Last week, when the war in Ukraine started, I drafted a line to the effect that this war feels different because it is the first of the digital age. But then I deleted that line, because I realized it wasn’t true.
There have been a bunch of wars since the Internet became dominant in the mid-1990s. But what I should have said was that this is the first major war of the social media age, so I’ll say that now.
This is the first global conflict we are collectively experiencing since the Web 2.0 revolution connected us through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and their descendants, and it shows.
There’s a different feel to events in a distant place like Ukraine when it is only as distant as several of your closest virtual friends, who since Covid may also be closer than any of the people you used to see in person.
Somehow that makes it easier to empathize that you could be the one suddenly uprooted from your home, desperately seeking refuge across the border in a strange land with only the clothes on your back.
And then, when the madman Putin raises the specter of nuclear war, that too is suddenly all too easy to imagine, as unthinkable as it may be.
So for this instant, we are all in it together once again. We are all Ukrainians.
TODAY’s NEWS (56):
Russia Targets Civilian Areas in Ukraine, Threatens Kyiv After Missile Strike on Kharkiv (WSJ)
Russian Rocket Barrage Kills Civilians as First Talks Show No Progress (NYT)
Ukraine's Zelenskiy tells EU: 'Prove that you are with us" (Reuters)
Russia bombs Kharkiv's Freedom Square and opera house (BBC)
‘Undisguised terror’: Russia’s Kharkiv strike chills Ukraine (AP)
Talks fail to yield breakthrough; Western nations increase financial pressure on Russia (WP)
Two Russian oligarchs call for an end to Putin's war (CNN)
Invasion Brings Russia Global Repudiation With Cold War Echoes (NYT)
Russian people may not be able to withstand "economic siege," experts say (CBS)
Reading Putin: Unbalanced or cagily preying on West’s fears? (AP)
Visa and Mastercard block Russian banks from their networks after sanctions (CNBC)
Shipping giant Maersk will temporarily halt all container shipping to and from Russia, deepening the country’s isolation as its invasion of Ukraine sparks an exodus of Western companies. (Reuters)
From banking to sports to vodka, Russia’s isolation grows (AP)
As Sanctions Batter Economy, Russians Face the Anxieties of a Costly War (NYT)
Russia isolation intensifies: Disney, Sony pictures halt film releases in Russia — (FRANCE 24)
Sanctions Bite Russian Economy but Pose Unpredictable Risks (WSJ)
Cyberwar predictions are still unrealized in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (WP)
Vladimir Putin is facing stiffer opposition than expected -- both inside and outside Ukraine (CNN)
Human rights groups and Ukraine's ambassador to the United States accused Russia of attacking Ukrainians with cluster bombs and vacuum bombs, weapons that have been condemned by a variety of international organizations. (Reuters)
Putin’s nuclear threats remind us arms control is unfinished business (Edit Bd/WP)
US states adding to financial pressure on Russia over war (AP)
EU lawmakers will call Russia a "rogue state" and urge the 27-nation bloc to agree even tougher sanctions, in an emergency debate on the war during which Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will address lawmakers via video-link. (Reuters)
Russia slow to win Ukraine’s airspace, limiting war gains (AP)
Russia tries to stop Western companies fleeing the country (CNN)
Bitcoin has leapt since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, bolstered by people in those countries looking to store and move money in anonymous and decentralized crypto. Bitcoin trading denominated in the Russian rouble went into overdrive when the invasion began on Thursday, with daily volumes rising 259% from a day earlier. (Reuters)
How the Russia-Ukraine conflict has fundamentally changed Biden’s presidency (Politico)
Tears of relief on Polish border as flow of refugees inches to safety (Financial Times)
What Des Putin’s Nuclear Sabre Rattling Mean? (New Yorker)
The Long Weekend That Changed History — Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine means that the post–Cold War era may have just ended. (Atlantic)
Threats Emerge in Germany as Far Right and Pandemic Protesters Merge (NYT)
San Francisco’s D.A. Says Angry Elites Want Him Out of Office (NYT Mag)
California, Oregon, Washington to drop school mask mandates (AP)
Stop Keeping Healthy Kids Home From School — Policies that require contacts of those with COVID-19 to quarantine are doing a lot of harm for little benefit. (Atlantic)
San Francisco public schools won’t drop masks despite city’s health officials and California lifting mandate (SFC)
Infant formula promoted in 'aggressive' and 'misleading' ways, says new global report (NPR)
Why Democracy’s in Such Trouble: A Crisis in Public Trust of Government (Politico)
Critical legislation that would safeguard abortion rights across the country if Roe v. Wade falls didn't advance in the Senate, with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) joining every Republican voting against it. The Women's Health Protection Act would protect the right to access abortion across the U.S., even if Roe v. Wade is overturned in a landmark Supreme Court case that’s expected to be decided this summer. [HuffPost]
Iran said efforts to revive a 2015 nuclear deal could succeed if the United States took a political decision to meet Tehran's remaining demands, as months of negotiations enter what one Iranian diplomat called a "now or never" stage. (Reuters)
The One Item They Had to Take When These 6 Afghans Fled (NYT)
A delegation of former senior U.S. defense and security officials sent by Biden arrived in Taipei on a visit denounced by China. The visit, led by one-time chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen, comes at a time when Taiwan has stepped up its alert level, wary of China taking advantage of a distracted West to move against it. (Reuters)
Climate change brings extreme, early impact to South America (AP)
Time Is Running Out to Avert a Harrowing Future, Climate Panel Warns (NYT)
Satellite images show just how quickly Sierra’s snowpack is retreating, (San Francisco Chronicle)
Wildfires may slow recovery of ozone layer - study (BBC)
A mystery in Jupiter's atmosphere sheds light on solar system's past (Space.com)
Wildfires send giant cloud of ash across southern Paraguay (Guardian)
Scientists propose Tyrannosaurus had three species, not just 'rex' (Reuters)
Cargo Ship Carrying Thousands of Luxury Cars Sinks in the Atlantic (WSJ)
Grandma Eyes Accessibility Ramp With Intensity Of Daredevil About To Jump Grand Canyon (The Onion)
LYRICS
“Hey Jude”
The Beatles
Hey Jude, don't make it bad.
Take a sad song and make it better.
Remember to let her into your heart,
Then you can start to make it better.
Hey Jude, don't be afraid.
You were made to go out and get her.
The minute you let her under your skin,
Then you begin to make it better.
And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain,
Don't carry the world upon your shoulders.
For well you know that it's a fool who plays it cool
By making his world a little colder.
Hey Jude, don't let me down.
You have found her, now go and get her.
Remember to let her into your heart,
Then you can start to make it better.
So let it out and let it in, hey Jude, begin,
You're waiting for someone to perform with.
And don't you know that it's just you, hey Jude, you'll do,
The movement you need is on your shoulder.
Hey Jude, don't make it bad.
Take a sad song and make it better.
Remember to let her under your skin,
Then you'll begin to make it
Better better better better better better, oh.
Na na na nananana, nannana, hey Jude...
No comments:
Post a Comment