Nobody Came (Afghanistan Conversation 24)

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):

1. 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)

2. Xi meets Putin in show of solidarity as U.S. warns against helping Russia evade Ukraine-linked sanctions (WP)

3. 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)

4. 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)

5. 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)

6. Wetlands and radioactive soil: How Ukraine’s geography could influence a Russian invasion (WP)

7. Russia, China oppose further expansion of NATO (NHK)

8. Dismal Russian Record in Occupied Eastern Ukraine Serves as Warning (WSJ)

9. 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]

10. Fauci is the villain in new GOP campaign ads (Politico)

11. 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)

12. US economy defies omicron and adds 467,000 jobs in January (AP)

13. U.S. Hiring Accelerated as Economy Weathered Omicron — Unemployment rate ticked up to 4% as more joined the workforce (WSJ)

14. The Internet Is Just Investment Banking Now — The internet has always financialized our lives. Web3 just makes that explicit. (Atlantic)

15. 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)

16. Facebook Parent Meta Faces Uphill Battle in Video Fight With TikTok (WSJ)

17. 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)

18. 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]

19. You Can Get Crypto Right and Still Play It Wrong (WSJ)

20. The Crypto Backlash Is Booming — Web3 is making some people very rich. It’s making other people very angry. (Atlantic)

21. 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)

22. COVID falling in 49 of 50 states as deaths near 900,000 (AP)

23. Americans get sicker as omicron stalls everything from heart surgeries to cancer care (NPR)

24. 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)

25. Discovery of HIV variant shows virus can evolve to be more severe — and contagious (NPR)

26. CNN, MSNBC, NYT, WaPo completely avoid Johns Hopkins study finding COVID lockdowns ineffective (Fox)

27. Pence: Trump is ‘wrong’ to claim VP had right to overturn election (WP)

28. 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)

29. Shackleton's Endurance: The impossible search for the greatest shipwreck (BBC)

30. 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]

31. The Problem With the Genius Myth — The label erases the complication and collaboration that are central to the artistic process (Atlantic)

32. The San Francisco Art Institute has formalized plans to integrate with — and eventually be acquired by — the University of San Francisco. (Cal Today)

33. EU plans to ban use of synthetic pesticides in parks (Guardian)

34. Mount Everest: Mountain's highest glacier melting rapidly, new study shows (BBC)

35. Puffy Planets Lose Atmospheres, Become Super Earths (NASA)

36. Extremists are set to take over this California county. Will more of the state be next? (LAT)

37. Vikings target Jim Harbaugh explains why he's staying at Michigan, says he's chased the NFL for the last time (CBS)

38. 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 

Monkey Business

From the point of view of an extraterrestrial anthropologist, the human primate population currently is divided into three giant tribal groups with alpha males leading the U.S., Russia, China posturing over a chunk of territory of debatable value called Ukraine.

Russia is by far the weakest of the three and borders Ukraine, which is why it is being the most aggressive.

But the main geopolitical battle for primacy is between China (#2) and the U.S. (#1). China has been provoking trouble all over the globe, especially on its own borders, most notably by threatening to take over Taiwan, but also sponsoring North Korea, conducting probing military exercises, upsetting Japan and other U.S. allies in the process.

Economically, China is roughly two-thirds the size of the U.S., which is still far and away the largest economic and military power on the planet.

But the U.S. is overextended militarily in Europe and Asia and has a domestic population with no appetite to fight distant wars. Its recent withdrawal after 20 years in Afghanistan was a tipping point in the retreat of U.S. global pretensions — at least that is one way of thinking about it.

Of the three governments, two are autocratic with pretensions of democracy and one is democratic with autocratic tendencies. Trump represents the world’s greatest nightmare because he would convert the U.S. into an authoritarian country like Russia, which he greatly admires.

But that won’t happen if Trump can’t get re-elected. He’s never had the support of a majority of Americans, or even close to that, but splits among the majority groups and various machinations by Trump allies could still propel him back into power.

Plus achieving majority support isn’t necessary. Case in point: Hitler.

Meanwhile, Covid continues to rage here and there, although as the most recent mutations run their course it does not appear to be evolving into a more lethal threat than in the past.

However, the pandemic has deepened the political crisis and provoked economic uncertainty, which further destabilizes everything.

