Althouse: Time's Person of the Year was easy to predict — especially since Elon Musk was last year's Person of the Year.

December 7, 2022

Time's Person of the Year was easy to predict — especially since Elon Musk was last year's Person of the Year.

Volodymyr Zelensky.

116 comments:

RideSpaceMountain said...: Pay attention all you SBF wannabes and imperial Chinese harem hopefuls, this is the kind of of publicity that crypto CAN buy you!; 12/7/22, 8:56 AM
Kevin said...: Elon Musk will never be Man of the Year again.

Even when he puts people on Mars.; 12/7/22, 8:56 AM
Enigma said...: The old "news" version of Time picked both Hitler and Stalin as Men of the Year. So, what about Putin? He was responsible for destroying Germany's economy. Destroying green visions and bringing back nuclear power all across Europe. Stabilizing Russia's fossil fuel bonds with India and China. Causing fear of a global famine. Exacerbating pandemic inflation / ending Biden's BBB vision. Redirecting US natural gas to Europe. Generating a knee-jerk reaction across Nato that may spawn a generation of elevated Cold War-like military spending.

Putin did all of that by INVADING Ukraine. Putin had 100X the global impact of anyone else.

But rainbows. But lollipops. But whirled peas.; 12/7/22, 8:59 AM
Rusty said...: Is Time magazine still a thing? Do people still read it?; 12/7/22, 9:10 AM
Ironclad said...: Not money laundering through FTX “purchases” by Ukraine with that river of cash flowing to the Blue and Yellow? One can be opposed to the Russian invasion ( and hopeful humiliation) while not blind to the massive corruption there under Mr Z. Yes, he rallied the nation, but it’s inconceivable his hand isn’t in the till too - or complicit in the money flow.; 12/7/22, 9:13 AM
Kate said...: The graphic looks like a wreath surrounding him. Persuasive propaganda.; 12/7/22, 9:18 AM
Yancey Ward said...: Everyone supports the current thing.; 12/7/22, 9:22 AM
cfs said...: Yeah, naturally the person trying to drag the U.S. into WWIII would be the Time's Person of the Year.; 12/7/22, 9:25 AM
GatorNavy said...: Time magazine sure loves their money laundering crooks.; 12/7/22, 9:26 AM
Achilles said...: Time likes corrupt dictators.

As long as they are laundering US taxpayer money to DC politicians anyways.; 12/7/22, 9:29 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: But will it go down in history as another Hitler pick or another Gandhi pick? Hard to say from this vantage point.; 12/7/22, 9:30 AM
Sebastian said...: It's an interesting indicator of regime priorities.

Would any American not in the regime bubble consider Z this way?

Thesis: Xi matters to us, Z does not.; 12/7/22, 9:35 AM
Marco the Lab said...: What a perfect example of Man of the Year- The guy who outlaws dissenting political parties and the orthodox church. The democrat dream.; 12/7/22, 9:40 AM
rcocean said...: Yeah, Zelensky is quite the winner. He'll retire to one of three mansions (South of France and south florida are two of them) and take a planeful of cash with him.

The Ukrainian people, on the other hand, aren't doing as well. There is no freedom of the press or freedom of speech. Antiwar dissidents are being jailed or executed. The other political parties have been supressed. Unwilling Conscripts are being sent to die by the thousands and men of military age cannot leave the country.

Millions of others have fled the country. Electricity and heat have been knocked out. The economy has collapsed and people are dependent on US/NATO aid. And there's no end in sight for a war that's dragged on for almost a year now.

So, who benefits from Zelensky being in charge? Certainly not Ukraine. Maybe its NATO/USA who cyncially want to use the Ukrainians as Cannon fodder to "Weaken Russia". I'm looking forward to a Russian winter offensive and Russian tanks in Kiev doing some "Regime change", because that's the only way this bloody farce will end.; 12/7/22, 9:42 AM
mikee said...: Once a year, Time gets noticed.; 12/7/22, 9:42 AM
Bob Boyd said...: Zelensky is a much better deal maker than Trump. Look what he was able to parlay his dirt on the Bidens into. Amazing!
Trump tried to get him to give up that dirt, but Zelensky recognized it was worth far more than what Trump was offering.
Even master dirt merchant Hillary Clinton has to marvel at Zelensky.; 12/7/22, 9:43 AM
Jaq said...: 40% of the Panama Papers were this guy and his Ukrainian cronies. What are Joe Biden’s holdings in Ukraine?; 12/7/22, 9:52 AM
Mr Wibble said...: Putin did all of that by INVADING Ukraine. Putin had 100X the global impact of anyone else.

But rainbows. But lollipops. But whirled peas.

If the initial Russian offensive operation had been successful, the impact would have been minimal. I'd argue that the bigger impact came from Zelenskyy's refusal to leave Kiev when the Biden admin offered him a way out. It helped keep the Ukrainian gov from collapsing, and it forced the West to actually commit money and materiel to support Ukraine.; 12/7/22, 9:55 AM
Lurker21 said...: Whatever Zelensky did wrong, he did less of it than Putin and he hasn't been doing it as long, so there's that. The ex-comedian is cleaner than the ex-KGB officer, and standing up to an aggressor is good, but I'm not going to join Zelensky's fan club, or Putin's. Tempers are so heated about Ukraine and Russia, though, that attempts to remain neutral mean that one is attacked by both sides.; 12/7/22, 10:06 AM
Achilles said...: Mitch McConnell is part of the graft machine.

