What Actually Mattered This Week: A Kremlin Strike Whodunnit
WHAT ACTUALLY MATTERED THIS WEEK
Russian state media reported an unverified drone strike in Moscow, first blaming the Ukrainians and subsequently blaming the Americans.
Footage showed a small explosion over the Kremlin and Russia soon claimed the attack was a failed attempt to assassinate Putin…but I don’t buy it.
It was more likely a Ukrainian demonstration to show they can (and will) strike Moscow or a Russian false flag operation to rally the population and justify ramped-up strikes on Kyiv.
Belgrade was rocked by an extremely rare school shooting this week, followed by a second mass shooting one day later.
Serbia’s President Vu?i? announced extensive gun control measures in the wake of the tragedies, promising an "almost complete disarmament" of the country (thankfully, offering more than just thoughts and prayers).
Federal police searched the home of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro—not for his role in the January 8 insurrection—but because of suspected criminal efforts to falsify Covid-19 vaccination records so he could travel to the United States.
I hope the trip to Florida was worth it.
Dog diplomacy is definitely the best diplomacy.
TRUTHS, DAMNED TRUTHS, AND STATISTICS
Countries with the most press freedom, according to Reporters Without Borders’ 2023 index:
1. Norway
2. Ireland
3. Denmark
4. Sweden
5. Finland
45. United States
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THE GZERO WORLD WE’RE JUST LIVING IN
GRAPHIC TRUTH
YOUR GZERO WORLD
For months, Israel has been embroiled in political turmoil over the government's plan to overhaul the judiciary. But how much of a risk are the reforms to Israeli democracy?
For former PM Ehud Barak, what current Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu and his far-right allies want to do will eliminate the last check on executive power in Israel. By that, he means the independence of the courts, since Israel's parliamentary system makes control over the government harder.
领英推荐
Barak tells me on GZERO World that a democracy like Israel should be capable of protecting itself from those who are using the tools that the system offers "in order to destroy it from within."
No wonder, then, that roughly 5% of the country's population has taken to the streets to protest the overhaul. The scale has surprised Barak, a longtime Bibi critic. "I did not expect it to be so powerful and creative," he adds.
WORLD IN 60
Is the United States at real risk of default over the debt limit?
The "godfather of AI "says we may be approaching a "nightmare scenario." What should we do about it?
As the coronation of King Charles approaches, what's the state of the United Kingdom?
Find out in this week’s World in 60 Seconds!
DIG DEEPER: GZERO DAILY BY IAN BREMMER
I hadn’t written in-depth about Ukraine in a while, since not much had been changing on the ground. But now, it looks like a Ukrainian counteroffensive is imminent.
I’m (moderately) optimistic and expect they will be able to recapture a sizeable amount of land.
But I look at several different scenarios and how they can play out in the weeks to come.
?Do you like what you’ve seen??Sign up for GZERO Daily by Ian Bremmer
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BECAUSE THE INTERNET
Happy May to all (except maybe the Czechs)
WHAT TO READ THIS WEEK
Marci Shore’s The Ukrainian Night, published in 2018, is a fine example of a book that has more to offer with each passing year. Reading it again now as Russian soldiers brace for a counteroffensive in Ukraine is a rich experience that reveals just how deep the roots of this tree run.?
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DEEP THOUGHTS
“When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt
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Thanks for reading!?Please subscribe to GZERO Daily for coverage of global politics. And make sure to read my new book?The Power of Crisis?for a roadmap of this decade's great crises and how they might help us build a better world.
Sales Director
1 年Look at what the occupying state, called Israel, is doing to a defenseless people who do not have weapons. The Palestinian people have the right to defend their country, and the great disaster is that they are a defenseless people who do not have weapons and defend their country. We are thinking of Russia and Ukraine, and we know very well that the Ukrainian people themselves are the Russian people and we are all We know that the leader of the Ukrainian state is an actor and does not understand anything in wars. I hope that we will take a look at the Palestinian people and give them the right to defend the country, which is originally their country, even through these platforms, even if only for a little ????
Award-winning Architect and Managing Director, A4 Architecture, Inc.
1 年Since they are short of cash these days, maybe Russia was trying to win the Red Square drone prize money!
leading research at cern
1 年Very inspirational and insightful ?? thanks for asking me to subscribe ??
Donald Moine, Ph.D., Organizational Psychologist. Rapid Growth Strategies for Financial Advisors, Insurance Agents and Company Founders. Expert Witness. Executive Coach. International Consultant. Speaker. Author.
1 年Russia might have just launched the questionable "drone attack" on the Kremlin itself. Their propaganda machine always needs something new to blame on Ukraine. Or the United States.