Notes from the Algarve: I

(Remember: the name Algarve is derived from the old Arabic Al-Gharb, meaning “the west,” so to speak of “the Algarve” is to speak of “the the West.”) We’ve been here a couple of days now, Herself and Youngest and I, on a brief southern getaway while Eldest holds down the fort and tends Dog back…

Who Forgot to Set the Prevail Option?

Events are happening too fast to keep up. The public statements of government officials on every side have to be interpreted as psy-ops or propaganda (or both). The media have spent the past five years proving themselves not just unreliable but deceptive. So I’ll be the first to admit I have no idea what’s actually…

Why Are We So Stupid?

There’s no law saying we have to be stupid but apparently no such law is required. We can’t help ourselves. Putin has his hand on the tap, and now Europe is becoming even more dependent on his gasSimon Kruse, Berlingske.dk, Jan 27 For years, European countries have been talking about dependence on Russian gas, and…

Strange Tango

An editorial in today’s Berlingske, signed by Pierre Collignon, is unusually sensible. Entitled “The west hasn’t lost yet. Let’s wait a little before selling out,” the editorial takes exception to the “realists” and “pragmatists” suggesting that the western powers—the US, the EU, NATO—should promise Russia that Ukraine will never be granted membership in the EU…

Someone is blundering

Apart from a few articles about the Biden-Putin video conference the other day, most of them pretty matter-of-fact recitations of the White House and Kremlin versions of the conversation, Danish media has been very light on American political news lately. I’ll cut the Danish media some slack on this: there’s enough going on closer to…