<html>
  <head>

    <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
  </head>
  <body style="height: 100%;margin: 0;padding: 0;width:
    100%;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
    100%;background-color: #FAFAFA;">
    <div class="moz-forward-container">
      <center>
        <table id="bodyTable" style="border-collapse:
          collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace:
          0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
          100%;height: 100%;margin: 0;padding: 0;width:
          100%;background-color: #FAFAFA;" width="100%" height="100%"
          cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" align="center">
          <tbody>
            <tr>
              <td id="bodyCell" style="mso-line-height-rule:
                exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;height: 100%;margin:
                0;padding: 10px;width: 100%;border-top: 0;" valign="top"
                align="center">
                <table class="templateContainer" style="border-collapse:
                  collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace:
                  0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                  100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;border:
                  0;max-width: 600px !important;" width="100%"
                  cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0">
                  <tbody>
                    <tr>
                      <td id="templatePreheader" style="background:
                        #FAFAFA none no-repeat
                        center/cover;mso-line-height-rule:
                        exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                        100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
                        100%;background-color: #FAFAFA;background-image:
                        none;background-repeat:
                        no-repeat;background-position:
                        center;background-size: cover;border-top:
                        0;border-bottom: 0;padding-top:
                        9px;padding-bottom: 9px;" valign="top">
                        <table class="mcnTextBlock" style="min-width:
                          100%;border-collapse:
                          collapse;mso-table-lspace:
                          0pt;mso-table-rspace:
                          0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                          100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                          width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
                          border="0">
                          <tbody class="mcnTextBlockOuter">
                            <tr>
                              <td class="mcnTextBlockInner"
                                style="padding-top:
                                9px;mso-line-height-rule:
                                exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                valign="top">
                                <table style="max-width: 100%;min-width:
                                  100%;border-collapse:
                                  collapse;mso-table-lspace:
                                  0pt;mso-table-rspace:
                                  0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                  100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                  class="mcnTextContentContainer"
                                  width="100%" cellspacing="0"
                                  cellpadding="0" border="0"
                                  align="left">
                                  <tbody>
                                    <tr>
                                      <td class="mcnTextContent"
                                        style="padding: 0px 18px
                                        9px;text-align:
                                        center;mso-line-height-rule:
                                        exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                        100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
                                        100%;word-break:
                                        break-word;color:
                                        #656565;font-family:
                                        Helvetica;font-size:
                                        12px;line-height: 150%;"
                                        valign="top"><span
                                          style="font-family:helvetica
                                          neue,helvetica,arial,verdana,sans-serif"><a
href="https://leftword.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=5fe69e0873&e=d206d0a40d"
                                            target="_blank"
                                            style="mso-line-height-rule:
exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color:
                                            #656565;font-weight:
                                            normal;text-decoration:
                                            underline;"
                                            moz-do-not-send="true"><span
                                              style="color:#ba2025">View
                                              this email in your browser</span></a></span>
                                      </td>
                                    </tr>
                                  </tbody>
                                </table>
                                <!--[if mso]>
                                </td>
                                <![endif]-->
                                <!--[if mso]>
                                </tr>
                                </table>
                                <![endif]--> </td>
                            </tr>
                          </tbody>
                        </table>
                      </td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                      <td id="templateHeader" style="background: #FFFFFF
                        none no-repeat
                        center/cover;mso-line-height-rule:
                        exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                        100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
                        100%;background-color: #FFFFFF;background-image:
                        none;background-repeat:
                        no-repeat;background-position:
                        center;background-size: cover;border-top:
                        0;border-bottom: 0;padding-top:
                        9px;padding-bottom: 0;" valign="top">
                        <table class="mcnTextBlock" style="min-width:
                          100%;border-collapse:
                          collapse;mso-table-lspace:
                          0pt;mso-table-rspace:
                          0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                          100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                          width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
                          border="0">
                          <tbody class="mcnTextBlockOuter">
                            <tr>
                              <td class="mcnTextBlockInner"
                                style="padding-top:
                                9px;mso-line-height-rule:
                                exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                valign="top">
                                <!--[if mso]>
                                <table align="left" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="width:100%;">
                                <tr>
                                <![endif]-->
                                <!--[if mso]>
                                <td valign="top" width="NaN" style="width:NaNpx;">
                                <![endif]-->
                                <table style="max-width: 100%;min-width:
                                  100%;border-collapse:
                                  collapse;mso-table-lspace:
                                  0pt;mso-table-rspace:
                                  0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                  100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                  class="mcnTextContentContainer"
                                  width="100%" cellspacing="0"
                                  cellpadding="0" border="0"
                                  align="left">
                                  <tbody>
                                    <tr>
                                      <td class="mcnTextContent"
                                        style="padding-top:
                                        0;padding-right:
                                        18px;padding-bottom:
                                        9px;padding-left:
                                        18px;mso-line-height-rule:
                                        exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                        100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
                                        100%;word-break:
                                        break-word;color:
                                        #202020;font-family:
                                        Helvetica;font-size:
                                        16px;line-height:
                                        150%;text-align: left;"
                                        valign="top"> <strong><span
                                            style="font-size:20px"><span
                                              style="color:#ba2025"><span
style="font-family:lato,helvetica neue,helvetica,arial,sans-serif">In
                                                These Days of Great
                                                Tension, Peace Is a
                                                Priority: The Ninth
                                                Newsletter (2022) -
                                                Vijay Prashad</span></span></span></strong>
                                      </td>
                                    </tr>
                                  </tbody>
                                </table>
                                <!--[if mso]>
                                </td>
                                <![endif]-->
                                <!--[if mso]>
                                </tr>
                                </table>
                                <![endif]--> </td>
                            </tr>
                          </tbody>
