A Dangerous Midget

Whenever you hear someone conjuring Russia as a major global threat, it’s worth considering how small it actually is, both in terms of population and its economy. By population, it is only the ninth largest country, with about 146 million people, far less than the U.S. (335 million), as well as Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Bangladesh, not to mention the two truly enormous countries — India has 1.4 billion or China has 1.45 billion.

Russia’s population is as large as Germany and France combined, however, and over three times as large as Ukraine’s, with 44 million, but it’s still a relative pipsqueak when you consider that most of the rest of the world is allied against it.

What Putin does have in his favor is the relative neutrality of the two giant powers — India and China, neither of which really wants to get involved in this war. Plus his arsenal of nuclear. chemical and biological weapons, which he seems all too happy to threaten using.

And when you measure the size of world’s national militaries Russia does show up in the top five with 1 million in uniform — at fifth place behind China (2.2 million soldiers), India (1.5 million), the U.S. (1.4 million), and North Korea (1.3 million). Putin also has just drafted another 150,000 to support his war effort.

His soldiers’ will to fight, however, is another issue.

But besides the raw numbers of people and soldiers, a salient way to measure any country is by the size of its national economy. The U.S. GDP in 2020 stood at almost $21 trillion, which is fourteen times as large as Russia’s at $1.5 trillion. Nine other countries — China, Japan, Germany, France, South Korea, India, the U.K. Italy and Canada have bigger economies than Russia’s.

Once again, when you consider that this conflict pits Putin against the world economically, you can see how out-resourced he is. That is precisely why the economic sanctions are having such a significant impact on the conflict.

My reason for listing all of these metrics is to try and provide a mathematical context for evaluating Western media coverage of Russia’s actual power. As an empire, it is a relatively minor player, with lots of geography and a heavily militarized population, but nowhere near the economic clout to prevail.

And that, in the end, is essentially why it will not.

Today’s Headlines (60):

1. Ukraine strike on Russian territory reported as talks resume (AP)

2. Video shows helicopters attacking fuel depot inside Russia (CNN)

3. Russian firefighters tackle blaze after fuel depot strike (Financial Times)

4. Russian Strategy in Ukraine Shifts After Setbacks, and a Lengthy War Looms (WSJ)

5. Around 2,000 Mariupol evacuees are on the move as Russia targets Ukrainian city (Fox)

6. Aid convoy attempts to reach besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol (BBC)

7. International Red Cross team was unable to reach Mariupol (CNN)

8. U.S. providing Ukraine with equipment to protect against chemical attacks (Politico)

9. Russia’s War Lacks a Battlefield Commander, U.S. Officials Say (NYT)

10. Russia’s Ukraine war builds on tactics it used in Syria, experts say (WP)

11. Russian troops have withdrawn from Chernobyl, says Ukrainian nuclear operator (CNN)

12. UN nuclear watchdog to head mission to Chernobyl as Russians withdraw from site (Guardian)

13. 'Russian mutants lost this round,' Ukraine says after troops leave Chernobyl (NPR)

14. As Russia drafts young men, some fear ending up on Ukraine’s front line (WP)

15. Could Ukraine 'win' the war? (BBC)

16. Russian gas was still flowing to Europe despite a deadline set by President Vladimir Putin to cut it off unless customers start paying in roubles, Moscow's strongest threat to retaliate for sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine. (Reuters)

17. More Mixed Signals From Russia as Ukraine War Enters Sixth Week (NYT)

18. EU and Chinese leaders met for their first summit in two years with Brussels pressing Beijing for assurances that it will neither supply Russia with arms nor help Moscow circumvent Western sanctions. (Reuters)

19. Russia's ally China tells EU it will pursue Ukraine peace in its own way (Reuters)

20. Last multinational empire, Russia fights to keep its colonies (Fareed Zakaria/WP)

21. VIDEO: U.K. Spy Chief Says Russian Soldiers Have Disobeyed Orders (AP)

22. Zelenskyy calls 2 Ukrainian generals traitorous and strips them of their rank (NPR)

23. 'The last straw': Former oligarch on renouncing Russian citizenship (CNN)

24. Kremlin 'concerned' about U.S. 'complete misunderstanding' of Putin (Reuters)

25. Australia sending armored vehicles to Ukraine (AP)

26. A Nation of Spy-Catchers: Fear of Saboteurs Has Ukrainians on Edge (NYT)

27. Biden to Draw Down Oil Reserves in Bid to Ease Gas Prices (WSJ)

28. Russia war sanctions mean a struggle for Cuban car owners (AP)

29. Russia threatens to fine Wikipedia if it doesn't remove some details about the war (NPR)

30. UN: More than 4.1 million have fled Ukraine, children victimized (NHK)

31. International donors face tough choices as Taliban reneges on promises (WP)

32. I Went To A Secret Underground School For Girls In Afghanistan. It's Happening Again. (HuffPost)

33. Jan. 6 committee member says Jared Kushner interview was 'valuable' (Yahoo)

34. Trump placed at least one call using a White House phone that was omitted from the day's call log during the attack on the U.S. Capitol, The Guardian reported. Phone logs turned over to the House panel investigating the attack show a gap of seven hours and 37 minutes, and new details raise questions about the possibility of the White House tampering with official records. [HuffPost]

35. Pope makes historic apology to Indigenous for Canada abuses (AP)

36. LGBTQ groups sue Florida over the so-called 'Don't Say Gay' law (NPR)

37. Jen Psaki leaving the White House for MSNBC this spring (NPR)

38. Economy added 431,000 jobs in March despite worries over slowing growth (CNBC)

39. Ready for rich world inflation at 11.9 percent? (Politico)

40. Euro zone inflation surged to 7.5% in March, hitting another record high with months still left before it is set to peak, making grim reading for the European Central Bank, which needs to reconcile sky-high prices with vanishing economic growth. (Reuters)

