Life Without Borders

“Not so different.” 

That is the way to describe any of our lives in the end. But the specific details differ at some moments and so do our perceptions of each other’s lives.

For months I have been serving as the English-language outlet for the voice of a young writer trapped in Afghanistan. To date, I have published 18 of what I’ve variously described as letters from — or conversations with — him. (Soon we will be collecting all of them into a more accessible form.)

As for the specific details, his life must seem quite different from the lives of my readers. He is a member of the Hazara minority, which has long been despised and discriminated against by the dominant groups in Afghanistan, particularly the Pashtuns, who make up the bulk of the Taliban now in control of his country.

Most Hazara are Shia, not Sunni Moslems, whereas the Pashtuns are overwhelmingly Sunni. The internal Islamic conflict is similar to the Catholic-Protestant conflict of centuries past.

Over the years that the Taliban built up and finally seized control of the country, they recruited alienated members of other ethnic groups, especially the Tajiks, Uzbeks and Turkmen to join their ranks. 

But the Hazara stubbornly remained resistant to Taliban control.

Therefore, since late August when the Taliban seized power in Kabul, life has been especially difficult for the Hazaras. Some have been summarily executed by Taliban fighters now in control of the roads and checkpoints simply for being Hazara, or for being openly critical of Taliban rule.

Many others live in fear of suffering a similar fate if they venture out or speak their minds.

No single group currently lives under that kind of blatant threat in the U.S., although the widespread racism, homophobia, misogamy, anti-Semitism, anti-Islam and other hateful ideologies just below the surface of American society require our constant vigilance lest they burst out into the open again at any point.

Here at least anyone can speak his or her mind, for now.

But my Afghan friend also is educated, thoughtful and skeptical of organized religion, centralized power, capitalism — all of the major forces that shape our lives here and around the world.

The majority of humanity lives under the control of despotic rulers — not democratically elected leaders — though few are subject to as harsh extremes as the Hazards face from the Taliban.

So those of us in the (relatively) free world need to remember how despotism can rise and overwhelm the peaceful, thoughtful, skeptical, educated minority by exploiting the ignorance, prejudice, fear and misperceptions of the masses — overseas but here as well.

The would-be despots among us would have you believe that our differences in age, race, gender, religion or lack thereof, class, occupation, status, orientation, belief system, education, location, appearance matter — that they are threats.

But we are not all that different, really. The great majority of people want peace and freedom and to live with dignity. 

And it is never too late to remember that.

THURSDAY HEADLINES:

• FDA advisers narrowly recommend authorization of first antiviral pill to treat covid-19a (WP)

• The omicron variant has been found in 23 countries (NPR)

• Omicron variant detected in California (Politico)

• Omicron Prompts Swift Reconsideration of Boosters Among Scientists— Many public health experts were opposed to a boosters-for-all approach. The new variant is changing some minds. (NYT)

• Severe Covid infection doubles chances of dying in following year, study finds (Guardian)

• In Omicron Fight, Scientists See Glimmers of Hope — Faint signs of hope emerged that a key weapon in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic would still be effective against the new variant, as scientists and health authorities piece together fragmented evidence about it. (WSJ)

• WHO member states will work on a global agreement to deal with future pandemics (NPR)

• W.H.O. Reopens Debate Over Fairness of Pandemic Response — As wealthy countries react to the new Omicron virus variant with travel bans and booster shots, the World Health Organization scolded them, calling the steps ineffective and unfair. (NYT)

• Covid-19 variants may not evolve to be less dangerous (Guardian)

• Germany reported the highest number of deaths from coronavirus since mid-February as hospitals warned that the country could have 6,000 people in intensive care by Christmas, above the peak of last winter. (Reuters)

• Co-founder of Christian TV network that railed against vaccines dies of Covid-19 (Guardian)

• What the AIDS crisis can teach us about the COVID pandemic response (NPR)

• Nigeria said it had confirmed its first cases of Omicron, among them a sample from travelers who came to Nigeria in October, suggesting it had turned up weeks before it was reported in southern Africa.(Reuters)

• Covid and political fatigue 5.0 (Politico)

• Omicron Could Knock a Fragile Economic Recovery Off Track (NYT)

• 15-year-old student kills three, injures eight at high school in Michigan town, authorities say (WP)

• A 4th student has died in the Michigan high school shooting (NPR)

• Court upholds California ban on high-capacity magazines (AP)

• Stock markets roared higher, reversing much of the previous session's losses, as investors used the dip in prices to bet the latest COVID-19 variant would not derail the economic recovery. History says expect a strong December for U.S. stocks, despite Omicron and Federal Reserve worries. (Reuters)

• The immediate and overall consensus after the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization: Roe v. Wade is in serious danger. The conservative majority on the court appeared largely supportive of a 2018 Mississippi law that seeks to ban abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, a law that directly contradicts Roe V. Wade. Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned that the Supreme Court won't survive the "stench" of partisanship in the Mississippi abortion case. [HuffPost]