                        </table>
                      </td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                      <td id="templateBody" style="background: #FFFFFF
                        none no-repeat
                        center/cover;mso-line-height-rule:
                        exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                        100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
                        100%;background-color: #FFFFFF;background-image:
                        none;background-repeat:
                        no-repeat;background-position:
                        center;background-size: cover;border-top:
                        0;border-bottom: 2px solid #EAEAEA;padding-top:
                        0;padding-bottom: 9px;" valign="top">
                        <table class="mcnTextBlock" style="min-width:
                          100%;border-collapse:
                          collapse;mso-table-lspace:
                          0pt;mso-table-rspace:
                          0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                          100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                          width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
                          border="0">
                          <tbody class="mcnTextBlockOuter">
                            <tr>
                              <td class="mcnTextBlockInner"
                                style="padding-top:
                                9px;mso-line-height-rule:
                                exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                valign="top">
                                <!--[if mso]>
                                <table align="left" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="width:100%;">
                                <tr>
                                <![endif]-->
                                <!--[if mso]>
                                <td valign="top" width="NaN" style="width:NaNpx;">
                                <![endif]-->
                                <table style="max-width: 100%;min-width:
                                  100%;border-collapse:
                                  collapse;mso-table-lspace:
                                  0pt;mso-table-rspace:
                                  0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                  100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                  class="mcnTextContentContainer"
                                  width="100%" cellspacing="0"
                                  cellpadding="0" border="0"
                                  align="left">
                                  <tbody>
                                    <tr>
                                      <td class="mcnTextContent"
                                        style="padding: 0px 18px
                                        9px;font-family:
                                        "Lato",
                                        "Helvetica Neue",
                                        Helvetica, Arial,
                                        sans-serif;mso-line-height-rule:
                                        exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                        100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
                                        100%;word-break:
                                        break-word;color:
                                        #202020;font-size:
                                        16px;line-height:
                                        150%;text-align: left;"
                                        valign="top"> <br>
                                        <span
                                          style="font-family:lato,helvetica
neue,helvetica,arial,sans-serif">
                                          <div id="attachment_56615"
                                            class="wp-caption
                                            aligncenter"><img
                                              aria-describedby="caption-attachment-56615"
                                              loading="lazy"
                                              class="wp-image-56615
                                              size-full img-responsive
                                              mcRssImage"
src="https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Konstantin-Yuon-USSR-People-of-the-Future-1929..jpg"
                                              alt="Konstantin Yuon
                                              (USSR), People of the
                                              Future, 1929."
srcset="https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Konstantin-Yuon-USSR-People-of-the-Future-1929..jpg
                                              800w,
https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Konstantin-Yuon-USSR-People-of-the-Future-1929.-300x200.jpg
                                              300w,
https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Konstantin-Yuon-USSR-People-of-the-Future-1929.-768x511.jpg
                                              768w" sizes="(max-width:
                                              800px) 100vw, 800px"
                                              style="max-width:
                                              100%;width:
                                              100%;padding-bottom:
                                              0;display:
                                              inline;vertical-align:
                                              bottom;border: 0;height:
                                              auto;outline:
                                              none;text-decoration:
                                              none;-ms-interpolation-mode:
                                              bicubic;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true"
                                              width="800" border="0">
                                            <p
                                              id="caption-attachment-56615"
                                              class="wp-caption-text"
                                              style="margin: 10px
                                              0;padding:
                                              0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                              exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                              Helvetica;font-size:
                                              16px;line-height:
                                              150%;text-align: left;"><span
                                                style="color: #ba2025;">Konstantin
                                                Yuon (USSR), <i>People
                                                  of the Future</i>,
                                                1929.</span></p>
                                          </div>
                                          <p style="margin: 10px
                                            0;padding:
                                            0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                            exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                            Helvetica;font-size:
                                            16px;line-height:
                                            150%;text-align: left;">March
                                            3, 2022<br>
                                          </p>
                                          <p style="margin: 10px
                                            0;padding:
                                            0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                            exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                            Helvetica;font-size:
                                            16px;line-height:
                                            150%;text-align: left;">Dear
                                            friends,</p>
                                          <p style="margin: 10px
                                            0;padding:
                                            0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                            exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                            Helvetica;font-size:
                                            16px;line-height:
                                            150%;text-align: left;">Greetings
                                            from the desk of the <a
href="https://leftword.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=b5335224b2&e=d206d0a40d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                              100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
                                              100%;color:
                                              #007C89;font-weight:
                                              normal;text-decoration:
                                              underline;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true">Tricontinental:
                                              Institute for Social
                                              Research</a>.</p>
                                          <p style="margin: 10px
                                            0;padding:
                                            0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                            exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                            Helvetica;font-size:
                                            16px;line-height:
                                            150%;text-align: left;">It
                                            is impossible not to be
                                            moved by the outrageousness
                                            of warfare, the ugliness of
                                            aerial bombardment, the
                                            gruesome fears of civilians
                                            who are trapped between
                                            choices that are not their
                                            own. If you read this line
                                            and assume I am talking
                                            about Ukraine, then you are
                                            right, but of course, this
                                            is not just about Ukraine.