41. Washington, D.C., police found five fetuses at the home of Lauren Hardy, who sat outside as officers brought out coolers. She declined to tell a reporter outside her home what was inside the coolers but said, "People will freak out when they hear." Handy was indicted along with eight others on Wednesday for her alleged role in blocking a D.C. reproductive health care clinic in 2020. [HuffPost]

42. Apple wields its lobbying might against LGBTQ laws (Politico)

43. What if College Were Free? This State Is Trying to Find Out. (NYT)

44. Black youth are feeling the onslaught of distorted teaching that diminishes their history and lived experiences, along with anti-LGBTQ and anti-mask measures. As conservative lawmakers across the country continue to pass bills aimed at stifling teaching and learning, Black students are feeling like collateral damage in a political firestorm.[HuffPost]

45. GameStop wants to make shares more affordable for meme stock lovers (CNN)

46. 1950 census release is a 'genealogy goldmine,' can fill gaps in family trees (Detroit FP)

47. Seven Decades Later, the 1950 Census Bares Its Secrets (NYT)

48. From Russia with money: Silicon Valley distances itself from oligarchs (WP)

49. Scientists finish decoding entire human genome (AP)

50. Human blueprint breakthrough: Scientists publish ‘gapless’ human genome (WP)

51. A naturalist traces the astounding flyways of migratory birds (NPR)

52. First audio recorded on Mars reveals two speeds of sound (PhysOrg)

53. For the first time in California’s 171-year history, a woman has signed a bill into state law. (AP)

54. California voters will get a chance in November to vote on legalizing sports wagering, which could unleash a huge new industry in the state. (Politico)

55. San Francisco predicts that 1 in 3 employees will continue teleworking. Here’s why the city could see revenue drop by more than $64 million next year as a result. (SFC)

56. Amazon workers in NYC vote to unionize, a first for company (AP)

57. ‘A cry for help’: CDC warns of a steep decline in teen mental health (WP)

58. Sleeping with even a little bit of light isn't good for your health, study shows (NPR)

59. Lying Is Its Own Form of Storytelling (Atlantic)

60. NFL Satisfies Outraged Fans With New Overtime Rule That Both Teams Win (The Onion)

TODAY’s LYRICS:

“Go Your Own Way”

Sung by Fleetwood Mac

Written by Lindsey Buckingham

Loving you
Isn't the right thing to do
How can I ever change things
That I feel

If I could
Maybe I'd give you my world
How can I
When you won't take it from me

You can go your own way
Go your own way
You can call it
Another lonely day
You can go your own way
Go your own way

Tell me why
Everything turned around
Packing up
Shacking up is all you want to do

If I could
Baby, I'd give you my world
Open up
Everything's waiting for you

You can go your own way
Go your own way
You can call it
Another lonely day
You can go your own way
Go your own way

You can go your own way
Go your own way
You can call it
Another lonely day
Another lonely day
You can go your own way
Go your own way
You can call it
Another lonely day

You can go your own way
You can call it
Another lonely day

You can go your own way 

LOST IN THE FIFTIES

 Finally, after 72 years, the official 1950 U.S. Census individual data is being released today (Friday), a fact of little interest to anyone other than genealogists and historians — and me.

The reason such data is kept private for that long is that 72 years was the average life expectancy when the law sequestering census data was passed.

Marc Perry, a senior demographer for the U.S. Census Bureau, calls the old data set a "genealogy gold mine." In 1950, U.S. society was on the brink of transformation. 

New technologies like TV and computers had not yet reached most people, the interstate highway system and air travel were yet to make mass travel accessible, and suburbs were just starting to spring to life.

Everything we think about the 1950s was about to happen.

So the census data is like a black-and-white photograph of a post-war society on the verge of seismic changes, including the sex, drugs and rock n roll revolution of my generation, the baby boomers.

The oldest among us were four in 1950; today those who have survived are 76. As useful as the census data may be to demographers, it can’t really tell our stories.

Only we can do that. There were about 76 million of us born between 1946-1964 and quite a few of us are still left.

That amounts to a lot of stories waiting to be told. Have you started on yours?

To get you in the spirit, here is an excerpt from an essay I wrote on memoir-writing on July 12, 2006:

The first step is to gather together as many old letters, journals, photos, and other resources as you can easily locate.

Then, focus on emotionally loaded moments from your past. Just try to write one scene that captures what it was like to live through one of those moments.

The next day, jump to another emotionally compelling incident and try to write about that. Do this every day for a week.

The moments do not need to connect together, at this point. They can be random scenes from your life.

After a week, this exercise should trigger other memories. These may involve more complexities than the first set of memories. You may also start dreaming about memories, or find they come to you when you're doing something else.

Pay close attention to these randomly accessed memories, these discoveries of what your brain has been storing away for years or decades.

Many memoir writers who follow this method end up discarding their initial wave of memories -- the stories they had thought they wanted to tell, in favor of the more complex, and often less resolved material that floods into the vacuum once they've swept the initial layer of memory away.