The reason McConnell wanted Warnock to win in Georgia is because Walker would not have been a reliable vote to keep US Taxpayer dollars flooding to Ukraine.; 12/7/22, 10:07 AM
Political Junkie said...: Agree with Z as POY. SBF could have been a close second.; 12/7/22, 10:07 AM
Bob Boyd said...: In a war between Russia and Ukraine, Americans are the target of most of the propaganda.; 12/7/22, 10:08 AM
Political Junkie said...: Nice cover. Very nice cover.; 12/7/22, 10:08 AM
Joe Smith said...: The biggest grifter in history.

He made a lot of people very fucking rich...; 12/7/22, 10:10 AM
RideSpaceMountain said...: What's going on in Ukraine is fundamentally a logistics conflict that's been going on since the 18th century - a conflict between a land-logistics network and an ocean-logistics empire.

Because of our anglophone and anglophile persuasion, the United States and many others have long been a member of this empire. Zelensky is another buttboy in a long line of useful buttboys who wants to join the "Coastal Club" without being a 'coastie'. As many have said before, Russia is very very close, and D.C. is 33 days away on the Maersk line.; 12/7/22, 10:13 AM
Narr said...: I felt like I had a real shot, then the Uke thing happened. Maybe next year.; 12/7/22, 10:16 AM
Michael K said...: I didn't know "Time" was still published.; 12/7/22, 10:16 AM
Andrew said...: Reminds me of the Onion video, Time Announces New Version of Magazine for Adults. Worth watching if you haven't seen it.
https://youtu.be/4TT81o4hL4c

I used to read Newsweek and Time religiously, when I was a teenage news junkie. Now both are a decrepit shadow of their former selves. Time Person of the Year? Who cares?; 12/7/22, 10:20 AM
rrsafety said...: Yikes, lots of Putin puppets in the comments today.; 12/7/22, 10:23 AM
Mr Wibble said...: Thesis: Xi matters to us, Z does not.

The two aren't separate issues. The entire global order-political, social, economic- is built around a series of promises made with the backing of perceived western military and industrial might. Ukraine is a test of those promises. If the west cannot endure the hardships that come from supporting Ukraine, or if it lacks the economic and industrial capability to support Ukraine, then it certainly will not endure the 10x worse hardships that come with any conflict with China.; 12/7/22, 10:25 AM
Charlotte Allen said...: The only thing missing from that Time cover is Zelensky playing with little children like Lenin:

http://librarything-svetlana.blogspot.com/2012/10/vladimir-lenin-and-children.html; 12/7/22, 10:27 AM
tim maguire said...: Either Putin or Zelensky. Maybe it should have been both. Either way, this is one of their better choices. It's hard to believe the Ukraine could have held out as well as it has, with all that goes with it, with a more typical poltician in office.; 12/7/22, 10:28 AM
Big Mike said...: Credit should go to Zelenskyy’s generals. If his generals were no better than Putin’s, Ukraine would be like Belarus or Georgia by now.; 12/7/22, 10:35 AM
wendybar said...: MoonAPE
@toswaldrn
Feel like they should but our money laundering politicians on there too. Whole gang needs recognition; 12/7/22, 10:36 AM
gspencer said...: Person of the Year?

More like Beggar of the Year! American taxpayers, give me and my crony government more of your money.; 12/7/22, 10:36 AM
gilbar said...: makes sense.. When you consider the Times Magazine Man of the Year for 1938; 12/7/22, 10:42 AM
Howard said...: The RusDonConBots have mind-fucked you people up the ying-yang.; 12/7/22, 10:46 AM
Gusty Winds said...: Blogger Mike (MJB Wolf) said...
But will it go down in history as another Hitler pick or another Gandhi pick?

Pure propaganda.

He ain't no Gandhi....

Adolf Hitler - 1938
Joseph Stalin - 1939
Nikita Krushchev - 1957
Ayatollah Khomeini - 1979
Vladimir Putin - 2007
Greta Thunberg - 2019
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris - 2020
Volodymyr Zelensky - 2022; 12/7/22, 10:59 AM
wildswan said...: A theory. We have Before Time referring to Covid and both Russia and the Ukraine also have Before Time referring to the Russian invasion of the Ukraine. Covid accelerated trends such as the takeover by the administrative state AND the flight from the cities through work from home. The Russian invasion exposed Russia's military weakness hidden in Before Time AND showed its economic strength due to its possession and sale of fossil fuels and its manipulative intentions. The Russian invasion of Ukraine made exposure of Ukraine's Before Time, its past struggles with oligarchic corruption dangerous to a nation in a war and inevitable in a nation where war mobilization, shared sacrifice, and volunteerism are making a democratic, transparent basis for the nation the only possibility going forward.; 12/7/22, 11:07 AM
Enigma said...: @Mr Wibble: "If the initial Russian offensive operation had been successful, the impact would have been minimal"

Putin would have then controlled 100% of the fossil fuel resources and shipping ports of Ukraine. At minimum the EU would have sent "very firmly worded objections" to Putin and started an economic boycott...but...I don't see how the economic outcome would be much different than today. It likely would have led to similar the threats of nuclear annihilation being causally tossed about, and funneling big money to freedom fighters. "Someone" blew up the Nordstream pipeline and the Western leaders said to look on the bright side, so there's plenty of countries itching for conflict.