• As the U.S. Supreme Court heard a Mississippi case Wednesday that could topple abortion rights nationwide, the state’s only abortion clinic was busier than ever: Volunteers escorted patients into the bright pink building while protesters outside beseeched women not to end their pregnancies. (AP)

• Roe v. Wade's future is in doubt after historic arguments at Supreme Court (NPR)

• Members of the Supreme Court’s conservative majority are suggesting they may make sweeping changes to limit abortion rights in the United States. (AP)

• Boarded-up stores and armed guards greet holiday shoppers (SFC)

• Biden to expand National Space Council to advance workforce, climate goals (Politico)

• Why the CIA is so worried about Russia and Ukraine (WP)

• US warns Russia has plans for ‘large scale’ attack on Ukraine(Guardian)

• Is Inflation Sticking Around? Bicycle Makers Offer Some Clues

  Manufacturers are pricing next year’s bikes now, and higher costs for components and supply-chain holdups, combined with still-strong demand, mean increases are coming. (WSJ)

• The main risk to an otherwise upbeat global economic outlook is that the current inflation spike proves longer and rises further than currently expected, the OECD said. Global growth is set to hit 5.6% this year before moderating to 4.5% in 2022 and 3.2% in 2023. (Reuters)

• WTA halts China tourneys over fallout from Shuai sexual assault allegation (WP)

• China told Indonesia to stop drilling for oil and natural gas in maritime territory that both countries regard as their own during a months-long standoff in the South China Sea earlier this year, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The unprecedented demand elevated tensions over natural resources between the two countries in a volatile area of global strategic and economic importance. (Reuters)

• CNN suspends Chris Cuomo ‘indefinitely’ after documents detail help he gave his brother (WP)

• Mark Meadows, Donald Trump's former chief of staff, is cooperating with the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Meadows has produced records to the committee, despite Trump's battle to withhold documents from the probe. By cooperating, Meadows avoids charges of criminal contempt of Congress. [HuffPost]

• Trump tested positive for coronavirus before first debate with Biden, former chief of staff says (WP)

• Biden to expand National Space Council to advance workforce, climate goals (Politico)

• The United States has joined the list of countries where democracy is backsliding, according to a new report by the think tank International IDEA. (NPR)

• The New Right’s Strange and Dangerous Cult of Toughness (Atlantic)

• The civil unrest suffered by the Solomon Islands in the past week raised alarm among leaders of other Pacific island nations that rivalry between China, Taiwan and the United States risked aggravating their region's social and economic problems. "I think what is happening in the Solomons is something we all should be paying serious attention to, because it can happen at any time," former Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Meg Taylor told the Reuters Next conference. (Reuters)

• Biden's young voter problem — Polls show the president’s approval rating has fallen sharply among a key component of the Democratic base: younger voters. (Politico)

• Taliban wages campaign of targeted killings against former members of Afghan security forces (WP)

• Afghanistan economic meltdown one of worst in history, UN says (Financial Times)

• Afghan Journalists in Exile Keep Spotlight on Their Homeland (WSJ)

• Unique effort reopens girls’ schools in an Afghan province (AP)

• Taliban appear positive over education for women (NHK)

• Barbados' declaration of a republic may fuel fervor in other Commonwealth countries to follow suit, but experts say removing the queen requires overcoming political hurdles that have for decades stymied republican initiatives. (Reuters)

• Iran Feels Cornered by the Biden Administration (Atlantic)

• Rep. Omar urges House GOP to address ‘anti-Muslim hatred’ (AP)

• These living robots made of frog cells can now reproduce, study says(WP)

• Contact lost with cargo ship in distress (NHK)

• Rules of war need rewriting for the age of AI weapons (Edit Bd/Financial Times)

• Facebook says it carried out broad takedown of disinformation networks, including some tied to anti-vaccine groups, state actors(WP)

• Space junk forces spacewalk delay, too risky for astronauts (AP)

• Aztec altar with human ashes uncovered in Mexico City (BBC)

• Long-Ago Victim of Vesuvius May Shed Light on Ancient Rome — Archaeologists found the remains of a person buried at Herculaneum in the eruption of 79 A.D., and hope that with modern technology it will yield fresh insights. (NYT)

• Ancient footprints mistakenly attributed to bears were made by early humans (NPR)

• Are we thinking about alien life all wrong? — Professor Brian Cox explains the ‘panspermia’ theory – how life could spread between planets. (BBC)

• NASA Delays Space Walk After It Starts Snowing In Outer Space (The Onion)

THURSDAY’s LYRICS

“The Blues Man”

By Hank Williams Jr.