_______

Today’s Story List (44):

1. UK spy chief says Putin ‘massively misjudged’ war (CNBC)

2. Ukraine Strikes Inside Russian Territory, Russians Say (WSJ)

3. Zelensky says Russian invasion of Ukraine is at a "turning point" (Axios)

4. Ukrainian forces are preparing for new Russian attacks in the southeast region where Moscow's guns are now trained after its assault on the capital Kyiv was repelled, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. (Reuters)

5. Expect 'even more suffering' in Ukraine, NATO chief warns; intense battles near Kyiv despite Russian pledge (USA Today)

6. U.S. leery of Russian troops’ shift from Kyiv (WP)

7. Russia Steps Up Attacks Amid Reports of Rifts in Moscow (NYT)

8. Heavy fighting rages near Kyiv as Russia appears to regroup (AP)

9. Less than 20% of Russian troops around Kyiv are 'repositioning': Pentagon on Day 35 (ABC)

10. Five weeks into an invasion that has blasted cities into wastelands and created more than 4 million refugees, U.S. and European officials said Russian president Vladimir Putin was misled by his generals about the dire performance of Russia's military. Britain's GCHQ spy chief said Russian soldiers refused to carry out orders. (Reuters)

11. Russian troops deployed to invade Ukraine are undermining their own offensive by rejecting orders and destroying their equipment, including aircraft, according to Jeremy Fleming, the head of British intelligence agency GCHQ. Meanwhile, U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin is being misinformed by his advisers about his forces' poor performance in Ukraine. [HuffPost]

12. Putin’s advisers may be afraid to deliver bad news to him, according to U.S. intelligence (WP)

13. Biden is considering a plan to release up to a million barrels of oil a day from the nation's strategic reserve to help fight dramatic surges in gas prices, according to multiple reports. Gas prices have remained high for the last month amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has disrupted oil and gas deliveries around the world.[HuffPost]

14. US orders biggest ever release from Strategic Petroleum Reserve (Financial Times)

15. Zelenskyy Says Russia Massing Troops In Donbas For New Attacks (NBC)

16. US works to gauge peace prospects as it warns Putin ‘misinformed’ by advisers (CNN)

17. As Russia sees tech brain drain, other nations hope to gain (AP)

18. Germany condemns Putin gas supply 'blackmail' (BBC)

19. How the West Got Russia’s Military So, So Wrong — Good equipment and clever doctrine reveal little about how an army will perform in a war. (Atlantic)

20. Inflation in Germany and Spain reaches record levels, driven by Russia’s war. (NYT)

21. Ukraine says most Russian forces have left Chernobyl nuclear plant (Reuters)

22. Ukrainians in US mobilize to help 100,000 expected refugees (AP)

23. ‘Like Living in a Horror Movie’: A Ukraine Town Dying a Slow Death (NYT)

24. Red Cross prepares for Mariupol evacuations (AP)

25. Evacuation buses en route to Mariupol held at Russian checkpoint (CNN)

26. Ukrainians navigate a perilous route to safety out of besieged Mariupol (NPR)

27. Treasury hits Russia with new sanctions targeting evasion networks, tech (Politico)

28. Putin signed a decree ordering 134,500 new conscripts into the army as part of Russia's annual spring draft, but the defense ministry said the call-up had nothing to do with the war in Ukraine. (Reuters)

29. World is seeing the greatest number of conflicts since the end of WWII, U.N. says (NPR)

30. 'The president will get his way': Congress likely can't stop new Iran nuke deal (Politico)

31. A key inflation gauge sets 40-year high as gas and food soar (AP)

32. Kevin McCarthy is to blame for Madison Cawthorn. He deserves the consequences (Independent)

33. China’s Xi strongly backs Afghanistan at regional conference (AP)

34. Taliban Want to Control Aid Funds, a Red Line for Donors — The Taliban are asserting control over nongovernmental organizations working in Afghanistan, demanding a greater say over who receives aid and the staff NGOs hire, jeopardizing lifesaving deliveries to the Afghan population. (WSJ)

35. China, neighbors vow continued humanitarian aid for Afghanistan (NHK)

36. China’s zero-Covid policy tests small businesses in a make-or-break it year (CNBC)

37. Study finds ivermectin, the horse drug Joe Rogan championed as a COVID treatment, does nothing to cure the virus (Fortune)

38. Biden got his second COVID booster shot, announced a new coronavirus vaccine and treatment website, and urged Congress to continue providing funding to help with the pandemic — all as polling shows the country is losing interest in the 2-year-old public health crisis. “Americans are back to living their lives again. We can’t surrender that now,” Biden said. [HuffPost]

39. C.D.C. to Lift Order Restricting Immigration During the Pandemic (NYT)

40. 'Cannibal' coronal mass ejection will hit Earth at nearly 2 million mph, scientists say (LiveScience)

41. Ghazipur fire: Gasping for air as massive Delhi landfill burns (BBC)

42. Volunteers are working to protect newts that are crossing the Petaluma hills streets by the thousands.(Guardian)

43. 1950 Census data to be unveiled Friday after 72 years under wraps (WP)

44. Study Finds Gap Widening Between Rich Pets And Poor Americans (The Onion)

(Timeless) Lyrics:

“Lost in the Fifties Tonight”

Sung by Ronnie Milsap

Written by Reid Michael Barry / Seals Troy Harold / Parris Fredericke L

Close your eyes, Baby
Follow my heart
Call on the memories
Here in the dark
We'll let the magic
Take us away
Back to the feelings
We shared when they played

In the still of the night
Hold me darlin', hold me tight

So real, so right
I'm lost in the fifties tonight

These precious hours
We know can't survive
But loves all that matters
While the past is alive
Now and for always
Till time disappears
We'll hold each other
Whenever we hear

In the still of the night
Hold me darlin', hold me tight

So real, so right
Lost in the fifties tonight
(One more time it here)

So right

So real, so right

So real, so right
I'm lost in the fifties tonight

Will Russia Lose?

What was originally unimaginable has become distinctly possible: Ukraine may win the war with Russia. “Winning” is a relative term, of course, with thousands of casualties and devastated cities, displaced populations and an utterly traumatized society, so maybe a better way of describing the outcome of this war is that Putin may lose it.

Russia failing in an imperial conquest is not that outlandish a concept. Historically, we have only to remember what happened when the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan in 1979, only a few years after I finished my time there as an English teacher.