The only difference is that without Ukraine pushing back, Putin's actions might have been whitewashed a la MBS in Saudi Arabia. "We condemn you for murdering journalists, but we need your oil. So, we forgive you. Just barely. Please be good."

@rrsafety: "Yikes, lots of Putin puppets in the comments today."

Eeek! Did you read the comments. Putin is profoundly powerful, as he controls a nuclear military and vast natural resources that others have taken for granted since the 1990s. China and India and many equatorial nations in Africa and the Middle East literally cannot economically survive without Russia, and may face famines without his support. Putin may well be an evil dictator but he's certainly the one person who caused the greatest world changes in 2022.; 12/7/22, 11:15 AM
donald said...: Anybody’s who thinks we have any fucking business being involved in a war between Ukraine and Russia needs to be put down like a rabid dog. Fuck you. Get your own fat asses over their or better yet your children. Though I do love the extermination of your entire families.; 12/7/22, 11:15 AM
Achilles said...: Howard said...
The RusDonConBots have mind-fucked you people up the ying-yang.

This is how stupid people deal with reality.; 12/7/22, 11:17 AM
Tom T. said...: Putin had 100X the global impact of anyone else.

It has been repeatedly asserted here that Putin is merely a puppet, and that he invaded Ukraine because the West forced him to do so.; 12/7/22, 11:25 AM
Sebastian said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/7/22, 11:28 AM
Gusty Winds said...: Interesting looking back.

In 1969 Time chose "Middle Americans" as the people of the year. Cover is a map with the flyover states in Red. It was Nixon's "Silent Majority" at the time. This, of course, was prior to the 2020 voter fraud. I'm sure there was some back then, but not like 2020.

Same dynamic still exists in America 50 plus years later.

Except today it should be called "The Silenced Majority".; 12/7/22, 11:30 AM
Gusty Winds said...: Blogger Rusty said...
Is Time magazine still a thing? Do people still read it?

It's a relic along with Newsweek.

Person of the Year is now on par with The Nobel Peace Prize, The Oscars, and Pulitzer Prizes.

They were relevant in the past and still survive today. But we all know they are just bullshit propaganda. Guess they are still a relevant novelty for some.; 12/7/22, 11:35 AM
Sebastian said...: Wibble: "Ukraine is a test of those promises."

What promises, exactly?

Promises to Burisma, yes. To Ukraine as such, no. It's true that the West sorta-kinda signaled interest in bringing Ukraine into its fold, enough to piss off Putin. But no actual promises were made. Example: Crimea. Evidence: no NATO, no EU. Biden reinforced the no-promises approach with his minor-incursion talk. The stern reaction to the actual incursion surprised the Europeans themselves and caught them unprepared, and has been expertly manipulated by the Ukrainians, no doubt to Putin's shock.

And of course, IR realists everywhere, i.e., actual leaders everywhere, know that "promises" are only as good as demanded by the balance of interests and power at any one moment.; 12/7/22, 11:41 AM
Temujin said...: My goal is to be Time’s Person of the Tear in 2023.
But first I want to demand that Joe Biden send me $1 Billion so that I can defend myself from our HOA. They’re coming for our lawn Flamingos.

I guess I could have just written that I don’t care what Time does.; 12/7/22, 11:42 AM
Mr Wibble said...: What promises, exactly?

The entire NATO treaty is based on promises of mutual assistance in the face of aggression. Ukraine isn't a member, but Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia all are, and if the west isn't able to endure the relatively minor hardships associated with supporting Ukraine, then there's no way in hell it will endure the major hardships of supporting Baltic NATO members against a Russian invasion.

It's equivalent to telling a buddy, "I'll have your back in a fight," only for him to see later that you are scared to take a punch.; 12/7/22, 11:45 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: The value of the chosen “person of the year” is a mostly a historical one, in the sense that it tells future generations where our minds was when our best and brightest could pick a guy who, upon failing to negotiate with Putin, led his country into a totally unnecessary and preventable war, which caused untold damage, misery and deaths. Not to mention the untold numbers that had to flee.

That’s the value the choice of a Hitler as man of the year has to this day.; 12/7/22, 11:51 AM
Enigma said...: @Tom T: "It has been repeatedly asserted here that Putin is merely a puppet, and that he invaded Ukraine because the West forced him to do so."

I don't think that's the objection or the argument. Some feel that the West's cavalier attitude toward Russia, to include weakening its influence and economic strength, pushed Putin into a corner. The military/NATO is seen as still fighting the Cold War and/or scraping up any foreign threat they can find. The argument is that Eisenhower's Military-Industrial Complex of the 1950s continues to feed itself by any means necessary. They need more wars to keep high budgets to fund more weapons development to let more private contracts to earn more money and have more promotions and to die as "heroes" with medals on their chests. All for wars that didn't need to happen.

