SNARKY NOTES: LIFE AND NEWS

FRIDAY 25 OCTOBER 2024

Podcast: Battlelines, The Telegraph Putin’s New World Order (10/25/24)

• In Russia a summit, a “new anti-western world order.”
• Elections in Moldova and Georgia.
• At the Russian summit: BRICS summit. 
• James Kilner is at the summit.
• Putin is using this summit to show that he is not isolated in the world.  There are a lot of police on the streets.  36 leaders from different countries.
• 2009 BRICS was a smaller club, five major economies.  Russia took on the chair and four countries joined up Ethiopia, UAE, Iran and Egypt.  SA became an observer state.
• Up to 12 more countries are probably going to join up.
• There is talk of Turkey (a NATO member) joining up.  This would be major.
• The Kremlin has linked Ukraine with BRICS for the first time.  Putin is building an anti-western economic bloc.
• Is this theatre or substance?
• High level diplomacy is being done.  This is an important meeting for Iran. 
• The Putin talk is: The “multi-polar world” is taking shape.  It implies that other nations around the world could be sovereign, not just the US.  They definitely mean it in an anti-west way.  The language is about a democratizing effort.
• Russians see everything through the prism of Ukraine.
• Moldovia: Future EU membership received a razor thin yes vote.   What happens in Georgia will be pivotal.
• Neither country is at BRICS

(This is an excellent podcast, worth listening to every word.  I am at my limit at the moment.  Will try to finish the notes later.)

Life Notes:

I am losing my mind waiting for this election.  I feel as if I’m on death row. 

Tried to find the Munch “scream” cat, but this was the best I could do.  Going to take a nap.  oK. fOUND IT.