The Soviets stayed in Afghanistan a decade and the hostilities lasted until 1992. The Russians had a vastly superior military force of 100,000 personnel and were widely expected to prevail. They bombed the cities and population centers, driving 4.3 million Afghans into exile, but could never subdue the resistance, which fought a guerrilla war aided by shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles sent by the U.S.

A fundamentalist mujahideen movement based on a 19th century rebellion in colonial India arose during this conflict, eventually including the Taliban and al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden.

Meanwhile, the Soviet Union collapsed, al-Qaeda emerged as a terrorist organization, and in 2001 the U.S. replaced Russia as the dominant foreign occupier in Afghanistan due to al-Qaeda’s attacks on 9-11. The U.S. forces stayed 20 years and finally departed only last August, leaving the Taliban in control of the country, and millions of educated, urbanized Afghans without a functional society, as my 27 (to date) published “Afghan conversations” have documented.

Bottom line: There is a historically strong precedent for a Russian defeat. Its army was never as fearsome as it appeared to be and the resolve of the Ukrainians parallels that of the Afghans — both will fight to the death before allowing any foreign power to control their destiny.

They simply refuse to be defeated.

The Biden administration’s reluctance to do much more to aid Ukraine now the tide is turning may be informed by this history as well. Nobody wants a new monster like al-Qaeda to emerge when the Ukrainians prevail, turning its focus against new enemies, i.e., the West.

Victory for Ukraine over Putin will be a good thing, without qualification and without any doubt. But the aftermath matters too. Nobody wants another Afghanistan.

Today’s Stories (64):

1. Ukraine appears to have begun shelling Russian territory (Fox)

2. In Kyiv Suburb, Ukrainian Military Claims a Big Prize (NYT)

3. More than a month since Russia's invasion, the defence of Ukraine's capital Kyiv has played out in heavy clashes in places like Lukyanivka and the nearby town of Brovary to the east, Irpin and Bucha to the northwest and Makariv to the west. When the histories are written such towns and villages may be minor details, but they are where the Russian advance has been halted. (Reuters)

4. U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin is being misinformed by advisers about his military’s poor performance in Ukraine, according to the White House. (AP)

5. Russia's Military Says It Will Reduce Military Operations In Kyiv, Chernihiv (NBC)

6. Putin Pullback Isn’t a Retreat, U.S. Says (Bloomberg)

7. Russia bombards areas where it pledged to scale back (AP)

8. Russia Plays Down Peace Talks, Steps Up Eastern Assault (WSJ)

9. Ukraine and its Western allies dismissed a Russian military pullback from near Kyiv as a ploy to refit troops after heavy losses, even as invading forces bombard cities elsewhere and press on with the obliteration of besieged Mariupol. (Reuters)

10. Putin demands Mariupol surrender to end shelling (BBC)

11. Sanctioned Oligarch’s Presence Adds Intrigue to Ukraine-Russia Talks (NYT)

12. Zelensky says the "positive" signs do not "drown out" the sound of Russian attacks (BBC)

13. Zelensky seeks global security pledge (WP)

14. Peace Talks Produce Signs of Progress, but No End to War Is in Sight (NYT)

15. Ukraine calls on UN to push Russia away from Chernobyl to prevent 'nuclear catastrophe' (Fox)

16. Europe’s Expulsion of Russian Officials Aims to Disrupt Alleged Spy Networks (WSJ)

17. Roman Hrybov, the Ukrainian sailor whose response to a Russian warship quickly became a symbol of the bloody conflict, has returned home and been awarded a medal for his service. His garrison on Snake Island was released last week as part of a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia. [HuffPost]

18. A growing number of Russians living abroad are finding issues accessing their money. We look at how Western sanctions meant to punish President Vladimir Putin's inner circle are also broadly ensnaring Russian passport holders. (Reuters)

19. Beijing moves to strengthen Moscow ties in wake of Ukraine invasion (Financial Times)

20. 4,000 letters and four hours of sleep: Ukrainian cabinet minister wages a digital war (WP)

21. Kyiv is urging companies to resume bike rentals so residents can move around the city (NPR)

22. OHCHR: At least 1,189 civilians in Ukraine killed since invasion (NHK)

23. Putin’s war has triggered an exodus out of Russia – but the escape options are shrinking (CNN)

24. Number of Ukraine refugees passes worst-case U.N. estimate (AP)

25. UNICEF: 2 million children evacuated from Ukraine (NHK)

26. Europe's economy is increasingly feeling the heat from Russia's war in Ukraine as growth stalls, confidence plummets and inflation soars, data and warnings from policymakers made clear. (Reuters)

27. Maternity patients among 20,000 civilians forcibly deported to Russia, Mariupol says (NPR)

28. When You No Longer Recognize Your Home Country — People who left homelands that have since undergone severe political changes are grieving the demise of a place as they knew it. (Atlantic)

29. Desperate for Cash, Afghans Toil in Coal Mines That Are Deadlier Than Ever (NYT)

30. US imposes new sanctions against Iran’s ballistic missile program (CNN)

31. The number of people crossing the Darien Gap, one of the most dangerous and impassable regions of Latin America, has almost tripled compared to the same period last year, the United Nations Refugee Agency said. The lawless stretch of mountainous jungle between Colombia and Panama is one of the main routes taken by migrants and refugees trying to head north to the United States. (Reuters)

32. Teachers fear the chilling effect of Florida's so-called 'Don't Say Gay' law (NPR)

33. 'Treachery'—Donald Trump Faces Backlash for Asking Vladimir Putin a Favor (Newsweek)

34. New Focus on How a Trump Tweet Incited Far-Right Groups Ahead of Jan. 6 (NYT)

35. The top two U.S. Justice Department officials in the waning days of Donald Trump's presidency are cooperating with a Washington legal body's ethics probe of their former colleague Jeffrey Bossert Clark, who tried to help Trump overturn his 2020 election loss, according to a person familiar with the matter. (Reuters)

