MINUTES of a MONDAY #130
A few bits I came across to help get your week up and running
**If this is your first time here then, Welcome! And why not consider becoming a subscriber? You don’t have to pay to stay.
Slán - Niall☘️ **
📻REAL LIFE AUDIO 👇🏽🎧
BRAIN FOOD: The Cart Before the Horse
“Even if Russia and Ukraine had overcome their disagreements, the framework they negotiated in Istanbul would have required buy-in from the United States and its allies. And those Western powers would have needed to take a political risk by engaging in negotiations with Russia and Ukraine and to put their credibility on the line by guaranteeing Ukraine’s security. At the time, and in the intervening two years, the willingness either to undertake high-stakes diplomacy or to truly commit to come to Ukraine’s defense in the future has been notably absent in Washington and European capitals.
A final reason the talks failed is that the negotiators put the cart of a postwar security order before the horse of ending the war. The two sides skipped over essential matters of conflict management and mitigation (the creation of humanitarian corridors, a cease-fire, troop withdrawals) and instead tried to craft something like a long-term peace treaty that would resolve security disputes that had been the source of geopolitical tensions for decades. It was an admirably ambitious effort—but it proved too ambitious.”
Samuel Charap and Sergey Radchenko on the talks that could have ended the war in Ukraine before it really started.
SOUL FOOD:
“Each scene, I look for something not written down.”
The late, great Gene Hackman
LOL:
Kevin Bridges on the unique record his father holds on the Orient Express:
APPENDIX:
“If I wanted to implement something new into my game, I’d see it and try incorporating it immediately. I wasn’t scared of missing, looking bad, or being embarrassed. That’s because I always kept the end result, the long game, in my mind.”
A.O.B:
That’s it for this week.
Spring is around the corner, so I hope there is something in there for you to put a spring in your step!
Thanks for stopping by and, as always, mind how you go out there - Niall