21st Century War

 The war in Ukraine is unleashing an ecological disaster.

The close call at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant this week was just the latest reminder that any war in our time brings serious environmental health threats along with countless human tragedies and widespread physical destruction.

That’s because in modern societies we have many industrial facilities, infrastructure and waste facilities filled with synthetic chemicals, nuclear materials and biohazards that present serious threats to living organisms once they escape into the environment.

Even vehicles and consumer goods release dangerous fumes when burned.

Wars, of course, involve powerful missiles and bombs that cause explosions that propel dangerous residues far and wide. And while we are all rightfully scared of the long-lasting threat of nuclear pollutants in particular, there are far more buildings and items with other kinds of toxic materials at risk of exploding as the Ukraine war continues.

If an environmental impact report were required before an army destroyed modern buildings in war, the missiles and bombs would never be allowed to be fired in the first place. Any modern war is not only a war against one country but against the entire planet.

And since there are few rules in war, widespread environmental destruction is simply one more piece of collateral damage, albeit one rarely mentioned.

If and when this horrible war in Ukraine ends, a massive environmental cleanup will be one of complicated tasks required. Plus there will be many long-term health impacts. As we have seen from the veterans returning from other conflicts here in the U.S., many terrible diseases including cancers are also costs of the conflict.

Not to mention the mental health toll on everyone involved.

Though rarely discussed, pollution aka climate change is a huge reason that war is no longer a rational option anywhere on earth. And of course, it never was.

TODAY’s STORIES (72):

1. Evacuations halted as Ukraine accuses Russia of continued shelling (CBS)

2. 'Welcome to Hell': Evacuation in Ukraine halted; Putin warns about no-fly zone; Worries grow about attacks on nuclear plants. (USA Today)

3. Russia shelled the Zaporizhzhia plant in the city of Enerhodar, Ukraine, igniting a fire that was extinguished, and then taking control of the site. Ukraine's nuclear regulator said no changes in radiation levels have been recorded so far. Nuclear authorities were worried but not panicked about the damage. The assault, however, led to phone calls between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Joe Biden and other world leaders. [AP]

4. Russian Troops Move Into Nuclear Power Plant (WSJ)

5. The Ukrainian nuclear operator says management at the seized plant is "working at gunpoint" (CNN)

6. The seizure of the Zaporizhzhia plant has heightened fears about lack of access to radiation data and the potential for a nuclear accident, atomic experts said, although they stressed there did not appear to be any immediate risks. (Reuters)

7. Russia-Ukraine war latest news: ‘world narrowly averted nuclear catastrophe’ over Zaporizhzhia fire, says US envoy to UN (Guardian)

8. Russia condemned across world for ‘reckless’ nuclear plant attack (Financial Times)

9. Direct attacks and a destroyed bridge have slowed Russian convoy advance on Kyiv, US defense official says (CNN)

10. Humanitarian costs mount as Russia pushes into south (WP)

11. Washington’s Newest Worry: The Dangers of Cornering Putin (NYT)

12. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine leaves global trade in tatters (AP)

13. Russia Blocks Facebook (WSJ)

14. Russia bans Twitter (Guardian)

15. Peace in Ukraine depends on the international community achieving something it has been unable to do for years: changing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s mind. One week into the war, Western officials are extremely pessimistic about the chances of the Russian leader choosing to stop fighting and pursue diplomacy, Akbar Shahid Ahmed writes. [HuffPost]

16. Outcry after US senator Lindsey Graham suggests Putin’s assassination (Guardian)

17. Lindsey Graham’s Putin Death Sentence Is the Dumbest Take of the War (Politico)

18. Russian propaganda ‘outgunned’ by social media rebuttals (AP)

19. Kremlin Vows Victory in Ukraine as Refugees Swell to One Million (NYT)

20. Blinken meets NATO allies in Brussels as Russian troops continue their offensive in Ukraine (WP)

21. The Ukraine ‘rat line’: How the U.S. and British are funneling weapons to kill Russians (Politico)

22. Russia's version of Google warns it may not be able to pay its debts (CNN)

23. On the Exodus West, Ukrainians Flee Hardship for an Uncertain Future (NYT)

24. Russia's communications watchdog has restricted access to several foreign news organizations' websites including the BBC and Deutsche Welle for spreading what it cast as false information. (Reuters)

