NOTE: This is the latest in a series of conversations I have been having with a young Afghan man living in Helmand Province since his country’s government fell to the Taliban last August. The situation for people there is dire. I am withholding his identity to protect his safety.
Dear David:
It's the afternoon of a cold Friday, I'm sitting at the edge of a field. In one corner, about twenty people are playing football, and in the other one youths are playing volleyball and cricket. At the edge of a field, some people are watching them.
Next to me is a man who seems to be in his 40s, watching the games. He wears a worn-out coat and pants. I ask him whether he enjoys watching football. He says "I just want to not be at home, seeing my kids who don't have enough food or suitable clothes. That just brings me pain. What can I do and where is the work for me to earn money?”
He continues: “I go to the crossroads every day to see if someone needs a laborer, but no one comes for me. About 200 other laborers are also sitting at the edge of the street waiting to be taken for work. Before the collapse of the country, building construction was underway and we had our work. Now no laborer is taken for work.”
He continues: “I can not supply enough food for my family so I will try to leave Afghanistan for Iran though I don't know if I can reach there through the smuggling route. If I reach there, I would have new challenges in life as it's been said there is no work there because of the huge numbers of Afghan immigrants.”
Here in Afghanistan this winter the situation is getting dire. People are getting desperate due to not having work and the high cost of food.
Today, I talked with one of my friends, Ali, via phone. He lives in Kabul and told me that he hasn't paid his rent for about six months. He doesn’t even have soap or shampoo or other necessities. But the landlord comes every day to ask for rent money. Ali said he is close to being thrown out. I told him that although my situation is not good I can give him about $20 when I next get my salary.
Later, when I crossed a road, I saw hundreds of people crowded the gates of a government office. clamoring for aid. Nobody came out to help them.
TODAY’s NEWS (38):
Putin, Facing Sanction Threats, Has Been Saving for This Day — Since paying the price for annexing Crimea in 2014, Russia has tried to make its economy sanctions-proof, hoarding currency to insulate the country. (NYT)
Turkey, a Sometimes Wavering NATO Ally, Backs Ukraine — In a public rebuke of Russia, Turkey will expand supplies of one of the Ukrainian Army’s most sophisticated weapons, a long-range, Turkish-made armed drone. (NYT)
Russian President Vladimir Putin touched down in Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics, bringing with him a deal to increase natural gas supply to China amid rising tensions with the West. Russia and China called in a joint statement for NATO to halt its expansion while Moscow said it fully supported Beijing's stance on Taiwan and opposed Taiwanese independence in any form. (Reuters)
U.S. Exposes What It Says Is Russian Effort to Fabricate Pretext for Invasion — Officials said Russia was planning a fake video showing an attack by Ukrainians on Russian territory or Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine. (NYT)
Wetlands and radioactive soil: How Ukraine’s geography could influence a Russian invasion (WP)
Russia, China oppose further expansion of NATO (NHK)
Dismal Russian Record in Occupied Eastern Ukraine Serves as Warning (WSJ)
U.S. government officials twice dismissed questions from reporters who asked for evidence to back up claims, suggesting that the reporters should take the government at its word. One instance was the allegation that Russia is attempting to create a pretext for its troops to invade Ukraine. The other was the lack of proof of the killing of top ISIS militant Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi in Syria. [HuffPost]
Fauci is the villain in new GOP campaign ads (Politico)
Food Prices Approach Record Highs, Threatening the World’s Poorest — The prices have climbed to their highest level since 2011, according to a U.N. index. It could cause social unrest “on a widespread scale,” one expert said. (NYT)
US economy defies omicron and adds 467,000 jobs in January (AP)
The Internet Is Just Investment Banking Now — The internet has always financialized our lives. Web3 just makes that explicit. (Atlantic)
Mark Zuckerberg lost $29 billion in net worth as Meta Platforms' stock marked a record one-day plunge, while fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos was set to add $20 billion to his personal valuation after Amazon's blockbuster earnings. Amazon said it was raising the price of its annual U.S. Prime subscriptions by 17%, as it looks to offset higher costs for shipping and wages that it expects to persist this year. (Reuters)
Facebook Parent Meta Faces Uphill Battle in Video Fight With TikTok (WSJ)
Meta plunges and sets off Wall Street’s worst drop in nearly a year. — Shares of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, fell more than 26 percent, a loss that wiped more than $230 billion off its market value. (NYT)
Shares of Facebook parent company Meta saw a historic plunge after the company reported a rare profit decline due to a sharp rise in expenses, shady ad revenue growth, competition from TikTok and fewer daily U.S. users on its flagship platform. Meta’s shares fell more than 26%, lopping more than $230 billion off the company’s overall value. That’s the largest single-day decline for a company on record. [AP]
The Crypto Backlash Is Booming — Web3 is making some people very rich. It’s making other people very angry. (Atlantic)
India's official COVID-19 death toll crossed 500,000, a level some data analysts said was breached last year but was obscured by inaccurate surveys and unaccounted dead in the hinterlands. Japan's serious COVID-19 cases crossed 1,000 for the first time in four months, as the Omicron variant fueled record infections and burdened the medical system. (Reuters)
COVID falling in 49 of 50 states as deaths near 900,000 (AP)
Americans get sicker as omicron stalls everything from heart surgeries to cancer care (NPR)
A poll from the Public Policy Institute of California released this week uncovered the lowest levels of optimism about the pandemic since last spring.
