It is a cold and grey day in late February 2022. We are visiting our friends in Northern New Hampshire. They live on a 300 acre piece of land, their house at the end of a mile long drive way, invisible to the world. There is a lot of snow up here. Snow, pine trees and rolling hills. It’s beautiful.
We have known the Kaufmans for half a century, which tells you how old we all are. But that is what reinforces friendship – we stuck it out this long and will remain friends until all of us turn to dust.
It is a peaceful place, not a single human sound is heard, just the occasional howling of a passing band of coyotes, the long distance shriek of a lone hawk and the loud chatter of the countless blue jays invading the porch, which Janice covers with black sunflower seeds to attract these noisy but beautiful birds.
We toast, eat and watch a movie, then go to bed early.
February 24th, 2022
It is a sunny morning. Marty makes his famous breakfast omelet. He looks pale and gaunt. He tells us that Russia has invaded Ukraine and that a war has started in Europe. It seems unreal, impossible to comprehend in this pristine environment. Why? How? The day is spent following the hourly news as the snow begins to accumulate outside.
Marty is a third generation Jewish immigrant. He has deep emotional ties to that part of the world, since his family had to flee Ukraine at a time when Jews were mercilessly persecuted.
We watch the news on CNN. A mother with two small children is interviewed. She is huddled together with hundreds of Ukrainians in a subway station turned into a bomb shelter. She is crying, asking questions: ‘why? Why is this happening?’ She doesn’t understand. Nor do we, up here in the snowy, peaceful Great North Woods of New Hampshire.
February 25, 2022
The snow is accumulating fast. It gets harder to walk down from the pool house, where we are staying. There are snow shoes next to the door, which we tie on to our snow boots. Walking in snow shoes is not easy for novices like us, but we eventually survive the 100 yard distance to the main house, where a warm cup of coffee awaits us.
The conversation revolves around what should be done, could be done, is not done and what will come next. What else is Putin going to invade? There is talk of excluding Russia from the Swift international payments system, instating a no-fly zone, sending more military aid to Ukraine..
I realize how little I know about Ukraine. I learn that Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe after Russia. Marty has a large globe gathering dust in his living room. We lug it onto the dining room table and squint our eyes as we try to decipher the tiny letters. Which countries that are now independent were part of the USSR? There are 15 of them. That, together with the satellite countries that are now part of the EU, Russia lost a third of its landmass in one swell swoop, when the USSR collapsed. No wonder Putin called it “The greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century.”
Can you imagine America losing Alaska and Texas, reducing it to two thirds of its previous size? Russia is still twice the size of the US or Canada or China. It is a monster country. Its leader can not accept the fact that no matter how hard he tries, history can not reverse course. The Roman Empire fell in spite, or rather because of its enormous size. Also because it was corrupt, its economy weak and because Christianity replaced the worship of the Emperor, whoever he was. Corruption, a weak economy and the influence of Democratic principles over authoritarianism.. Is there a parallel here?
Images of explosions near the Zaporishzhia nuclear power plant raise concerns about radiation leaks. There are intense talks about drastically increasing economic sanctions against Russia.
Images of protests around the world appear on the news. A mass exodus out of major Ukrainian cities is underway.
February 28, 2022
We are back in Boston. I look out on my snow-covered backyard, where a red-tailed hawk has caught a pigeon in midair and is now stomping on it, to extract what life is left in this mass of bloody feathers. He then flies off, clutching his prey in his powerful claws, but he accidentally drops it and flies off. All that killing in vain..
March 3rd, 2022
More than a million refugees have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries. More sanctions are placed on Russian defense companies that are powering the Russian war machine. Russia proposes evacuation routes going to Russia or Belarus. Really? As you strangle someone with your right hand you offer water with the other?!
March 5th, 2022
It is our wedding anniversary today. My daughter sent us a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, which we drink to the last drop, in a futile attempt to drown out the world.
More and more companies suspend operations in Russia. Elon Musk provides the Starlink system to destroyed cities to provide internet access. Shell Oil commits profits from Russian oil purchase to Ukrainian refugees.
March 6th, 2022
Putin has shut down the last vestiges of a free press. Facebook has been shut down. A new law prohibits making references to the military operation in Ukraine as an "attack, invasion or declaration of war", which is punishable by 15 years in prison. More than 13,000 people have been arrested in Russia in anti-war demonstrations.
Putin’s Achilles heel of course, is Russia’s oil, but you cannot bite the hand that feeds you, unless there is food coming from somewhere else. That is what CNN Journalist Fareed Zacharia suggests in this video. Sanctioning Russia’s oil production and replace it with US, Gulf States and Venezuelan oil could prevent an energy crisis. That’s not good for the environment, but it might be the only way to stop the angry bear from causing more mayhem.
March 8th , 2022
I watch the news. Footage of streams of refugees trying to cross a destroyed bridge. An elderly woman being pushed in a shopping cart, another riding piggy back on a soldier’s back. Children running, their little legs trying to keep up with their mother’s stride. A maternity ward has been shelled. A highly pregnant woman, bleeding, is carried away on a stretcher. I can not hold my tears back. I want to scream.
March 9th, 2022
Anger and frustration makes me wish for more action on the part of the West. The US has finally banned import of Russian oil. More and more companies are severing their ties to Russia. But when a bear is cornered, there is no telling what it will do. Nuclear? An escalation of the current conventional war? Cyber Warfare?