25. Putin misjudged his adversary and squandered his military advantages (WP)

26. The battle for Ukraine could test the limits of closer ties between China and Russia (NPR)

27. Ukraine’s Special Forces Hold Off Russian Offensive on Kyiv’s Front Lines (WSJ)

28. Putin vows to continue war as Russian missiles lay waste to Ukraine’s cities (Financial Times)

29. Russia's global financial isolation intensified as the London Stock Exchange suspended trading in its last Russian securities and some insurers withdrew cover from exporters over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. (Reuters)

30. How Ukraine’s Military Has Resisted Russia So Far (NYT)

31. Stocks sink, euro plunges as Ukraine war shakes markets (Reuters)

32. Behind Sandbags, Ukraine’s Leader Meets the Media (NYT)

33. How Zelenskyy’s Acting Career Showed Hints of His Powerful Underdog Leadership (Politico)

34. Sneaker maker Nike and home furnishings firm IKEA shut down stores in Russia and Alphabet's Google said it had stopped selling online advertising in the country, a ban that covers search, YouTube and outside publishing partners. (Reuters)

35. Electronic Arts Stops Selling Its Videogames in Russia (WSJ)

36. How shunning Russia could offer the U.S. tech giants an easy win —Apple, Google, Meta and Netflix combined would lose between 1 percent to 2 percent of their multibillion-dollar revenues if they were to remove all of their services from Russia, according to one estimate. (Politico)

37. Wheat prices hit record highs as war halts exports from Ukraine and Russia (Financial Times)

38. As Russian troops slowly advanced on Ukraine's capital Kyiv, some people back in Moscow were attempting to flee to destinations abroadthat have not banned flights from Russia, stomaching soaring prices in the rush to escape. (Reuters)

39. Additional U.S. sanctions target Putin's inner circle as lawmakers call for ban on Russian oil imports. (CBS)

40. An Outpouring of Support for Ukrainian Refugees and Resistance — An ad-hoc network in Europe is helping Ukrainians flee—and fight—the Russian invasion. (New Yorker)

41. Ukraine’s ‘IT Army’ Has Hundreds of Thousands of Hackers, Kyiv Says (WSJ)

42. Russia's parliament passed a law imposing a jail term of up to 15 yearsfor spreading intentionally "fake" information about the armed forces as Moscow fights back in what it casts as an information war. (Reuters)

43. Last Vestiges of Russia’s Free Press Fall Under Kremlin Pressure (NYT)

44. Rain, one of Russia's last independent news outlets, made a stand with its final show on YouTube after the country's regulator blocked it. “No to war,” Natalia Sindeyeva, one of TV Rain’s founders, said as the station’s employees walked out of the studio. The station then began playing Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” ― a reference that many well-versed in Russian history recognized. [HuffPost]

45. Russia’s business ties to the West took 30 years to build and one week to shatter (WP)

46. Ukraine Food, Medicine Shortages Trigger Global Response (WSJ)

47. Pelosi supports halting Russian oil imports to US: ‘Ban it’ (AP)

48. The push to ban Russian oil is gaining steam. Here's what that means for US energy prices (CNN)

49. Russia Tried to Isolate Itself, but Financial Ties Called Its Bluff — Even countries with limited trade relationships are intertwined in capital markets in today’s world. Could the Russia sanctions change that? (NYT)

50. G7 ready to further sanction Russia (NHK)

51. Russians on boycotts, sanctions and cancellations (BBC)

52. Not every war gets the same coverage as Russia's invasion — and that has consequences (NPR)

53. How Ukraine tries to undercut Moscow’s censorship over Russian war victims (Financial Times)

54. "Russia should be thrown back into the Stone Age" (Garry Kasparov, Russian human rights activist and former world chess champion)

55. Strong job growth points to COVID’s fading grip on economy (AP)

56. The Pandemic Is Following a Very Predictable and Depressing Pattern — As with diseases such as malaria and HIV, rich countries are “moving on” from COVID while poor ones continue to get ravaged. (Atlantic)

57. Uttar Pradesh: The right-wing brigade in pursuit of a Hindu state (BBC)

58. The House Jan. 6 committee subpoenaed Kimberly Guilfoyle, the girlfriend of former President Donald Trump’s eldest son who was in the Oval Office at the time Trump held his final conversation pressuring Mike Pence overturn the election for him. The subpoena references her behavior at a rally before the attack. [HuffPost]

