The Courageous vs. the Pathetic

You have no doubt noticed that I seem obsessed with the war in Ukraine. Since Russia launched its special military operation half of my posts have been about the war. Well, I am obsessed with it. I find it difficult to turn away from the suffering of innocents. What’s happening in Ukraine is having repercussions on financial markets all over the world including ours which means that its also having an impact on my client’s accounts—and my own. So, I suppose its hard to concentrate on anything else at the moment.

My sister sent me an article this morning about this girl…

This is Eva Ivanova. She is 18 years old and was recently arrested in St. Petersburg for protesting against the war. In custody, she was presented with a document admitting her guilt and asked to sign it…

“I’m not signing it, because I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong. They got crazy. They tried to scare me with ‘Yeah, 20 years in jail!’ But, that wasn’t the worst part. You know, they can change your mind. They say something, and you start to doubt: Maybe they are right. I saw people get broken….I don’t think a protest can stop a ‘special military operation’ But I believe that that’s how we can show our protest and our respect to Ukrainian people. Furthermore, I want people from other countries to see that our government is not us. Russian people is not Russian government.”

The reporter then asked her, “Are you at all worried about showing your face on television?”

She answered, “A little bit. But I want people to see that I’m a good person, and that I have faith, I have voice, and I want that voice to be heard.”

18 years old.

Meanwhile, the armies from her country are losing the war. I’m no military expert but I have eyes and I can see that the Russian army has been within fifteen miles of Kyiv for almost two weeks and have made virtually no progress. I can also see that the entire operation has devolved into indiscriminate bombing of civilian infrastructure that has no strategic value. These are the actions of a desperate army that simply has no other viable options. The Ukrainian army and people are making a historically heroic stand, and all of us are seeing it for ourselves.

Then, there’s this…

While courage and bravery are on display everywhere you look in Eastern Europe, western Europe’s most famous country is reminding us all why we so despise the political class. What a pathetic display. Dude, you can wear all the hoodies and jeans you want. You can let your hair go unbrushed, let your beard go to stubble all day long…but nothing will ever change the fact that you are French, a cheese-eating surrender monkey. Put your $4000 Italian suit back on, tough guy.