And that’s the way of the world right now, folks, from outer space. On to the headlines…

TODAY’s NEWS (45):

1. In Responses to Russia, U.S. Stands Firm on Who Can Join NATO — Leaked replies to Moscow’s security demands reinforced the intractability of a crisis that threatens to lead to war. (NYT)

2. The Reason Putin Would Risk War (Atlantic)

3. Belarusian leader’s closer ties to Putin could sway Russia’s calculus on Ukraine — When Russia last invaded Ukraine in 2014, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko cast himself as a neutral mediator. But eight years later, Lukashenko is far more beholden to the Kremlin. (WP)

4. Is Biden’s Strategy With Putin Working, or Goading Moscow to War? — The Biden administration’s goal is to cut the Russians off at each turn by exposing their plans. But Russian President Vladimir V. Putin says that approach could spark a conflict. (NYT)

5. Russia tries to cast Western-backed Ukraine as aggressor, suggests disputed peace deal as path forward (WP)

6. VIDEO: Ukraine Does Not Oppose U.S. Plan to Defuse Crisis With Russia

   — Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, addressing tensions with Russia. (Reuters)

7. Turkish president offers to host Ukraine-Russia peace talks (AP)

8. Erdogan seals pact with Ukraine over trade and drones (Financial Times)

9. Putin heads to China to bolster ties amid Ukraine tensions (AP)

10. China: What does it want from the Ukraine crisis with Russia? (BBC)

11. The National Archives on March 3 will turn over some of former Vice President Mike Pence's records to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump has continued to fight the release of documents to the panel, but has largely failed to stop it. [HuffPost]

12. America is in Europe to stay — thanks to Putin (Financial Times)

13. Memo circulated among Trump allies advocated using NSA data in attempt to prove stolen election (WP)

14. Memos Show Roots of Trump’s Focus on Jan. 6 and Alternate Electors — Just over two weeks after Election Day, lawyers working with the Trump campaign set out a rationale for creating alternate slates of electors as part of an effort to buy time to overturn the results. (NYT)

15. A Texas butterfly sanctuary on the Mexican border has closed to the public indefinitely following escalating threats from supporters of former President Donald Trump who are promoting a fabricated claim the sanctuary is part of sex-trafficking ring. (Reuters)

16. Conservative Pundit Warns Just How Unhinged A Second Donald Trump Presidency Could Be (HuffPost)

17. The Republican megadonor funding the party’s 2022 hopes (Politico)

18. VIDEO: W.H.O. Cautions Against Countries’ Lifting of Pandemic Measures

    — The World Health Organization’s director general said it was premature for any country to “surrender” or “declare victory” over the coronavirus, and urged caution about relaxing restrictions too hastily. (Reuters)

19. U.S. Covid-19 Hospitalizations Continue Tracking Downward (WSJ)

20. California colleges are planning for a future in which Covid is endemic (CalMatters)

21. ‘Take back life’: More nations ease coronavirus restrictions (AP)

22. Google parent company Alphabet advanced nearer to joining peers Apple and Microsoft in the elite $2 trillion market valuation club as the search giant's shares surged more than 8% following a blowout quarterly report.(Reuters)

23. Amazon Is Seen Feeling Effects of Supply Crunch (WSJ)

24. Facebook loses users for the first time in its history (WP)

25. Facebook's transition to metaverse has eaten into the social media giant's profits (NPR)

26. America's economic recovery is about to go into reverse (CNN)

27. Shares in Facebook owner Meta fell 20% in U.S. premarket trade after the social media giant issued a dismal forecast blaming Apple's privacy changes and increased competition. We look at why U.S. President Joe Biden has eased up on Facebook over COVID misinformation, and how Meta's miss creates a Big Tech divide - who's got the data. (Reuters)

28. Disappointing Meta, PayPal Earnings Send Shudders Through Stock Market (WSJ)

29. Why the Facebook owner’s shares are in freefall (Guardian)

30. The party is over for technology start-ups rushing to go public at ever-higher valuations, as volatile U.S. stock markets have dampened investor appetite for high-growth stocks. (Reuters)

31. Survey shows a glum California (Politico)

32. Does Biden Have a Second Act? (Atlantic)

33. Over a Million Flee as Afghanistan’s Economy Collapses — Thousands of Afghans are trying to sneak into Iran and Pakistan each day, as incomes have dried up and life-threatening hunger has become widespread. (NYT)