59. New evidence shows Trump was told many times there was no voter fraud — but he kept saying it anyway (WP)

60. Court documents reveal Pence team's exasperation with Trump (The Hill)

61. Guy Reffitt, who is defending himself against five felony counts for his part in the U.S. Capitol riot, listened as his soft-spoken teenage son took the stand to testify against him in federal court. Reffitt, an alleged member of the far-right Three Percenters militia group, threatened to shoot his son and daughter if they talked about his part in the riot after he returned from Washington, court documents say. [HuffPost]

62. The Roger Stone tapes — A few hours before the Jan. 6 attack, the video shows, a member of the far-right Oath Keepers group — who has since pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy — was in Roger Stone’s suite. (WP)

63. A white nationalist conference held an eight-mile drive from the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando over the weekend shared attendees and speakers, who were animated by the same grievances. HuffPost reporter Christopher Mathias tried to untangle the two to learn more about the future of the Republican Party. [HuffPost]

64. Donald Trump looks increasingly like a stray orange hair to be flicked off the nation’s sleeve (George F. Will /WP)

65. As planet warms, less ice covering North American lakes (AP)

66. Taiwan’s leaders try to calm fears over Ukraine invasion, but citizens worry their island will be next (WP)

67. Blast at mosque in Pakistan kills dozens (NHK)

68. Tech Companies Are Reopening Offices, but Tech Work Has Changed Forever (WSJ)

69. Actually, it was the cops who hid crucial evidence in the Spiers beating case (48 Hills)

70. The Peace Corps will start sending volunteers overseas again in mid-March after it evacuated them from posts around the world two years ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. (AP)

71. Fearsome New Species of Stegosaur May Be the Oldest Ever Discovered in the World (SciTechDaily)

72. Experts Say Best Depression Treatment Remains Having Coal-Covered Street Urchins Sing About Dancing Troubles Away (The Onion)

Global War

 There are two critical aspects of the Ukraine war that differentiate it from previous conflicts. I’ve already noted one of them — the role of social media.

The Russian state is unable to prevent its younger generations from learning about alternative perspectives on what is happening in Ukraine because they don’t watch TV or listen to Radio Moscow.

And the government cannot locate and shut off all of the social media options, including encrypted channels (WhatsApp, Signal, etc.), nor can it control the informal social connections its citizens have via TikTok, SnapChat, Instagram and others.

Many cross-border relationships revolve around cultural matters, including pets, music, style and food, but news of the war inevitably seeps through the cracks and Russian citizens know how to find it. None of this is about technology, really — it’s all about the personal networks that have been created.

This same factor altered the course of events in previous conflicts, such as the Arab Spring, Israeli oppression in Palestine, and the long-term conflict in Afghanistan, but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has raised the scope and therefore the stakes by several orders of magnitude.

So this aspect of the communications surrounding the war is very important, but less so than the second critical differentiating factor — the comprehensive economic war being waged against Russia by the West. This is indeed the first major conflict when the entire globalized economy is being mobilized and weaponized against one large power — Russia.

Previously, sanctions were applied against lesser rogue actors — Iran, Iraq, North Korea, etc. — with limited success, but what is happening in Russia is unprecedented. The massive Russian economy is being gradually and systematically choked to death.

Every important source of Russian credit and its supply chain is being affected, with the exception, so far, of oil and gas.

That we have never witnessed an effort of this magnitude bodes well for Ukrainians’ ultimate success at repelling Putin’s troops from their land. But the repercussions globally in economic terms have not even started to be calculated.

Nor has the aftermath politically. The geopolitical world order is being altered before our eyes.

TODAY’s NEWS (72):

1. 1 million flee Ukraine as Russian assault hits key cities and fuels exodus (NBC)

2. Russian troops shelled Europe’s largest nuclear power station in Ukraine. (CNBC)

3. Fire out at key Ukraine nuclear plant, no radiation released (AP)

4. Zelenskiy accuses Russia of 'nuclear terrorism' after fire at power plant (Guardian)

5. Zaporizhzhya blast would be 10 times worse than Chernobyl — Ukraine minister (Times of Israel)

6. Zelensky asks Putin for talks as humanitarian crisis grows (BBC)

7. The United Nations said more than 2% of Ukraine's population has been forced out of the country in the week since Russia invaded. Russian forces have kept up their bombardment of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-biggest city, and laid siege to two strategic seaports. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed that the invaders would have “not one quiet moment” and described Russian soldiers as “confused children who have been used.” [AP]

8. In one week of war, Russia’s invasion may have changed history’s direction —The swift avalanche of nonmilitary actions against Russian President Vladimir Putin has convinced many world leaders that global power dynamics have entered a phase of startling and perhaps enduring change. (WP)