                                            In the same week that
                                            Russian forces entered
                                            Ukraine, the United States
                                            launched airstrikes in
                                            Somalia, Saudi Arabia bombed
                                            Yemen, and Israel struck
                                            Syria and Palestinians in
                                            Gaza.</p>
                                          <p style="margin: 10px
                                            0;padding:
                                            0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                            exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                            Helvetica;font-size:
                                            16px;line-height:
                                            150%;text-align: left;">War
                                            is an open sore on
                                            humanity’s soul. It draws
                                            precious social wealth into
                                            destruction: â€˜The impact of
                                            war is self-evident’, wrote
                                            Karl Marx in the <i>Grundrisse</i>
                                            (1857–58), â€˜since,
                                            economically, it is exactly
                                            the same as if the nation
                                            were to drop a part of its
                                            capital into the ocean’. It
                                            disrupts social unity and
                                            damages the possibility of
                                            international solidarity:
                                            â€˜workers of the world unite
                                            in peacetime’, wrote Rosa
                                            Luxemburg in <i>Either Or</i>
                                            (1916), â€˜but in war slit one
                                            another’s throats’.</p>
                                          <p style="margin: 10px
                                            0;padding:
                                            0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                            exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                            Helvetica;font-size:
                                            16px;line-height:
                                            150%;text-align: left;">War
                                            is never good for the poor.
                                            War is never good for
                                            workers. War itself is a
                                            crime. War produces crimes.
                                            <a
href="https://leftword.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=0615881fc4&e=d206d0a40d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                              100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
                                              100%;color:
                                              #007C89;font-weight:
                                              normal;text-decoration:
                                              underline;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true">Peace
                                              is a priority</a>.</p>
                                          <p style="margin: 10px
                                            0;padding:
                                            0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                            exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                            Helvetica;font-size:
                                            16px;line-height:
                                            150%;text-align: left;"> </p>
                                          <div id="attachment_56625"
                                            class="wp-caption
                                            aligncenter"><img
                                              aria-describedby="caption-attachment-56625"
                                              loading="lazy"
                                              class="wp-image-56625
                                              size-full img-responsive
                                              mcRssImage"
src="https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Anton-Kandinsky-Ukraine-Grenade-2008..jpg"
                                              alt="Anton Kandinsky
                                              (Ukraine), Grenade, 2012."
srcset="https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Anton-Kandinsky-Ukraine-Grenade-2008..jpg
                                              768w,
https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Anton-Kandinsky-Ukraine-Grenade-2008.-227x300.jpg
                                              227w" sizes="(max-width:
                                              768px) 100vw, 768px"
                                              style="max-width:
                                              100%;width:
                                              100%;padding-bottom:
                                              0;display:
                                              inline;vertical-align:
                                              bottom;border: 0;height:
                                              auto;outline:
                                              none;text-decoration:
                                              none;-ms-interpolation-mode:
                                              bicubic;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true"
                                              width="768" border="0">
                                            <p
                                              id="caption-attachment-56625"
                                              class="wp-caption-text"
                                              style="margin: 10px
                                              0;padding:
                                              0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                              exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                              Helvetica;font-size:
                                              16px;line-height:
                                              150%;text-align: left;"><span
                                                style="color: #ba2025;">Anton
                                                Kandinsky (Ukraine), <i>Grenade</i>,
                                                2012.</span></p>
                                          </div>
                                          <p style="margin: 10px
                                            0;padding:
                                            0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                            exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                            Helvetica;font-size:
                                            16px;line-height:
                                            150%;text-align: left;"> </p>
                                          <p style="margin: 10px
                                            0;padding:
                                            0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                            exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                            Helvetica;font-size:
                                            16px;line-height:
                                            150%;text-align: left;">The
                                            war in Ukraine did not begin
                                            with the Russian
                                            intervention. There are a
                                            series of authors for this
                                            war, each one important to
                                            understanding what is
                                            happening today.</p>
                                          <p style="margin: 10px
                                            0;padding:
                                            0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                            exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                            Helvetica;font-size:
                                            16px;line-height:
                                            150%;text-align: left;"><b>Pluri-nationalism
                                              vs. ethnic chauvinism</b>.
                                            Ukraine, shaped out of
                                            Lithuanian, Polish, and
                                            Tsarist empires, is a
                                            pluri-national state with
                                            large minorities of Russian,
                                            Hungarian, Moldavian, and
                                            Romanian speakers. When
                                            Ukraine was part of the
                                            Soviet Union, the question
                                            of ethnicity was held in
                                            check by the fact that all
                                            Ukrainians were Soviet
                                            citizens and that Soviet
                                            citizenship was
                                            supra-ethnic. In 1990, when
                                            Ukraine departed from the
                                            Soviet Union, the question
                                            of ethnicity emerged as a
                                            barrier to full
                                            participation in society for
                                            all Ukrainians. The
                                            socio-political problem
                                            faced by Ukraine was not
                                            unique; ethnic nationalism
                                            surfaced in almost every
                                            country in the
                                            post-communist East, from
                                            the terrible break-up of
                                            Yugoslavia initiated by
                                            Croatian independence in
                                            1991 to the military
                                            confrontation between
                                            Georgia and Russia in 2008.
                                            Ethnic cleansing was treated
                                            as utterly normal, such as
                                            when the West <a
href="https://leftword.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=22851a9a5e&e=d206d0a40d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                              100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
                                              100%;color:
                                              #007C89;font-weight:
                                              normal;text-decoration:
                                              underline;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true">cheered</a>
                                            on the forced removal of
                                            half a million Serbs from
                                            Krajina, Croatia in 1995. In
                                            contrast, Czechoslovakia,
                                            one of the countries in the
                                            communist East, broke up
                                            along ethnic lines
                                            peacefully in 1993 into the
                                            Czech Republic and Slovakia.</p>
                                          <p style="margin: 10px
                                            0;padding:
                                            0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                            exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                            Helvetica;font-size:
                                            16px;line-height:
                                            150%;text-align: left;"><b>Regional
                                              peace vs. NATO’s
                                              imperialism, part I</b>.
