Putin’s Gift to Biden

And the West’s Gift to Putin Were you forwarded this email? [Sign-up to The Daily Reckoning here.]( [Unsubscribe]( [Daily Reckoning] It’s come to our attention that you might be missing out on extra benefits exclusively for The Daily Reckoning subscribers. Check out our website where you can find archives, updates, and everything else included in your subscription. You can access it by [clicking here now](. Putin’s Gift to Biden - The hypocrisy of Western leaders who claim to stand for freedom and democracy… - The West’s Gift to Putin… - “It’s a new chapter in a story of what looks to be a very dark century”… Recommended Link [Attention! Before You Read Any Further…]( Before you read any further in today’s issue, an urgent situation needs your immediate attention. If you don’t plan on [claiming this new upgrade to your Strategic Intelligence subscription]( you’re missing out on a huge opportunity. Right now is your chance to grab one of the biggest (and most valuable) upgrades our company has ever made to a newsletter. I’m taking Strategic Intelligence to an entirely new level and I’d hate to see you left behind. [Click Here Now]( West Hartford, Connecticut February 26, 2022 Editor’s note: Vladimir Putin has handed Joe Biden and other Western leaders a gift, argues Jeffrey Tucker in today’s reckoning. But he also shows you how Western leaders have also handed Putin a gift. [Jeffrey Tucker]Dear Reader, Political leaders in the U.S., Canada, Germany and France got back on script this week. They could not wait to get to the microphones. They all seemed to have new energy and purpose in life. Politicians are made for this moment! They are vastly more talented at dishing out righteous opprobrium directed at foreign beasts, which make far more compelling enemies than invisible viruses. As Russian bombs rained down on Ukraine, Western leaders — having spent the better part of two years bullying their citizens and quelling protests — spoke in soaring tones about freedom, democracy, peace and human rights. They condemned the brutality of Putin and his revanchist vision of Tsarist restoration. They had a new sense of resolve in their moral superiority as leaders of the free and modern republics that do not invade their neighbors. The part we do not see is that many of these people — together with media organs and administrators of many deep-state bureaucracies — are absolutely thrilled to start a new season. Away with the appalling mismanagement of the pathogen. Away with public anger toward the lockdowns and mandates. Forget the collapse in children’s literacy, the rise in cancer, the waves of depression, the trucker protests, the collapsing polls of many elected leaders, and forget too the inflation, the federal debt, the supply-chain snarls and goods shortages. Forget all the astonishing botches of everything. Cold War Nostalgia Life was never as good in living memory as when we had a solid foreign enemy named Russia with a leader with a name and a face. Everything wrong with the world could be personalized, and with storybook thematics: good versus evil, freedom versus despotism, democracy versus dictatorship. This great struggle was so good for both sides that they made it last 40 years. There must be a certain nostalgia for those days alive in the hearts of incumbent political establishments today. And so Putin has given Western political elites a wonderful gift. He has created a template that allows them all to say in unison: There is something even worse than us. They can hope for a turnaround in their sagging polling numbers and new respect and appreciation for their strong leadership in a time of crisis and more reliably depend on a deferential media that knows the ways of wartime require parroting whatever powerful foreign-policy experts say in public and private. Recommended Link [Massive Buy Alert On 9 Tiny Coins!]( (1,000% Profit Potential Over The Next 12 Months) You can find the full summary here: 1,000% Profit Potential — [Tiny Crypto #1.]( 1,000% Profit Potential — [Tiny Crypto #2.]( 1,000% Profit Potential — [Tiny Crypto #3.]( 1,000% Profit Potential — [Tiny Crypto #4.]( 1,000% Profit Potential — [Tiny Crypto #5.]( 1,000% Profit Potential — [Tiny Crypto #6.]( 1,000% Profit Potential — [Tiny Crypto #7.]( 1,000% Profit Potential — [Tiny Crypto #8.]( 1,000% Profit Potential — [Tiny Crypto #9.]( [Click Here To Learn More]( The End of the Empire There is some powerful symbolism here with Putin’s outright military invasion. He knew that he could count on both India and China to look the other way, even tacitly approve his move. And he knew for sure that NATO countries would bluster and impose sanctions but were not in a position to do anything beyond that. He further knew that Ukraine was an easy win for him personally and politically. He has finally pushed back against NATO expansionism into Russia’s traditional sphere of influence, and caused the opening of a new chapter in world affairs. He has made it clear to the world that the American century is over. Even more extraordinary, he has a clean path to retaining that power at home. Anti-war protests broke out in many cities in Russia. God bless these protestors, their resolve, their courage, their love of peace. If Putin is looking for a way to deal with them, he need only look to how Justin Trudeau dealt with the protests in Ottawa. Dox them, seize their bank accounts, and send in heavy armed military-style cops without badges and faces. The “Free World” The “free world” has lost the moral high ground to preach to the “unfree” world about rights, liberties, and democracy. For two years, most every government in the West experimented with new forms of servitude in the name of public health. They showed how emergency powers can be deployed to lock people in homes, shut businesses, cancel church, ban travel, and censor speech — massive attacks on essential freedoms all justified simply because the people in power said it was justified. Further, the pandemic response revived the utility of nationalism (with travel bans and even vaccine approvals), class demarcations in policy (essential and nonessential businesses and workers), and the unquestioned hegemony of the administrative state over the whole of society. Even the courts went silent, and even the media could be relied upon to quell dissident voices and push out propaganda from the bureaucracies. Big tech, once decried by the establishment for its libertarian ethos, also enlisted on the side of control, censoring and canceling accounts that raised doubts concerning the competence of the managerial elite. Recommended Link [Free Crypto “Internet Hack” Demonstrated Live on Camera]( [Read more here...]