9. Russian Forces Advance in Southern Ukraine as Talks End (WSJ)

10. Russia's invasion of Ukraine entered its second week as an apparent tactical failure so far, with its main assault force stalled for days on a highway north of Kyiv and other advances halted at the outskirts of cities it is bombing into wastelands. (Reuters)

11. Russia intensifies onslaught on Ukraine’s cities (BBC)

12. French president fears what’s next after call with Putin (Philadelphia Inquirer)

13. Live updates: Macron says Putin ‘refuses’ to halt attacks (AP)

14. NATO Countries Pour Weapons Into Ukraine, Risking Conflict With Russia (NYT)

15. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he believed some foreign leaders were preparing for war against Russia and that Moscow would press on with its military operation in Ukraine until "the end". Lavrov also said Russia had no thoughts of nuclear war. (Reuters)

16. Ukraine Officials Say Thousands Of Civilians Killed As Russia Intensifies Attacks (NBC)

17. U.S., Russia Establish Hotline to Avoid Accidental Conflict (WSJ)

18. Major blast lights up Kyiv sky as bloody battles rage across Ukraine (WP)

19. Russians besiege crucial Ukrainian energy hub and seacoast (AP)

20. Dramatic Zelenskiy call prompted EU move to provide arms (Reuters)

21. A Russian oil and gas embargo is in the cards. And analysts warn it will have huge consequences (CNBC)

22. US announces new sanctions on Russian oligarchs and their families (Financial Times)

23. Kremlin denies planning to institute martial law in Russia (Guardian)

24. Will Sanctions Force Putin to Back Down in Ukraine? History Suggests It’s Unlikely (WSJ)

25. A ban of Russian aircraft from U.S. airspace has gone into effect (NPR)

26. UK sanctions oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Igor Shuvalov (BBC)

27. Russia Silences What Remained of Independent Local Media (WSJ)

28. 15,000 Are Sheltering in Kyiv’s Subway (NYT)

29. France and Germany detain Russian oligarch superyachts (Financial Times)

30. Volkswagen stops vehicle production in Russia, suspends exports — Other automakers cracking down on Russia include BMW, Ford, General Motors, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz (Fox)

31. Oil prices soared again as the Ukraine war triggered a dash for commodities that could be in short supply, while stock markets slipped as investors worried about higher inflation and slowing economic growth. We explain why $100 oil could hurt the energy transition more than it helps. (Reuters)

32. A War the Kremlin Tried to Disguise Becomes a Hard Reality for Russians (NYT)

33. Ukrainian gov’t calls for game companies to cut off Russia during invasion (Ars Technica)

34. Central bank sanctions strike at the foundations of Russia’s economy (Financial Times)

35. How You Can Help Ukraine (NYT)

36. The bells of major churches across Europe chimed in unison to express solidarity with the people of Ukraine, mourn those killed, and pray for peace. (Reuters)

37. Russians are bracing for a dramatic shift in their standard of living (CNN)

38. Business software giant Oracle said it has suspended all operations in Russia, while rival SAP announced it would pause all sales in the country. (Reuters)

39. Putin’s War to Bring Ukraine to Heel Unites Eastern Europe in Alarm (NYT)

40. Breakdown of US-Russia diplomacy runs deep, beyond Ukraine (AP)

41. Democrats worry Russia could use cryptocurrencies to ease the impact of economic sanctions imposed to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine, which could lead Congress to act to rein in cryptocurrencies. “It is past time for all of us to lead on creating a regulatory environment in which we, rather than the world’s despots, terrorists and money launderers benefit from the emergence of cryptocurrency,” Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said. [HuffPost]

42. How Putin tried — and failed — to protect the ruble from sanctions (WP)

43. Russians struggle to understand Ukraine war: 'We didn't choose this' (CNN)

44. Societe Generale can see an "extreme scenario" where Russia strips the bank of its local operations, it said, in one of the starkest warnings yet from a Western company about the potential fallout from the war in Ukraine. Regulators are preparing for a possible closure of the European arm of Russia's second-largest bank, VTB Bank, according to two sources familiar with the matter. (Reuters)

