Have heard eerily similar accounts from my own personal friends living in Munich, Frankfurt, and Stuttgart areas. They all say local industrial employers have given advanced notices to prepare employees for mass layoffs if/when nat gas supplies become rationed in wintertime. What happens to these people? Will the German state provide social services to all the unemployed? Who will pay the grocery bills never mind the sky high fuel bills?

Everything about this goddam war is heartbreaking. I loathe Putin. I also believe deep down the west could have and should have done (way!) more to prevent this war. Our diplomatic efforts before Putin invaded were perplexing anemic. The foreign affairs departments of the Biden, Scholz, Macron, and Johnson governments couldn’t carry the jockstraps of the men and women in the JFK and Reagan Admins, both of whom successfully navigated far worse conflicts with Soviet leaders in their respective times without needing a single shot fired to end the October crisis with Khrushchev and the Soviet-Afghan war quagmire.

I worry millions could freeze across Europe this winter. And all that suffering to what point? To show me that Putin is heartless? Congratulations, you win. I admit, Putin is heartless and evil to the core. But, you know what else? Our own leaders are recklessly incompetent.

Under the Radar