                                            After the collapse of the
                                            Soviet Union and the
                                            dissolution of the Warsaw
                                            Pact (1991), the United
                                            States sought to absorb all
                                            of eastern Europe into the
                                            North Atlantic Treaty
                                            Organisation (NATO). This
                                            was despite the agreement
                                            made in 1990 with the last
                                            government of the Soviet
                                            Union that, in the <a
href="https://leftword.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=e1668809f4&e=d206d0a40d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                              100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
                                              100%;color:
                                              #007C89;font-weight:
                                              normal;text-decoration:
                                              underline;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true">words</a>
                                            of then US Secretary of
                                            State James Baker, NATO
                                            would not move â€˜one-inch
                                            eastwards’. In the new
                                            period, eastern European
                                            countries and Russia sought
                                            integration into the
                                            European project through
                                            entry into the European
                                            Union (for political and
                                            economic purposes) and into
                                            NATO (for military reasons).
                                            During the presidency of
                                            Boris Yeltsin (1991–1999),
                                            Russia became a NATO partner
                                            and joined the G-7 (which,
                                            for a time, became the G-8).
                                            Even in President Vladimir
                                            Putin’s early years, Russia
                                            continued to think that it
                                            would be welcomed into the
                                            European project. In 2004,
                                            NATO absorbed seven eastern
                                            European countries
                                            (Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia,
                                            Lithuania, Romania,
                                            Slovakia, and Slovenia); at
                                            that time, NATO’s secretary
                                            general, Jaap de Hoop
                                            Scheffer, <a
href="https://leftword.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=77bfb0e0c8&e=d206d0a40d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                              100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
                                              100%;color:
                                              #007C89;font-weight:
                                              normal;text-decoration:
                                              underline;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true">said</a>
                                            that Russia understood that
                                            NATO had â€˜no ulterior
                                            motives’. However, Moscow
                                            eventually called NATO’s
                                            persistent march eastward
                                            into question, and, in 2007,
                                            Putin <a
href="https://leftword.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=7e2dfdbb7f&e=d206d0a40d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                              100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
                                              100%;color:
                                              #007C89;font-weight:
                                              normal;text-decoration:
                                              underline;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true">accused</a>
                                            NATO of â€˜muscle-flexing’ in
                                            eastern Europe. From then
                                            on, NATO’s expansion became
                                            an increasingly contentious
                                            matter. Although Ukraine’s
                                            entry into NATO was blocked
                                            by France and Germany in
                                            2008, the question of
                                            Ukraine being drawn into the
                                            NATO project began to define
                                            Russian-Ukrainian politics.
                                            This last point highlights
                                            how the discussion about
                                            â€˜security guarantees’ for
                                            Russia is incomplete; it is
                                            not about Russia’s security
                                            fears alone â€“ since Russia
                                            is a major nuclear power â€“
                                            it is also about Europe’s
                                            relationship with Russia.
                                            Namely, would Europe be able
                                            to form a relationship with
                                            Russia that is not
                                            predicated upon US diktats
                                            to subordinate Russia?</p>
                                          <p style="margin: 10px
                                            0;padding:
                                            0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                            exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                            Helvetica;font-size:
                                            16px;line-height:
                                            150%;text-align: left;"><b>Democracy
                                              vs the Coup</b>. In 2014,
                                            Ukrainian President Viktor
                                            Yanukovych sought a loan
                                            from Russia, which Putin
                                            said he would provide if
                                            Yanukovych would sideline
                                            the country’s
                                            oligarchy-controlled
                                            financial networks. Instead,
                                            Yanukovych turned to the
                                            European Union (EU), which
                                            offered similar advice, but
                                            whose concerns were set
                                            aside by the United States,
                                            a dynamic that was on full
                                            display when US Assistant
                                            Secretary of State Victoria
                                            Nuland <a
href="https://leftword.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=85cb5aa823&e=d206d0a40d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                              100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
                                              100%;color:
                                              #007C89;font-weight:
                                              normal;text-decoration:
                                              underline;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true">told</a>
                                            US Ambassador to Ukraine
                                            Geoffrey Pyatt, â€˜Fuck the
                                            EU’. Earlier, Nuland had <a
href="https://leftword.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=5b9f679b9d&e=d206d0a40d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                              100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
                                              100%;color:
                                              #007C89;font-weight:
                                              normal;text-decoration:
                                              underline;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true">boasted</a>
                                            about the billions of
                                            dollars the US spent on
                                            â€˜democracy promotion’ in
                                            Ukraine, which in fact meant
                                            the strengthening of
                                            pro-Western and anti-Russian
                                            forces. Yanukovych was
                                            removed and replaced in a
                                            parliamentary coup by a
                                            string of US-backed leaders
                                            (Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Petro
                                            Poroshenko). President
                                            Poroshenko (2014–2019) drove
                                            a Ukrainian nationalist
                                            agenda around the slogan <i>armiia,
                                              mova, vira</i> (‘military,
                                            language, faith’), which
                                            became reality with the end
                                            to military cooperation with
                                            Russia (2014), the enacting
                                            of <a
href="https://leftword.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=8674c02fb5&e=d206d0a40d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                              100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
                                              100%;color:
                                              #007C89;font-weight:
                                              normal;text-decoration:
                                              underline;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true">legislation</a>
                                            which made Ukrainian â€˜the
                                            only official state
                                            language’ and restricted the
                                            use of Russian and other
                                            minority languages (2019),
                                            and the Ukrainian church
                                            breaking ties with the
                                            Patriarch Kirill of Moscow
                                            (2018). These measures,
                                            along with the empowerment
                                            of neo-Nazi elements,
                                            shattered the country’s
                                            pluri-national compact and
                                            produced serious armed
                                            conflict in the Donbass
                                            region of eastern Ukraine,
                                            which is home to a
                                            substantial Russian-speaking
                                            ethnic minority. Threatened
                                            by state policy and neo-Nazi
                                            militias, this minority
                                            population sought protection
                                            from Russia. To mitigate the
                                            dangerous ethnic cleansing
                                            and end the war in the
                                            Donbass region, all parties
                                            agreed to a set of
                                            de-escalation measures,
                                            including ceasefire, known
                                            as the Minsk Agreements
                                            (2014–15).</p>
                                          <p style="margin: 10px
                                            0;padding:
                                            0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                            exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                            Helvetica;font-size:
                                            16px;line-height:
                                            150%;text-align: left;"> </p>
                                          <div id="attachment_56655"
                                            class="wp-caption
                                            aligncenter"><img
                                              aria-describedby="caption-attachment-56655"
                                              loading="lazy"
                                              class="wp-image-56655
                                              size-full img-responsive
                                              mcRssImage"
src="https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Vasiliy-Tsagolov-Ukraine-Untitled-2008.-2.jpg"
                                              alt="Vasiliy Tsagolov
                                              (Ukraine), Untitled,
                                              2008."