Best Version: George Jones & Dolly Parton

I'm just a singer, a natural-born guitar ringer

Kind of a clinger to sad old songs

I'm not a walk-behinder, I'm a new note finder

But my name's a reminder of a blues man that's already gone

So I started drinkin', took things that messed up my thinkin'

I was sure sinkin', when you came along

I was alone in the hot lights, not too much left in sight

But she changed all that one night, when she sang me this song

Hey baby, I love you

Hey baby, I need you

Hey baby, you ain't got to prove to me you're some kind of macho man

You've wasted so much of your life running through the dark nights

Let me shine some love light down on the blues man

I got so sick from speedin', all the stuff they said I wasn't needin'

If I was to keep pleasin', all of my fans

I got cuffed on dirt roads, I got sued over no-shows

But she came and took all that old load, down off this blues man

Hey baby, I love you too

Hey baby, I need you

Hey baby, I do get tired of this travelin' band

I'm 30 years old now, nights would be cold now

If you hadn't stuck it out with this blues man

I'm 30 years old now, nights sure would be cold now

If you hadn't hung around with this blues man 

Sharp Right Turn

 “Never’s just the echo of forever.” — Kris Kristofferson

One of the more insightful conservative writers, David Brooks, has seen the future of the Republican Party’s base and it is not a pretty picture. In his article “The Terrifying Future of the American Right” (Atlantic), he describes the scene at this month’s National Conservatism Conference in Orlando.

Young conservatives — by definition the future of the party — blame the Left for basically everything they consider wrong with our society. In particular, they see left-wing control of the academy, the media including social media, and the “surveillance capitalism” tech sector, coalescing into what they view as an all-powerful cultural elite.

Without questioning their assumptions, but having been at least a marginal part of all of those sectors for decades now, it is a little bit difficult for this objective observer to perceive their apocalyptic vision of an all-powerful Left, though I realize objectivity is neither a characteristic nor a goal of the sharp edge of this country’s right flank.

It is ironic and sad that a key aim of the youthful conservative movement is to establish the dominance of Christianity as our national religion.

As Brooks notes, that simply isn’t going to be happening. In his words, “America is becoming more religiously diverse every day. Christians are in no position to impose their values—regarding same-sex marriage or anything else —on the public square.”

By contrast, social, racial, cultural, and gender diversity are all seen by the hard right as left-wing plots instead of the genuinely democratic achievements they clearly are. But again, the rising right wing in America is not concerned with truth but with power. And those are two distinct matters.

I cannot in good faith recommend Brooks’s piece to anyone who wishes to remain optimistic about the closing of the political divide in the U.S., because there is no appetite for that among the people he witnessed outside the giant theme park in Orlando.

Like Christianity as the state religion, an authentic political consensus isn’t going to be happening anytime soon in today’s America.

***

In contrast to Brooks’s down-beat report, one bright spot for those of us who have been arguing on behalf of local news outlets is the Time magazine story about the role played by a reporter at small Georgia newspaper in the Ahmaud Arbery case. The convictions in that case bring new hope for racial justice in the U.S. court system, as well as for the renewal of local journalism as well.

In addition, two articles in the Washington Post highlight the critical dangers embedded in the thousands of “news deserts” across the U.S. — towns and regions where there is no viable local news outlet left to inform citizens and keep powerful interests accountable.

The Local News Network, headquartered in Durango, CO, is one modest, hopeful attempt to address this crisis by developing new types of digital news outlets for small-town distribution. And they need support.

Because where news deserts exist, ignorance thrives. In fact, I would argue that there is a direct connection between the rise of an extremist right, as documented by Brooks, and the lack of honest journalism all across this land. Just as there is a direct connection between justice in the Arbery case and a local paper willing to dig out the truth.

We just have to see the pattern and speak out about it.

Thanks to Connie Matthiessen for help on the local news section of this essay.

WEDNESDAY’S HEADLINES:

• The Key Role a Local Newspaper Played in the Trial Over Ahmaud Arbery's Murder (Time)

• “The Terrifying Future of the American Right” (Atlantic)

• What happens to society — and our democracy — when community and regional journalism dries up — In many regions of the country, there is no local news coverage at all, or next to none. It’s in such places that the collapse of local news is being felt most draqmatically. (WP)

• Local news deserts are expanding. Here are some of the stories in danger of being lost. — Since 2005, about 2,200 local newspapers across America have closed. Here are some of the stories in danger of going underreported or untold — as told by local journalists. (WP)

• ‘Did Covid Change How We Dream?’ — All around the world, the pandemic provoked strange nocturnal visions. Can they help shed light on the question of why we dream at all? (NYT)

• The World Health Organization issued its strongest, most explicit warning yet about the risk from the omicron coronavirus variant. While there are "considerable uncertainties" about the variant, preliminary evidence raises the possibility that omicron has mutations that could help it evade an immune-system response, according to the WHO. [AP]

• How Much of a Threat is Omicron to the Economy? (New Yorker)

• Drugmaker Moderna's CEO set off fresh alarm bells in financial markets after he warned that COVID-19 vaccines were unlikely to be as effective against the Omicron variant as they have been against the Delta version. (Reuters)

• Omicron mutations alarm scientists, but new variant first must prove it can outcompete delta (WP)

