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First trivial. I saw the headline that Francis Fukuyama is now a social democrat. Back when Fukuyama was a neo-con I was right wing (but not "neocon"), now when I’m a social democrat, he is one too. Great minds think alike. Or speaking of Americans and politics, for me Kim Iversen and Joel Kotkin have one thing in common, namely I thought they were right wing, but it turns out they are left wing. In Iversen's case she criticized draconic pandemic control. In Kotkin's case, he as a population geographer praised Texas and criticized California. Both those things I thought were right wing things in America.
Now I of course want to write about the pandemic and also population geography. Let me just comment on the later it is via demography connected to the war. I found it interesting that this might be the first war in history between two depopulating countries. The reason the Russian invasion army is relatively small could be that Russia doesn't have a surplus of young men. When the Soviet invaded Finland in 1939 they had over 450000 men, when they invaded Czechoslovakia 1968 they had 800 000 men, the war in Ukraine, a larger country, was started with just 150 000 men.
And because of the Russian invasion we have milions of refugee in Europe. What I have read one reason it, in the 1990s, was pretty easy to take in a lot of ex-Yugoslavs refugees was because we had so many empty apartments. It’s not like that today. In my town it seems like they are building all over the place, but it’s not enough (part might be because our government had such open borders during the European migration crises, but that’s another story). Not saying we shouldn’t take in Ukrainians, nor not take in Russian dissidents, I really want us to, but it might not be that easy this time. Or what do I know?
Now I of course want to write about the pandemic and also population geography. Let me just comment on the later it is via demography connected to the war. I found it interesting that this might be the first war in history between two depopulating countries. The reason the Russian invasion army is relatively small could be that Russia doesn't have a surplus of young men. When the Soviet invaded Finland in 1939 they had over 450000 men, when they invaded Czechoslovakia 1968 they had 800 000 men, the war in Ukraine, a larger country, was started with just 150 000 men.
And because of the Russian invasion we have milions of refugee in Europe. What I have read one reason it, in the 1990s, was pretty easy to take in a lot of ex-Yugoslavs refugees was because we had so many empty apartments. It’s not like that today. In my town it seems like they are building all over the place, but it’s not enough (part might be because our government had such open borders during the European migration crises, but that’s another story). Not saying we shouldn’t take in Ukrainians, nor not take in Russian dissidents, I really want us to, but it might not be that easy this time. Or what do I know?