45. Russia’s war spurs corporate exodus, exposes business risks (AP)

46. Through a mountain pass, Poles frantically rebuild a rail link to Ukraine to help refugees (WP)

47. Neutral Finland, Sweden warm to idea of NATO membership (AP)

48. Russian state-run media posts, then deletes article on victory over Ukraine (NHK)

49. Russia crisis forces Pentagon to rework defense strategy on the fly (Politico)

50. A bipartisan group of California lawmakers said this week that they planned to file legislation to get rid of the state’s Russian investments. The state has more than $1 billion in Russian investments, mostly in its pension fund.(AP)

51. CapRadio in Sacramento assembled a list of California organizations supporting Ukraine, as did The Los Angeles Times. NBC Los Angeles also wrote about a group in Agoura Hills helping disabled people escape the war-torn country. (Cal Today)

52. Canada strips Russia, Belarus of trade status in latest sanctions salvo (Politico)

53. States led by California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee and Vermont have launched an investigation into TikTok and its possible harmful effects on young users' mental health. Government officials and child-safety advocates maintain that TikTok’s computer algorithms pushing video content to users can promote eating disorders and even self-harm and suicide to young viewers. [AP]

54. The Rise and Fall of the Riskiest Asteroid in a Decade – “I’ve Never Seen Such a Risky Object” (SciTechDaily)

55. Key Takeaways From Chesa Boudin's New York Times Interview (SFist)

56. With the remaking of the San Francisco school board, the fight is heating up again over selective admissions at the city’s elite public high school. (SFC)

57. Google will require Bay Area office workers to return in April after repeated delays (SFC)

58. How the Coronavirus Steals the Sense of Smell (NYT)

59. A highly changed coronavirus variant was found in deer after nearly a year in hiding, researchers suggest (CNN)

60. U.S. to share some coronavirus technologies with World Health Organization (WP)

61. UN report paints dire picture of the Gulf of Mexico’s future (AP)

62. Trudeau Faces Fallout After Trucker Protest (WSJ)

63. Distribution of white supremacist propaganda is increasingly coordinated, ADL says (NPR)

64. Trump's $15 billion wall was breached thousands of times in the areas where it was completed, with smugglers using cheap power tools available in retail stores, according to The Washington Post. One report last year found some smugglers were building effective ladders with about $5 worth of material. In another famous case, a stiff wind knocked over a wall segment. [HuffPost]

65. Jan. 6 Committee Lays Out Potential Criminal Charges Against Trump (NYT)

66. The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol said in a 221-page court filing that evidence shows former President Donald Trump and his associates engaged in a "criminal conspiracy" to prevent Congress from certifying the election results. It's the committee's most formal effort to link Trump to a federal crime, although lawmakers do not have the power to bring charges on their own and can only make a referral to the Justice Department. [AP]

67. The single most damning email exchange in the new January 6 committee filing (CNN)

68. Opening statements were delivered in the criminal trial of a Texas man charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, making him the first participant to stand trial. Guy Reffitt has pleaded not guilty to five felony counts, including illegally bringing a firearm to Capitol Hill last year. [HuffPost]

69. Now Is as Good a Time as There’ll Ever Be to Leave Your Pandemic Bubble (Atlantic)

70. UC Berkeley prepares to slash enrollment after California Supreme Court ruling (Politico)

71. Your Co-Workers Started Dating While Working From Home. Now What? (WSJ)

72. Band Remembers Back When They Used To Play Shows For 10 People Instead Of 4 People (The Onion)

Putin/Ukraine, Trump/Mexico

 It’s worth remembering, if you are an American, that Vladimir Putin is Donald Trump’s main role model as a leader and that Trump has spoken out in support of Putin’s outrageous invasion of Ukraine.

Had Trump succeeded in stealing the 2020 election, we might now be facing an equally absurd war in the form of a U.S. invasion of Mexico. (Canada may have been another convenient target for Trump, who also, you may recall, wanted to annex Greenland.)

If you think this is crazy talk, it’s in no way crazier than what Putin is doing in Ukraine. He is lying to the Russian people, demonizing the Ukraines as Neo-Nazis as he attempts to seize their territory and their resources.

Trump, you remember, demonized Mexicans as rapists, drug dealers and terrorists. It is not all that far-fetched to imagine Trump copying his hero’s actions and trying to expand the American empire, so every American should think long and carefully about that.

And also every patriotic citizen needs to recognize that Trump still remains the leading Republican candidate for 2024, so we still could relive the nightmare of his ascendancy once more. I’m deeply uncertain American democracy could survive a second Trump administration.

And that is because democracy is merely an idea, a fragile idea that is only as strong as our unwavering commitment to make it work. And in the mind of way too many Americans, that commitment is currently far from unwavering.