srcset="https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Vasiliy-Tsagolov-Ukraine-Untitled-2008.-2.jpg
                                              950w,
https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Vasiliy-Tsagolov-Ukraine-Untitled-2008.-2-300x229.jpg
                                              300w,
https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Vasiliy-Tsagolov-Ukraine-Untitled-2008.-2-768x587.jpg
                                              768w" sizes="(max-width:
                                              950px) 100vw, 950px"
                                              style="max-width:
                                              100%;width:
                                              100%;padding-bottom:
                                              0;display:
                                              inline;vertical-align:
                                              bottom;border: 0;height:
                                              auto;outline:
                                              none;text-decoration:
                                              none;-ms-interpolation-mode:
                                              bicubic;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true"
                                              width="950" border="0">
                                            <p
                                              id="caption-attachment-56655"
                                              class="wp-caption-text"
                                              style="margin: 10px
                                              0;padding:
                                              0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                              exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                              Helvetica;font-size:
                                              16px;line-height:
                                              150%;text-align: left;"><span
                                                style="color: #ba2025;">Vasiliy
                                                Tsagolov (Ukraine), <i>Untitled</i>,
                                                2008.</span></p>
                                          </div>
                                          <p style="margin: 10px
                                            0;padding:
                                            0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                            exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                            Helvetica;font-size:
                                            16px;line-height:
                                            150%;text-align: left;"> </p>
                                          <p style="margin: 10px
                                            0;padding:
                                            0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                            exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                            Helvetica;font-size:
                                            16px;line-height:
                                            150%;text-align: left;"><b>Regional
                                              peace vs. NATO
                                              imperialism, part II</b>.
                                            Emboldened by the West, the
                                            Ukrainian ultra-nationalists
                                            grew their power, and the
                                            possibility of negotiations
                                            to settle the conflict
                                            waned. Violations of the
                                            Minsk Agreements by all
                                            sides undermined the
                                            process. For eight years,
                                            the people of the Donbass
                                            lived in a constant state of
                                            war, which, <a
href="https://leftword.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=24ca0906cf&e=d206d0a40d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                              100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
                                              100%;color:
                                              #007C89;font-weight:
                                              normal;text-decoration:
                                              underline;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true">according
                                              to</a> the United Nations,
                                            produced over 14,000 deaths
                                            and over 50,000 casualties
                                            between 2014 and 2021. There
                                            appeared to be no exit from
                                            that situation. What began
                                            to take place was
                                            essentially ethnic
                                            cleansing, with large
                                            sections of Russian speakers
                                            fleeing across the border to
                                            the Rostov region of Russia
                                            and Ukrainian speakers
                                            moving westwards. There was
                                            little international
                                            attention paid to this
                                            crisis and the rise of the
                                            neo-Nazi elements. NATO
                                            powers refused to take these
                                            issues seriously or provide
                                            Moscow with security
                                            guarantees; particularly, to
                                            guarantee that Ukraine would
                                            not be provided with nuclear
                                            weapons and would not become
                                            a member of NATO.
                                            Furthermore, Russia
                                            intervened to seize Crimea,
                                            where its navy has a warm
                                            water port. These moves
                                            further destabilised the
                                            situation, threatening the
                                            security of the region.
                                            NATO’s refusal to negotiate
                                            over Russia’s security is
                                            the spur that led to the
                                            intervention.</p>
                                          <p style="margin: 10px
                                            0;padding:
                                            0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                            exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                            Helvetica;font-size:
                                            16px;line-height:
                                            150%;text-align: left;"> </p>
                                          <div id="attachment_56665"
                                            class="wp-caption
                                            aligncenter"><img
                                              aria-describedby="caption-attachment-56665"
                                              loading="lazy"
                                              class="wp-image-56665
                                              size-full img-responsive
                                              mcRssImage"
src="https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Otto-Dix-Germany-Schadel-Skull-1924..jpg"
                                              alt="Otto Dix (Germany),
                                              Schädel (‘Skull’), 1924."
