First, since this is a review, let me say that TWS is a great podcast and I look forward to it every week. The conversations are interesting, timely, and intelligent — a result of the choices of guests/topics (not the “usual suspects”; always sharp and clear) and the range and depth of Jon’s knowledge. Even when he knows little or nothing about the topic (e.g., how AI works), he manages to pull disparate ideas together to make sense of the situation. — Now, I have an observation/question about your conversation with Mr. Rhodes this week. The general thrust of his and your position seemed to be that, when bad things happen in the world, the U.S. should do nothing, because no matter what we do, we tend to make things worse. — You mentioned Ukraine, saying that when Crimea was taken by Russia, we were right to do nothing (and even the sanctions were pointless). The implication was that, when Russia marched in with the intention of taking the rest of Ukraine, that was really none of our business. “Bad things happen in the world.” — It would seem that the current U.S. position is more to your liking: Extricating from NATO; leaving Ukraine to fight Russia by itself (with whatever help Europe can/does provide). — [I hope I have expressed your position well. If not, please correct me.] — My question is, at what point do we stop Russia from marching through Europe, if that’s what they begin to do next? — Does your position include letting Russia take what it can? Does it include letting China have Taiwan? Is there a point at which you say “OK. Enough”? — I recognize that we’ve made a mess of almost everything we’ve touched since the end of WWII, but I wonder whether you think there is any point at which the U.S. should say (to paraphrase President Bush), “This shall not stand.” (He was the one who said that, wasn’t he?) — Please forgive me if this isn’t the right place to ask this, but I couldn’t find any other way to reach your show. Thanks.