In any case, Putin is not a puppet -- puppets have someone directly controlling them through strings overhead (marionettes) or up their butts (sock puppets). This blog more often states that Biden is an obvious puppet managed by back room handlers and whoever writes the text for his Teleprompter. Arguably Zelenskyy is a puppet to the Western powers but that's a big fog-of-war mess that I'm going to try to untangle. I don't think anyone perceives Putin as a direct puppet. Jerk yes. Dictator yes. Confident in himself yes. Puppet no.; 12/7/22, 11:52 AM
Enigma said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/7/22, 11:52 AM
Iman said...: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ct5KfruUi2E

“Wake up, Puppet Boy!”; 12/7/22, 12:00 PM
Lurker21 said...: The Silent Majority is gone. If they were the Greatest Generation, maybe it was because they were open to the world but still rooted locally and in earlier traditions. People are less grounded now and more submissive to what the media, the government and the educational establishment want them to think.

I used to read Newsweek and Time religiously, when I was a teenage news junkie. Now both are a decrepit shadow of their former selves.

I would sort of like to see a website that did what the old Time magazine did: give you the world every week divided up into various departments. Maybe it wouldn't work. Maybe it couldn't be profitable. Maybe we get that every week in our own web surfing. Maybe the necessary political and cultural middle ground is gone. Maybe the world is just too big. But sometimes it feels like Time made the same mistake Sears did by ditching a business plan that could have worked in the internet age for something that looked more profitable in the Eighties.; 12/7/22, 12:09 PM
Beasts of England said...: Fake war celebutante. Charming.; 12/7/22, 12:19 PM
Michael K said...: In 1969 Time chose "Middle Americans" as the people of the year. Cover is a map with the flyover states in Red. It was Nixon's "Silent Majority" at the time. This, of course, was prior to the 2020 voter fraud. I'm sure there was some back then, but not like 2020.

My youngest daughter, when at U of AZ 13 years ago, was taught that the "silent majority" was "white people who refused to accept the 1964 civil rights act." The statement was in her study guide for finals.

In 1960 Nixon was kept from the presidency by vote fraud in Chicago and Texas.; 12/7/22, 12:24 PM
loudogblog said...: There was a time when Time magazine would have no qualms about choosing a giant A-hole as the Man of the Year if he had the biggest influence on the planet that year. (like Hitler or Stalin) It wasn't about being liked; it was about the influence that you had on the planet.

Those days are long gone and now it's a popularity contest. (Putin should have gotten it for being the biggest A-hole of the year.); 12/7/22, 12:26 PM
Michael K said...: Blogger rrsafety said...

Yikes, lots of Putin puppets in the comments today.

Yes, those who want the US to be safe and strong and who would like "The Big Guy" to get his "10%" from somewhere else than our taxes.; 12/7/22, 12:28 PM
Jaq said...: LOL, The US promulgates a coup on Russia's border, and installs an anti-Russian government, at least in Kiev, the Banderites were not able to impose their coup on the whole country, since a large part of it rejected it, but the US puts a hostile government on Russia's border, and Russia responds.

If Russia had engineered a coup in Mexico or Quebec, and armed up its puppets there, what are the odds that the US would not have intervened, and who among the fans of Kiev here would have objected?

"I told Putin what he could do with his red lines..."

https://www.thedailybeast.com/joe-biden-tells-vladimir-putin-where-to-shove-his-red-lines

Meanwhile, our army is in Syria, even though the sovereign government of that country wants us out every bit as much as Kiev wants the Russian's out, and we just send our boys to steal their oil. If they can't kick us out, maybe they aren't "sovereign," and if Kiev can't assert control over the whole "country" eight years after their coup, maybe they aren't "sovereign" either.; 12/7/22, 12:33 PM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: Yikes, lots of Putin puppets in the comments today.

Maybe you haven't heard. We're non-binary. That is, we can reject both corrupt men who are propped up by Oligarchs and a good chunk of USA tax dollars. We reject both. So we are kind of the exact opposite of Biden, whose crime family syndicate has become rich off selling America to both of your heroes, both of the combatants in this made-for-TV war. We don't have to and cannot be forced to love either one of your heroes.; 12/7/22, 12:46 PM
Drago said...: Howard: "The RusDonConBots have mind-fucked you people up the ying-yang."

So, uh, you AREN'T heading over to Ukraine to fight?

Strange. According to you, you are the ultimate warrior. I would have thought that would be a perfect theater of operations for you to once again demonstrate your military prowess.; 12/7/22, 12:46 PM
Drago said...: rrsafety: "Yikes, lots of Putin puppets in the comments today."

Yes, something like that is what those who can't think for themselves usually say.

Thanks for self-identifying.....though truth be told we would have figured it out in short order anyway.; 12/7/22, 12:49 PM
n.n said...: Except today it should be called "The Silenced Majority".

Democracy dies with Democrats. Demos-cracy is aborted at The Twilight Fringe.

