What War Brought Russia. Create Viral LinkedIn Posts, Unwanted Discoveries of Drought – and Who Writes This Stuff? Plus more!

Grüezi!?I’m Adrian Monck, with seven things that caught my attention this week.

Also this edition – pesticide alternatives, ‘quiet quitting’ and learning disorder superpowers.

Sharing is caring –?Please share this newsletter!

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1?? What Putin has Achieved

The abject destruction of his own nation’s interests.

There’s an excellent long analysis from Ruth Deyermond on what Russia has achieved in six months of war waged on its neighbour. The short version?

“Russia’s war against Ukraine has been an abject failure that has done unprecedented damage to Russian national interests.”

Deyermond says Putin has done four things:

1. End what was left of Russia’s post-Soviet regional leadership role;
2. Reduce Russia’s international status;
3. Shred the reputation of the Russian military;?
4. Strengthen US links with Europe and Western institutions.?

For a leader obsessed with the past, Lawrence Freedman concludes:

• “As with so much else in Putin’s Russia, any impulse to emulate Stalin is compromised by the state’s own incompetence, corruption, internal rivalries, and uncertainty about what the public really thinks.
• “He has dealt forcefully for now with any potential opposition from technocrats and moderates, all silenced, imprisoned, or exiled.

“Putin’s problem is more with ultra-nationalists, who lament that their leader has had the right ideas but not the necessary ruthlessness to implement them.”

• “His reluctance to mobilise the whole society and economy for a cataclysmic war with not only Ukraine but its NATO backers has meant that they now see a wonderful opportunity to restore Russia’s greatness slipping away.”

Does Putin’s hubris mean Ukraine can win back its country from occupation?

As summer draws to a close, both sides are digging in. The FT quotes a former Ukrainian defence minister:

“The US gives us enough to stop the Russians from advancing, to reverse some gains, to shape the operational direction, but absolutely, clearly, not enough for a major counteroffensive.”

Ukraine has held, but winter is coming.

???5 leaders on how to better respond to humanitarian crises.

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2?? Want to Know More About What I do But Embarrassed to Ask?

Let FT alum Izabella Kaminska ask for you.

Izabella Kaminska sits down with the World Economic Forum’s Adrian Monck, at La Finestra in Geneva. They discuss the challenges facing modern media today, what the Forum is really all about and what’s behind “the Great Reset” conspiracy movement.

??Here’s something I wrote on disinformation for Dutch speakers.

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3?? Dyslexic Superpowers!

Learning disorder or rocket booster?

??How to boost your creativity: let your mind wander.

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4?? The Formic-Acid-Squirting Pesticide Alternative

Meet the humble ant.

???Sadly, ants can’t help resolve this reptile and amphibian invasion.

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5?? Work Life Imbalance

In the old days it was called a ‘go-slow’. Today, it’s ‘quiet quitting’.

??Maybe it’s not a Great Resignation, but a Great Reshuffle instead.

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6???As Water Disappears, a Lost World Reappears

The unwanted discoveries of drought.

???High temperatures and drought are also impacting industry in China.

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7?? A Secret Hack to Produce Viral LinkedIn Posts?

AI has you covered!

I told the Viral Post Generator that I was launching a newsletter and that deadlines were for losers.

Maybe it needs a little bit o work – see if you have more success and share it below!

???No AI generated reading for all on our?book club podcast.

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If you enjoy this newsletter – please recommend it!

Best,

Adrian

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