34. UN report: Dozens extra-judicially killed by Taliban (NHK)

35. Islamic State leader killed during US raid in Syria (AP)

36. Australia Hails Discovery of Captain Cook’s Endeavour, but U.S. Researchers Wary (WSJ)

37. Remains of woolly mammoth found on Devon building site (Guardian)

38. Fentanyl is a public health crisis. Why it’s so difficult for victims to escape its grip (SFC)

39. Big millionaire $$ almost entirely funding SF D.A. Boudin recall (48 Hills)

40. Why teenagers aren't what they used to be (BBC)

41. Venus Isn’t the Color You Probably Think It Is — And neither is Saturn, or Uranus, or even the sun. (Atlantic)

42. Race is on to save the Great Salt Lake: Will it be enough? (AP)

43. Why Dolly Parton Damn Sure Belongs in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Y’all (Rolling Stone)

44. Ukraine crisis: The teenage rock band finding solace in music (BBC)

45. Family Can Trace Ancestry Back To Whatever The Hell Grandma Was Talking About (The Onion)

 

Best Book List

Yesterday, I asked readers for their suggestions of the best books my young Afghan friend might consider reading as his English improves. Many of you responded on Facebook, Substack or in email, etc. 

Here is the list. Please feel free to add to it.

• The Old Man and the Sea (Hemingway)

• The Scarlet Letter (Hawthorne)

• Coming Into the Country (McPhee)

• Love Medicine (Erdrich)

• Beloved (Morrison)

• To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee)

• The Portrait of a Lady (James)

• Silent Spring (Carson)

• The Tipping Point (Gladwell)

• Maus (Spiegelman)

• The Sound and the Fury (Faulkner)

• Plainsong (Haruf)

• Sweat (Hayes)

• Curve of Binding Energy (McPhee)

• The Giver (Lowry)

• Pilgrim at Tinker’s Creek (Dillard)

• The Overstory (Powers)

• Grapes of Wrath (Steinbeck)

• Cannery Row (Steinbeck)

• short stories (Salinger)

• short stories (Updike)

• Sapiens (Harari)

• In Our Time (Hemingway)

• Diary of Anne Frank

• Island of the Blue Dolphins (O’Dell)

• The Web of Life (Storer)

Like all lists, this one is arbitrary, partial, debatable and subject to the preferences and biases of those who contributed to it. It is far from comprehensive. 

But thank you and I hope it gives our friend a few ideas for future reading material. For anyone with English as a second or third language, it probably would be wise to start with writers like Hemingway, who uses words with great precision and without unnecessary complexities that interfere with the storyline.

Short stories are great precisely because they are short. “Maus” is ostensibly a graphic children’s book but important for everyone to read. It’s also in the news because of an attempt to ban it in Tennessee.

Writers like Faulkner are exceptionally difficult even for native speakers, so they are a good measure of when your English skills have reached expert level. 

Ultimately, the important thing is to read, read, read — almost anything — and keep on writing as well.

There are no shortcuts when it comes to erudition.

TODAY’s HEADLINES (61):

1. Biden Promised 500 Million Free Covid Tests. Then He Had to Find Them. — Millions of Americans are now receiving tests through the new mail program, which health experts said came too late to meet demand during the brunt of Omicron wave. (NYT)

2. With COVID staffing crunch, who’s going to teach the kids? (AP)

3. Some families are being forced to choose between remote learning and school meals (NPR)

4. Exposure to one nasal droplet enough for Covid infection – study (Guardian)

5. Researchers wonder why some countries were better prepared for covid. One surprising answer: Trust. (WP)

6. Army to immediately start discharging vaccine refusers (AP)

7. Omicron BA.2: What we know about the Covid sub-variant (BBC)

8. China Fortifies Its Borders With a ‘Southern Great Wall,’ Citing Covid (WSJ)

9. COVID cases down by half in the Bay Area (SFC)

10. Computer simulation: Omicron infection risk rises within 50 cm even with masks (NHK)

11. Olympic advisers at ease with COVID rate, see cases falling (AP)

12. Next big health crisis: 15M people could lose Medicaid when pandemic ends (Politico)

13. Ottawa police considering military intervention to end ‘unlawful’ blockade (Guardian)

14. Book Ban Efforts Spread Across the U.S (NYT Books)

15. Book Bans Are Targeting the History of Oppression — The possibility of a more just future is at stake when young people are denied access to knowledge of the past. (Atlantic)

