Westerners seem unable to grasp the obvious fact that the West has remained totally supine in the face of incompetent Russian aggression. Therefore Russia will prevail and Europe will as so often has been the case in the past, end up paying the modern-day equivalent of Danegeld. So billions of Euros will flow from Europe into Russian coffers largely offsetting the deliterious consequences of the dictator's gross miscalculation. Because while he failed to understand Ukraine he understood the West perfectly. We are baby-people incapable of facing reality as we gawp at mindless entertainments and cram ever-more slop down our throats. One does not have to be strong to conquer; one merely has to be less enfeebled than one's adversaries. Russia may be a shambling corruption-ridden disaster, but we're asleep at the wheel and incapable of stirring.