with shaky economies, unstable politics, too many angry farmers and new wars (domestic and foreign) to worry about, it’s time to remember just how it all began.

As political paralysis grips Berlin, the energy crisis was the final blow for a growing number of manufacturers

This ACURA ZoomCast features a conversation on Putin, Tucker and the Clash of Civilizations with Matthew Dal Santo and Paul Grenier of the Simone Weil Center for Political Philosophy and James Carden moderating for The American Committee for US-Russia Accord.

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Europe is finished, and Russia’s geographical and cultural advantages means it doesn’t have to go down with the sinking ship

Foreign policy, and politics generally, is not primarily about good feelings.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s firing of his commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhny is fraught with risk, a former CIA director has said, amid divided opinion over the wisdom of the decision and its impact on Kyiv’s fight against Russia.

Something somewhat historical happened just two days ago, though it is unclear how many Americans will understand its significance…

Christians should avoid language that “dehumanises” or “caricatures” Russians when talking about the Ukraine war, the Church of England has said.