Monkey Business

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TODAY’s NEWS (45):

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

2. The Reason Putin Would Risk War (Atlantic)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

31. Survey shows a glum California (Politico)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Best Book List

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

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

• The Old Man and the Sea (Hemingway)

• The Scarlet Letter (Hawthorne)

• Coming Into the Country (McPhee)

• Love Medicine (Erdrich)

• Beloved (Morrison)

• To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee)

• The Portrait of a Lady (James)

• Silent Spring (Carson)

• The Tipping Point (Gladwell)

• Maus (Spiegelman)

• The Sound and the Fury (Faulkner)

• Plainsong (Haruf)

• Sweat (Hayes)

• Curve of Binding Energy (McPhee)

• The Giver (Lowry)

• Pilgrim at Tinker’s Creek (Dillard)

• The Overstory (Powers)

• Grapes of Wrath (Steinbeck)

• Cannery Row (Steinbeck)

• short stories (Salinger)

• short stories (Updike)

• Sapiens (Harari)

• In Our Time (Hemingway)

• Diary of Anne Frank

• Island of the Blue Dolphins (O’Dell)

• The Web of Life (Storer)

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

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

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

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

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

There are no shortcuts when it comes to erudition.

TODAY’s HEADLINES (61):

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

24. Why Biden took his moonshot (Politico)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Can You Suggest a Book?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you!

Thanks to Mary Sturges for her help with this one.

***

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

Thanks to Tomoko Fukatsu for this one.

TODAY’s NEWS (40):

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Choosing My Words

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TODAY’s NEWS (64):

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. Latest congressional map favors Democrats (Politico)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

60. Domestication (National Geographic)

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

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

63. War Anxieties Loomed Over SNL (Atlantic)

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

 

Dreams of the Retiree

Most retired people still have dreams about work. Most working people have dreams about school. Most kids have dreams about monsters.

These are gross generalizations, certainly, which is what makes them interesting. But to deal with the retired person first, why would we expect it to be any different? After 40 or 50 years of repetitive behavior befitting a Marx Brothers’ movie, most of us have enough material to script hundreds of nightmares.

Bad bosses, double-crossing colleagues, shocking failures, absurd successes, compliments, insults, promotions, demotions, hirings, firings. The parade of inputs goes on and on. If we were writing a movie script, this would all be back-story to the current drama, which is but a dream.

The working person relives his or her high school and college years while sleeping. There were enough anxieties during those passages to populate a million dreams during your working years.

Anything to avoid dreaming about your present reality!

One friend in her 30s told me she dreamt about her boss, a slightly older woman but in her dream, her boss was her mother. There is that too, the parents who keep showing up long after you’ve left home, long even after they’ve departed this world.

Kids have to sort out an immensely confusing world where magic beings like the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus have more power than any of the more visible authority figures, plus they tend to use it (power) in much better ways.

That helps explain magic, which in turn might help ward off this monsters under the bed, in the closet or just around the next bedtime.

***

This weekend brought a return to how things used to be before the pandemic — brunches, gatherings to watch sports games, spring-like weather. After taking the train into the city on Sunday, I met my three youngest for brunch at a place in the Mission District we’ve been visiting since it opened way back in 2004.

They were little kids then (ten, eight and six) but now they are all in their twenties, starting in on their careers and navigating life in the Covid era like everyone else. One difference from the past is the restaurant has outdoor booths now like many places in San Francisco.

So much in our lives has changed over the past two years that each time I can revisit life as I used to know it in the city brings an almost overwhelming sense of nostalgia. There are the stairs we always climbed inside the parking structure, that’s the yellow pad & clipboard where they write the names of those waiting for a table, there’s that same old menu, familiar and comforting.

These were the details I took for granted for years, not knowing what was to come. Frankly, I’m shocked the establishment was able to weather the pandemic and stay in business; I gather it came close to closing like so many others did.

It’s little moments like Sunday’s that I savor most now. Maybe Covid has more surprises in store for us, but we’ve made it through surge after surge and we’re still here.

And I’m grateful for that.