srcset="https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Otto-Dix-Germany-Schadel-Skull-1924..jpg
                                              549w,
https://thetricontinental.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Otto-Dix-Germany-Schadel-Skull-1924.-221x300.jpg
                                              221w" sizes="(max-width:
                                              549px) 100vw, 549px"
                                              style="max-width:
                                              100%;width:
                                              100%;padding-bottom:
                                              0;display:
                                              inline;vertical-align:
                                              bottom;border: 0;height:
                                              auto;outline:
                                              none;text-decoration:
                                              none;-ms-interpolation-mode:
                                              bicubic;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true"
                                              width="549" border="0">
                                            <p
                                              id="caption-attachment-56665"
                                              class="wp-caption-text"
                                              style="margin: 10px
                                              0;padding:
                                              0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                              exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                              Helvetica;font-size:
                                              16px;line-height:
                                              150%;text-align: left;"><span
                                                style="color: #ba2025;">Otto
                                                Dix (Germany), <i>Schädel</i>
                                                <i>(‘Skull’),</i> 1924.</span></p>
                                          </div>
                                          <p style="margin: 10px
                                            0;padding:
                                            0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                            exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                            Helvetica;font-size:
                                            16px;line-height:
                                            150%;text-align: left;"> </p>
                                          <p style="margin: 10px
                                            0;padding:
                                            0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                            exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                            Helvetica;font-size:
                                            16px;line-height:
                                            150%;text-align: left;">Wars
                                            make very complicated
                                            historical processes appear
                                            to be simple. The war in
                                            Ukraine is not merely about
                                            NATO or about ethnicity; it
                                            is about all these things
                                            and more. Every war must end
                                            at some point and diplomacy
                                            must restart. Rather than
                                            allow this war to escalate
                                            and for positions to harden
                                            too quickly, it is important
                                            for the guns to go silent
                                            and the discussions to
                                            recommence. Unless at least
                                            the following three issues
                                            are put on the table,
                                            nothing will advance:</p>
                                          <ol>
                                            <li aria-level="1"
                                              style="mso-line-height-rule:
exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Adherence
                                              to the Minsk Agreements.</li>
                                            <li aria-level="1"
                                              style="mso-line-height-rule:
exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Security
                                              guarantees for Russia and
                                              Ukraine, which would
                                              require Europe to develop
                                              an independent
                                              relationship with Russia
                                              that is not shaped by US
                                              interests.</li>
                                            <li aria-level="1"
                                              style="mso-line-height-rule:
exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Reversal
                                              of Ukraine’s
                                              ultra-nationalist laws and
                                              a return to the
                                              pluri-national compact.</li>
                                          </ol>
                                          <p style="margin: 10px
                                            0;padding:
                                            0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                            exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                            Helvetica;font-size:
                                            16px;line-height:
                                            150%;text-align: left;">If
                                            substantive negotiations and
                                            agreements regarding these
                                            essential matters do not
                                            materialise over the next
                                            few weeks, it is likely that
                                            dangerous weapons will face
                                            each other across tenuous
                                            divides and additional
                                            countries will get drawn
                                            into a conflict with the
                                            potential to spiral out of
                                            control.</p>
                                          <p style="margin: 10px
                                            0;padding:
                                            0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                            exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                            Helvetica;font-size:
                                            16px;line-height:
                                            150%;text-align: left;">The
                                            Soviet Ukrainian writer
                                            Mykola Bazhan wrote the
                                            powerful <a
href="https://leftword.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=86a6b1be1e&e=d206d0a40d"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                              100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
                                              100%;color:
                                              #007C89;font-weight:
                                              normal;text-decoration:
                                              underline;"
                                              moz-do-not-send="true">poem</a>
                                            <i>Elegy for Circus
                                              Attractions</i> (1927) on
                                            the tensions of a circus.
                                            Could there be any better
                                            metaphor for our times?</p>
                                          <p style="padding-left:
                                            40px;margin: 10px 0;padding:
                                            0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                            exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                            Helvetica;font-size:
                                            16px;line-height:
                                            150%;text-align: left;">A
                                            lady will shriek out
                                            piercingly…<br>
                                            Then panic takes aim and
                                            flies<br>
                                            into their heart-breaking
                                            howls,<br>
                                            crumpling their naked
                                            mouths!<br>
                                            Grind up the spit and tears,<br>
                                            whisk lips into grimaces!<br>
                                            They’re swinging like
                                            corpses on threads,<br>
                                            the voices.</p>
                                          <p style="margin: 10px
                                            0;padding:
                                            0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                            exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                            Helvetica;font-size:
                                            16px;line-height:
                                            150%;text-align: left;">Warmly,</p>
                                          <p style="margin: 10px
                                            0;padding:
                                            0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                            exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                            Helvetica;font-size:
                                            16px;line-height:
                                            150%;text-align: left;">Vijay</p>
                                          <p style="margin: 10px
                                            0;padding:
                                            0;mso-line-height-rule:
                                            exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family:
                                            Helvetica;font-size:
                                            16px;line-height:
                                            150%;text-align: left;"> </p>
                                        </span> </td>
                                    </tr>
                                  </tbody>
                                </table>
                                <!--[if mso]>
                                </td>
                                <![endif]-->
                                <!--[if mso]>
                                </tr>
                                </table>
                                <![endif]--> </td>
                            </tr>
                          </tbody>
                        </table>
                      </td>
                    </tr>
                    <tr>
                      <td id="templateFooter" style="background: #FAFAFA
                        none no-repeat
                        center/cover;mso-line-height-rule:
                        exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                        100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
                        100%;background-color: #FAFAFA;background-image:
                        none;background-repeat:
                        no-repeat;background-position:
                        center;background-size: cover;border-top:
                        0;border-bottom: 0;padding-top:
                        9px;padding-bottom: 9px;" valign="top">
                        <table class="mcnFollowBlock" style="min-width:
                          100%;border-collapse:
                          collapse;mso-table-lspace:
                          0pt;mso-table-rspace:
                          0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                          100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                          width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
                          border="0">
                          <tbody class="mcnFollowBlockOuter">