Speaking of demos-cracy, whatever happened to the underage handmaiden raped in the haze of immigration reform, who aborted the "burden" of evidence in the privacy of a sanctuary state?; 12/7/22, 12:59 PM
Readering said...: Not Liz Cheney? Maybe next year.; 12/7/22, 1:13 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: At the very least they picked a white boy. With all the civil wars and revolutions going on in Africa, they picked a white boy.; 12/7/22, 1:19 PM
gilbar said...: makes you wonder.. The people (if any) that live through the upcoming thermonuclear exchange..
What will THEY think about Mt Z?; 12/7/22, 1:25 PM
RideSpaceMountain said...: @rrsafety
@Howard

And lots of us want them both to lose...which it appears they're doing a bang up job thus far. Embrace the power of and.

Do try to keep up.; 12/7/22, 1:25 PM
Drago said...: Beasts of England: "Fake war celebutante. Charming."

Filed under: Things I wish I had written.; 12/7/22, 1:43 PM
n.n said...: Voldemort is the archenemy of Harry Potter, who according to a prophecy has "the power to vanquish the Dark Lord". He attempts to murder the boy, but instead...
h/t Wiki

The Slavic Spring eight years in progress.; 12/7/22, 1:43 PM
Narr said...: We don't know half the story, and what we do know is murky and subject to revision at any time.

One thing that is certain is that in that part of the world, Hard War is the only kind.

Keep those two Lessons of History top of mind.; 12/7/22, 1:50 PM
n.n said...: The US promulgates a coup on Russia's border, and installs an anti-Russian government, at least in Kiev, the Banderites were not able to impose their coup on the whole country...

Not for lack of trying. The Kiev regime attacked the people of Crimea through a denial of services and [anti]fascist irregulars, presumably to isolate the Russian forces who are there by title and consent, and accepting mass collateral damage of the native population in residence, who were only saved by mutual interest. To Russia's discredit, or perhaps credit in the transnational modern model, they did not assist Ukrainians under assault in the east until eight years, well into Voldemort's reign of terror (e.g. cancelling political parties, speech).; 12/7/22, 1:54 PM
Narr said...: Hadn't really noticed that it's not just Z, but also "The Spirit of Ukraine."

Wow. Just wow.; 12/7/22, 1:56 PM
Jaq said...: We drop a dime on a couple of Russia's strategic (nuclear weapons platform) bombers; somebody buzzes one of our nuclear subs with a hypersonic torpedo... Has the "Doomsday Clock" moved? No, we are being led by the steady hand of the steely-eyed Joseph Robinette Biden, so no worries.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/us-nuclear-submarine-buzzed-underwater-object-traveling-faster-speed-sound-scientist

Was it aliens? Or was this one of those atomic powered torpedoes that Russia has been working on that they tip with nuclear weapons, hinting to us that our coastal cites are defenseless in any nuclear exchange, no matter what happens to Moscow? There is a good chance that after buzzing our sub, the torpedo returned to port, if, you know, it wasn't aliens.

I am guessing it was aliens, that makes the most sense.; 12/7/22, 2:02 PM
Jaq said...: I am a Little America guy, kind of like the Little Englanders before WWI. Nobody said that they were not patriotic because they opposed Britain having a world-wide empire.; 12/7/22, 2:05 PM
Yancey Ward said...: "Strange. According to you, you are the ultimate warrior. I would have thought that would be a perfect theater of operations for you to once again demonstrate your military prowess."

Howard has a pie to eat tonight, so he can't go fight.; 12/7/22, 2:06 PM
TheOne Who Is Not Obeyed said...: I'm trying and failing to think of a woman who could have competed for consideration this year as compared to Vlod and Vlad. Can't think of any.

The wymminfolk should step up their game.; 12/7/22, 2:29 PM
Jaq said...: "if the west isn't able to endure the relatively minor hardships associated with supporting Ukraine, then there's no way in hell it will endure the major hardships of supporting Baltic NATO members against a Russian invasion."

Except that Ukraine is none of our business, and the defense of Germany and Poland is. Most of those other countries got shuffled into NATO as an aggressive plan to encroach upon and encircle Russia. Baltic states got there by sending troops to fight in Iraq, of all things.

"Minor hardships..." Yeah, they are minor for the United States, but the cost of taking Kiev's side in a civil war is deeply damaging to Europe.; 12/7/22, 2:31 PM
Jim at said...: Yikes, lots of Putin puppets in the comments today.

Yeah, because we're opposed to Z's corruption and being involved in a proxy war with absolutely no benefit, we must be a puppet of Putin.

People like you need to fuck right off.; 12/7/22, 2:32 PM
Jaq said...: Imagine if Russia had the wherewithal to take out all of our significant naval bases...

Why are we involved in a civil war on Russia's border again?; 12/7/22, 3:10 PM
Known Unknown said...: Apparently, there's not enough money laundering opportunities in Yemen to have anyone concerned about Saudi Arabia's intervention into their civil war (ongoing since 2014); 12/7/22, 3:18 PM
Known Unknown said...: "the major hardships of supporting Baltic NATO members against a Russian invasion."