16. NATO forces unite, grow as Putin tries to push them away — The often-fractious NATO alliance has rallied to defend its mission and its principles, responding to the threat against Ukraine by sending in reinforcements. (WP)

17. Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of deliberately creating a scenario designed to lure it into warand ignoring Russia's security concerns over Ukraine. Here's how Ukraine's armed forces shape up against Russia's.Reuters)

18. White House stops using ‘imminent’ to describe Russian threat (Politico)

19. Biden orders forces to Europe amid stalled Ukraine talks (AP)

20. U.S. National Debt Tops $30 Trillion as Borrowing Surged Amid Pandemic — The record red ink, fueled by spending to combat the coronavirus, comes as interest rates are expected to rise, which could add to America’s costs. (NYT)

21. Biden to relaunch ‘cancer moonshot,’ aiming to reduce death rate, administration officials say (WP)

22. T-cell immunotherapy tied to 10-year remission in two leukemia patients, study finds (CNN)

23. Here's how the Biden administration says it will halve cancer death rates by 2047 (NPR)

24. Why Biden took his moonshot (Politico)

25. The National Butterfly Center, in south Texas, will close indefinitely due to safety concerns after it was repeatedly targeted by right-wing conspiracy theorists who baselessly accused it of aiding human traffickers. The butterfly conservatory has been an ongoing target for harassment since it pushed back against Trump administration efforts to build a border wall near its 100-acre nature preserve. [HuffPost]

26. As the U.S. Pulls Back From the Mideast, China Leans In — China is expanding its ties to Middle Eastern states with vast infrastructure investments and cooperation on technology and security. (NYT)

27. China pours money into Iraq as US retreats from Middle East (Financial Times)

28. At the peak of its power, Islamic State ruled over millions of people and claimed responsibility for or inspired attacks in dozens of cities around the world before it lost its final enclave. Now the group is re-emerging as a deadly threat, aided by a power vacuum in Iraq and Syria. (Reuters)

29. Trump’s claim that election can be ‘overturned’ looms over electoral count debate (WP)

30. Trump interference exacerbates GOP split on election reforms (Politico)

31. Trump’s Words, and Deeds, Reveal Depths of His Drive to Retain Power — Donald Trump said he wanted Mike Pence to overturn the election, dangled pardons for Jan. 6 rioters and called for protests against prosecutors. Now, it turns out, he had discussed having national security agencies seize voting machines. (NYT)

32. Pence documents to be turned over to Jan. 6 committee, National Archives says (NBC)

33. Vindman, Star Witness in Trump Impeachment, Sues Trump Jr., Giuliani (WSJ)

34. General Motors said it will spend more than the $35 billion previously planned through 2025 to speed up launches of new electric vehicles, and noted that investments in technology will take priority over richer profits next year. (Reuters)

35. Tesla drivers report a surge in ‘phantom braking’ (WP)

36. Tesla is recalling nearly 54,000 self-driving cars and SUVs because their “Full Self-Driving” software lets them roll through stop signs without coming to a complete halt. Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the governors safety association, said he’s not surprised that Tesla programmed vehicles to violate state laws. “They keep pushing the bounds of safety to see what they can get away with.” [AP]

37. PayPal Shares Sink as Company Drops Growth Strategy (WSJ)

38. Shares of Facebook parent Meta plunge 22% on lower profits (AP)

39. Facebook Shares Sag After Profit Fall, Weak Outlook (WSJ)

40. Eurozone inflation hits record 5.1% in January (Financial Times)

41. A piece of space junk the size of a school bus is barreling straight toward the moon (NPR)

42. Over a Million Flee as Afghanistan’s Economy Collapses (NYT)

43. Several public universities in Afghanistan reopen for female students (NHK)

44. Afghanistan education: Taliban running out of excuses - Malala (BBC)

45. Taliban fighters will no longer be allowed to carry their weapons in amusement parks in Afghanistan, the group's spokesman said, in what appeared to be another effort by the country's new rulers to soften their image. (Reuters)

46. Los Angeles recorded the most hate crimes among large U.S. cities last year, posting a 71 percent jump in the incidents, (Los Angeles Times)

47. What 20th century misinformation tells us today (Politico)

48. Eight-year-old's handwritten novel takes Idaho town by storm (BBC)

49. These 2 groundhogs have conflicting weather predictions — so take your pick (NPR)

50. The Democrats’ Senate Majority Is Temporarily Gone — Until Senator Ben Ray Luján returns, his party won’t be able to do anything significant—including confirming a new Supreme Court justice—without Republican help. (Atlantic)

