Paul Hare, senior lecturer in global studies at Boston University, argued that Putin’s real goal is to “swallow Ukraine” and restore the historical power of imperial Russia. “His objective is not to bring the world to nuclear war,” Hare said.

Among Russia watchers and nuclear weapons experts, there is no dispute that Putin’s penchant for brandishing Russia’s arsenal reflects weakness and insecurity. And that is not a good trait in the leader of a nuclear superpower.

The UN called the idea of nuclear weapons’ use “inconceivable”, while Ukraine’s government said it saw the move as an intimidation attempt as delegations from both countries prepared to meet for exploratory talks.

The 44-year-old former comedian turned president has exhibited great patriotism and bravery, joining his fate with that of his countrymen on the streets of Kyiv, refusing to leave despite Western offers of an airlift… what is remarkable, truly mind-blowing in the long sweep of history, is that his Jewishness has not stood in the way of his being embraced as a symbol of the nation.

Thousands of years after our biblical patriarch Abraham’s poignant cry to God of “Hineni” (“Here I am”), the ultimate expression of responsibility, a Jewish president in the midst of war uttered a similar message: “Listen. I am here.”

The fact that Zelensky is a Russian-speaking Ukrainian Jew is of immense symbolic as well as political importance… Zelensky identifies fully with Ukraine, but this Ukraine is expansive, diverse, tolerant and committed to freedom and democracy.

Israel has no moral obligation to throw itself into the western states – led and followed by the US – in their conflict with Russia. If the report that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and offered to mediate between Russia and Ukraine is true, Israel has made a serious mistake…

Neutrality was never really an option. You can’t make noise like a global military, nuclear and economic power; drive the world crazy with your problems… – and then, where there is an international conflict, act like a nice little country, a savannah of unicorns and Pegasuses.

Israel would obviously prefer to be able to take a clear and unequivocal stand with the US and Western Europe. That is where it’s values are to be found. On the other hand, it cannot ignore the need to continue getting along with Putin.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is an eminently qualified public servant with distinguished experience as a federal judge, and her historic nomination promises an end to the erasure of Black women from our most sacred legal institutions.

That the Supreme Court could now look a little more like America is worth celebrating, not least for how it might help preserve the public trust in the institution, which has taken a beating in the eyes of the country.

President Joe Biden has just named his first nominee to the United States Supreme Court: Ketanji Brown Jackson, who, if confirmed, will replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. Jackson has by every account lived an exemplary life, achieved astonishing professional heights, and done so while scrupulously attempting to adhere to the highest personal and professional ethical standards…

Former President Donald Trump addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference crowd on Saturday evening. He covered a lot of topics… It was just missing one thing: Trump demanding that Russian President Vladimir Putin exit Ukraine. It was a missed opportunity where he could have channeled Ronald Reagan. It could have been Trump’s ‘Tear down this wall’ moment.

If there was ever any doubt about Trump’s influence over the conservative base of the Republican Party, CPAC put it to rest… The straw poll also found that, if Trump ran for president again in 2024, 85 percent of CPAC attendees would support him, including 72 percent who said they would “strongly” back him.

Welcome to a parallel universe where it is common cause that Trump was spied on by rival Hillary Clinton, the January 6 insurrection was a heroic stand by patriots, and names such as Anthony Fauci, Justin Trudeau and Black Lives Matter are guaranteed to elicit loud boos.

For the audience at home, the show’s flow does not change, though it will become tighter and more electric with this new cadence, and the live broadcast should end – yes, with the Best Picture category – at the three-hour mark.

Rather than introducing a “popular film” category as was contemplated in 2018, or shamefully trying to gin up attention by having people on Twitter vote for their favorites as though the Oscars were the MTV Movie Awards, the Academy should lean into categories such as editing that really celebrate the craft of moviemaking.

Several Academy members have, understandably, spoken out against this decision. By giving these categories less time and attention during the main event, they are effectively saying they are lesser than the other categories. The Oscars are far from perfect, but something I have always loved about the ceremony is that it is a night where all the elements of film are celebrated, not just the famous actors and directors we normally see.