Do You Like War?

...or is that a curser in your pocket?

With the world now seemingly teetering on the edge of war in Ukraine, historians would no doubt recall the beginnings of World War I over a century ago. But one major difference between then and now is the speed at which information travels back and forth between the potential adversaries.

Biden and Putin, the major players, talk now and again by phone but punctuate their conversations with threats and clarifications, some more like de-escalation messages than furthering the odds of war.

The intelligence services in the U.S. and the U.K. keep leaking potential scenarios — Russia will launch an all-out invasion, Russia will undermine the Ukrainian government from within, Russia will conduct a lightning strike, Russia will install a puppet regime.

Russia denies them all.

Anyway, these have the feel of video game options, as opposed to the real-world variety, so maybe what both sides need to do is open Battlefield 2042 instead of fighting over contested ground, some of which is already off-limits since it is the fiendishly contaminated zone from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Meanwhile, the casualties are already mounting in one realm and that is the stock markets. Shares have broadly gone into free fall, with massive losses normally reserved for major economic downturns.

Investors don’t like uncertainty, so this volatility will persist until the major actors get their story together, and the other great uncertainty of the moment — Covid — resolves itself as well.

Honestly, all this global posturing and geopolitical psychodrama is so Henry Kissinger-esque. The man himself is nearing 99, which means he arrived not long after the end of first world war and has lasted long enough to be around for a third, if that is what is to happen here.

Let’s hope not, of course. The last thing anyone needs is another war. I’d vastly prefer to invest in GameStop instead. BTW, they’re down another 10 percent or so as of this morning.

TODAY’s HEADLINES:

• NATO said it was putting forces on standby and reinforcing eastern Europe with more ships and fighter jets in response to Russia's military build-up at Ukraine's borders. Former Ukrainian lawmaker Yevhen Murayev derided British allegations that he could be installed as leader of a Kremlin puppet government in Kyiv, and told Reuters in an interview that he was considering legal action. (Reuters)

• Russia plans to target Ukrainian capital in ‘lightning war’, UK warns (Financial Times)

• On the Brink of War With Russia, Ukrainians Are Resigned and Prepared (WSJ)

• U.S. orders diplomats’ families to leave embassy in Ukraine amid ‘threat of Russian military action’ (WP)

• NATO outlines ‘deterrence’ plan as tensions with Russia soar (AP)

• Biden Weighs Deploying Thousands of Troops to Eastern Europe and Baltics

  — The president is also considering deploying warships and aircraft to NATO allies, in what would be a major shift from its restrained stance on Ukraine. (NYT)

• Nato reinforces eastern borders as Ukraine tensions mount (Guardian)

• U.S. threatens use of novel export control against Russia (WP)

• Is the Plunge in the Nasdaq and Bitcoin the End of a “Superbubble”? (New Yorker)

• Dow drops 1,000 points as markets extend slide in 2022 (AP)

• Crypto stocks sink as Bitcoin tumbles to new six-month low (Financial Times)

• S&P 500 Enters Correction Territory as Stocks Extend Slide (WSJ)

• Two U.S. aircraft carrier groups have entered the disputed South China Sea for training, the Department of Defense said as Taiwan reported a new Chinese air force incursion at the top of the waterway including a fearsome new electronic warfare jet. (Reuters)

• Seniors are at high risk of COVID, but Medicare doesn't pay for rapid tests (NPR)

• Lab study shows omicron-blocking antibodies persist four months after a Pfizer-BioNTech booster (WP)

• Omicron Slows the Global Economy, Hitting U.S. Hard (WSJ)

• It's getting uglier in stock markets as fears about inflation spark a brutal drop (NPR)

• France bars unvaccinated from restaurants, sports venues (AP)

• Rich Countries Lure Health Workers From Low-Income Nations to Fight Shortages — Huge pay incentives and immigration fast-tracks are leading many to leave countries whose health systems urgently need their expertise. (NYT)

• Google deceived consumers about how it profits from their location data, attorneys general allege in lawsuits (WP)

• Sarah Palin and the New York Times are set to face off in a New York courtroom at a trial in which the 2008 Republican U.S. vice presidential candidate and former Alaska governor seeks to hold the newspaper liable for defamation. (Reuters)

• Sarah Palin Case Against New York Times Delayed by Positive Her Positive Covid-19 Test (WSJ)

• Taliban hold first talks in Europe since Afghan takeover (AP)

• Afghanistan faces widespread hunger amid worsening humanitarian crisis (WP)

• Why effort to help Afghanistan is falling short (AP)

• Third Mexican journalist killed this year as press corps faces murder crisis (Guardian)

• Can Works Like ‘Don’t Look Up’ Get Us Out of Our Heads? (NYT)

• Webb telescope arrives at outpost 1 million miles from Earth to begin study of distant galaxies (WP)

• The Humane Society of the United States is petitioning to stop bear hunting as wildlife populations dwindle. (Sacramento Bee)

• The futuristic jetpack never quite took off — but one man did, over and over

  — Bill Suitor, an early guinea pig for the futuristic mode of transport, made more flights than any other human. By one count, he has logged 1,000 flights. (WP)

• Biden Vows That If Russia Invades Ukraine, U.S. Will Invade One Country Of Equivalent Value (The Onion)