NOT PYNCHON EVEN MORE SO DELETE NOW. UKRAINE: Pretty interesting US "diplomacy", it seems. A rap battle in a manner of analogizing .

[Mark Kohut]

Did you ever see a rap battle, a verbal throwdown between rappers? (I do
not even know whether these are what they are called)
I have, in the movie 8 MILE.

All over, from the NYT to other smart and historically informed outlets and
commenters, are remarking on this strategy of the US: to
reveal almost everything they know (think) is happening with Russia and
Putin, including what they do not know for sure about Putin.
Which means he will still define himself with his decisions. More
transparency about even classified stuff than ever is key.
Much is being immediately declassified.

In 8 MILE, which is autobiographically-based, and is a fictionalized
Eminem's life and art, Em keeps winning and rising in the verbal
throwdown contests. As presented herein, those throwdowns are like "playing
the dozens" in a rap beat, smartly, slyly, with humor and
rhyme revealing the hidden weaknesses in your opponent's rapper persona or
making them up w clever hints---persona as 'one's real life", however.

So, the local contesting is now down to two guys, Eminem and the very
clever reigning champ, with a group of followers who learn from the
street.  Eminem has them too.
It will be a "Your Mama too" contest for the ages.

Or will it? Eminem learns the champ has found out a few things about him.
Theme: private school boy who doesn't belong on these streets, no
credibility.
Thinks into all that the champ may know. He gets to go first, as challenger.

So, he takes that mic and his rap is to reveal all of himself, in wonderful
rhyme and beat, anything, anything, anything the champ may have learned to
beat him with.
It is a glorious autobiographical rap. "You're [he's] invisible now,
 you've [he's] got no secrets left to conceal" as Bobby D has said it
eternally.

The champ, when handed the mic, had a surprised glare on his face, kept
looking, trying to think, the beat going one, waiting, waiting, that rap
beat, his whole rap already done, his mind kept spinning BUT
---he dropped the mic, speechlessly, and walked off. Defeated.

I want to offer this as an analogy to what the US is trying to do to Putin,
so to speak. Reveal everything known so the whole world knows everything
about his actions and him.
If all he wanted was international attention to his grievancances, he's got
that in spades with a repetitive beat. We might label them the drumbeatsmm
the rap beats, of anti-war. He can drop the mic anytime with nothing left
to say or do. If he doesn't, the whole world is watching.

The reputational stature of his country will sink everywhere if he invades
(except maybe China, dunno).