The possibility of a coup against Vladimir Putin appears dimly. It wouldn’t be good news.

benfell

In this issue:

I haven’t yet caught up on this morning’s news. I’m off to get my car detailed.

Ukraine


Fig. 1. “Destroyed Russian military vehicles located on the main street Khreshchatyk are seen as part of the celebration of the Independence Day of Ukraine in Kyiv, August 24.” Photograph by Gleb Garanich for Reuters, August 24, 2022,[1] fair use.

Remember the Russian fellow who admitted interfering in U.S. elections?[2]

Julia Ioffe doesn’t talk about that, but she has packed more information into a profile of Evgeny Prigozhin, “Putin’s Chef,” than I can even wrap my head around. If she’s right—and she usually is—he’s getting big for his britches. Vladimir Putin has been relying on him for military might, but his assets are really all Russian military assets, his forces are no longer any better than regular Russian forces, he’s made powerful enemies, and he might be laying the groundwork for a coup against Putin. Ioffe’s not making predictions but her concluding question is,[3]

It is clearly too soon in the drama to know when this gun goes off and which direction, but by the laws of Russian political gravity, go off it must. The question is whom it takes down first: [Evgeny] Prigozhin or [Vladimir] Putin himself?[4]

I do recall—I don’t remember where—a warning that those hoping for a coup against Putin should be careful what they wish for. Ioffe’s profile of Prigozhin brings a name and a face to that warning—and it’s chilling.[5]

What should barely need mentioning is that if this coup comes off, it would be a right-wing coup. That would only reduce the prospects for peace in Ukraine.

Julia Ioffe, “‘Putin’s Chef’: The Man Behind Russia’s Shadow Army,” Puck News, December 13, 2022, https://puck.news/putins-chef-the-man-behind-russias-shadow-army/

Ishaan Tharoor, “Ukraine’s resilience sets a global standard,” Washington Post, December 14, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2022/12/14/ukraine-resilience-global-standard/

Gilead

Donald Trump

Finances


Fig. 1. Trump International Hotel, Las Vegas, undated image credited to https://www.flickr.com/photos/glynlowe/ [bad link], CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The fine amounts to less than a slap on the wrist, but the contempt order underscores the pitfalls of Mr. [Donald] Trump’s go-to legal strategy of delaying proceedings and fighting subpoenas whenever possible. It was the second time in less than a year that Mr. Trump or his company was held in contempt for failing to turn over documents, the other instance coming in the New York attorney general’s civil inquiry into the former president’s business practices.[6]

Jonah E. Bromwich, William K. Rashbaum, and Ben Protess, “Trump Organization Was Held in Contempt After Secret Trial Last Year,” New York Times, December 13, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/13/nyregion/trump-organization-contempt-secret-trial.html

Twitter


Fig. 1. “Elon Musk shared a video of his entrance on his Twitter account.” Photograph attributed to Elon Musk, October 26, 2022, via the New York Post,[7] fair use.

I don’t subscribe to Platformer; indeed, I hadn’t even heard of it before finding a link to the article suggesting that users may have to accept “personalized ads,” which means privacy-invasive tracking, in order to continue using the platform. Because I haven’t subscribed, I don’t have access to the full article, but if this comes to pass as described in the first few paragraphs, that’ll be it for me with Twitter.

I will repeat here what I’ve said elsewhere I don’t know how many times: I absolutely despise advertising. I’ve hated it since I was a kid and advertising interrupted my favorite television shows. I haven’t mellowed on it since. I do everything possible to eliminate it from my life.

I’m sure as hell not agreeing to personalized ads.

Laura Forman, “Twitter’s Advertising Truth Hurts,” Wall Street Journal, December 11, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/twitters-advertising-truth-hurts-11670706720

Keith Olbermann, “Hey look what they found in the ‘Twitter Files&rsquo,;” Twitter, December 11, 2022, https://twitter.com/KeithOlbermann/status/1601983506070081536

Elon Musk, “My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci,” Twitter, December 11, 2022, https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1601894132573605888

Charlie Warzel, “Elon Musk Is a Far-Right Activist,” Atlantic, December 11, 2022, https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/12/elon-musk-twitter-far-right-activist/672436/

Joseph Menn, “Elon Musk uses QAnon tactic in criticizing former Twitter safety chief,” Washington Post, December 12, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/12/12/musk-child-porn-qanon/

Stephen Wilmot, “Half-Price Tesla Stock Is Still No Bargain,” Wall Street Journal, December 12, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/half-price-tesla-stock-is-still-no-bargain-11670851513

Cat Zakrzewski, Joseph Menn, and Naomi Nix, “Twitter dissolves Trust and Safety Council,” Washington Post, December 12, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/12/12/musk-twitter-harass-yoel-roth/

Zoë Schiffer and Casey Newton, “Twitter’s risky plan to save its ads business,” Platformer, December 13, 2022, https://www.platformer.news/p/twitters-risky-plan-to-save-its-ads

  1. [1]Reuters, “Ukraine puts destroyed Russian tanks on display in Kyiv,” August 25, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/ukraine-puts-destroyed-russian-tanks-on-idUSRTSALV9Q↩
  2. [2]Reuters, “Russia’s Prigozhin admits interfering in U.S. elections,” November 7, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/russias-prigozhin-admits-interfering-us-elections-2022-11-07/↩
  3. [3]Julia Ioffe, “‘Putin’s Chef’: The Man Behind Russia’s Shadow Army,” Puck News, December 13, 2022, https://puck.news/putins-chef-the-man-behind-russias-shadow-army/↩
  4. [4]Julia Ioffe, “‘Putin’s Chef’: The Man Behind Russia’s Shadow Army,” Puck News, December 13, 2022, https://puck.news/putins-chef-the-man-behind-russias-shadow-army/↩
  5. [5]Julia Ioffe, “‘Putin’s Chef’: The Man Behind Russia’s Shadow Army,” Puck News, December 13, 2022, https://puck.news/putins-chef-the-man-behind-russias-shadow-army/↩
  6. [6]Jonah E. Bromwich, William K. Rashbaum, and Ben Protess, “Trump Organization Was Held in Contempt After Secret Trial Last Year,” New York Times, December 13, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/13/nyregion/trump-organization-contempt-secret-trial.html↩
  7. [7]Thomas Barrabi, “Elon Musk barges into Twitter HQ as deal nears: ‘Let that sink in,’” New York Post, October 26, 2022, https://nypost.com/2022/10/26/elon-musk-barges-into-twitter-headquarters-as-deal-nears/↩

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