A Promised Land

America as a Developing Country

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Tears

Photos and stories from Ukraine could help make a difference. Or at least we can hope.

Capturing the human cost

So much of the discussion of the Ukraine invasion has understandably focused on geopolitics: military strategies, remarkable resistance, Western assistance, economic sanctions, petrochemical markets, etc. But images best capture the human cost. The numerous photos embedded in this Vox story shine a searing light on what’s going on over there.

The shots are painful, like shots to the heart. But they help us comprehend this calamity in ways no in-depth analyses can.

Such images and accompanying human interest articles could accordingly prove far more powerful than detailed geopolitical assessments and arguments in influencing how the world reacts, what Russians think and what Russia does down the line. Over time, they may prove somewhat able to circulate and resonate in Russia, despite Putin’s efforts to draw a new informational iron curtain around the country.

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If the Russians Love Their Children Too

Sting's 1985 masterpiece proves tragically appropriate in 2022.

One of the most moving, powerful songs I’ve ever heard – yes, for those who know me, powerful even in comparison with Springsteen’s stuff – is Sting’s 1985 composition, “Russians.” Released as part of his first solo album, near the height of Cold War fears of nuclear holocaust , it’s a plea for peace at a time of intense international tension.

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Ukraine: It’s the End of the World as We Know It. Here’s Why I Feel (Kinda Sorta) Fine.

Yes, despair at Ukrainians' suffering. But their struggles, and ours, do not end here.

Tough, horrifying, unprecedented times indeed. Especially for Ukraine, but also for the world. But not all is lost.

Through my international development consulting and research, I’ve had sporadic contact with Ukraine and a smattering of its citizens over the years. Here are a few scattered recollections and impressions, followed by some speculation on where we go from here.

Bling and blandness in a newly independent state

First visiting the country in 1996, when it was still a newly independent state in the wake of the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, I joined a U.S. Government-funded National Democratic Institute (NDI) delegation looking to build contacts with and democracy-oriented training for political party personnel there. I was just an observer, along for the ride to learn about how the NDI operates and to advise it on how to evaluate those operations.

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Springsteen, Faith and Looking Up in 2022

Facing the storms ahead.

Happy New Year?

If you haven’t yet rung in 2022 by seeing the Netflix film Don’t Look Up, consider doing so asap.

Directed, co-produced and co-written by Adam McKay, who also gave us The Big Short and Vice, it’s an over-the-top, hilarious, heartbreaking and bang on critique of our times…in a giant-comet-is-going-to-smash-into-the-earth-and-wipe-out-humanity sort of way.

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From 9/11/01 to 9/11/21

2001: United Flight #93 terrorists’ attempted attack on the Capitol, foiled by heroic passengers acting together.
2021: Insurrectionists’ successful seizure of the Capitol, egged on by a demagogue tearing us apart.

2001: Terrorists from abroad, determined to destroy our way of life.
2021: Terrorists from here at home, determined to do the same thing.

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