Joe Biden announced on Friday that the US plans to ban the import of seafood, vodka and diamonds from Russia in retaliation for Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.
…
“Putin is the aggressor and Putin must pay a price,” he said.
Biden said the US was also banning the export of luxury goods to Russia, calling it the latest, but “not the last step we’re going to take”.
A few days ago I carried on a brief Twitter exchange with a taz reader who was drinking Finnish, rather than Russian, vodka as part of his contribution to the defense of Ukraine. He was quite open about being unsure his action had any practical value. It was something he could do. It made him feel good. When I protested that it seemed to me the only motivation here then was to make himself feel better he didn’t seem to see this as objectionable.
I think I may buy a bottle or two of Russian vodka tomorrow. It’s been years since I’ve bought any vodka, but I do want to have the option of drinking it when I want a shot. It’s odd, you know: I imagine there is some chance that even as I type somewhere in the world there is someone pouring a bottle of vodka into the sink, thinking something to the effect of „Ha! Take this, Putin! How do you like that, eh?!“ It’s an odd world.