A cyber attack on Ukraine could bleed over into neighboring NATO countries, shutting down hospitals or the power grid. That would trigger Article 5, which says that an attack on one member of NATO is an attack on all members. The entire continent of Europe would be drawn into the fight, which means the US will have to get involved too.
Is a Third World War on the horizon? leave comment here
February 24th, 2022
It is a sunny morning. Marty makes his famous breakfast omelet. He looks pale and gaunt. He tells us that Russia has invaded Ukraine and that a war has started in Europe. It seems unreal, impossible to comprehend in this pristine environment. Why? How? The day is spent following the hourly news as the snow begins to accumulate outside.
Marty is a third generation Jewish immigrant. He has deep emotional ties to that part of the world, since his family had to flee Ukraine at a time when Jews were mercilessly persecuted.
We watch the news on CNN. A mother with two small children is interviewed. She is huddled together with hundreds of Ukrainians in a subway station turned into a bomb shelter. She is crying, asking questions: ‘why? Why is this happening?’ She doesn’t understand. Nor do we, up here in the snowy, peaceful Great North Woods of New Hampshire.
February 25, 2022
The snow is accumulating fast. It gets harder to walk down from the pool house, where we are staying. There are snow shoes next to the door, which we tie on to our snow boots. Walking in snow shoes is not easy for novices like us, but we eventually survive the 100 yard distance to the main house, where a warm cup of coffee awaits us.
The conversation revolves around what should be done, could be done, is not done and what will come next. What else is Putin going to invade? There is talk of excluding Russia from the Swift international payments system, instating a no-fly zone, sending more military aid to Ukraine..
I realize how little I know about Ukraine. I learn that Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe after Russia. Marty has a large globe gathering dust in his living room. We lug it onto the dining room table and squint our eyes as we try to decipher the tiny letters. Which countries that are now independent were part of the USSR? There are 15 of them. That, together with the satellite countries that are now part of the EU, Russia lost a third of its landmass in one swell swoop, when the USSR collapsed. No wonder Putin called it “The greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century.”
Can you imagine America losing Alaska and Texas, reducing it to two thirds of its previous size? Russia is still twice the size of the US or Canada or China. It is a monster country. Its leader can not accept the fact that no matter how hard he tries, history can not reverse course. The Roman Empire fell in spite, or rather because of its enormous size. Also because it was corrupt, its economy weak and because Christianity replaced the worship of the Emperor, whoever he was. Corruption, a weak economy and the influence of Democratic principles over authoritarianism.. Is there a parallel here?
February 26, 2022
Images of explosions near the Zaporishzhia nuclear power plant raise concerns about radiation leaks. There are intense talks about drastically increasing economic sanctions against Russia.
Images of protests around the world appear on the news. A mass exodus out of major Ukrainian cities is underway.
February 28, 2022
We are back in Boston. I look out on my snow-covered backyard, where a red-tailed hawk has caught a pigeon in midair and is now stomping on it, to extract what life is left in this mass of bloody feathers. He then flies off, clutching his prey in his powerful claws, but he accidentally drops it and flies off. All that killing in vain..
March 3rd, 2022
More than a million refugees have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries. More sanctions are placed on Russian defense companies that are powering the Russian war machine. Russia proposes evacuation routes going to Russia or Belarus. Really? As you strangle someone with your right hand you offer water with the other?!
March 5th, 2022
It is our wedding anniversary today. My daughter sent us a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, which we drink to the last drop, in a futile attempt to drown out the world.
More and more companies suspend operations in Russia. Elon Musk provides the Starlink system to destroyed cities to provide internet access. Shell Oil commits profits from Russian oil purchase to Ukrainian refugees.
March 6th, 2022
Putin has shut down the last vestiges of a free press. Facebook has been shut down. A new law prohibits making references to the military operation in Ukraine as an "attack, invasion or declaration of war", which is punishable by 15 years in prison. More than 13,000 people have been arrested in Russia in anti-war demonstrations.
Putin’s Achilles heel of course, is Russia’s oil, but you cannot bite the hand that feeds you, unless there is food coming from somewhere else. That is what CNN Journalist Fareed Zacharia suggests in this video. Sanctioning Russia’s oil production and replace it with US, Gulf States and Venezuelan oil could prevent an energy crisis. That’s not good for the environment, but it might be the only way to stop the angry bear from causing more mayhem.
March 8th , 2022
I watch the news. Footage of streams of refugees trying to cross a destroyed bridge. An elderly woman being pushed in a shopping cart, another riding piggy back on a soldier’s back. Children running, their little legs trying to keep up with their mother’s stride. A maternity ward has been shelled. A highly pregnant woman, bleeding, is carried away on a stretcher. I can not hold my tears back. I want to scream.
March 9th, 2022
Anger and frustration makes me wish for more action on the part of the West. The US has finally banned import of Russian oil. More and more companies are severing their ties to Russia. But when a bear is cornered, there is no telling what it will do. Nuclear? An escalation of the current conventional war? Cyber Warfare?
A cyber attack on Ukraine could bleed over into neighboring NATO countries, shutting down hospitals or the power grid. That would trigger Article 5, which says that an attack on one member of NATO is an attack on all members. The entire continent of Europe would be drawn into the fight, which means the US will have to get involved too.
Is a Third World War on the horizon? leave comment here