The survey found that 67 percent of Californians believe that the worst of the pandemic is behind the United States, compared with 86 percent who felt that way in May 2021. (Cal Today)
Discovery of HIV variant shows virus can evolve to be more severe — and contagious (NPR)
CNN, MSNBC, NYT, WaPo completely avoid Johns Hopkins study finding COVID lockdowns ineffective (Fox)
Pence: Trump is ‘wrong’ to claim VP had right to overturn election (WP)
A Search Begins for the Wreck Behind an Epic Tale of Survival — Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance was crushed by Antarctic ice in 1915. Now, a team of researchers is heading to the Weddell Sea where it went down. (NYT)
Shackleton's Endurance: The impossible search for the greatest shipwreck (BBC)
Koningshaven Bridge, a 95-year-old Dutch national monument, will be partially dismantled this summer so Jeff Bezos' superyacht can pass through after the boat is built. Bezos will pay for the bridge’s deconstruction and reassembly. Dennis Tak, a Labor Party city councilor for Rotterdam, said the move would create jobs locally. Rotterdam citizens don't seem happy about it though — a Facebook event invites people to hurl rotten eggs at the ship as it passes. [HuffPost]
The Problem With the Genius Myth — The label erases the complication and collaboration that are central to the artistic process (Atlantic)
The San Francisco Art Institute has formalized plans to integrate with — and eventually be acquired by — the University of San Francisco. (Cal Today)
EU plans to ban use of synthetic pesticides in parks (Guardian)
Mount Everest: Mountain's highest glacier melting rapidly, new study shows (BBC)
Puffy Planets Lose Atmospheres, Become Super Earths (NASA)
Extremists are set to take over this California county. Will more of the state be next? (LAT)
Vikings target Jim Harbaugh explains why he's staying at Michigan, says he's chased the NFL for the last time (CBS)
Fossilized Evidence Reveals Extinction Of Dinosaurs Led To Brief Epoch When Asteroids Ruled The Earth (The Onion)
TODAY’s LYRICS
“Take It On The Run”
REO Speedwagon
Written By Richrath Gary Dean
Heard it from a friend who
Heard it from a friend who
Heard it from another you been messin' around
They say you got a boyfriend
You're out late every weekend
They're talkin' about you and it's bringin' me down
But I know the neighborhood
And talk is cheaper when the story is good
And the tales grow taller on down the line
But I'm telling you, babe
That I don't think it's true, babe
And even if it is, keep this in mind
You take it on the run, baby
If that's the way you want it, baby
Then I don't want you around
I don't believe it
Not for a minute
You're under the gun
So you take it on the run
You're thinking up your white lies
You're putting on your bedroom eyes
You say you're coming home but you won't say when
But I can feel it coming
If you leave tonight, keep running
And you need never look back again
You take it on the run, baby
If that's the way you want it, baby
Then I don't want you around
I don't believe it
Not for a minute
You're under the gun
So you take it on the run
Take it on the run, baby
If that's the way you want it, baby
Then I don't want you around
I don't believe it
Not for a minute
You're under the gun
So you take it on the run
Take it on the run, baby
If that's the way you want it, baby
Then I don't want you around
I don't believe it
Not for a minute
You're under the gun
So you take it on the run
Heard it from a friend who
Heard it from a friend who
Heard it from another you been messin' around
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