• Covid live: boosters may protect against Omicron, says Israel’s health minister, as US checks vaccine effectiveness(Guardian)

• Why some researchers think the omicron variant could be the most infectious one yet (NPR)

• Omicron doesn't carry some of the mutations seen with Delta (CNN)

• Omicron variant may have reached Europe earlier than thought (AP)

• Are vaccine makers ready for Omicron? (Reuters)

• As Biden pushes to end pandemic, omicron’s rise points to a longer struggle (WP)

• Covid looms over Biden’s presidency, once more and always (Politico)

• Omicron Unlikely to Cause Severe Illness in Vaccinated People, BioNTech Says (WSJ)

• California Today: How the pandemic changed where we live (NYT)

• On Monday, Los Angeles began enforcing its vaccination mandate for many indoor businesses (LAT)

• Why American Politics Is So Stuck — and What New Research Shows About How to Fix It (Politico)

• Former President Donald Trump's lawyers are set to ask a U.S. appeals court to keep records about his conversations and actions before and during the deadly January 6 Capitol riot by a mob of his supporters away from congressional investigators. (Reuters)

• Pence 2024? — If Donald Trump officially enters the next presidential race, that doesn’t mean his former vice president will stay out of the contest. (Atlantic)

• As Afghanistan’s economy collapses, international community looks for innovative ways to avoid humanitarian disaster (WP)

• Dozens of former Afghan forces killed or disappeared by Taliban, rights group says (BBC)

• The perilous journey for Afghans to reach UK by boat (Financial Times)

• Protesters plan to march across Sudan and on the presidential palacein the latest protest against military rule following last month's coup. Neighborhood resistance committees called the protests despite an agreement last week that reinstated civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. (Reuters)

• Record eurozone inflation of 4.9% (Financial Times)

• Twitter Bans Sharing of Private People’s Photos, Videos Without Consent (WSJ)

• There has been a flurry of new policies and announcements about nuclear power around the world, with the mounting scale of the climate and energy conundrum fueling more money into atomic power. Alexander C. Kaufmannotes that we've heard this tune before — is it for real this time? [HuffPost]

• Trump allies work to place supporters in key election posts across the country, spurring fears about future vote challenges (WP)

• CNN host Chris Cuomo was more deeply involved than previously thought in crafting a defense strategy as his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, responded to allegations of sexual harassment, according to detailed records released by the New York Attorney General’s office. A CNN spokesperson said the documents "deserve a thorough review and consideration." [HuffPost]

• Mike Pence asks Supreme Court to overturn abortion rights (BBC)

• ‘A post-Roe strategy’: The next phase of the abortion fight has already begun (Politico)

• Fukushima evacuees prepare to return home (NHK)

• A study of trees in dozens of cities found that urban heat and light pollution are pushing urban trees to sprout leaves earlier than trees in more rural areas. (NPR)

• Metaverse Real Estate Piles Up Record Sales — Firms’ purchases of digital land in online worlds are bets that property values will rise as more people join in. (WSJ)

• Conservationists flew 30 white rhinos to Rwanda in a huge operation to protect them (NPR)

• Lorne Michaels, part of next class to receive Kennedy Center Honors, still lives for Saturday night (WP)

• Adele announces Las Vegas residency (BBC)

• Struggling Tech Company Almost Desperate Enough To Start Making Actual Product (The Onion)

WEDNESDAY’S LYRICS:

“Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends”

Kris Kristofferson

This could be our last goodnight together

We may never pass this way again

Just let me enjoy 'till its over

Or forever

Please don't tell me how the story ends

See the way our shadows come together

Softer than your fingers on my skin

Someday this may be all

That we'll remember

Of each other

Please don't tell me how the story ends

Never's just the echo of forever

Lonesome as the love that might have been

Just let me go on loving and believing

'Till it's over

Please don't tell me how the story ends

Please don't tell me how the story ends

As Threats Mutate

 As I try on a daily basis to wrap my mind around the challenges facing us if we are to better humanity’s chances for survival, much of it boils down to technology — both biotech and cyber tech.

By some measures, we have advanced further and faster in the past half-century in these realms than all of the millennia preceding, so much so that we may also have outpaced our intellectual ability to keep up with those changes.

But we know our brains are capable of much more than we demand of them, so the problem now boils down to focusing on which concrete steps can we take at present to harness technology to solve the problem of our impending extinction as a species.

There *must* be a solution to climate change, for example, as our brains tell us in our most optimistic moments — we just have to imagine that solution and implement it. Then again, the global nature of a problem like planetary climate change makes it seem impossible to grasp in a form that yields those solutions — other than escape.

And escape, of course, is precisely what the billionaire-financed space travel and ideas of colonizing other planets are predicated on — escape for the few, the rich, the selfish — forget about the great unwashed masses left behind to deal with the mess which the few, the rich, and the selfish have so prodigiously profited from.