36. Could Trump blow the midterms for the GOP? (Politico)

37. Political battle lines form on Clarence Thomas (The Hill)

38. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas should recuse himself from any cases about the attack on the Capitol by Trump's followers. Schumer became the most high-ranking Democrat to make that request of the conservative justice after the Washington Post and CBS News reported on text messages showing that Thomas's wife Virginia Thomas urged Mark Meadows, Trump's then-chief of staff, to work to overturn Biden's election win. (Reuters)

39. Legal ethics experts agree: Justice Thomas must recuse in insurrection cases (NPR)

40. GOP Sen. Susan Collins to Vote for Supreme Court Nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson (WSJ)

41. The military wants AI to replace human decision-making in battle (WP)

42. This Robot Promises to Make Your Briefcase Obsolete — While spending a few days with the new Gitamini, we discovered the joys (and challenges) of letting a robot carry our stuff. (WSJ)

43. FBI raids home over threats made to judge, attorneys and potential witness in Michigan Gov. Whitmer kidnap plot trial (CNN)

44. Despite High Covid-19 Case Counts, Asian Nations Learn to Live With the Virus (WSJ)

45. Ultra-contagious BA.2 Omicron strain adds urgency to second booster shot (LAT)

46. BA.2 Symptoms Doctors Are Seeing The Most Right Now (HuffPost)

47. WHO probes rare reports of hearing issues after COVID-19 vaccination (Becker’s Hospital Review)

48. COVID disparities persist for Black Americans. But there are lessons for the future (NPR)

49. Into the wild: Animals the latest frontier in COVID fight (AP)

50. Physician-assisted death in Oregon is no longer limited to just state residents (NPR)

51. Americans, especially Republicans, are getting more worried about inflation. (NYT)

52. Why bond yields may be warning of a recession (AP)

53. GameStop's stock is on fire once again and here's why (NPR)

54. For the second year in a row, Biden omitted the Hyde Amendment from his budget proposal to Congress for fiscal year 2023, keeping his promise to support reproductive health in a year when abortion rights are in peril. The amendment has been criticized as anti-choice and blatantly racist, as it disproportionately affects low-income women and communities of color. [HuffPost]

55. Inside Hunter Biden’s multimillion-dollar deals with a Chinese energy company (WP)

56. Canada police renew effort to arrest ‘devil priest’ for alleged abuse of Inuit children (Guardian)

57. 'Potentially hazardous asteroid' will make its closest-ever approach to Earth on April Fools' Day (yes, really) (LiveScience)

58. Hubble picks up the most distant star yet observed (Ars Technica)

59. ‘A San Francisco neighborhood in chaos:’ Is the Mission following in the Tenderloin’s footsteps? (SFC)

60. The 'Holy Grail' of gambling could break American sports betting wide open (Politico)

61. Pink Floyd, a flamingo on the lam from a Kansas zoo since 2005, is seen again in Texas (NPR)

62. Severe flooding strikes Australian east coast again (BBC)

63. Why People Are Acting So Weird — Crime, “unruly passenger” incidents, and other types of strange behavior have all soared recently. Why? (Atlantic)

64. Baby Sea Turtle Crawling Towards Ocean Makes Detour To Hit On Sexy Lady (The Onion)

Today’s Lyrics:

“Dropkick Me Jesus”

Sung by Bobby Bare

Written by Paul Craft

Dropkick me, Jesus, through the goalposts of life
End over end, neither left, nor the right
Straight through the heart of them righteous uprights
Dropkick me, Jesus, through the goalposts of life

Make me, oh, make me, Lord, more than I am
Make a piece in your master game plan
Free from the earthly tempestion below
I've got the will, Lord, if you've got the toe

Dropkick me, Jesus, through the goalposts of life
End over end, neither left, nor the right
Straight through the heart of them righteous uprights
Dropkick me, Jesus, through the goalposts of life

Bring on the brothers who've gone on before
And all of the sisters who've knocked at your door
All the departed, dear loved ones of mine
And stick 'em up front in the offensive line

Dropkick me, Jesus, through the goalposts of life
End over end, neither left, nor the right
Straight through the heart of them righteous uprights
Dropkick me, Jesus, through the goalposts of life

Dropkick me, Jesus, through the goalposts of life
End over end, neither left, nor the right
Straight through the heart of them righteous uprights
Dropkick me, Jesus, through the goalposts of life

Yeah, dropkick me, Jesus, through the goalposts of life

End over end, neither left, nor the right 

Moveable Memories

Recently, my sister and brother-in-law took me out to dinner at a restaurant adjacent to the venerable San Marcos resort in downtown Chandler. That resort has been around for a century, pretty much the whole time that Arizona has been a state. It boasts the state’s oldest golf course, and at night it reminds me of the kind of place Humphrey Bogart might turn up.

I love it.

It could be a great place to stay sometime because it would be a perfect place for me to write.

Writing as a profession (or a hobby) is a moveable feast, of course, in the sense you can more or less do it anywhere. But I suspect what Hemingway meant by naming his memoir “A Moveable Feast” was slightly different — that the memory of a certain place or time can travel with you throughout the rest of your life.

For him that key place initially was Paris in the 1920s when he was still a struggling writer. Other places — most memorably Africa, Cuba, the Keys — came later. for him

For most people, multiple spots will need to be good for writing, too, because we move around so much. Hopefully, your main spot is somewhere you can go most every day, because writing simply must be done every single day — no exceptions — if you want to be great.

