A land-grabbing autocrat and a famous footballing win

Home » Unlabelled » A land-grabbing autocrat and a famous footballing win

A land-grabbing autocrat and a famous footballing win

February 23, 2022

Stephen Collinson and Shelby Rose

Putin is running the show

"Who in the Lord's name" does Putin think he is?

Joe Biden's exasperated aside summed up the mood in Washington as the Russian leader set about tearing up the post-Cold War calm in Europe — one of the few crises that the US President didn't have on his dance card when he won election. Putin had showed exactly who he thinks he is in his bloodcurdling address on Monday, which dismissed Ukraine's right to exist and raised the specter of an acrid era in Europe as long as he's in power.

As has been the case for weeks, Putin is dictating events and everyone else is reacting. The Russian leader bit off two big chunks of Ukraine by recognizing two rebel pro-Moscow regions. But the rest of the world then spent precious hours debating whether his land grab should be called an "invasion."

The big development in Washington on Tuesday came when Biden laid out stiff new sanctions on several big banks, blocked Russia from raising cash in debt markets and said he would target Moscow elites and their families. In coordination with Germany, he also announced the suspension of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would move Russian natural gas to Western Europe. Biden pledged to send US troops in Europe to reinforce the Baltic states — NATO members that feel especially vulnerable to Russia right now. Biden also used the "i word": invasion. This was a political no-brainer for a President facing increasingly loud demands for Capitol Hill to unveil even more punishing sanctions. The White House, however, appears to be trying to keep something in reserve — in the quite likely expectation that Putin is far from done.

But the whole point of US sanctions threats was the hope they would inflict so much pain that they might convince Putin not to invade Ukraine. The Russian leader, however, spent years tapping high oil prices to build up a fund in order to offset Western efforts to cut his country out of the international finance system, so he may be able to stave off the worst short-term consequences of sanctions. He seems set on a historic mission to reverse much of the settled outcome of the Cold War -- or at least to ensure states like Georgia and Ukraine never get to join the West.

We're way past the point of deterrence.

Subscribe to Meanwhile in America

The world and America

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken calls off his planned talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

A blast at a gold mine in Burkina Faso kills about 60 people

Fire engulfed a ship carrying luxury cars across the Atlantic

Images from the Sony Photographer of the Year awards are stunning

Meanwhile in America ... Biden has met with three potential Supreme Court nominees

US home prices shot up more than 18% last year

A study finds people who got Covid-19 have higher rates of cardiovascular diseases

'Russia's geostrategic chokehold'

New US sanctions may not deter Putin from doing his worst in Ukraine, but the Biden administration wants everyone to know they pack a punch.

"First, after consultations overnight with Germany, Russia's Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline will not become operational," a senior administration official told reporters on Tuesday. "That's an $11 billion investment and a prized gas pipeline controlled by Russia that will now go to waste, and it sacrifices what would have been a cash cow for Russia's financial coffers."

"But it's not just about the money. This decision will relieve Russia's geostrategic chokehold over Europe through its supply of natural gas," the official said, "and it's a major turning point in the world's energy independence from Russia.

"Second, we've made a demonstration of the power of our financial sanctions. And make no mistake, this is only the sharp edge of the pain we can inflict."

Their greatest win

In this April 13, 2021, file photo, US forward Megan Rapinoe smiles as she warms up before a friendly football match between France and the United States, at the Oceane Stadium in Le Havre, in northwestern France.

America's female footballers have leveled the playing field.

In a deal that sent shock waves through sport, the US Women's National Team reached a deal to end an equal-pay dispute with their sport's governing body. From now on, team members will be paid the same as the US men's team in all friendlies, tournaments and the World Cup. US Soccer will pay $22 million to 28 players involved in the case and $2 million into a retirement and charity fund.

Governing bodies of female sports often argued that women's teams are less high profile and lucrative than male counterparts. But you can't make that case here. Soccer, as Americans know it, is still not regarded as a major US sport and hasn't carved out the same cultural space as American football, baseball or basketball. Millions of US kids grow up playing the game — but the best athletes often end up specializing in more popular and lucrative sports.

But members of the US Women's National Team are easily more successful, famous and culturally resonant than their male counterparts. Many sports fans could name players like retired legend Mia Hamm and current star winger (and amateur political pundit) Megan Rapinoe but would struggle to pick anyone out of the lineup of the US national men's team. Far more Americans watched the Women's World Cup final in 2019, in which the US beat the Netherlands, than the 2018 Men's World Cup final — one of the world's premier sporting spectaculars. When the US women won the World Cup in 2015, more than 25 million viewers tuned in. So the argument that the women don't deserve the same rewards doesn't wash. The judge in the case agreed, ruling back in 2020 that the women's team played more matches and made more money than their male counterparts.

For all their famous wins on the field, the team's triumph in the courtroom may be the one that reverberates the most through history — not just for the US national team, but for women's and girl's sports all over the world.

Thanks for reading.

The UN General Assembly meets in New York to discuss Ukraine. The Presidents of Poland and Lithuania visit Kyiv. Protests are expected outside the Russian Embassy in London against Russia's move on Ukraine.