In this context, the battles over science vs. fantasy and truth vs. fiction come down in our brains to synthesizing the opposites. Thus science fiction predicts and (at least in Hollywood) solves many of our greatest problems, just as literary non-fiction solves many of the issues facing a conscientious writer trying to communicate essential truths in this most ambiguous of eras.

Ambiguity — or what might better be termed the state of not knowing — is a very difficult state to maintain as we struggle with these challenges. Yet that is where we find ourselves.

A litmus test in the age of not knowing is where do you come down — with pessimism or optimism. Our brains allow either option; only one, however, may lead us to solutions. And that is the hard one to sustain.

***
TUESDAY’S HEADLINES:

• The Omicron variant of coronavirus carries a "very high" global risk of surges, the WHO warned, as more countries reported cases, prompting border closures and reviving worries about the economic recovery from a two-year pandemic. (Reuters)

• CDC Says Everyone 18 and Older Should Get Covid-19 Booster — The agency strengthened its recommendation as a result of the risk posed by the Omicron variant recently discovered. (WSJ)

• Countries are shutting down their borders out of fear of the omicron coronavirus variant, even though scientists warned that it wasn't clear whether the newly identified version was more alarming than other variants. The rush reflects anxiety about anything that could prolong the pandemic that has killed more than 5 million people. [AP]

• China vows to provide more vaccine doses to Africa (NHK)

• As omicron emerges, a tired public has little appetite for new restrictions (WP)

• A semblance of calm returned to world markets as investors waited for more details to assess the severity of the Omicron coronavirus variant on the world economy, allowing battered stock markets and oil prices to recover. (Reuters)

• Dr. Anthony Fauci urged Americans to get vaccinated in light of the new omicron variant of the coronavirus. Fauci said there is still much that is unknown about omicron, but that vaccines offer a proven level of protection. “It may not be as good in protecting against initial infection, but it has a very important impact on diminishing the likelihood that you’re going to get a severe outcome from it,” he said. [HuffPost]

• Omicron Variant Has Vaccine Makers Preparing for Worst Case — Testing has just started, but drugmakers have expressed concern that Covid-19 vaccines won’t work as well against the new strain. (WSJ)

• As scientists ask whether Omicron can outrun the Delta variant, one top infectious disease expert said existing COVID-19 vaccines are probably effective at preventing severe disease and hospitalization. (Reuters)

• Covid vaccine makers race to address omicron variant (WP)

• Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says that the appearance of a new COVID-19 variant could slow the economy and hiring, while also raising uncertainty about inflation. (AP)

• Will the coronavirus omicron variant disrupt the holidays? (SFC)

• The New COVID Drugs Are a Bigger Deal Than People Realize (Atlantic)

• Merriam-Webster chooses vaccine as the 2021 word of the year (AP)

• Endless Covid winter of our discontent (Politico)

• VIDEO: South African Scientists Advise Against Panic Over Omicron Variant— South African health officials said that while they need more data to be sure, existing precautions and treatments seem to be effective against the new coronavirus variant. (AP)

• Whatever Happened to the Exceptions for Rape and Incest? (Atlantic)

• Hunt for the ‘Blood Diamond of Batteries’ Impedes Green Energy Push — Dangerous mining conditions plague Congo, home to the world’s largest supply of cobalt, a key ingredient in electric cars. A leadership battle threatens reforms. (NYT)

• With China under President Xi Jinping stepping up its military intimidation of Taiwan, the island’s pursuit of a potent undersea deterrent is becoming a reality. Read our special report. (Reuters)

• The Secretive Prisons That Keep Migrants Out of Europe —Tired of migrants arriving from Africa, the E.U. has created a shadow immigration system that captures them before they reach its shores, and sends them to brutal Libyan detention centers run by militias. (New Yorker)

• ‘Taste this, it’s salty’: how rising seas are ruining the Gambia’s rice farmers (Guardian)

• Twitter CEO and founder Jack Dorsey is stepping down (WP)

• World's first living robots can now reproduce, scientists say — Meet the xenobot: world's first living, self-healing robots created from frog stem cells(CNN)

• The Science of Mind Reading (New Yorker)

• Ex-Google workers sue company, saying it betrayed 'Don't Be Evil' motto (NPR)

• ‘They’re all begging me’: Trump’s 2024 veep tryouts get underway (Politico)

• Russia will continue slowing down the speed of Twitter on mobile devices until all content deemed illegal is deleted, state communications regulator Roskomnadzor told Reuters, as Moscow continues to make demands of Big Tech. (Reuters)

• ‘Hate crime’ attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians spike in the West Bank(WP)

• Taliban and 9/11 Families Fight for Billions in Frozen Afghan Funds — The White House must figure out what to do with the Afghan central bank’s account at the Federal Reserve, now blocked under U.S. law. (NYT)

• Understanding the Body Electric (New Yorker)

• Steph Curry Is the New Roger Federer (WSJ)

• Saudi Arabia and China are accused of using sports to cover up human rights abuse (NPR)

