The age-old story of strongmen

The only good news, after the massacres in Ukraine, is that so many ugly behemoth super-yachts have been seized and will not be polluting the seas this summer. There is no more horrible sight than an oligarch’s super-yacht on the horizon, and that is before it disgorges its passengers, which is a horror show in itself. Arab boats, with their hookers on board, are even worse.

The other good news is that Elon Musk has become the largest shareholder in Twitter, and in a Trojan War replication has challenged Putin to a duel. Oh, what a wonderful world this would be if those who started wars would duke it out with their opponents, rather than sending youngsters to do the fighting for them. But don’t hold your breath. The last time it was done, Achilles challenged and killed Hector, then dragged him from his chariot three times around the walls of Troy.

Agamemnon has been on my mind lately, having read what a man called Paul Krugman wrote in the Bagel Times. Paul, not Agamemnon, wrote that Putin has surrounded himself with people who tell him what he wants to hear. Really? This is an exclusive worthy of Walter Duranty’s in the New York Times that informed us that there was no man-made famine in Ukraine back in the 1930s. (Only a few million died.) Strongmen have been surrounding themselves with yes men since, well, Agamemnon’s time, and that is why the Greek leader has been on my mind. He brought Cassandra back with him after the sack of Troy and didn’t even bother to ask her a question or two. For any of you who have not been reading Professor Peter Jones, Cassandra was King Priam’s prettiest daughter – in fact, some said she was more beautiful than the abducted and seduced (but not abandoned) Greek who caused the ten-year war to begin with, and she possessed prophetic gifts.