Meanwhile, Trump’s role model Putin has backed himself into a corner in Ukraine. Rather than achieving a quick victory he faces a world united against him and the resolve of a people who know what authoritarianism feels like and want no further part of it. The Ukrainians are much better role models for democracy than the current crop of Americans, who have become IMHO far too entitled and lazy about their obligations to defend freedom here and abroad. 

So Putin is cornered in Ukraine. Cornered animals are dangerous. The entire world hangs on the outcome. How can he back down and save face?

This much is clear. He can’t win this war. Ukraine will prevail in the end. The whole world will breath a giant sigh of relief when that happens, but for now, we wait, we watch and we are grateful that it isn’t our own authoritarian monster — Trump — threatening to end the world.

But that is small comfort. Because it only takes one.

THE NEWS (77):

1. ‘Constant shelling’ as Russian forces lay siege to key Ukrainian cities (Guardian)

2. The civilian death toll has reached 2,000, Ukrainian officials say (WSJ)

3. Ukraine reels from brutal Russian onslaught (CNN)

4. Ukrainians said they were fighting on in the southern city of Kherson, the first sizeable city Russia claimed to have seized, while Moscow stepped up its lethal bombardment of major population centers that its invasion force has so far failed to tame. (Reuters)

5. Casualties mount in Ukraine as Russia advances and adopts siege tactics (WP)

6. Spurning Rebukes, Russia Escalates Attack on Ukraine as Refugee Ranks Swell (NYT)

7. Crowd blocks Russians from nuclear power plant (CNN)

8. U.S. Launches Task Force Targeting Assets of Russian Oligarchs (WSJ)

9. Ukraine, Russia to hold talks on Thursday (AP)

10. Russian police jail kids who took flowers and 'No to War' signs to Ukraine's embassy (NPR)

11. Missiles rain on Ukrainian cities as Russia steps up bombardment campaign (Financial Times)

12. UN watchdog warns Russia bombardment endangers Ukraine’s nuclear security, calls for restraint (CNBC)

13. As Russian Invasion Widens, the West’s Options Shrink (WSJ)

14. Assassination plot against Zelensky foiled and unit sent to kill him ‘destroyed,’ Ukraine says (WP)

15. Most of the world lines up against Moscow, attacks intensify (AP)

16. How Might the War in Ukraine End? Five Factors Will Shape the Outcome (WSJ)

17. With Moscow having failed in its aim to swiftly overthrow Ukraine's government after nearly a week, Western countries are worried that it is switching to new, far more violent tactics to blast its way into cities it had expected to easily take. Here's what you need to know right now about the conflict. (Reuters)

18. Ukrainian city of Mariupol 'near to humanitarian catastrophe' after bombardment (BBC)

19. A Surge of Unifying Moral Outrage Over Russia’s War (NYT)

20. Russia unleashes greater firepower as convoy approaching Ukrainian capital appears stalled (WP)

21. How everyday Russians are feeling the impact from sanctions (NPR)

22. Ukraine’s Kharkiv Front Line Holds Despite Russian Bombardment (WSJ)

23. Biden says Putin ‘badly miscalculated’ in invading Ukraine. (NYT)

24. US, allies weaponizing sanctions to curb Russian aggression (AP)

25. What are vacuum bombs? Concerns grow about Russia's thermobaric weapons (NBC)

26. The United Nations General Assembly is set to reprimand Russia and demand that Moscow stop fighting and withdraw its military forces, a move that aims to diplomatically isolate the country. (Reuters)

27. Russian Troop Deaths Expose a Potential Weakness of Putin’s Strategy (NYT)

28. The U.N. approves a resolution demanding Russia end the invasion of Ukraine (NPR)

29. Russians protest in St. Petersburg against invasion in Ukraine (Reuters)

30. Ukraine War Sets Off Europe’s Fastest Migration in Decades (NYT)

31. Some Russian troops are surrendering or sabotaging vehicles rather than fighting, a Pentagon official says. (NYT)

32. Before Russia's invasion, U.S. intelligence had predicted a blistering assault by Moscow that would quickly mobilize the vast Russian air power that its military assembled in order to dominate Ukraine's skies. But the first six days confounded those expectations. (Reuters)

33. Oil prices surge as fears about Russian crude supplies intensify (NPR)

34. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the Russian attack on the central square in Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city, "frank, undisguised terror" and a war crime. [AP]