• Simpsons Tiananmen episode missing in Hong Kong (BBC)

• K-Pop sensation BTS are playing their first in-person concerts since the onset of the pandemic, and legions of die-hard fans have descended on Los Angeles to see their idols in the flesh. (Reuters)

• Nonprofit Cofounders Have Screaming Match Over Whether Mission To Ignite Change Or Spark Community Impact (The Onion)

  ***

  TUESDAY LYRICS:

  “End of the Line”

  Traveling Wilburys

  (Songwriters: Robert Dylan / George Harrison / Jeffrey Lynne / Roy Kelton Orbison / Thomas Earl Petty)

  Well, it's alright, ridin' around in the breeze

  Well, it's alright, if you live the life you please

  Well, it's alright, doin' the best you can

  Well, it's alright, as long as you lend a hand

  You can sit around and wait for the phone to ring (at the end of the line)

  Waiting for someone to tell you everything (at the end of the line)

  Sit around and wonder what tomorrow will bring (at the end of the line)

  Maybe a diamond ring

  Well, it's alright, even if they say you're wrong

  Well, it's alright, sometimes you gotta be strong

  Well, it's alright, as long as you got somewhere to lay

  Well, it's alright, everyday is judgment day

  Maybe somewhere down the road a ways (at the end of the line)

  You'll think of me and wonder where I am these days (at the end of the line)

  Maybe somewhere down the road when somebody plays (at the end of the line)

  Purple Haze

  Well, it's alright, even when push comes to shove

  Well, it's alright, if you got someone to love

  Well, it's alright, everything'll work out fine

  Well, it's alright, we're going to the end of the line

  Don't have to be ashamed of the car I drive (at the end of the line)

  I'm just glad to be here, happy to be alive (at the end of the line)

  And it don't matter if you're by my side (at the end of the line)

  I'm satisfied

  Well, it's alright, even if you're old and grey

  Well, it's alright, you still got something to say

  Well, it's alright, remember to live and let live

  Well, it's alright, the best you can do is forgive

  Well, it's alright (alright), riding around on the breeze

  Well, it's alright (alright), if you live the life you please

  Well, it's alright, even if the sun don't shine

  Well, it's alright (alright), we're going to the end of the line

Omicron is not the Problem

 The Omicron variant will likely continue to dominate the news cycles for a bit, but over the longer term, it will probably prove to be just another aftershock from the main Covid-19 crisis, and not a new crisis in its own right. 

The basic framework remains: 

• The variant will quickly span the globe due to unvaccinated populations.

• But the vaccines developed to protect against Covid will either contain Omicron or will be updated quickly by manufacturers to do so.

• The main health damage from this variant, therefore, will be among the unvaccinated in the U.S. and overseas.

• The mental health impacts of this unending pandemic will last for years.

But the political controversies spawned by the pandemic may prove to be even more lasting and damaging than the health crisis. That’s because I believe there is a connection between the global plague that threatens everyone and the rise of extremism. 

It is hard to prove that connection; after all, Trump was already President when the pandemic hit, but Covid may well have accelerated a process that was already underway.

Now it appears that extremist beliefs will continue to be on the rise in a world where a majority of the global population (about 53 percent from estimates I’ve seen) already lives under anti-democratic rulers. 

And it would be difficult to over-emphasize the dangers of increasing authoritarianism in the specific communications environment we live in today. Authoritarians use the existing media systems, including social media, more effectively than democratic leaders can do.

Therefore, disinformation, conspiracy theories and outright lies (like Trumps’a claims about the 2020 election) will continue to compete successfully with honest, verified information here and around the world for the foreseeable future.

In that sense, the global heath crisis is ultimately also an informational crisis. The lack of strong journalistic institutions to wage battle against the propagandists is a key weakness of this particular moment in history.

We need to change that. We need a strong new international commitment to a free press, free speech, and the primacy of accuracy over lies if we are to withstand the authoritarian aftershocks of Covid-19. But how can we possibly accomplish that?

For now, I’m arguing that freaking out about Omicron is essentially a distraction from the main issue of our time — political extremism. If we are going to freak out about something, let it be that.

***

MONDAY’s NEWS:

• Will the Vaccines Stop Omicron? Scientists Are Racing to Find Out. — A “Frankenstein mix” of mutations raises concerns, but the variant may remain vulnerable to current vaccines. If not, revisions will be necessary. (NYT)

• As the omicron variant arrives in the West, wealthy countries are reaping what they sowed (WP)

• Dutch find 13 Omicron cases among S.Africa travelers (Reuters)

• Travel doors slam shut as new Covid variant triggers alarm, stranding hundreds of passengers (CNN)

• In omicron hot spot, somber mood as S Africa faces variant (AP)

• U.S. braces for Omicron ahead of southern Africa travel ban (Reuters)

• Organ transplant patients are at risk from covid. But some donors and recipients are fighting vaccination requirements. (WP)

• Omicron variant puts world in a 'race against time', says EU Commission President (CNN)

