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I never liked Joe Biden, but I applaud his giving Ukraine permission to fire American missiles into Russia (“U.S. approval affects Ukraine’s use of a missile and its mission,” column, Nov. 21). We need NATO leaders to stand up to Vladimir Putin. He’s a Stalinist who wants to recreate the Soviet Union. There will be no ceding Ukrainian land for a peace deal. That will just be an opportunity for Putin to regroup and rearm and attack Ukraine again. He will not stop until all of Ukraine is part of Russia. Then Moldova. It’s predicted Putin within the next 8-10 years will invade Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Both Finland and Sweden are gearing up for war with Russia.
Has everyone forgotten Western Europe’s attempts to appease Adolf Hitler prior to World War II? Hitler invaded the Rhineland in western Germany, then forcibly annexed Austria. Next, he took over the Sudetenland in western Czechoslovakia and then Hitler invaded all of Czechoslovakia, then finally Poland. Putin will be in the 21st century like Hitler in the 20th. With Hitler it was “lebensraum,” “room to breathe.” With Putin it’s the new USSR with all of Eastern Europe in it again.
Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are the 21st century’s axis of evil. Americans want to bury their heads in the sand until China attacks the U.S. Navy in the South China Sea and/or North Korea fires nuclear-armed ICBMs at the continental U.S. It’s looking like this is the age where authoritarian empires rule and democracy fails. What are Americans going to do?
Jim Branstrom, Virginia, Minn.
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In Thursday’s edition the front page has photographs of Mickey’s Diner, a small dining car. Also on Thursday, the front page of the Business section featured a large photograph of Graze food hall, a restaurant. Last Sunday’s paper featured articles on restaurants and instructions on how to stock a home bar (as though those who live to eat and drink alcoholic beverages need instruction on what alcoholic beverages to buy) (“Raising the bar,” Nov. 17).