Anyway, I’m no longer in Chandler but I *am* writing daily, so where I’m doing that is relevant. My airy, sky-blue room with its view of an old wooden fence, some vines and trees, the occasional hummingbird or squirrel, a swath of open sky and a few distant houses up the hill may not be as romantic as that old resort in Chandler, but it *is* home, for now.

And at least according to Dorothy, there’s no place like home. 

Anyway, before getting distracted by Bogart and Hemingway, I was going to return to an insight I had with my sisters in Arizona during our reunion last week. And there will be a point to this rambling, I promise.

First off, my three sisters and I span 19 years in age; I’m the second-oldest and the only male. I’ve always been grateful that I didn’t have any brothers and I’ll tell you why.

Boys can be so mean! Girls can be mean too but in a different way — one I’m more comfortable with. Plus they usually don’t intimidate you physically.

Our family used to go to a certain aunt and uncle’s house for Thanksgiving at Oxbow Lake in Michigan. The lake was frozen at that time of year, as is my memory of that place and time.

I dreaded those large family gatherings for a simple reason — I had to spend time with an awful group of cousins, all boys, all brothers, mostly mean and cruel. They would gang up on one another in various vicious ways, which I hated to witness.

None of this was particularly personal, as they normally didn’t gang up on me. I suppose as a shy, skinny, cerebral kid with glasses, I was more or less irrelevant to their ongoing, self-destructive macho dramas. I was simply a bystander, a witness.

The uncle who hosted these frightful events, Uncle Jack, eventually got cancer and started to waste away right before my eyes. He just got smaller and smaller every time we visited.

Meanwhile my cousins only got bigger and fatter and meaner like a pack of hungry wolves. The youngest among them, a guy named Tommy, grew so tired of being bullied constantly by his brothers that one Thanksgiving he decided to pick on poor old Uncle Jack, who had shrunk to roughly his size.

My vivid memory is of Tommy pushing Jack in the chest, challenging him to a duel. The old man thrust his chin out in defiance, but fell back, holding his wasted body up against a work table until Tommy backed off.

Jack was dying and way too weak to take on Tommy, who was about ten but big for his age, so he retreated to the card table with the other men, smoking and drinking and telling the old stories that I just loved to listen in on.

Jack died not very long after that confrontation and our family stopped going there on Thanksgiving. Blessedly.

So maybe that’s one example of what Hemingway meant about his moveable feast. I’m still tasting the memory, including its bitter aftertaste, some sixty years later.

So I promised I had a point and here it is. I’ve never written about the Oxbow Lake incident involving Tommy and Jack before. It only came up when my sisters and I discussed our shared (yet different) memories of the time we spent out there.

That in turn birthed the idea that we all should maintain “joint custody” of certain events with the others who were there. We need to tell each other these stories — that’s my point.

And if you’re a journalist you might say I buried the lede.

Today’s News (60):

1. Russia claims it will curb attacks around Kyiv; Ukraine calls for security guarantee in latest talks (CNBC)

2. Ukrainian and Russian negotiators met in Turkey for the first face-to-face talks in nearly three weeks, with Ukraine seeking a ceasefire without compromising on territory or sovereignty as its forces have pushed Russians back from Kyiv. (Reuters)

3. Ukraine-Russia talks stir optimism (WP)

4. Ukraine Proposes Neutral Status, Security Ties at Talks (WSJ)

5. Russian negotiator: De-escalation around Kyiv and Chernihiv "is not a ceasefire" (CNN)

6. How Ukraine’s Internet is still working despite Russian bombs and cyberattacks (WP)

7. Russia says it has 'drastically' reduced military activity near Kyiv; face-to-face talks begin in Turkey (USA Today)

8. Kyiv, Moscow meet for peace talks but have different goals (WP)

9. Nearly 5,000 people, including about 210 children, have been killed in the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupolsince Russian forces laid siege to it, a spokesperson for the mayor said. (Reuters)

10. US intel assess ‘major’ strategy shift by Russia as it moves some forces away from Kyiv (CNN)

11. Ukraine claws back territory in country’s north ahead of talks in Istanbul (WP)

12. Ukraine Claims Some Battle Successes as Russia Focuses on Another Front (NYT)

13. Russia’s been hit by a financial Cold War (WP)

14. Unprotected Russian soldiers disturbed radioactive dust in Chernobyl's 'Red Forest', workers say (Reuters)

15. After Russian forces pull back, a shattered town breathes (AP)

16. Germany, urged to ‘stop Putin’s war machine,’ resists Russian energy embargo (WP)

17. Europeans expel dozens of Russian envoys to combat espionage (AP)

18. A retro computer museum in Mariupol beloved by children was attacked by Russia (NPR)

19. ‘I Make No Apologies’: Biden Says His Putin Comments Were an Expression of Moral Outrage (NYT)

20. The U.S. will likely need to add more permanent or rotational forces in Europe in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. European Command leader told Congress Tuesday, without detailing when or how many. (AP)

21. Fox News host Tucker Carlson offered a warning on Monday about the repercussions of removing Russian President Vladimir Putin from power, and suggested that Islamic extremists would somehow get hold of the country’s nuclear weapons and use them on Americans. (HuffPost)

22. As Trade With Russia Halts, Countries Turn to Canada — Canada produces many of the same commodities as Russia, such as oil, nickel, wheat and potash, and countries are lining up to broker deals. (WSJ)

23. A video shows Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine being beaten and shot in their legs. (NYT)

24. Kyiv will investigate video that appears to show Ukrainian forces shooting Russian prisoners of war (WP)

25. What I Heard From Passengers on the Last Train Out of Russia (Politico)

26. UK: Private Russian military company deployed to eastern Ukraine (NHK)

27. U.S. sanctions against Russia should hasten a move by some countries to reduce their reliance on the U.S. dollar, which could also soften demand for Treasuries just as the Federal Reserve, the largest holder of U.S. debt, looks to cut its bond holdings. (Reuters)

