Yes, really, World War III

benfell

I haven’t finished going through the news, but it’s already 12:33 pm as I write this. I gotta get to work.

Ukraine


Fig. 1. Historic Russian empire, from the New York Times, possibly March 6, 2014, fair use.[1]

There can no longer be any doubt that Vladimir Putin’s intentions will extend far beyond Ukraine as he “has compared the war in Ukraine to Peter the Great’s conquests in the Baltic, arguing that in both conflicts Russia was recovering its own territory.”[2] This historical analog Putin points to is a war Pyotr Alekséyevich waged against Sweden; this particular conquest includes Putin’s hometown of St. Petersburg.[3] Though there are certainly other arguments, such as those Julia Ioffe correctly[4] offers,[5] the map (figure 1) alone[6] refutes those who are so desperate to appease Putin,[7] leaving little doubt that any intention to recover lost territory entails a vast claim.[8]

You may ridicule the Russian military’s underwhelming performance so far in Ukraine, as undermining any prospect of wider ambition, but Putin has nuclear weapons and a lot of them.[9]

Reuters, “Hailing Peter the Great, Putin draws parallel with mission to ‘return’ Russian lands,” June 9, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/hailing-peter-great-putin-draws-parallel-with-mission-return-russian-lands-2022-06-09/

Julian O’Shaughnessy, “I’m reconquering just like Peter the Great, insists Vladimir Putin,” Times, June 10, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/president-putin-creates-police-department-to-impose-martial-law-xqhlt79fn

Ideology as ‘science:’ economics

The man’s got a point:

John Fugelsang, “The media calls it #inflation. . . .” Twitter, June 10, 2022, https://twitter.com/JohnFugelsang/status/1535265258046214144

Pittsburgh

I have previously remarked on how Pittsburgh drivers are too often assholes.[10] It seems they are also idiots.[11]

As gas prices go up, waiting longer to fill your pump does not mean they will go down. My mechanics have always advised never running below a quarter tank. My understanding is that the ratio of sediment to fuel rises when you do so, potentially clogging your fuel filter. It appears you also put your fuel pump at risk—not a cheap repair—and, of course, when you run out of gas and your engine dies, power assisted things like brakes and steering may fail as well. But guess what folks in Pittsburgh are doing.[12] Assholes. Idiots.

Of course, it’s the drivers of testosterone trucks, you know, the ones who roll coal and think it’s patriotic to park their gas guzzlers in electric vehicle charging parking spaces, who are worst affected. I’d favor their elimination through natural selection, but when they’re being jackasses on the road, that puts me at risk as well.

Ethan Dodd, “High gas prices are leaving Pittsburghers on the side of the road,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 10, 2022, https://www.post-gazette.com/business/powersource/2022/06/10/high-gas-fuel-cost-prices-roadside-assistance-aaa-inflation/stories/202206100065

  1. [1]New York Times, “Ukraine Crisis in Maps,” n.d., http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/02/27/world/europe/ukraine-divisions-crimea.html↩
  2. [2]Julian O’Shaughnessy, “I’m reconquering just like Peter the Great, insists Vladimir Putin,” Times, June 10, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/president-putin-creates-police-department-to-impose-martial-law-xqhlt79fn↩
  3. [3]Reuters, “Hailing Peter the Great, Putin draws parallel with mission to ‘return’ Russian lands,” June 9, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/hailing-peter-great-putin-draws-parallel-with-mission-return-russian-lands-2022-06-09/↩
  4. [4]David Benfell, “Ukraine and the refutation of so-called ‘realism,’” Not Housebroken, June 7, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/06/07/ukraine-and-the-refutation-of-so-called-realism/↩
  5. [5]Julia Ioffe, “The Case Against Appeasement,” Puck News, June 7, 2022, https://puck.news/the-case-against-appeasement/↩
  6. [6]New York Times, “Ukraine Crisis in Maps,” n.d., http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/02/27/world/europe/ukraine-divisions-crimea.html↩
  7. [7]Joe Barnes, “Germany ‘deliberately watering down’ EU embargo on Russian oil,” Telegraph, May 27, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/05/27/germany-deliberately-watering-eu-plans-embargo-russian-oil-imports/; Arne Delfs, “Merkel Warns of Isolating Russia After Putin’s ‘Big Mistake,’” Bloomberg, June 7, 2022, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-07/merkel-calls-putin-s-invasion-big-mistake-in-public-return; Julia Ioffe, “The Case Against Appeasement,” Puck News, June 7, 2022, https://puck.news/the-case-against-appeasement/↩
  8. [8]David Benfell, “Where does Vladimir Putin stop?” Not Housebroken, May 18, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/03/04/where-does-vladimir-putin-stop/↩
  9. [9]David Benfell, “Nuclear survival,” Not Housebroken, May 18, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/03/13/nuclear-survival/↩
  10. [10]David Benfell, “The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) wants to improve safety? REALLY?!!???!!!!” Not Housebroken, May 24, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/05/24/the-pennsylvania-department-of-transportation-penndot-wants-to-improve-safety-really/↩
  11. [11]Ethan Dodd, “High gas prices are leaving Pittsburghers on the side of the road,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 10, 2022, https://www.post-gazette.com/business/powersource/2022/06/10/high-gas-fuel-cost-prices-roadside-assistance-aaa-inflation/stories/202206100065↩
  12. [12]Ethan Dodd, “High gas prices are leaving Pittsburghers on the side of the road,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 10, 2022, https://www.post-gazette.com/business/powersource/2022/06/10/high-gas-fuel-cost-prices-roadside-assistance-aaa-inflation/stories/202206100065↩

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