51. Dems avert total redistricting doomsday — but they’re not out of the woods (Politico)

52. CNN President Jeff Zucker resigns, citing undisclosed relationship with colleague (WP)

53. David Crosby, Graham Nash and Stephen Stills ask to pull their content from Spotify (NPR)

54. Spotify stock plunges on middling user growth projections (CNBC)

55. Dolly Parton, Eminem, Lionel Richie among the 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees (NPR)

56. This Is Your Brain on Heartbreak — Love changes us at a physiological level, making us more sensitive to joy—and to pain. (Atlantic)

57. Powerful solar flare from recent sun eruption should reach Earth (LiveScience)

58. Wordle code could be copied to play for seven years (BBC)

59. Will Wordle still be free after the New York Times buyout? (Guardian)

60. The 'Love Actually' language mistake that still haunts me (Mashable)

61. Experts Recommend Tuning Them Out And Just Trying To Enjoy Your Life (The Onion)

Can You Suggest a Book?

Imagine that you were trapped in a hostile country with little chance of escape any time soon and that a you have a love of books. So you decide to compile a list of titles for future reading, partly as a way of passing the time.

This is the situation for my young Afghan friend whose writings I periodically publish here.

He loves to read books in English. It helps him improve his knowledge of the language, as well as his grasp of the cultural and social values that prevail in the Western countries he hopes to visit someday.

Over the five months I have been working with him, his English skills have improved noticeably, to the point he now often helps other Afghans with their letters and applications.

So today I have an open request of anyone who reads this post.

Which works of literature or literary fiction would you recommend for him to read? Most of you have favorites, as do I. My goal is to compile a short list of ten or so “must-reads” for him.

Please either add your favorite fiction and non-fiction book in “Comments” or send to me privately and I will aggregate the results.

Thank you!

Thanks to Mary Sturges for her help with this one.

***

Mathematically this month is like no other in our lifetimes, because this February will have four days each for all seven days (M,T.W,Th,F,Sa,Su). According to Fengshui, this only happens once every 832 years.

Thanks to Tomoko Fukatsu for this one.

TODAY’s NEWS (40):

1. Trump reportedly directed Giuliani to press officials to seize voting machines (Guardian)

2. Trump advisers drafted more than one executive order to seize voting machines. (CNN)

3. Trump Had Role in Weighing Proposals to Seize Voting Machines (NYT)

4. Trump escalates racist rhetoric and plays on white grievance at recent rallies (NPR)

5. The Founders Believed in Pardoning Traitors — But They Would Have Been Horrified By Trump's Jan. 6 Promise(Politico)

6. Pence chief of staff Marc Short questioned by Jan. 6 committee (ABC)

7. Trump’s Grip on G.O.P. Faces New Strains — Shifts in polls of Republicans, disagreements on endorsements and jeers over vaccines hint at daylight between the former president and the right-wing movement he spawned. (NYT)

8. Biden vs. Trump: The Makings of a Shattering Constitutional Crisis (Politico)

9. Book Bans Are Back. Here's What's In Danger. — These 14 titles have been under attack in schools for doing exactly what literature is supposed to do. (Atlantic)

10. 4.3 million Americans left their jobs in December as omicron variant disrupted everything (WP)

11. The great resignation is not going away (Financial Times)

12. More than half of teachers are looking for the exits, a poll says (NPR)

13. More than 12 HBCU campuses targeted in new round of bomb threats (NBC)

14. FBI, ATF respond to HBCU bomb threats (Politico)

15. Yes, more variants may emerge in the future. That’s why we should lift restrictions now. (Leana Wen/WP)

16. Russia accused the West on Monday of “whipping up tensions” over Ukraine and said the U.S. had brought “pure Nazis” to power in Kyiv as the U.N. Security Council held a stormy debate on Moscow’s troop buildup near its southern neighbor. It was the first session where all protagonists in the Ukraine crisis spoke openly. The Security Council took no action. [AP]

17. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a decree to boost his armed forces by 100,000 troops over three years and raise soldiers' pay, but said this did not mean war with Russia was imminent. Zelenskiy urged lawmakers to stay calm as he prepared to host the leaders of the Netherlands, Britain and Poland as part of efforts to defuse tension. Here's a timeline of Ukraine's turbulent history since independence in 1991. (Reuters)