• Once rare, lung transplants for COVID-19 patients are rising quickly (NPR)

• China study warns of 'colossal' COVID outbreak if it opens up like U.S., France (Reuters)

• Covid live news: Omicron variant detected in Canada as Fauci warns two weeks needed to study new strain(Guardian)

• Omicron Likely Already in U.S., Officials Say (WSJ)

• U.S. focuses on booster shots as best strategy against new variant (WP)

• S.African doctor says patients with Omicron variant have "very mild" symptoms (Reuters)

• WHO calls for balanced response to new virus variant (Financial Times)

• How vaccine makers plan to address the new COVID-19 omicron variant (NPR)

• Anthony Fauci said claims he lied about certain research funding in the Wuhan lab smacked of contempt for science. (Politico)

• Fetal Viability, Long an Abortion Dividing Line, Faces a Supreme Court Test — On Wednesday, the justices will hear the most important abortion case in decades, one that could undermine or overturn Roe v. Wade. (NYT)

• Amid massive shortage, Canada taps strategic reserves — of maple syrup (WP)

• Researchers try producing potato resistant to climate change (AP)

• Nobel-winning stock market theory used to help save coral reefs (Guardian)

• Special Report: The Secretive Libyan Prisons That Keep Migrants Out of Europe (New Yorker)

• As Afghanistan’s economy collapses, international community looks for innovative ways to avoid humanitarian disaster (WP)

• Taliban Covert Operatives Seized Kabul From Within — Undercover agents—often clean-shaven, dressed in jeans and sporting sunglasses—spent years infiltrating Afghan government ministries, universities, businesses and aid organizations. (WSJ)

• ‘We will start again’: Afghan female MPs fight on from parliament in exile (Guardian)

• Researchers: HIV killed by vaccine in monkeys (NHK)

• News crew guard dies after being shot in attempted robbery (AP)

• The Black people who lived in Walden Woods long before Henry David Thoreau (WP)

• Organized Retail Thefts Continue Over Thanksgiving Weekend (WSJ)

• US and Iran seek to break impasse at talks on reviving nuclear deal (BBC)

• How Tucker Carlson became the voice of White grievance (WP)

• A Chaotic Rivalry Weekend Sets Up Final Sprint for College Football Playoff Spots (WSJ)

• AP Top 25: Michigan rises to No. 2; Oklahoma State up to 5th (AP)

• The voices we make when we pretend our dogs can talk (WP)

• What Stephen Sondheim Knew About Endings — His work was strongest when it lingered in the pain of knowing that no ever after lasts long. (Atlantic)

• Family Creeped Out By Alexa Playing Back Conversations They Haven’t Even Had Yet (The Onion)

***

MONDAY’s LYRICS

“The Truth”

Song by Jason Aldean

Songwriters: Brett James / Ashley Monroe

Tell 'em all I'm on vacation
Say I went to visit friends
That you ain't heard or seen from me in quite a while
When they ask you where I've been
Tell 'em I'm out on the west coast where it don't ever rain
And that I'm probably doing fine

Just don't tell 'em I've gone crazy
That I'm still strung out over you
Tell 'em anything you want to
Just don't tell 'em all the truth
Yeah don't tell 'em all the truth

Tell 'em all I'm out in Vegas
Blowin' every dollar I ever made
Tell 'em that I must be into something bad for me cause
I sure lost a lot of weight
Tell 'em I'm out on the road with some old rock and roll band
Living like a gypsy can

Just don't tell 'em I've gone crazy
That I'm still strung out over you
Tell 'em anything you want to
Just don't tell 'em all the truth
Yeah don't tell 'em all the truth

The truth is that I'm asking you to lie
And we both know that it ain't right
But if you ever loved me please
Have some mercy on me
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Tell 'em anything you want to
Just don't tell 'em all the truth
Yeah, don't tell 'em all the truth
I still need you
Yeah, that's the truth
I still love you
Baby, that's the truth

The Rhythm of Technology

 The Omicron variant is the latest reminder that the virus causing Covid-19 will continue to mutate as long as significant pockets of unvaccinated people remain to harbor it.

It’s time for everybody who has not yet been vaccinated to get the shots. Enough data is in; there are no significant long-term negative effects that would justify further resistance. 

Vaccination has never been an individual choice. Vaccination is about the whole of humanity. Mandates are fine. In fact, they are appropriate.

***

I want to give a shout out to fellow Substack author Ted Gioia, whose piece “How Music Created Silicon Valley” documents how the popular demand for music led to many of the technological breakthroughs that so define our age.

From the early successes of Hewlett-Packard, the transistor radio, Sony, Disney, RCA or the little known role played by Bing Crosby to the iPod and the ascendance of Apple as one of the world’s biggest companies, music has long the core driver of tech changes.

Of course, it is not the songwriters or even the singers who have profited from these historical developments but the massive companies — Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Netflix and Google — that sit at the apex of the global economy. 

