What can we do about the Ukraine Invasion?
The best thing we can do is get the Russian nation to remove Vladimir Putin from office.
There are two approaches to accomplish that.
The first is to make the life of the average Russian much more miserable than it already is, in order to causer a general uprising. That is the approach taken by the European Union, Switzerland, Canada, and the U.S., but so far, they have refused to deliver the Que de Ta, namely the complete embargo of oil and natural gas. That is because roughly 30% of the EU’s petroleum and 40% of its natural gas come from Russia, so the EU is resisting a complete embargo because it would put them in serious energy shortfall situation, and the United States and Canada want this to be a team approach. I feel this is very short-sighted and there are plenty of other energy sources are available worldwide, but I am not in the driver’s seat. I fear that the Ukraine will surrender before our current limited strategy is effective. Many urban areas in the Ukraine have been cut off from power, water, and food for a week and the general populace can only survive so long under those conditions. I don’t see how the government can not surrender when millions of its citizens are in dire straits and suffering.
The second approach to ousting Putin is to destroy his military advantage. We decided not to declare a no-fly-zone under threats of total war. My feeling is that Putin is bluffing but our government has decided not to take the chance. The next best thing is to support a virtual no-fly-zone by giving the Ukrainians additional aircraft and surface-to-air wide coverage missile batteries like the U.S. Patriot or the Israelis Iron Dome. I believe Poland is in the process of making its Mig-29s available to the Ukraine, while we will replace the Polish aircraft with more modern U.S. aircraft. I have heard nothing about us supplying Patriot missiles and if it doesn’t happen soon, it will be too late.
All in all, I am very impressed with the way the Ukraine has handled the invasion, and I wish them good hunting, but I am worried they are running out of time. Sooner or later, they are going to have to accept Russia’s conditions for a general cease fire and those conditions will undoubtedly include Russia acquiring major sections of Eastern and Southern Ukraine. That is Putin’s overall goal, and it is a mark of his humanity that thousands of innocent civilians and soldiers had to die to satisfy his desire.
Better policing
Enclosed is an article for the New York Times that describes a good strategy.
“Policing, in general, reduces crime and violence. Every addition of 10 officers prevents one homicide, a study found. The reduction in the number of Black people killed is twice that.
But policing as it is widely practiced now also carries grave costs, including harassment, wrongful arrests and deaths, which disproportionately hurt minority communities.The best policing approaches focus on the slivers of city blocks and other places where crime and violence often break out, known as “hot spots.” They comprehensively take on underlying problems contributing to crime, like drugs, guns and housing. They target repeat offenders.
In much of the country, such strategies require a rethinking of policing, leaving behind more confrontational and sweeping tactics. Those aggressive approaches are largely ineffective — and they can backfire, turning communities against the police.”
The obvious answer here is to hire more minority police officers to patrol in minority neighborhoods, but this only solves half the problem (perceived racism). Arresting some members of the community, even for legitimate reasons, will not set well with members of their family and friends so the police are between a rock and a hard place. Until a vast majority of the public in high crime areas want the police to come in and clean things up, we will be at loggerheads.
Thanks for Reading and Stay Safe,
Dana Andrews
retiredrocketdoc.com