                            <tr>
                              <td style="padding:
                                9px;mso-line-height-rule:
                                exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                class="mcnFollowBlockInner" valign="top"
                                align="center">
                                <table class="mcnFollowContentContainer"
                                  style="min-width:
                                  100%;border-collapse:
                                  collapse;mso-table-lspace:
                                  0pt;mso-table-rspace:
                                  0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                  100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                  width="100%" cellspacing="0"
                                  cellpadding="0" border="0">
                                  <tbody>
                                    <tr>
                                      <td style="padding-left:
                                        9px;padding-right:
                                        9px;mso-line-height-rule:
                                        exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                        100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
                                        100%;" align="center">
                                        <table style="min-width:
                                          100%;border-collapse:
                                          collapse;mso-table-lspace:
                                          0pt;mso-table-rspace:
                                          0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                          100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
                                          100%;"
                                          class="mcnFollowContent"
                                          width="100%" cellspacing="0"
                                          cellpadding="0" border="0">
                                          <tbody>
                                            <tr>
                                              <td style="padding-top:
                                                9px;padding-right:
                                                9px;padding-left:
                                                9px;mso-line-height-rule:
exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                                valign="top"
                                                align="center">
                                                <table
                                                  style="border-collapse:
collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace:
                                                  0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
                                                  border="0"
                                                  align="center">
                                                  <tbody>
                                                    <tr>
                                                      <td
                                                        style="mso-line-height-rule:
exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                                        valign="top"
                                                        align="center">
                                                        <!--[if mso]>
                                    <table align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
                                    <tr>
                                    <![endif]-->
                                                        <!--[if mso]>
                                        <td align="center" valign="top">
                                        <![endif]-->
                                                        <table
                                                          style="display:
inline;border-collapse: collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace:
0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                                          cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0" border="0" align="left">
                                                          <tbody>
                                                          <tr>
                                                          <td
                                                          style="padding-right:
10px;padding-bottom: 9px;mso-line-height-rule:
                                                          exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                                          class="mcnFollowContentItemContainer"
                                                          valign="top">
                                                          <table
                                                          class="mcnFollowContentItem"
style="border-collapse: collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace:
0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                                          width="100%"
                                                          cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0" border="0">
                                                          <tbody>
                                                          <tr>
                                                          <td
                                                          style="padding-top:
5px;padding-right: 10px;padding-bottom: 5px;padding-left:
                                                          9px;mso-line-height-rule:
exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                                          valign="middle"
                                                          align="left">
                                                          <table
                                                          style="border-collapse:
collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace:
                                                          0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;" width="" cellspacing="0"
                                                          cellpadding="0"
                                                          border="0"
                                                          align="left">
                                                          <tbody>
                                                          <tr>
                                                          <td
                                                          class="mcnFollowIconContent"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                                          100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
                                                          100%;"
                                                          width="24"
                                                          valign="middle"
                                                          align="center">
                                                          <a
                                                          href="www.eltricontinental.org"
target="_blank" style="mso-line-height-rule:
                                                          exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;" moz-do-not-send="true"><img
src="https://cdn-images.mailchimp.com/icons/social-block-v2/dark-link-48.png"
                                                          alt="Website"
style="display: block;border: 0;height: auto;outline:
                                                          none;text-decoration:
none;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;" class="" moz-do-not-send="true"
                                                          width="24"
                                                          height="24"></a>
                                                          </td>
                                                          </tr>
                                                          </tbody>
                                                          </table>
                                                          </td>
                                                          </tr>
                                                          </tbody>
                                                          </table>
                                                          </td>
                                                          </tr>
                                                          </tbody>
                                                        </table>
                                                        <!--[if mso]>
                                        </td>
                                        <![endif]-->
                                                        <!--[if mso]>
                                        <td align="center" valign="top">
                                        <![endif]-->
                                                        <table
                                                          style="display:
inline;border-collapse: collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace:
0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                                          cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0" border="0" align="left">
                                                          <tbody>
                                                          <tr>
                                                          <td
                                                          style="padding-right:
10px;padding-bottom: 9px;mso-line-height-rule:
                                                          exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                                          class="mcnFollowContentItemContainer"
                                                          valign="top">
                                                          <table
                                                          class="mcnFollowContentItem"
style="border-collapse: collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace:
0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                                          width="100%"
                                                          cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0" border="0">
                                                          <tbody>
                                                          <tr>
                                                          <td
                                                          style="padding-top:
5px;padding-right: 10px;padding-bottom: 5px;padding-left:
                                                          9px;mso-line-height-rule:
exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                                          valign="middle"
                                                          align="left">
                                                          <table
                                                          style="border-collapse:
collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace:
                                                          0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;" width="" cellspacing="0"
                                                          cellpadding="0"
                                                          border="0"
                                                          align="left">
                                                          <tbody>
                                                          <tr>
                                                          <td
                                                          class="mcnFollowIconContent"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                                          100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
                                                          100%;"
                                                          width="24"
                                                          valign="middle"
                                                          align="center">
                                                          <a
href="https://leftword.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=fe00e30b65&e=d206d0a40d"
target="_blank" style="mso-line-height-rule:
                                                          exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;" moz-do-not-send="true"><img
src="https://cdn-images.mailchimp.com/icons/social-block-v2/dark-facebook-48.png"
                                                          alt="Facebook"
style="display: block;border: 0;height: auto;outline:
                                                          none;text-decoration:
none;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;" class="" moz-do-not-send="true"
                                                          width="24"
                                                          height="24"></a>
                                                          </td>
                                                          </tr>
