the golden rule in Ukraine

Cynics and budgeteers have long spoken of "the golden rule" -- he who has the gold rules. There's new evidence that it may be applied in responding to the Russian activities in Ukraine. The author of a book on Putin and his oligarchs suggests in the NYTimes that the British government is putting money ahead of morality when considering sanctions:

Britain is ready to betray the United States to protect the City of London’s hold on dirty Russian money. And forget about Ukraine.

And the Washington Post reports that American businesses are rejecting sanctions unless most other countries go along.

This is a perennial complaint by the business community -- and a valid point since unilateral sanctions rarely have much impact.

On the other hand, toughness toward Russia has bipartisan political support and may prevail in the end.