18. Poland to provide Ukraine with arms to counter potential Russian invasion (Financial Times)

19. Putin offers more talks with West to defuse Ukraine tensions (AP)

20. Republicans lead 2022 money race as both parties hit record levels of cash on hand (WP)

21. Some documents in the National Archives from the Trump White House had been ripped up and needed to be taped back together to be given to lawmakers investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol. The Archives noted that Trump regularly tore up papers he was finished with, according to previous reporting. [HuffPost]

22. First vaccine for children under 5 may be available by end of February — Pfizer and its partner BioNTech are expected to submit to the Food and Drug Administration as early as Tuesday a request for emergency use authorization, people briefed on the situation said. (WP)

23. Bitcoin was assailed by thousands of new 'altcoin' competitors in 2021, raising the prospect of a rapid fragmentation of the crypto market. Yet it has stemmed its loss of market share this month, and begun to regain ground, as rattled investors seek the relative safety of the biggest crypto player while they contend with an aggressive Fed and talk of war in Europe. (Reuters)

24. A crypto breakthrough? Western states consider taking digital currency (Politico)

25. The Miami Herald slammed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for downplaying a neo-Nazi demonstration in Orlando over the weekend. “Say they are abhorrent. Say they are despicable. Say they have no part in this society or this state,” the board wrote. DeSantis said they were "jackasses" and then spun questions into an attack on President Joe Biden and the Democrats. [HuffPost]

26. Amnesty International accused Israel of subjecting Palestinians to a system of apartheid founded on policies of "segregation, dispossession and exclusion" that it said amounted to crimes against humanity. The London-based rights group said its findings were based on research and legal analysis in a 211-page report into Israeli seizure of Palestinian land and property, unlawful killings, forcible transfer of people and denial of citizenship. (Reuters)

27. Taliban raised on war bring a heavy hand to security role (AP)

28. Thousands of Afghans Face Narrow Path to U.S. Entry — Afghans who have applied to come to the U.S. on humanitarian grounds have been denied entry, sparking confusion and finger-pointing among administration officials, lawmakers and immigration advocates. (WSJ)

29. Pregnant New Zealand journalist in Afghanistan can go home (AP)

30. We Already Have the Technology to Save Earth From a “Don’t Look Up” Asteroid (SciTech Daily)

31. NASA plans to take International Space Station out of orbit in January 2031 by crashing it into 'spacecraft cemetery' (Sky News)

32. The Texas Oil Heir Who Took On Math’s Impossible Dare (NYT)

33. Tesla recalls 53,822 cars because they won’t stop at stop signs (Ars Technica)

34. Sierra Nevada snowpack spells bad news for drought (SFC)

35. Next winter storm will stretch over 2,000 miles (CNN)

36. World record 477-mile-long lightning ‘megaflash’ confirmed over U.S. (WP)

37. The New York Times Co's acquisition of Wordle has created uproar on social media, with fans expressing fears that the popular online word game, which is currently free to play, might be put behind a paywall. Announcing that it had bought Wordle for an undisclosed price in the low seven figures, the Times said the game would "initially" remain free for existing and new players. (Reuters)

38. Scientists developing single test to detect risk of four cancers in women — Experts may be able to predict risk of developing ovarian, breast, womb and cervical cancers using cells from routine smear test (Guardian)

39. Tom Brady retires after 22 seasons, 7 Super Bowl titles (Instagram/AP)

40. Man Always Self-Sabotaging By Working To The Best Of His Ability (The Onion)

 

Choosing My Words

Since humans ran out of new new kinds of animals and foods to domesticate thousands of years ago, we can study almost any edible plant or farm animal as a microcosm of “modern” human history.

This occurred to me when a couple of readers responded to a phrase I used the other day — “industrial clock.” I was talking about how ingrained our work schedules become so we cannot escape the rhythms of the 40-hour week even after we retire.

What I was referring to when I coined that term was the origin of the “coffee break,” which I believe was developed by industrialist tycoons as a way to squeeze more productivity out of workers. I first encountered that historical curiosity when I was reviewing a book on the history of sugar many decades ago.

Like many other crops, sugar started out as a luxury for the rich and powerful but has gradually filtered down to be one of the many excessive burdens of the poor and powerless.

Over 100,000 people have died of diabetes in the U.S. each of the past two years — disproportionately from minority and poor communities.