( This viral video is spreading across the internet. Crypto millionaire James Altucher demonstrates a “free crypto hack” live on camera. And you can generate up to $167 of FREE crypto without risking a single dime of your own money. I’ve checked it out and it’s completely legitimate. [See How To Claim Your Free Crypto]( The West’s Gift to Putin What a lovely example to display to would-be authoritarians the world over! It was brutal. It contradicted all law and tradition. It flew in the face of public-health science from the past. It was an enormous flop from a scientific point of view, of course. But the enterprise did create a political precedent that will resonate for decades. It firmly established that states can do what they want, when they want, provided the leadership maintains a posture of infallibility and the population is sufficiently fearful. This was the West’s gift to Putin. Putin is now returning the favor. He has volunteered for the role of scapegoat for political establishments that are desperate for a change of topic, something that enables them to once again reclaim the vocabulary about freedom, no matter how implausible it might seem at first. Everyone knows that the best single means of controlling public opinion is the fog of war. All the better if it involves a far-away dictator with imperial ambitions. The Economic Fallout A few final words on the economic fallout. My friends in the oil and gas industry have been blowing up my phone for 48 hours to tell me about wild speculation in the industry. Existing U.S. oil production capacity is going to be maxed out, and everyone is preparing for sky-high gas and heating oil prices. As for the Federal Reserve, it is back to square one. All this talk about raising rates sooner rather than later seems like a moot point. That’s good news for people hoping for as little disruption in financial markets as possible. Bitcoin bounced back too. There are two dates in my adult life that truly seemed darkly shattering of every enlightenment ideal. The first was March 12, 2020, when Donald Trump announced the end of travel from Europe, the UK, and Australia, all in the name of virus avoidance. The second ws February 24, 2022, when Vladimir Putin took the first major steps in the restoration of the Russian empire, thumbing his nose at the once-mighty U.S. empire. It’s a new chapter in a story of what looks to be a very dark century. Regards, Jeffrey Tucker for The Daily Reckoning Editor’s note: Multimillionaire crypto investor James Altucher has just released an [urgent buy alert on a small group of tiny cryptos.]( In the past, this special collection of cheap cryptos have thrown off peak gains such as: - 9,000% in 18 months… - 22,000% in a year and a half… - 25,000% in almost 20 months… All of which begs the question: Why makes these unique cryptos so explosive? What are the details of the [new coins]( that James is recommending? And how can you get on the ground floor BEFORE they soar for massive upside potential? [Take 1-minute to get the full details right here.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for reading The Daily Reckoning! We greatly value your questions and comments. Please send all feedback to [feedback@dailyreckoning.com.](mailto:dr@dailyreckoning.com) [Jeffrey Tucker]( is an independent editorial consultant who served as Editorial Director for the American Institute for Economic Research. He is the author of many thousands of articles in the scholarly and popular press and eight books in 5 languages, most recently Liberty or Lockdown. He speaks widely on topics of economics, technology, social philosophy, and culture. Add feedback@dailyreckoning.com to your address book: [Whitelist us]( Additional Articles & Commentary: [Daily Reckoning Website]( Join the conversation! Follow us on social media: [Facebook]( [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [RSS Feed]( [YouTube]( The Daily Reckoning is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We do not rent or share your email address. By submitting your email address, you consent to Paradigm Press delivering daily email issues and advertisements. To end your Daily Reckoning e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from The Daily Reckoning, feel free to [unsubscribe here.]( Please read our [Privacy Statement](. For any further comments or concerns please email us at feedback@dailyreckoning.com. If you are having trouble receiving your Daily Reckoning subscription, you can ensure its arrival in your mailbox [by whitelisting The Daily Reckoning.]( [Paradigm Press]© 2022 Paradigm Press, LLC. 808 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore MD 21202. Although our employees may answer your general customer service questions, they are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular investment situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized financial advice. We expressly forbid our writers from having a financial interest in any security they personally recommend to our readers. All of our employees and agents must wait 24 hours after on-line publication or 72 hours after the mailing of a printed-only publication prior to following an initial recommendation. Any investments recommended in this letter should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company. Email Reference ID: 470DRED01