That would ruin Russia, no matter what the US does. Russia is a quasi-failed petrostate with a cancer-stricken leader who may be dead in 2 years or less. Ukraine was his 'legacy move.'; 12/7/22, 3:19 PM
Narr said...: Breaking: Germans break up "J6-style" plot to topple the Bundesrepublik. Q-Anon and all the usual suspects involved.

And who could doubt the German security apparat? It would be like doubting the CIAFBIDNC.; 12/7/22, 3:24 PM
tommyesq said...: Putin had 100X the global impact of anyone else

I would have selected Biden. He is personally directly responsible for the theft of the White House, the decimation of our economy, the end of America as an energy exporter and the beginning of us becoming hat-in-hand beggars to third world sh*tholes for gas, the destruction of the credibility of the FBI, the reinvigoration of Iranian nuclear development, the permanent exit of millions of Americans from the workforce, the destruction of our southern border, the allowance of gas pipelines from Russia to Germany that led to Germany's dependence on Russia as a source of fuel, and staggering increases in inflation. In addition, he was behind (or at least directly involved) in the US-backed coup that ousted a Russia-friendly president in the Ukraine and installed the "saintly" Z and then openly courted Z's Ukraine to join up with NATO, which led directly to the Russian invasion in the first instance.

Biden is the Zellig, the Forrest Gump, of every bad geopolitical and economic decision that led us to where we all are.; 12/7/22, 3:38 PM
TheOne Who Is Not Obeyed said...: I might point out that our current Democrat regime may be continuing to support the Ukes because it divides the Right in domestic politics. That may not be their main reason but it's certainly a serendipity for them.

I'm so old I can remember when foreign military adventures divided the Left. Anyone heard from 'anti-war' Code Pink recently?

No? Strange. I thought they opposed war.; 12/7/22, 3:48 PM
tommyesq said...: Does anyone else find it ironic that the cover dedicated to Zelensky and the heroic fight against Russia is done entirely in Soviet Propaganda Poster style?; 12/7/22, 4:16 PM
Howard said...: Ukraine's self defense is opposing Putin's war. You people want them to capitulate to your favorite bully and are pissed off they are standing up to your dictator hero.; 12/7/22, 4:27 PM
Jaq said...: The German plot was to install a hereditary prince. I hope that Buwaya escaped the net!; 12/7/22, 4:43 PM
wildswan said...: "What promises, exactly?"

The US, Great Britain and Russia guaranteed Ukraine's borders including the Crimea when the Ukraine gave up it nuclear weapons to Russia, Budapest Memorandum 1994.
The Russians annexed the Crimea between 2014-2015
The Russians assisted Luhansk and Donetsk to form breakaway republics in 2014.
The Russians began a war to seize Donetsk and Luhansk along with the capital and the eastern part of the Ukraine in 2022.
In short, it became evident by 2022 that the Russians were moving to grab the Ukraine and Putin's statements that he intended to restore the land area of the Russian Soviet Empire we accepted as his intentions and he was resisted by the Ukrainians assisted by the US and the EU. We owed them that assistance by the Budapest Memorandum and, having come to understand Putin's intentions, we owed it to ourselves to resist them before he became stronger.
A combination of Ukrainian resolve, EU humanitarian support for refugees, US logistics, new weapons and tactics is defeating the Russians. The Russians military has been allowed to run down while being required to support Putin's global ambitions which are worthy of the Tsar of Russia who could mobilize 2.2 million equipped motivated men in three weeks in 1914. Putin has been remobilizing and remobilizing since April without getting a real army going. Of course a large country like Russia always has trained regiments ready to fight. But right now it is full of men snatched from their homes and sent to fight without training or good equipment or caring officers. 16,000 of these mobiks (mobilized) died in the month of October. Russian leadership doesn't care. #CannonFodder
And, Wisconsinites, you know how we fear being caught outside without a jacket, a hat, mittens, thermal underwear, heavy socks and boots when the temperature falls. Well, our worst winter fears are happening to men ensnared into the Russian Army and sent to the Ukraine. The temperature is dropping in Ukraine and these mobiks don't have winter clothes and are sleeping on the ground, often without sleeping bags, pads or tents. Or they go into villages and throw the civilians out in the cold and sleep in their houses.; 12/7/22, 5:13 PM
MadTownGuy said...: Ironclad said...

"Not money laundering through FTX “purchases” by Ukraine with that river of cash flowing to the Blue and Yellow?"

Blue and yellow make green.; 12/7/22, 5:25 PM
n.n said...: Anyone heard from 'anti-war' Code Pink recently?

Like carbon dust at the twilight fringe. All's fair in lust and abortion, in war and peace.; 12/7/22, 5:50 PM
n.n said...: I would have selected Biden. He is personally directly responsible for...

And a democratic/dictatorial duality that is the envy of fourth-world nations, where audits with probable cause are tantamount to denial of faith in the secular regime.; 12/7/22, 5:54 PM
n.n said...: Why are we involved in a civil war on Russia's border again?

Because they survived the left-wing Soviet blitzkrieg and remain a viable competitor with resources that would make even South Africa blush.; 12/7/22, 5:57 PM
n.n said...: a woman who could have competed for consideration this year as compared to Vlod and Vlad.