35. Ukrainians Are Shaking America Out of Its Cynicism (Atlantic)

36. China will not join sanctions on Russia, banking regulator says (Reuters)

37. Biden announces the US is closing American airspace to Russian aircraft, saying Putin 'has no idea what's coming' (Business Insider)

38. Biden seeks unity beyond war in Ukraine (WP)

39. With men fighting in Ukraine, women and children flee alone (AP)

40. Ukrainians working at Western tech companies are banding together to help their besieged homeland, aiming to knock down disinformation websites, encourage Russians to turn against their government and speed delivery of medical supplies. (Reuters)

41. Russia’s oligarchs powerless to oppose Putin over Ukraine invasion (Financial Times)

42. The West's $1 trillion bid to collapse Russia's economy (CNN)

43. Why the Cultural Boycott of Russia Matters (Atlantic)

44. Ukraine: Watching the war on Russian TV - a whole different story (BBC)

45. More than 100 U.S. and European diplomats stood and marched out of the room when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov began speaking at a U.N. Human Rights Council meeting in the middle of his country’s attacks on Ukraine. Lavrov spoke via prerecorded video and blamed Ukraine for the war. [HuffPost]

46. Russia’s Looming Economic Collapse (Atlantic)

47. The sunflower, Ukraine’s national flower, is becoming a global symbol of solidarity (WP)

48. Boeing suspended maintenance and technical support for Russian airlines and U.S. energy firm Exxon Mobil said it would exit Russia, joining a growing list of Western companies spurning Moscow. (Reuters)

49. Ukraine is a war of the modern-day Web (WP)

50. U.S. tech giant Apple said it had stopped sales of iPhones and other products in Russia, while Ford joined other automakers by suspending operations in the country. (Reuters)

51. Cultural backlash intensifies against Russia over invasion (AP)

52. Alexei Navalny calls on Russians worldwide to ‘fight against the war,’ slams Putin (WP)

53. Germany unites behind chancellor’s historic U-turn on arming Ukraine (Guardian)

54. Russian economy taking 'serious blows,' Kremlin says (The Hill)

55. The rouble plunged to a record low in Moscow of 110 to the dollar and the stock market remained closed as Russia's financial system staggered under the weight of Western sanctions. (Reuters)

56. Airbus, ExxonMobil and Boeing take action over Russia ties (BBC)

57. U.S. prepares to expand financial attack on Russian oligarchs, aiming to seize billions held by Putin allies (WP)

58. Ukraine war upends Biden’s agenda on energy, climate change (AP)

59. Foreign investors are effectively stuck with their holdings of Russian stocks and rouble-denominated bonds after the central bank put a temporary halt on payments and major overseas settlement systems stopped accepting Russian assets. (Reuters)

60. Japanese readers of Ukrainian folk tale 'The Magic Glove' pray for peace (NHK)

61. Economic dangers from Russia’s invasion ripple across globe (AP)

62. China, Eying Taiwan, Gets Lesson From Ukraine’s Stiff Resistance (WSJ)

63. Ukrainian authorities release videos of Russian captives on social media (NHK)

64. MLB cancels regular season games as labor talks implode (WP)

65. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) wouldn’t say whether party members who participated in a white nationalist event over the weekend would face any repercussions. McCarthy called the America First Political Action Conference "appalling" but wouldn't say any more. [HuffPost]

66. U.S. Moving to Confront China on Trade, Industrial Policy (WSJ)

67. New Zealand protesters set fires as police break up camp (AP)

68. Jan. 6 probe points lawmakers more and more toward GOP colleagues (Politico)

69. After a dry winter, forecasters don’t think the state’s melting snowpack is enough to fill up our reservoirs this year. (CNN)

70. UN: Climate change to uproot millions, especially in Asia (AP)

71. San Francisco beat a 170-year-old record for the driest first two months of the year with the lack of rain. That dry spell could come to an end this week if an atmospheric river hitting the West Coast swoops south. (SFC)

72. UN: Africa, already suffering from warming, will see worse (AP)

73. Tens of thousands of Australians fled from their homes and authorities evacuated a hospital as more torrential rains battered the east coast. Thirteen people have been killed, the latest four deaths recorded in the worst-hit town of Lismore in New South Wales state, since the extreme weather arrived late last week, submerging town centers, washing away homes and cutting power lines. (Reuters)

74. Amazon will close 68 brick-and-mortar retail stores across the U.S. and U.K. (TechCrunch)

75. Russia crisis could sink the International Space Station (Politico)

76. Space junk on 5,800-mph collision course with moon (AP)

77. Squirrel Can’t Wait To Ruin Man’s Day By Running In Front Of Car And Getting Killed (The Onion)

On the Brink

 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):