28. Taiwan Looks to Ukraine War for Ideas to Defend Against China (WSJ)

29. The Taliban have issued a flurry of repressive edicts over the past days that hark to their harsh rule in Afghanistan from the late 1990s. The latest assault on women’s rights came earlier this month, when the all-male and religiously driven Taliban government broke its promise to allow girls to return to school after the sixth grade. [AP]

30. Thousands of Afghans were evacuated to the U.S. Will America let them stay? (WP)

31. China to host conference on Afghanistan, with Russia's Lavrov slated to attend (NHK)

32. Afghans Get Help Resettling in U.S. From an Earlier Generation of Refugees (WSJ)

33. Trump Phone Logs From Jan. 6 Have a Mysterious Seven-Hour Gap, Says Report (Daily Beast)

34. What Trump Is Hiding — Seven hours and 37 minutes of missing phone records on January 6 suggest consciousness of guilt. (Atlantic)

35. Trump calls on Putin to release dirt on Hunter Biden (Politico)

36. Ocasio-Cortez to Clarence Thomas: Resign or face impeachment (The Hill)

37. Impeach Thomas? House Dems can go there, but most won’t. (Politico)

38. Biden’s $5.8 Trillion Budget Pivots Toward Economic and Security Concerns (NYT)

39. VIDEO: Israel Hosts Historic Summit with the U.S. and Four Arab Nations (AP)

40. A sub-variant of the highly transmissible Omicron version of coronavirus known as BA.2 is now dominant worldwide, prompting surges in many countries in Europe and Asia and raising concern over the potential for a new wave in the United States. Here's what we know about BA.2. (Reuters)

41. BA.2: What to know about world’s dominant Omicron sub-variant (Al Jazeera)

42. FDA authorizes a 2nd Covid booster shot for people 50 and older (NBC)

43. How many COVID booster shots will finally be enough? (American Thinker)

44. BA.2 now dominant variant in the United States as funding fight continues (Politico)

45. Free COVID tests and treatments no longer free for uninsured, as funding runs out (NPR)

46. Clinics, hospitals brace for end of cushion for uninsured covid care (WP)

47. Two weeks after California lifted its school masking mandate, COVID case counts have stayed low across Bay Area school districts. (SFC)

48. China’s zero-Covid goal is no longer sustainable (Financial Times)

49. Matching drugs to DNA is 'new era of medicine' (BBC)

50. VIDEO: Canadian Indigenous Groups Seeking Apology Meet With Pope (Reuters, AP)

51. An alleged member of a group of Islamic State militants that beheaded American hostages in Iraq and Syria, nicknamed 'The Beatles' for their British accents, faces a U.S. criminal trial beginning today. (Reuters)

52. Actor Will Smith apologized to Chris Rock and everyone who witnessed his assault of the comedian at the Oscars. “Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive," Smith wrote in an Instagram statement. Rock declined to press charges, but the academy said it has launched a formal review. [HuffPost]

53. Astronomers may be on the verge of the biggest discovery in decades — a giant, ninth planet may be roaming around the far reaches of the Solar System, and they’re trying to find it. (Inverse)

54. Pluto’s peaks are ice volcanoes, scientists conclude (Guardian)

55. Mysterious Death of Carbon-Rich Star Plays Out Like Six-Ring Circus (SciTechDaily)

56. A Recipe for Climate Disaster — Extreme rain, rising sea levels, and more frequent wildfires are all making landslides more likely. (Atlantic)

57. A Texas woman says she’s moving her family to California to protect her transgender daughter. (CNN)

58. Medical historian Ira Rutkow points to physical evidence that suggests Stone Age people conducted — and survived — brain surgery. His new book is Empire of the Scalpel. (NPR)

59. Resilience of spirit, more than intellect, is the key to life (Madeleine K. Albright/WP)

60. Man Exiting Store While Alarm Sounds Makes Big Show Of Looking Surprised To Appear Innocent (The Onion)

 

Food For Thought

 Lest anyone think I obsess over the news excessively, allow me to explain. Gathering the news for me is like eating oatmeal. A pretty nurse once suggested, “Just do it because it will stick to your ribs.”

Eating something that would stick to my ribs at that time was a good idea, because I was severely underweight. Nowadays however, slightly too much is sticking to my ribs — I’ve dipped toward the other side of the pendulum.

So perhaps a little less oatmeal and a little more exercise is in order.

But that doesn’t necessarily translate into less news-gathering.

Then again, to actually comment on the news is quite another matter. That is either like dessert on a good day or castor oil on a bad one — it depends on how easily the opinion button in my frontal lobe switches on.

Though by now I’ve mixed more metaphors than a cobb salad, a big part of me would prefer to comment on what it is like to watch eight 11-year-old girls jump on the trampoline. How did they all get so tall so fast?

That is more interesting to me than the news.

Or I’d prefer to focus on how happy I am that there will be a baseball season after all. My fantasy team, the legendary (in my mind) Mud Lake Mafia, has a title to defend, and I’m anxious to get at it.

Alas, the news keeps churning through each day like an old-fashioned watermill, which makes it hard to ignore. Some of it is good; most of it is bad. But thinking about kids and their birthdays, and my fantasy baseball team somehow makes it all that stuff much more palatable.

Kinda like a salad.

