El Profesor

I was thinking about this question last night. I´ll answer with what I came up. I´m still collecting my thoughts, but this is what I believe it happened. Putin is a predator. He smelled blood on a wounded prey and decided it was safe to attack. I mean, the West can´t reallly hurt him in any meaningful way. An exhausted United States ,from costly and bloody interventions in Middle East is not going to deploy boots on the ground to aid the ukrainians. In Europe, Germany the main EU power, refuses to spend the NATO minimum of 2% in defence. Another good question would be: what difference it makes for Russia if Ukraine joins NATO and the EU? I mean, Poland and the Baltic countries have already joined. I´d say Ukraine is different, for historical and ideological reasons. Russians believe it to be part of Russia. The origins of what is now Russia begin with the Kiev Rus. A democratic Ukraine in contrast to an authoritharian Russia would become a source of instability for Putin´s regime, as young russians would look up to Ukraine as a model to be followed. Much like a communist Cuba attracted thousands of young latin americans during the Cold War, as it from the outside at least, Fidel Castro´s regime appeared to contrast with the corrupt and violent regimes backed by the United States.

As promissed, the reading list: Russian and Ukrainian History: - The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine - Serhii Plokhy - Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine - Anna Reid - Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin - Timothy Snyder - Red Famine: Stalin's War on Ukraine - Anne Applebaum - Lost Kingdom: The Quest for Empire and the Making of the Russian Nation - Serhii Plokhy - From Peoples Into Nations: A History of Eastern Europe - John Connelly - Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia - Orlando Figes - The Last Empire: The Final Days of the Soviet Union - Serhii Plokhy - Nuclear Folly: A History of the Cuban Missile Crisis - Serhii Plokhy Present-Day Russia and Ukraine: - Man Without A Face - The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin - Masha Gessen - It Was a Long Time Ago, and it Never Happened Anyway – Russia and the Communist Past - David Satter - Putin's Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia? - Karen Dawisha -Ukraine and Russia: From Civilied Divorce to Uncivil - Paul D´Anieri - Godfather of the Kremlin: The Decline of Russia in the Age of Gangster Capitalism - Paul Klebnikov - One Soldier's War In Chechnya - Arkady Babchenko - Fragile Empire: How Russia Fell in and Out of Love with Vladimir Putin - Ben Judah - Russia Without Putin: Money, Power and the Myths of the New Cold War: Power, Politics and the Making of Post-Soviet Society - Tony Wood - Babylon - Victor Pelevin. * (The only fiction book on this list. This looks like a very interesting read of post-soviet Russia society).

The 90s look now a decade of lost opportunities. It was the one chance to make Russia a stable and prosper democracy. A shame. Instead of an Adenauer, what the russians got was financial crisis, humiliation and a drunken Yeltsin. (Later, I´ll post a reading list, with the names of some books that can help us understand this crisis).

I'm rotting for the Rams because I'm a Dodgers fan. I guess that makes me prefer LA over Cincinnati. haha

Endrick is 15, competing at the the U-21 level and scoring those kind of goals. European teams are already after him. He won't stay at Palmeiras for long. Real, Barça Man City, Man United and Liverpool are said to be interested.

Moving to Chelsea was the right decision for Thiago. IMO He's one of the best defenders of his generation but few people realized that because he spent so much time at PSG. Doing well at Chelsea changed his status in football. I'm happy he's staying. Hopefully, Chelsea will also save Marquinhos from a similar fate.

IMO Thiago is a generational defender. Probably the best brazilian CB I've ever seen. I was afraid that this move to England at such a late stage of his carrer would ruin his reputation and I'm glad the opposite happened. The move to Chelsea took his legacy to another level.

Barça sold Emerson to Tottenham for a fee of 30 million euros. They bought him from Betis this summer and turned into a profit. Considering that they have already Dest at RB and the financial position of the club, it's a good deal. The other big news involving Barça today is that their attempt to sign João Felix on a loan. I like it a lot for Barça but I'm not entirely sure Atleti will agree.

Honestly? I wouldn't rule out the possibility of the retreat being purposely botched to justify a renewal of american presence in Afghanistan. I mean, on my opinion it's just incompetence but considering US's government long history of lies to manufacture support for foreign interventions (e.g. the Tunkin Gulf incident, Saddam's WMD), it's hard not consider this possibility. But then again, I'm far from an expert, so it may be just me being stupid.