1. Russia Targets Civilian Areas in Ukraine, Threatens Kyiv After Missile Strike on Kharkiv (WSJ)

2. Russian Rocket Barrage Kills Civilians as First Talks Show No Progress (NYT)

3. Ukraine's Zelenskiy tells EU: 'Prove that you are with us" (Reuters)

4. Kyiv TV tower hit, Ukraine’s parliament says (AP)

5. Russia Warns of Attack on Kyiv Facilities — Kremlin urges nearby residents to leave, signaling a massive strike on civilian areas may be imminent (WSJ)

6. Russia bombs Kharkiv's Freedom Square and opera house (BBC)

7. ‘Undisguised terror’: Russia’s Kharkiv strike chills Ukraine (AP)

8. Talks fail to yield breakthrough; Western nations increase financial pressure on Russia (WP)

9. Two Russian oligarchs call for an end to Putin's war (CNN)

10. Invasion Brings Russia Global Repudiation With Cold War Echoes (NYT)

11. Russian people may not be able to withstand "economic siege," experts say (CBS)

12. The West’s Plan to Isolate Putin: Undermine the Ruble (NYT)

13. Reading Putin: Unbalanced or cagily preying on West’s fears? (AP)

14. Visa and Mastercard block Russian banks from their networks after sanctions (CNBC)

15. 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)

16. From banking to sports to vodka, Russia’s isolation grows (AP)

17. As Sanctions Batter Economy, Russians Face the Anxieties of a Costly War (NYT)

18. Russia isolation intensifies: Disney, Sony pictures halt film releases in Russia — (FRANCE 24)

19. Sanctions Bite Russian Economy but Pose Unpredictable Risks (WSJ)

20. Cyberwar predictions are still unrealized in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (WP)

21. Why Ukrainians Believe They Can Win (NYT)

22. Long Lines at ATMs After Ruble Collapses (WSJ)

23. Vladimir Putin is facing stiffer opposition than expected -- both inside and outside Ukraine (CNN)

24. 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)

25. Putin’s nuclear threats remind us arms control is unfinished business (Edit Bd/WP)

26. US states adding to financial pressure on Russia over war (AP)

27. 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)

28. Russia slow to win Ukraine’s airspace, limiting war gains (AP)

29. Russia tries to stop Western companies fleeing the country (CNN)

30. 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)

31. War in Ukraine Disrupts Ships Around the Globe (WSJ)

32. How the Russia-Ukraine conflict has fundamentally changed Biden’s presidency (Politico)

33. Tears of relief on Polish border as flow of refugees inches to safety (Financial Times)

34. What Des Putin’s Nuclear Sabre Rattling Mean? (New Yorker)

35. The Long Weekend That Changed History — Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine means that the post–Cold War era may have just ended. (Atlantic)

36. Threats Emerge in Germany as Far Right and Pandemic Protesters Merge (NYT)

37. San Francisco’s D.A. Says Angry Elites Want Him Out of Office (NYT Mag)

38. California, Oregon, Washington to drop school mask mandates (AP)

39. 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)

40. San Francisco public schools won’t drop masks despite city’s health officials and California lifting mandate (SFC)

41. Infant formula promoted in 'aggressive' and 'misleading' ways, says new global report (NPR)

42. Why Democracy’s in Such Trouble: A Crisis in Public Trust of Government (Politico)

43. A Journey to the Center of Our Cells — Biologists are discovering the true nature of cells—and learning to build their own. (New Yorker)

44. 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]

45. 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)

46. The One Item They Had to Take When These 6 Afghans Fled (NYT)

47. 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)

48. Climate change brings extreme, early impact to South America (AP)

49. Time Is Running Out to Avert a Harrowing Future, Climate Panel Warns (NYT)

50. Satellite images show just how quickly Sierra’s snowpack is retreating, (San Francisco Chronicle)

51. Wildfires may slow recovery of ozone layer - study (BBC)

52. A mystery in Jupiter's atmosphere sheds light on solar system's past (Space.com)

53. Wildfires send giant cloud of ash across southern Paraguay (Guardian)

54. Scientists propose Tyrannosaurus had three species, not just 'rex' (Reuters)

55. Cargo Ship Carrying Thousands of Luxury Cars Sinks in the Atlantic (WSJ)

56. 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...