Today’s News (50):

1. Judge says it’s ‘likely’ Trump committed felonies around Capitol attack and demands lawyer’s emails (Guardian)

2. January 6 Committee will seek interview with Ginni Thomas, sources say (CNN)

3. Jan. 6 Panel Makes Case for Contempt Charges for 2 Former Trump Aides (NYT)

4. Democrats call for Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from Jan. 6 cases (WP)

5. As the war in Ukraine moves into its second month, fears grow of Mariupol’s fall to Russia. (NYT)

6. The mayor of Mariupol said all civilians must be evacuated from the encircled Ukrainian city to allow them to escape a humanitarian catastrophe. (Reuters)

7. Ukraine suspends evacuations amid safety fears; Russia, Ukraine prepare for face-to-face talks (CNBC)

8. Zelensky offers a diplomatic opening ahead of talks with Russia (WP)

9. Zelenskyy said he is open to the country adopting a neutral stance as part of any peace deal with Russia to end the ongoing invasion. The comments were part of a 90-minute interview he gave to several Russian journalists, which the Kremlin ordered censored. Details from the call were published by Russian journalists living outside the country. [HuffPost]

10. Russia's communications watchdog told Russian media to refrain from reporting an interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and said it had started a probe into the Russian outlets which had interviewed him. (Reuters)

11. Ukraine and Russia were preparing for the first face-to-face peace talks in more than two weeks, with Kyiv insisting it would make no concessions on Ukraine's territorial integrity as battlefield momentum has shifted in its favor. (Reuters)

12. Ukraine and Russia Prepare for Talks in Turkey as Russian Missiles Hit Cities (WSJ)

13. Ukrainian officials played down the chances of a major breakthrough at the talks, due to be held in Istanbul after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke to Russia's Vladimir Putin. (Reuters)

14. Pentagon official says Russian ground forces no longer advancing (USA Today)

15. Russia shifts focus to try to grind Ukraine’s army in east (AP)

16. Biden's off-the-cuff remark on Putin sends shock waves on dramatic final day of trip (CNN)

17. Biden walks back Putin regime change comment that he made during speech in Poland (CBS)

18. Biden’s support for Ukraine and opposition to Putin were no ‘gaffe’ (Max Boot/WP)

19. Ukraine Latest News Live: Curfew Shortened in Kyiv, Food Fairs Open (Newsweek)

20. Zelensky steps up criticism of West, demanding weapons and sanctions (WP)

21. Roman Abramovich and Ukrainian Peace Negotiators Suffer Suspected Poisoning — The Russian oligarch and others developed symptoms they blamed on hard-liners in Moscow who they say want to sabotage talks to end the war (WSJ)

22. Novaya Gazeta, the last independent newspaper in Russia, falls silent (WP)

23. Ukraine's Prosecutor General: 12 journalists killed since Russian invasion began (NHK)

24. Ukraine war threatens food supplies in fragile Arab world (AP)

25. With Eyes on Russia, the U.S. Military Prepares for an Arctic Future (NYT)

26. Ukraine urges West to supply weapons in war with Russia (Al Jazeera)

27. Nuclear fears in US amid Russia-Ukraine war: AP-NORC poll (AP)

28. Heineken and Carlsberg are leaving Russia (CNN)

29. More than 1,100 civilians killed in Russia's invasion of Ukraine (NHK)

30. Ukraine refugees near 4 million. Will exodus slowdown last? (AP)

31. Taliban hard-liners are turning back the clock in Afghanistan with a flurry of repressive edicts over the past days that hark back to their harsh rule from the late 1990s. Girls have been banned from going to school beyond the sixth grade, women are barred from boarding planes if they travel unaccompanied by a male relative. (AP)

32. Former Fox News host Chris Wallace opened up about his surprising decision last year to jump ship for rival network CNN. He said the network's post-2020 coverage became "increasingly unsustainable" for him and he disagreed with its airing of political conspiracy theories. [HuffPost]

33. How Joe Manchin Aided Coal, and Earned Millions (NYT)

34. Former President Donald Trump boasted that a “massive” crowd turned out to see him in Georgia over the weekend, even as two experienced journalists on the scene said the rally was the “smallest” they had seen in years. Reporters said the size of the crowd in Commerce, Georgia, was notably underwhelming as the former president showed his support for Republican primary candidates he's backing as revenge on elected GOP officials, including Gov. Brian Kemp. [HuffPost]

35. Trump turns Michigan into MAGA proving ground (Politico)

36. Inside Ted Cruz’s last-ditch battle to keep Trump in power (WP)

37. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a show of unity with Middle East allies at a rare Israeli-hosted summit, hoping to allay their misgivings about an emerging Iranian nuclear deal and Washington's commitment to the region. (Reuters)

38. Earth Has a 27.5-Million-Year 'Heartbeat', But We Have No Idea What Causes It (ScienceAlert)

39. The Long Goodbye to Saturn’s Rings — The planet’s defining feature is slowly disappearing. (Atlantic)

40. Misinformation is derailing renewable energy projects across the United States (NPR)

41. ​Rising petrol prices drive Americans on to public transport (Financial Times)

42. A Google billionaire's fingerprints are all over Biden's science office (Politico)

43. The World Is Splitting in Two — Separate events are accelerating a shift that is transforming global politics. (Atlantic)

44. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Monday that forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, a policy that has drawn intense national scrutiny from critics who argue it marginalizes LGBTQ people. (AP)

45. Players for the Orlando Pride were filmed stepping off their bus in black T-shirts with the word "Gay," in protest over Florida's so-called Don't Say Gay measure, which bans the discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third-grade public school classrooms. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is expected to sign it into law. [HuffPost]

46. Why U.S. Population Growth Is Collapsing (Atlantic)

47. China's financial hub of Shanghai launched a two-stage lockdown of its 26 million residents, closing bridges and tunnels, and restricting highway traffic in a scramble to contain surging COVID-19 cases. (Reuters)

48. The FDA is expected to authorize 2nd boosters for people 50 and up (NPR)

49. VIDEO: Mass Bleaching Event Hits Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (NYT)

50. Man Pretty Sure Other Person In Laundry Room Has Been Next-Door Neighbor For 12 Years (The Onion)