David Frum

David Frum @davidfrum

He woke early to finish the job - only to discover that their neighbor had done all the work already. The American officer assumed this was passive-aggressive criticism, and knocked on the door to apologize. — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

His first overseas assignment based him in Stuttgart in the early 1980s. He and his wife set up their apartment in a single day. Then they had to put the kids to bed. They were so exhausted they fell asleep leaving untidy empty boxes strewn in the entryway - a German no-no ... — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

Which reminds me of a touching story I was told by an American general a few years ago ... — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

Russians who surrender without shooting should expect a warm welcome in EU/UK hard-currency job markets https://t.co/8yY6X2sYck https://t.co/s1jD9epZNI — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

Toss in a prepaid SIM card to let the folks at home know the soldier is safely on the way to Hamburg, Birmingham, or Barcelona - and to invite the rest of his unit to follow while they can. There can't be one Russian soldier in 20 who wants to fight this war. — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

Every Russian military deserter, every Russian POW who surrenders without shooting, should get a 36 month EU or UK work visa, plus a free train ride to a job fair offering work paid in Euros or pounds. — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

RT @RobinBrooksIIF: Celebratory tweets about how great Europe did this weekend are worrying. Every hour of every day, we import Russian gas… — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

RT @michaelbirnbaum: European Union to supply fighter jets to Ukraine: Russian-made ones, from Bulgaria, Slovakia and Poland, a European di… — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

I looked it up, this story traces back to Ultima Hora, which is the largest newspaper in Majorca island group ... — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

Vivid account of Kyiv preparing for urban street fighting — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

Gotta be uncomfortable driving military vehicles across open country completely exposed to the view of the satellites of Ukraine's allies. — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

RT @ASLuhn: "Boris, you were right." Hundreds of people are laying flowers at the spot were Nemtsov was killed. He had spoken out against t… — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

Whoah. — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

Look at a map Central Kyiv is 780 square KM. Metropolitan area bigger still. How does an army of some tens of thousands "encircle" that? — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

RT @Reuters: 'Very probable' that Swiss will freeze Russian assets - president https://t.co/dILlr7T4Tz https://t.co/1jRC7Wg8q1 — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

RT @RobinBrooksIIF: Fortress Russia was always a bad analogy. Just because Russia has a c/a surplus and FX reserves doesn't mean foreign in… — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

RT @jdawsey1: W/⁦@mattzap⁩ on Bill Barr’s book, where he says GOP needs to move past Trump and describes in detail a range of harrowing int… — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

Who’s in charge of ensuring that the meals served to Russian military deserters are ample and tasty, and that the bedding is warm and comfortable? — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

RT @vplus: CNN has geolocated video showing the destruction by Ukrainian forces of a column of Russian armored personnel carriers and other… — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

I trust we are witnessing the demise of the alt-Right theory that Russia is an unstoppable geopolitical force because they hire male underwear models to star in their military recruitment videos. — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

Here's link to @WSJ report that UPS/Fedex have suspended service inside Russia https://t.co/czcSTQ0xRx https://t.co/5TJ2HVpApm — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

Among other things, this is a pretty spectacular refutation of the Donald Trump theory that the EU is a pitiful and useless ally. They are instead a very very good friend to have, and not only Ukraine, but America too, should be very glad and grateful to have them! — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

The EU just barred all Russian owned and chartered jets, including private jets, from EU skies. — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

Anyway gold - and bitcoin too - still have to be converted into money if they are used to settle accounts between individuals and firms. They do not escape the problem that the money that the world most trusts is the money issued by rule of law democracies. END — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

The Russians just showed the whole world the limits of gold. Normal countries can pledge their gold to settle accounts. Pariah countries must not only sell their gold, but they also have to move it. Thousands of tons of it. That's not so convenient. 14/x — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

But what about gold? What about bitcoin? 13/x — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

If an authoritarian regime wants a currency that enables its people to buy things, they need a currency that is generally convertible. That means placing their head in the Federal Reserve/ECB noose. And if they want to export a lot to rich countries - they're extra noosed. 12/x — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

For China to central bank without huge reserves of dollars/Euros/pounds implies finding some way for China to operate its economy without massive exporting. But to do THAT would involve freeing their domestic economy from control by the Communist Party. 11/x — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

Russia's foreign holdings of $630 billion are dwarfed by China's holdings: $3.25 TRILLION. China is struck with those holdings, because any use of them would lower the value of the dollar/Euro, raise the value of Chinese currency - and cut into China's exporting. 10/x — PolitiTweet.org

David Frum @davidfrum

China faces a special problem. Its development strategy was the biggest export drive in the history of the world. It sold and sold - but bought little in return. Instead, it accumulated vast quantities of IOUs from the West. 9/x — PolitiTweet.org