Taking sugar with coffee or tea became habitual for the poorer classes during the industry revolution. But by now, virtually everyone goes through at least some phase of sugar addiction. It’s endemic.

And of course there are other risk factors for diabetes — smoking and obesity among them — so my analysis should only be taken with a grain of (pick your substance).

But wars have been fought and empires built on control of sugar or tea or coffee or bananas and every other foodstuff; that much is indisputable.

So that is the story of the term “industrial clock” and why I came up with it.

TODAY’s NEWS (64):

1. Trump reportedly directed Giuliani to press officials to seize voting machines (Guardian)

2. Book Ban Efforts Spread Across the U.S. — Challenges to books about sexual and racial identity are nothing new in American schools, but the tactics and politicization are. (NYT)

3. 1 in 4 Americans say violence against the government is sometimes OK (NPR)

4. Rents are up 40 percent in some cities, forcing millions to move — Rising rents are also expected to be a driving force in inflation this year and have been an ongoing policy challenge for the Biden administration. (WP)

5. Trump offers chilling glimpse into possible second term (CNN)

6. Former President Donald Trump admitted in a written statement that he'd wanted former Vice President Mike Pence to "overturn the election" and railed against efforts to put laws in place to prevent something like that from ever happening. “Actually, what they are saying, is that Mike Pence did have the right to change the outcome, and they now want to take that right away. Unfortunately, he didn’t exercise that power, he could have overturned the Election!” Trump wrote. Critics immediately piled on. [HuffPost]

7. Latest congressional map favors Democrats (Politico)

8. Why Simple Is Smart — Complicated language can send a signal that a writer is dense or overcompensating. (Atlantic)

9. "Wordle, Josh Wardle’s stimulating and wildly popular daily word game,
   is joining The New York Times’s portfolio of original, engaging puzzle
   games that delight and challenge solvers everyday. Wordle was acquired for an undisclosed price in the low-seven figures." (NYT)

10. The Radical Woman Behind “Goodnight Moon” (New Yorker)

11. Campaigning to Oversee Elections, While Denying the Last One — Brazenly partisan candidates who insist that Trump won the 2020 election are transforming races for the once-obscure office of secretary of state. (NYT)

12. Georgia DA investigating Trump asks FBI for security help (AP)

13. Kamala Harris drove within yards of pipe bomb on January 6 – report (Guardian)

14. Critics say Ginni Thomas’s activism is a Supreme Court conflict. Under court rules, only her husband can decide if that’s true. (WP)

15. The skirmish is over a new justice. The battle is against the right wing’s imperial judiciary. (WP)

16. Republican elected officials such as Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) sought to distance themselves from a pledge Trump made over the weekend to pardon those charged in the Capitol riot should he run for the White House again and win. “I hope they go to jail and get the book thrown at them because they deserve it," Graham said. [HuffPost]

17. DeSantis aide deletes tweet suggesting Nazi protesters were Democratic operatives (Politico)

18. Ukrainian police detained a group of people suspected of preparing mass riots in the capital Kyiv and other cities to cause instability as tensions rise with Russia, Ukraine's interior minister said. (Reuters)

19. US plans sanctions against Putin’s inner circle in case of attack on Ukraine (Financial Times)

20. Britain Toughens Stance on Russia, as Russia Presses NATO for Assurances — Britain moved to broaden the range of sanctions available if Russia invades Ukraine, as Moscow sent an “urgent demand” to NATO to clarify its stance. (NYT)

21. The U.S. promised to put Moscow on the defensive at the U.N. Security Council in a session Monday over its massing of troops near Ukraine and fears it is planning an invasion. Any formal action by the Security Council is extremely unlikely, given Russia’s veto power and its ties with others on the council, including China. [AP]

22. The international cult of Vladimir Putin (Financial Times)

23. From Stalin to Putin, Ukraine is still trying to break free from Moscow (NPR)

24. The Hard-Line Russian Advisers Who Have Putin’s Ear — Three reactionary security officials dedicated to “traditional values” and restoring Soviet glory will figure prominently in the decision whether to invade Ukraine. (NYT)

25. Public education is facing a crisis of epic proportions (WP)

26. Russia is willing to go to war and incur sanctions over Ukraine, analysts warn (CNBC)

27. States begin questioning broad testing for kids (Politico)

28. Cyberattacks increasingly hobble pandemic-weary US schools (AP)

29. "Maus," Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust, shot to the top of Amazon’s bestsellers list after a Tennessee school district banned it from being taught in classrooms last week. “We can teach them history and we can teach them graphic history. We can tell them exactly what happened, but we don’t need all the nakedness and all the other stuff," a school board member said. [HuffPost]