Atlético Mineiro signed Diego Costa to pair up with Hulk in the attack. Flamengo signed Andreas Pereira, Kenedy and will make an effort to sign David Luiz and Thiago Mendes. Dudu has returned to Palmeiras after a loan in Qatar Not a bad window for the 3 strongest clubs in brazilian football.

Biden gives me some serious Brezhnev vibes: a gerontocrat that came into power after a period of huge instability and whose main mission is to keep the illusion that everything is ok. I might be completely wrong, but I see Biden more as a caretaker than as a proactive president. I feel like the entire logic of his administration regarding foreign policy will be trying to stay away from and postponing any substantial commitment in money and in lives.

IMO the exit from Afghanistan marks the end of the "boots on the ground" era. The US will continue meddling in the Middle East but with a more discrete approach. Airstrikes and drone attacks, the use of small elite units and mercenaries are here to stay.

So guys, I made a list of books and podcasts (I love to make lists of books I want to read ) that help understand american intervention in Middle East. Some books: Overal History of Middle East 1) "Islam: A Short History", Karen Armstrong 2) "A Line in the Sand: The Anglo-French Struggle for the Middle East, 1914–1948", James Barr 3) "Lords of the Desert: The Battle Between the United States and Great Britain for Supremacy in the Modern Middle East", James Barr 4) "A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East", David Fromkin 5) "All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror", Stephen Kinzer 6) "Making the Arab World: Nasser, Qutb, and the Clash That Shaped the Middle East", Gerges Fawaz Iraq 1) "Imperial Life in The Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone"; 2) "The Man Who Pushed America to War: The Extraordinary Life, Adventures and Obsessions of Ahmad Chalabi", Aram Roston 3) "Saddam: King of Terror", Con Coughlin 4) "Inventing Iraq: The Failure of Nation-Building and a History Denied", Toby Dodge 5) "Red Zone: Five Bloody Years in Baghdad", Oliver Poole 6) "The Fall of Baghdad", Jon Lee Anderson 7) "The Iran-Iraq War", P. Razoux Afghanistan 1) "Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History", Thomas J. Barfield 2) "Afghanistan: A Military History from Alexander the Great to the War against the Taliban", Stephen Tanner 3) "The American War in Afghanistan: A History", Carter Malkasian 4) "The Great Gamble: The Soviet War in Afghanistan", Gregory Feifer 5) "Long Goodbye: The Soviet Withdrawal from Afghanistan", Artemy Kalinovsky Podcasts "Blowback" - Season 1 "Conflicted" - Series of Episodes: Prophet´s Dilemma: The Sunni Shia Split "The Fault Line: Bush, Blair and Iraq" (Podcast) "Conflicted" - Episode: Ghosts in the Mountain - The Soviet-Afghan War

This feels like a repeat of Iraq. Ahmed Chalabi was also a nobody in Iraq before 2003, right?

I've found a thread on Twitter regarding the Afghanistan Papers. It gives some well needed perspective on how the regime backed by the US collapsed so quickly. The level of corruption and incompetence is hard to believe.

Interesting thread from an expert on the reasons of the fall of afghan government. Seems very similar to what happened to South Vietnam.

Hulk is at the moment the best player in brazilian football and should return to our NT in my opinion.

Finished "The Great Gatsby". Loved it. Now after reading "The Quiet American", I´m once again back to Vietnam.

I gave "The English Patient" a try because I saw that it was awarded the "Man Booker Prize" and also because I tend to like everything related to World War II but it just wasn't my cup of tea. Actually, I am a huge historical fiction fan in general. Have you read "A Brief History of Seven Killings" ? It also won the "Man Booker Prize" and the synopsis really attracted me. I may give it try. And yes, I'm loving "The Great Gatsby". Probably because I'm interested that post-WW1 atmosphere the book portrays.

I gave "The English Patient" a try, but I just couldn´t keep reading it. I´ve found it to be super boring. Now, I´m reading "The Great Gatsby" and I´m loving it.

Is it true that Taliban gained popularity in part because the group opposed the practice of Bacha-Bazi? I also rmemeber reading somewhere that the americans allied themselves with warlords that were keen on this practice and that this undermined their efforts to gain the hearts and minds of the afghan population.

I´m now reading books related to the history of rubber exploration, especially in Amazon.

So, according to João Castelo-Branco, Ancelotti has requested Real Madrid's board the signing of Richarlison. IMO Everton should definitely sell him.

Finished "The Quiet American" last weekend. I listened to a series of podcast about South Vietnam´s president Diem and then I wanted to read a novel about Vietnam. Loved it, great book. I´m now reading "The Secret Agent", by Joseph Conrad: