i’ll be back…
Several years ago a South African pal, then living in New York, recounted a tale of when he realised he just had to leave the states. Apparently, the week earlier at a la-di-da soiree, Nelson Mandela had been the flavour of the month and everybody wanted to know more about his struggle but this particular week, at a similar do, he was informed in no uncertain terms “oh, Nelson Mandela, that is soooo last week, we’ve all moved on from that, and so should you.” The penny dropped and he understood the transient, or transparent, shallow nature of US society. I fear that, as our 24 hour news twitterstorm society focusses on ‘today’s big thing’ we are in danger following such a trend.
One such story that comes-in every so often, and then leaves without a trace, is the nature of modern Russia, or more specifically, the nature of its president, Mr Putin. I have to admit that I really don’t understand his ambitions and can’t get my head around what he thinks he’s gaining by his aggressive approach to modern day politick. He is, with the possible exceptions of the odious Mr Mugabe and jowly Kim Jong-un, probably the most entrenched of political leaders yet seeks to annoy those powers who could influence & disrupt the status quo and lead to his eventual removal. Why doesn’t he just settle for an easy life?
Judging from the headlines this week you’d be forgiven for thinking that the greatest threat facing Europe (and the wider world perhaps) is posed by Islamic State, but you’d be wrong. It’s Vlad-the-impaler Putin’s Russia. This year alone Europe’s airspace has suffered more than 400 separate incursions by Russian warplanes, and they’ve even been reported as following the A30 north through Cornwall (believe me they would want to do that on an August Bank Holiday!) with RAF jets having been scrambled on several occasions. At the same time, and contrary to Moscow’s denials, the self-style Putinator has further upped the ante in Ukraine and has no intention of adhering to Merkel’s hastily arranged ceasefire. Russia’s need to drown the eastern democracy before it gains momentum seems paramount and our sanctions appear no match for the march of Moscow’s war machine. Being of (relatively) sane mind I obviously prefer jaw-jaw above war-war but fear for the imminent escalation about to take place.