***

I rarely write about sports these days but my earliest journalism was sports reporting while a student at the University of Michigan 50+ years ago. In fact I was Sports Editor of the student-run newspaper, The Michigan Daily in 1968-69.

So it was no surprise that early Saturday I was watching the annual revival of the intense football rivalry between Michigan and Ohio State. Both teams entered the game with 10-1 records.

It was a chilly snowy day in Ann Arbor but the weather didn’t interfere with a huge celebration when Michigan won the game 42-27 to advance to the Big Ten title game next Saturday.

As Michigan fans flooded the field after the game, my youthful passion returned with a rush and I cheered out loud. Three of my grandsons watched the final moments and the celebration with me.

***

Sunday’s Headlines:

• Omicron variant detected from Britain to Hong Kong as countries race to impose controls — Experts say the emergence of the new variant reflects the risks from vaccine inequities around the world. (WP)

• We Know Almost Nothing About the Omicron Variant (Atlantic)

• UK, Germany and Italy detect Omicron coronavirus variant cases (Reuters)

• Variant Highlights Risks of Low Vaccination Rates in Poor Countries (WSJ)

• As Omicron Variant Circles the Globe, African Nations Face Blame and Bans — With countries trying to close their doors to the new coronavirus variant, southern African officials note that the West’s hoarding of vaccines helped create their struggle in the first place. (NYT)

• COVID fears spark Dow's biggest sell-off of 2021 (Reuters)

• N.Y. declares covid state of emergency as Gov. Hochul warns variant ‘is coming’(WP)

• As variant is detected around world, travel bans may be too late, experts say(WP)

• New Covid variant triggers urgent moment for Biden health team (Politico)

• CDC says no cases of Omicron identified in U.S. so far (Reuters)

• New data shows Merck’s experimental covid-19 pill is less effective than early results predicted (WP)

• What We Know About the Creator of Bitcoin — In an age in which it is hard to be anonymous, the identity of the cryptocurrency’s inventor remains a mystery (WSJ)

• Israel and Iran Broaden Cyberwar to Attack Civilian Targets — Iranians couldn’t buy gas. Israelis found their intimate dating details posted online. The Iran-Israel shadow war is now hitting ordinary citizens. (NYT)

• Southern states fall behind in vaccinating kids as pediatric infections climb(WP)

• Australia’s spy agency predicted the climate crisis 40 years ago – and fretted about coal exports (Guardian)

• How ‘Climate Migrants’ Are Roiling American Politics — Refugees fleeing weather-related disasters are changing the political equation in Florida, Virginia, California, Idaho and beyond. (Politico)

• The Military’s Broken Culture Around Sexual Violence and Suicide — The Pentagon isn’t doing what is necessary to protect and care for service members facing trauma. (NYT)

• Digital Technology Poses New Obstacle for U.S. Spies (WSJ)

• He spent almost 50 years alone at 10,000 feet. His hobby helped shape climate research in the Rockies. (WP)

• Interior Dept. Report on Drilling Is Mostly Silent on Climate Change — The department recommended higher fees for oil and gas leases, but there was no sign the government planned to take global warming into account when weighing new applications. (NYT)

• The Cosmic Origins of Silver and Gold (BBC)

• George Orwell: how romantic walks with girlfriends inspired Nineteen Eighty-Four (Guardian)

• The Cosmic Origins of Silver and Gold (WSJ)

• Bob Dylan artwork show opens in Miami, new cinema paintings (AP)

• Adele tops UK music charts record-breaking comeback album "30" (Reuters)

• Guantánamo Bay: Beyond the Prison — With 6,000 residents and the feel of a college campus, the U.S. Navy base has some of the trappings of small-town America, and some of a police state. (NYT)

• How Music Created Silicon Valley (The Honest Broker)

• Michigan beats Ohio State 42-27, ends 8-game skid in rivalry (AP)

***

Sunday’s Lyrics: 
"The Victors" 

Now for a cheer they are here, triumphant! 
Here they come with banners flying, 
In stalwart step they're nighing, 
With shouts of vict'ry crying, 
We hurrah, hurrah, we greet you now, Hail! 

Far we their praises sing 
For the glory and fame they've brought us 
Loud let the bells them ring 
For here they come with banners flying 
Far we their praises tell 
For the glory and fame they've brought us 
Loud let the bells them ring 
For here they come with banners flying 
Here they come, Hurrah! 

Hail! to the victors valiant 
Hail! to the conqu'ring heroes 
Hail! Hail! to Michigan 
The leaders and best! 
Hail! to the victors valiant 
Hail! to the conqu'ring heroes 
Hail! Hail! to Michigan, 
The champions of the West! 

We cheer them again 
We cheer and cheer again 
For Michigan, we cheer for Michigan 
We cheer with might and main 
We cheer, cheer, cheer 
With might and main we cheer! 

Hail! to the victors valiant 
Hail! to the conqu'ring heroes 
Hail! Hail! to Michigan, 
The champions of the West!