                                                          </tbody>
                                                          </table>
                                                          </td>
                                                          </tr>
                                                          </tbody>
                                                          </table>
                                                          </td>
                                                          </tr>
                                                          </tbody>
                                                        </table>
                                                        <!--[if mso]>
                                        </td>
                                        <![endif]-->
                                                        <!--[if mso]>
                                        <td align="center" valign="top">
                                        <![endif]-->
                                                        <table
                                                          style="display:
inline;border-collapse: collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace:
0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                                          cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0" border="0" align="left">
                                                          <tbody>
                                                          <tr>
                                                          <td
                                                          style="padding-right:
10px;padding-bottom: 9px;mso-line-height-rule:
                                                          exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                                          class="mcnFollowContentItemContainer"
                                                          valign="top">
                                                          <table
                                                          class="mcnFollowContentItem"
style="border-collapse: collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace:
0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                                          width="100%"
                                                          cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0" border="0">
                                                          <tbody>
                                                          <tr>
                                                          <td
                                                          style="padding-top:
5px;padding-right: 10px;padding-bottom: 5px;padding-left:
                                                          9px;mso-line-height-rule:
exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                                          valign="middle"
                                                          align="left">
                                                          <table
                                                          style="border-collapse:
collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace:
                                                          0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;" width="" cellspacing="0"
                                                          cellpadding="0"
                                                          border="0"
                                                          align="left">
                                                          <tbody>
                                                          <tr>
                                                          <td
                                                          class="mcnFollowIconContent"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                                          100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
                                                          100%;"
                                                          width="24"
                                                          valign="middle"
                                                          align="center">
                                                          <a
href="https://leftword.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=49f5ed868d&e=d206d0a40d"
target="_blank" style="mso-line-height-rule:
                                                          exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;" moz-do-not-send="true"><img
src="https://cdn-images.mailchimp.com/icons/social-block-v2/dark-twitter-48.png"
                                                          alt="Twitter"
style="display: block;border: 0;height: auto;outline:
                                                          none;text-decoration:
none;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;" class="" moz-do-not-send="true"
                                                          width="24"
                                                          height="24"></a>
                                                          </td>
                                                          </tr>
                                                          </tbody>
                                                          </table>
                                                          </td>
                                                          </tr>
                                                          </tbody>
                                                          </table>
                                                          </td>
                                                          </tr>
                                                          </tbody>
                                                        </table>
                                                        <!--[if mso]>
                                        </td>
                                        <![endif]-->
                                                        <!--[if mso]>
                                        <td align="center" valign="top">
                                        <![endif]-->
                                                        <table
                                                          style="display:
inline;border-collapse: collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace:
0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                                          cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0" border="0" align="left">
                                                          <tbody>
                                                          <tr>
                                                          <td
                                                          style="padding-right:
0;padding-bottom: 9px;mso-line-height-rule:
                                                          exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                                          class="mcnFollowContentItemContainer"
                                                          valign="top">
                                                          <table
                                                          class="mcnFollowContentItem"
style="border-collapse: collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace:
0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                                          width="100%"
                                                          cellspacing="0"
cellpadding="0" border="0">
                                                          <tbody>
                                                          <tr>
                                                          <td
                                                          style="padding-top:
5px;padding-right: 10px;padding-bottom: 5px;padding-left:
                                                          9px;mso-line-height-rule:
exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"
                                                          valign="middle"
                                                          align="left">
                                                          <table
                                                          style="border-collapse:
collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace:
                                                          0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;" width="" cellspacing="0"
                                                          cellpadding="0"
                                                          border="0"
                                                          align="left">
                                                          <tbody>
                                                          <tr>
                                                          <td
                                                          class="mcnFollowIconContent"
style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                                                          100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
                                                          100%;"
                                                          width="24"
                                                          valign="middle"
                                                          align="center">
                                                          <a
href="https://leftword.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6a79324d3b4acfde1e7e546c6&id=2b6fee7640&e=d206d0a40d"
target="_blank" style="mso-line-height-rule:
                                                          exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;" moz-do-not-send="true"><img
src="https://cdn-images.mailchimp.com/icons/social-block-v2/dark-instagram-48.png"
alt="Instagram" style="display: block;border: 0;height: auto;outline:
                                                          none;text-decoration:
none;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;" class="" moz-do-not-send="true"
                                                          width="24"
                                                          height="24"></a>
                                                          </td>
                                                          </tr>
                                                          </tbody>
                                                          </table>
                                                          </td>
                                                          </tr>
                                                          </tbody>
                                                          </table>
                                                          </td>
                                                          </tr>
                                                          </tbody>
                                                        </table>
                                                        <!--[if mso]>
                                        </td>
                                        <![endif]-->
                                                        <!--[if mso]>
                                    </tr>
                                    </table>
                                    <![endif]--> </td>
                                                    </tr>
                                                  </tbody>
                                                </table>
                                              </td>
                                            </tr>
                                          </tbody>
                                        </table>
                                      </td>
                                    </tr>
                                  </tbody>
                                </table>
                              </td>
                            </tr>
                          </tbody>
                        </table>
                      </td>
                    </tr>
                  </tbody>
                </table>
                <!--[if (gte mso 9)|(IE)]>
                        </td>
                        </tr>
                        </table>
                        <![endif]-->
                <!-- // END TEMPLATE --> </td>
            </tr>
          </tbody>
        </table>
      </center>
      <center> <br>
        <table id="canspamBarWrapper" style="background-color:
          #FFFFFF;border-top: 1px solid #E5E5E5;border-collapse:
          collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace:
          0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:
          100%;" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0">
          <tbody>
            <tr>
              <td style="padding-top: 20px;padding-bottom:
                20px;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust:
                100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"
                align="center"><br>
              </td>
            </tr>
          </tbody>
        </table>
      </center>
      <br>
    </div>
  </body>
</html>