“Our basic problem is how do we stop the hot war on the ground in Ukrai...” — Fiona Hill Quote

Our basic problem is how do we stop the hot war on the ground in Ukraine, and not get into a more and more escalatory relationship with Putin.

Everybody used to talk about Chechnya as a place, in the Russian imperial and Soviet periods, that was essentially governed by extended family and regional networks that substituted for older clan structures. But those networks have been destroyed.

Putin has become the wild card in his own system.

There's no prospect that the Russians are going to send Snowden back. Snowden is in the land of spy swaps now. Putin is not going to give this guy up for nothing.

Russia was dependent on China growing and driving the demand for its commodities: oil, gas and minerals. China was an alternative to Europe.

The most basic human desire is to feel like you belong. Fitting in is important.

The basic dream of many Colombians is to have a secure nation, without exclusions, with equity, and without hatred.

The basic question 'will I obey Christ 's teaching?' is rarely taken as a serious issue. For example, to take one of Jesus' commands, that is relevant to contemporary life, I don't know of any church that actually teaches a church how to bless people who curse them, yet this is a clear command.

I'm not very interested in people. I recognize it in myself - there is a basic indifference toward people.

I like to see photographs: I like to see my family. To me, when I open a basic browser, and it's that very elegant silver simple user interface, I am unhappy. I don't need elegant and silver and simple!