Kamala "take a knee" Harris. You've come along way, baby, honey, feminist pride.; 12/7/22, 5:59 PM
Joe Smith said...: 'Yikes, lots of Putin puppets in the comments today.'

What the fuck is a Putin puppet?

I don't like my treasury raided to the tune of billions to defend a country that is not an ally, and does not have defense arrangement with the U.S.

All the while politicians, defense contractors, NGOs, and foreigners are getting rich skimming said billions.

Moron.; 12/7/22, 6:37 PM
Joe Smith said...: 'You people want them to capitulate to your favorite bully and are pissed off they are standing up to your dictator hero.'

Fuck off.

Either Ukraine wins, loses, or draws. Nobody is asking them to capitulate.

They can stand up to Putin all they want, just don't do it without a treaty and don't do it with billions of U.S. tax dollars.

One more reminder; not out war.; 12/7/22, 6:39 PM
Drago said...: Howard: "Ukraine's self defense is opposing Putin's war. You people want them to capitulate to your favorite bully and are pissed off they are standing up to your dictator hero."

You still here?

Well, maybe you're just too stupid to know how to get to Ukraine, I mean, even if you could find it on a map.

Here's some good info for your Howard:

https://nypost.com/2022/03/05/want-to-go-fight-in-ukraineheres-how-to-apply/

Hey, I want weekly reports from the Front at a minimum. Those russkis don't stand a chance with you heading over there!; 12/7/22, 7:32 PM
Drago said...: tommyesq: "Does anyone else find it ironic that the cover dedicated to Zelensky and the heroic fight against Russia is done entirely in Soviet Propaganda Poster style?"

That kind of presentation works on those keyboard warriors/faux "tough guys" like Howard.; 12/7/22, 7:32 PM
Achilles said...: Howard said...
Ukraine's self defense is opposing Putin's war. You people want them to capitulate to your favorite bully and are pissed off they are standing up to your dictator hero.

Nobody anywhere said that Ukraine can't or shouldn't defend itself.

It just shows what a piece of shit Howard is that he has to pretend we are saying that.

Was Zelensky defending Ukraine when he arrested all of his political opposition?

Was he defending Ukraine when he launched missiles into Poland?

Was he defending Ukraine when he diverted US taxpayer dollars into FTX?

Howard knows how pathetic his corrupt warmongering looks. That is why he has to post this completely dishonest bullshit.; 12/7/22, 7:54 PM
pacwest said...: Yikes, lots of Putin puppets in the comments today.

What a clever phrase! You can tell from just that alone that this is a person well grounded in global politics and world history. And that they've assiduously examined every aspect of the Ukraine war. We all should be following their lead because they are so clever if nothing else. I know my mind has been changed. Please tell us more.

I'm telling you this guy is an up and comer in intellectual thought. Absolutely brilliant! Obviously a high IQ. I'd put him on par with that Howard guy.; 12/7/22, 7:54 PM
Sebastian said...: "The Russians annexed the Crimea between 2014-2015"

"Promises," right.; 12/7/22, 8:09 PM
Gahrie said...: a woman who could have competed for consideration this year

I would have given it to Justice Brown Jackson in honor of all of the Affirmative Action hires over the last five decades.

(Can't define a woman? Really? And that's not disqualifying?); 12/7/22, 8:22 PM
chuck said...: Did Trump get an honorable mention for sending Javelins to Ukraine?

I give Zelensky credit for not running away like the Biden team hoped, and here we are 10 months later. Might be the longest 10 day conquest in Russian history.; 12/7/22, 9:03 PM
Enigma said...: @tommyesq wrote: "I would have selected Biden. He is personally directly responsible for..."

If this was about Person of the Year for 2021, yeah, Biden was much more impactful than Putin. However, Biden's rehashed utopian "Groundhog Day" agenda collapsed with the Afghanistan debacle and for sparking rampant inflation. The final nail in Biden's spending plan was the Ukraine invasion, and now he'll be dealing with a hostile Republican House of Reps. Biden's parallels with multiple failed Jimmy Carter policies are too fresh in mind to be genuinely accepted this time. Much of his agenda follows from the naively utopian globalism of the Johnson - Nixon - Carter era. We've seen that outcome already.

History doesn't repeat but it rhymes.; 12/8/22, 5:38 AM
Jaq said...: It's been a long standing plan, and demonizing Putin was all part of it. Remember Hillary's "Reset Button"? Remember Obama saying that "The eighties called, and they want their foreign policy back"? Remember the mockery of Palin re Russia? Well that all changed the day that Obama left office, even though his administration was behind the 2014 regime-change coup in Ukraine, and it's been six years of anti-Putin propaganda ever since, so Howard, who thinks that regurgitating propaganda is the same as thinking, has of course lapped it all up.

Nobody who opposes this war could be anything other than what Hillary says that the people opposed to this war are, all the 'smart' people know that.

Let Ukraine fight it out with Russia. Just like if we got into an fight with Canada, I am pretty sure that Russia and China would not interfere.; 12/8/22, 5:55 AM
Jaq said...: Better cover illustration: https://twitter.com/votedegrammont/status/1599066912519909380; 12/8/22, 6:18 AM
Cato said...: I didn't like it when he outlawed free press.
I didn't like it when he outlawed opposition political parties.
I didn't like it when he decided to fight for his country until every Ukrainian was dead.
I didn't like it when he outlawed Ukraine orthodox Christian church.