30. Why a school board's ban on 'Maus' may put the book in the hands of more readers (NPR)

31. Schools reopened, but students’ mental health is still suffering (Politico)

32. ‘It’s Just Stressful’: Students Feel the Weight of Pandemic Uncertainty — The pandemic has changed children. Some can’t shake that feeling of instability. Others are taking on adult responsibilities. And anxiety is all around. (NYT)

33. White House frustrations grow over health chief’s handling of pandemic (WP)

34. US gives full approval to Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine (AP)

35. Vaccine skeptics are a growing force in GOP politics and Trumpworld too (Politico)

36. The New Clues About Who Will Develop Long Covid (WSJ)

37. In Germany’s east, far-right extremists find footholds in escalating anti-vaccine protests (WP)

38. Omicron amps up concerns about long COVID and its causes (AP)

39. Schools see never-ending drama over masks (Politico)

40. Demand for babysitters soaring amid COVID surge (NHK)

41. Hundreds of people in San Francisco and five other U.S. cities marched Sunday to seek justice for Asian Americans who have been harassed, assaulted and killed since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. It was the first anniversary of the death of 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee, who died after being assaulted while on a walk in San Francisco. [AP]

42. North Korea confirmed it had launched a Hwasong-12 ballistic missile, the same weapon it had once threatened to target the U.S. territory of Guam with, sparking fears the nuclear-armed state could resume long-range testing. North Korea's unusually active month of missile testing appears aimed at securing global acceptance of its sanctioned weapons programs. (Reuters)

43. ‘Everyone’s Looking for Plastic.’ As Waste Rises, So Does Recycling. — Plagued by plastic pollution, Senegal wants to replace pickers at the garbage dump with a formal recycling system that takes advantage of the new market for plastics. (NYT)

44. Bracing for cyber-spying at the Olympics (Politico)

45. During the past four days China has detected some 119 cases of COVID-19 among athletes and personnel linked to the Beijing Winter Olympics, with authorities imposing a "closed loop" bubble to keep participants, staff and media separated from the public. Some 3,000 athletes, along with coaches, officials, referees, federation delegates and media are expected for the Games, due to run from February 4-20. (Reuters)

46. Olympians worry as ‘Winter’ disappears from Winter Games (AP)

47. 2021 was Los Angeles’s deadliest year for traffic fatalities in nearly 20 years. LAist analyzes why. (Cal Today)

48. DA drops Andrew Cuomo’s last sexual harassment criminal case (NY Post)

49. The Betrayal — America’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan added moral injury to military failure. But a group of soldiers, veterans, and ordinary citizens came together to try to save Afghan lives and salvage some American honor. (Atlantic)

50. From Kabul, pregnant reporter fights NZ govt to come home (AP)

51. New Zealand responds to pregnant reporter helped by Taliban (BBC)

52. Sony to Buy ‘Halo’ Creator Bungie in $3.6 Billion Deal (WSJ)

53. Biden delivered a booming economy. Now he needs the Fed to deal with the fallout. (Politico)

54. Vodafone has teamed up with Intel and other silicon vendors to design its own chip architecture for nascent OpenRAN network technology, aiming to weaken the grip of traditional telecoms equipment suppliers. OpenRAN allows operators to mix and match suppliers in their radio networks, posing a challenge to the likes of Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia that dominate the market with their proprietary technologies. (Reuters)

55. The Atmosphere of This Extreme Exoplanet Has an Intriguing Similarity to Earth (Science Alert)

56. Shankar the elephant: Plea to send lonely African animal home from India (BBC)

57. We Almost Forgot About the Moon Trees — A collection of tree seeds that went round and round the moon was scattered far and wide back home. (Atlantic)

58. Polar bears move into abandoned Arctic weather station (Guardian)

59. Animal Domestication - Table of Dates and Places (Thought.co)

60. Domestication (National Geographic)

61. China’s Communist Party Quietly Inserts Itself Into Everyday Life (WSJ)

62. Anne Frank's betrayal: Dutch publisher apologises for book (BBC)

63. War Anxieties Loomed Over SNL (Atlantic)

64. U.S. Sends Military Advisors To Peace-Ravaged Country (The Onion)