Rainy Nights
You don't need a weatherman...
Walking through the city’s financial district in a rainstorm Thursday night on the way to dinner with old friends in at a family-owned Italian restaurant in North Beach, I knew in advance what topics we would probably be discussing.
As Baby Boomers, all six of us veterans of the social and political movements that our generation is known for, we’re naturally concerned about the state of the world right now.
With the war in Ukraine bringing us ever closer to the unthinkable — the use of nuclear weapons — plus impending global disaster due to climate change, the prospect of unending pandemics, the rise of authoritarianism all over the world and a slew of other severe local problems, including the senseless recall effort against a progressive young DA, any thinking person can be forgiven for feeling things are out of balance.
It also happened that this was a rare weekend when three major religious holidays — Passover, Easter and Ramadan — all converged, and though none of us is religious, spiritual angels and demons may be in the air.
Indeed, the six of us did end up talking about the weighty issues of the world. But we also talked about the food, which was delicious, our families, sports, movies, music, books and the weather. While it’s true that the existential threats are severe, such threats have come and gone throughout human history.
And as it turns out, the little things, the personal matters, come and go as well. Maybe that is worth remembering at times like this.
Plus it’s things like that that bring us comfort. And that’s what friends are for.
Today’s News (54):
Keeping a Diary at the End of the World — The urge to document our lives during crisis is widely shared among writers. (Atlantic)
Ukrainian governor says Mariupol ‘has been wiped off the face of the earth’(WP)
Ukraine says fighting rages around Mariupol steel plant, port (Reuters)
Police: More than 900 civilian bodies found in Kyiv region (AP)
Powerful explosions were heard in Kyiv and fighting raged in the east after Ukraine claimed responsibility for sinking the Russian navy’s Black Sea flagshipin what would be one of the heaviest blows of the war. Ukraine said it sank the Soviet-era Moskva warship with a Neptune anti-ship missile. Russia said it evacuated more than 500 crew members, and did not acknowledge the attack. (Reuters)
Hiding in Plain Sight, a Soviet-Era Air Defense System Arrives in Ukraine(NYT)
Ukraine’s port of Mariupol holding out against all odds (AP)
Russia would deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in the Baltic region if Sweden and Finland join NATO, said Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and an ally of President Vladimir Putin. (Reuters)
Zelensky weighs in on whether Putin could use nuclear weapons (CNN)
War Brings New Iron Curtain Down on Russia’s Storied Ballet Stages (NYT)
US assesses two Ukrainian missiles struck Russian warship (CNN)
How big a loss to Russia is the sinking of the Moskva missile cruiser? (Reuters)
With war next door, Moldova faces a dilemma as Eastern Europe's most vulnerable state (NPR)
Tensions Over the Ukraine War Deepen the Chill Near the North Pole (NYT)
China's Xi Jinping is 'a silent partner' in Putin's 'aggression' in Ukraine, CIA Director Burns warns (Fox)
Russia Hits Setbacks, as Flagship Sinks and E.U. Mulls Oil Ban (NYT)
Ukrainians celebrate Russian setbacks with stamps, memes and an NFT (WP)
What the ruthless new commander of Russia's military in Ukraine signals for the war (NPR)
Shanghai residents clash with police over homes being used to isolate Covid patients (NBC)
Shanghai lockdown: How angry netizens test China's 'Great Firewall' (BBC)
China’s economy pays a price as lockdowns restrict nearly a third of its population. (NYT)
Apple, Dell and Lenovo products may face shipment delays if China’s COVID-19 lockdowns persist, as curbs force assemblers to shut down. China’s efforts to stop the spread of the virus have jammed highways and ports, stranded workers and left countless factories awaiting government approval to reopen. They also have brought on a wave of arrests as people defy the curbs. (Reuters)
Death of Shanghai health official sparks rumors of suicide (NHK)
It’s not over: COVID-19 cases are on the rise again in US (AP)
China cuts banks’ reserve rules in effort to combat economic impact of Covid (Financial Times)
FDA authorizes breath test to detect COVID-19 (CBS)
Twitter adopts ‘poison pill’ defense in Musk takeover bid (AP)
Musk Contends Censorship, Not Abuse, Is Twitter’s Problem (WSJ)
Two more states passed sweeping abortion restrictions. — Both Florida’s and Kentucky’s new laws ban the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Neither makes an exception for rape or incest. (WP)
Emboldened by their Supreme Court supermajority, Republicans are moving to cut off remaining legal avenues to challenge racist and partisan gerrymandering, Paul Blumenthal explains. "No argument is too crazy to try" before this hard-right high court, one attorney said. [HuffPost]
Lee worked hard to overturn election, keep Trump in power, texts show (WP)
Amid false 2020 claims, GOP states eye voting system upgrade (AP)
More than 150 Palestinians were injured by Israeli riot police at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound, the Palestine Red Crescent said, two weeks into Ramadan. Israeli police said hundreds of Palestinians hurled firecrackers and stones at their forces and toward the nearby Jewish prayer area of the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City after morning prayers. (Reuters)
Modest-income buyers being priced out of new-vehicle market (AP)
California Considers the Four-Day Workweek (WSJ)
‘That was my beloved son’: family of Patrick Lyoya say police killed their son in an ‘execution’ (Guardian)
‘This Is American History’: The Hall of Fame Reconsiders Race (NYT)
Billionaires eye parallel media universe (Axios)
Feinstein pushes back on lawmakers’ accounts that she is mentally unfit (WP)
A new study estimates that, by midcentury, global warming could put 60 percent of cactus species at greater risk of extinction. (Cal Today)
Wildflower believed to be extinct for 40 years spotted in Ecuador (Guardian)
These Scientists Want to Send Space Aliens Cosmic Road Map to Earth (WSJ)
Waffle Is the New Wordle (Lifehacker)
Star Wars toy bought for 99p 'could fetch £1,000' at auction (BBC)
Japan media watchdog cautions TV variety shows using pain for laughs (NHK)
Dianne Feinstein Argues She Still Perfectly Mentally Fit To Continue Captaining Submarine (The Onion)
TODAY’s EXCERPT:
"Subterranean Homesick Blues"
Bob Dylan
Look out, kid
Don't matter what you did
Walk on your tip toes
Don't tie no bows
Better stay away from those
That carry around a fire hose
Keep a clean nose
Watch the plainclothes
You don't need a weather man
To know which way the wind blows.
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