But the ultra left sure did like it all.; 12/8/22, 7:49 AM
Cato said...: I didn't like it when he outlawed free press.
I didn't like it when he outlawed opposition political parties.
I didn't like it when he decided to fight for his country until every Ukrainian was dead.
I didn't like it when he outlawed Ukraine orthodox Christian church.

But the ultra left sure did like it all.; 12/8/22, 9:39 AM
Big Mike said...: @Cato, +1; 12/8/22, 9:53 AM
RMc said...: So, what about Putin? He was responsible for destroying Germany's economy.

And Russia's!; 12/8/22, 10:06 AM
RMc said...: So, what about Putin? He was responsible for destroying Germany's economy.

And Russia's!; 12/8/22, 10:06 AM
Jaq said...: Is Russia’s economy really destroyed? Who has suffered more pain?; 12/8/22, 11:41 AM
Dr Weevil said...: Are the anti-Zelenskyy commenters here utterly unteachable? It is a goddamned lie to say that Zelenskyy has "outlawed" any church in Ukraine. This was demonstrated, in detail, with links on this very site just four days ago: Google Althouse + "We have to create conditions" and read it, especially Clark's link. No one has been arrested, no services have been canceled, but Ukrainian police are investigating the Russian Orthodox churches in Ukraine, finding lots of Russian citizens, stacks of Russian propaganda, and investigating whether Russia is sending FSB agents behind enemy lines pretending to be priests. (Does anyone doubt that Putin would do that and that his corrupt pet-patriarch in Moscow would gladly help?)

If you don't want people to think you're Putinite shills, stop repeating Putinite lies!

Has Zelenskyy outlawed the free press? First, how would you know? Do you read Ukrainian? Second, he clearly hasn't outlawed the English-language press in Ukraine: the Kyiv Independent, whom I follow on Twitter (@kyivindependent), just did a multi-part report on how members of the International Legion accuse their top officers of selling weapons on the black market for cash. Some of their readers think they should have kept quiet to help the war effort, but they have not been shut down. Looks like a free press to me.

Has Zelenskyy outlawed all political parties or just one or two? Again, how would you know? Do you read Ukrainian? And if it is one or two, why shouldn't he? Churchill left the Labour and Liberal opposition alone, but suppressed the Hell out of the British Union of Fascists and locked up its leader, Oswald Mosley. Is Z. doing the equivalent? Seems perfectly reasonable to me if he is.

Finally, what is the evidence that Zelenskyy is personally corrupt? His mansions seem to be a lie made up by Russian propagandists and repeated by gullible fools. When identified, they always turn out to be someone else's. When did Hunter Biden give up his seat on the board of Burisma and his salary? The same month Zelenskyy was elected. Hunter doesn't seem to have thought Z. was corrupt. A few months ago, Zelenskyy was publicly criticizing the top guy in charge of confiscating the property of corrupt Russian oligarchs, saying things like "You confiscated a $15,000,000 company last month. Why hasn't the Defense Department seen a penny of that? We need to buy weapons!" Like all post-Soviet nations, Ukraine started out extremely corrupt. Russia has only gotten more corrupt with time, but the others, including Ukraine, seem to be slowly cleaning up their act. I'm pretty sure Ukraine elected Zelenskyy (as we elected Trump) because he was not one of the corrupt political class like his predecessor. As for the Biden-SBF 10%-for-the-big-guy, I'm quite sure that Zelenskyy would much rather have (e.g.) 10 billion to buy weapons and ammunition and keep his economy afloat, but if the best he can do is 9 billion, while the other billion stays in D.C., well, 9 billion is better than nothing. In short, I'm pretty sure that at this point, D.C. is corrupting Ukraine, not the other way around.; 12/8/22, 12:37 PM
Blair said...: I'm sure the dental patients who read it while waiting for a root canal will be enthralled. But I am not sure anyone will come across this anywhere else.; 12/8/22, 3:36 PM
Jim at said...: Are the anti-Zelenskyy commenters here utterly unteachable?

Maybe. Maybe not.

But whenever a leftist rag like Time starts heaping praise upon someone, I have the tendency to embrace another POV. Your mileage may vary.; 12/8/22, 5:32 PM
Dr Weevil said...: It would be nice if there were some person or thing in the world so utterly and comprehensively wrong on every single subject that just thinking the exact opposite would ensure that you are always completely right. Too bad there isn't. You do have to think.

Being suspicious of anyone Time praises would be a good place to start, if you had no other source of knowledge and didn't (as I did) already have a considered opinion about Zelenskyy and Putin before the cover was published. But rushing to "embrace another POV" without any thought? That is, to put it bluntly, moronic.; 12/8/22, 7:13 PM
Drago said...: Dr Weevil: "It would be nice if there were some person or thing in the world so utterly and comprehensively wrong on every single subject that just thinking the exact opposite would ensure that you are always completely right."

Way ahead of you......with "opposite George"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CizwH_T7pjg; 12/8/22, 10:41 PM