Woozle/2022/02/25/2

originally posted to Errorism v1 (during suspension from Nextdoor)

Russia and Ukraine overview

Rachel Maddow is back with some information-dense but very watchable discussion of Russia as it exists today, the motivations for the attack on Ukraine, the protests from Russians and Ukrainans alike, and options for the global democratic community (especially the US) moving forward.

2022-02-24 (23'00") Maddow Highlights: Feb. 24

Rachel goes into depth about Russia under Putin. I get a very clear sense of how Russia is today basically the end-state of Trumpist ambitions in the US: sham elections, no freedom to criticize the government, all major players (mainly banks and gas mining) controlled by Putin-installed puppets, an enormous country with a tiny tiny economy whose benefits primarily flow to a few kleptocrats who all support the single strongman at the top.

The video finishes up with Rachel interviewing a former US ambassador to Russia, who is... not happy. He argues persuasively that Russia under Putin should be viewed and described as a rogue state.

2022-02-25 (8'43") People Are Getting Wrong About How Sanctioning Russia Works

About 1/3 of this is an explanation of the overall situation with sanctions, followed by an interview with a Senior Policy Advisor in the Treasury Sanctions Division under Obama, among other qualifications.