TODAY’s NEWS:

• Democrats Decried Dark Money. Then They Won With It in 2020. — A New York Times analysis reveals how the left outdid the right at raising and spending millions from undisclosed donors to defeat Donald Trump and win power in Washington. (NYT)

• Trump suggests that if he is reelected, he will pardon Jan. 6 Capitol rioters (WP)

• Nixon aide: Trump pardon promise for Capitol rioters is ‘stuff of dictators’ (Guardian)

• Inside the campaign to pressure Justice Breyer to retire — The Supreme Court justice’s decision to step down followed a year-long campaign designed to get him to retire and make way for a new nominee to be named by a Democratic president. (WP)

• Canada withdraws non-essential personnel from embassy in Ukraine (Reuters)

• U.S. Sanctions Aimed at Russia Could Take a Wide Toll — The boldest measures that President Biden is threatening to deter an invasion of Ukraine could roil the entire Russian economy — but also those of other nations. (NYT)

• Britain offers jets, warships to bolster NATO forces amid escalating Russia threat to Ukraine (WP)

• Ukraine conflict shines light on deepening ties between Beijing and Moscow (Financial Times)

• Scientists on alert over rising cases caused by Omicron cousin BA.2 (Reuters)

• Anthony Fauci is up against more than a virus — Two years into the pandemic, the threats and vitriol have not stopped. And the many Americans who still trust him are exhausted. (WP)

• Living by the Code: In China, Covid-Era Controls May Outlast the Virus — The country has instituted a wide range of high-tech controls on society as part of a mostly successful effort to stop the virus. The consequences may endure. (NYT)

• In the wake of the omicron wave, single parents are struggling once again (WP)

• Omicron Pushes World Toward Accepting Covid as Fact of Life (WSJ)

• When Omicron Isn’t So Mild — For those with underlying medical conditions, the latest pandemic wave has still posed a threat. (NYT)

• 7 signs you might have had omicron variant without knowing it (Deseret News)

• Maybe the volatility of cryptocurrencies is a feature, not a bug (WP)

• Breakdown: Real profit and loss in the metaverse (Reuters)

• How a hyperactive cell in the brain might trigger Alzheimer's disease (NPR)

• Male penguin pair, New York zoo’s first same-sex foster parents, doing ‘great job’ raising baby chick (WP)

• Housework or sleep? Study says it depends when you were born (AP)

• Parenting Is Lonely. Here’s How to Find and Keep Friends in 2022. (WSJ)

• Trump declared a war on the media. Now proxy battles are being waged in American courts. (WP)

• Sales soar for ‘Maus’ after its banning in Tennessee (Politico)

• Public education faces crisis of epic proportions amid pandemic, culture wars (WP)

• Even at College, Our Children Are Home — Texting and social media allow today’s students to stay connected to family and old friends in a way unimaginable to previous generations. (WSJ)

• U.N. report says Taliban have killed scores of former Afghan officials, others (Reuters)

• Pregnant New Zealand journalist stranded by quarantine rules says she turned to Taliban — Charlotte Bellis says group offered her safe haven while quarantine backlog prevented return home (Guardian)

• How Africa will become the center of the world’s urban future — By 2100, 13 of the world’s 20 biggest urban areas will be in Africa. (WP)

• Is California on the Verge of a Second Gold Rush? — Gold mines are reopening in places where mining was once thought to be economically unfeasible. (Atlantic)

• What would happen if an asteroid hit Earth today? (NY Post)

• Boyfriend Announces Plan To Spend Infuriating Afternoon Speaking In Australian Accent (The Onion)

 

The Ticks Go On

Lately, I’ve been hearing from retirees who feel like they no longer have a role that matters in life. It’s a testament, perhaps, to how much work dominates our lives, at least in the U.S.

Even several years removed from it all, I’m still conscious of the weekly rhythm of work — all day every day Monday through Friday with Saturday to recover and Sunday to get ready all over again.

Decades can go by like that, with scarcely a meaningful break. Then somewhere along the way you take a vacation or a business trip or you get ill or some other “life event” disrupts the routine.

This is often called a mid-life crisis.

Suddenly the whole pattern makes no sense and you return to the office afterward disoriented and confused. Or maybe you are ecstatic and refreshed — which may make more sense but is just as weird to witness or experience.

Ultimately, as it evaporates with time, you have to measure your career by the impacts you’ve had — for better or worse. You’re not going to get a second time around on that merry-go-round.

The people I know who have retired are, like me, struggling to feel like we are still relevant, that our lives matter. Some are volunteering, finding new interests, pursuing long-delayed dreams.

Meanwhile, almost like it is so instilled in us we can’t shake it, the industrial clock just keeps ticking. Even though it no longer ticks toward the start of yet another dreadful workweek it ticks toward our ultimate checkout time.

Hopefully we figure out our place in all of this by then.

TODAY’s HEADLINES:

• Pro-Moscow separatists once marched in this Ukraine border city. Now it’s standing against Russia. (WP)

• Explaining NATO and Ukraine: How a 30-year-old debate still drives Putin today (NPR)

• Ukrainian reservists gear up in case of conflict with Russia (Reuters)

• As Russian Troops Mass in Belarus, a Ukraine Border Is Largely Undefended — From the border, it’s a fast 140 miles down a newly paved highway to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, but only a few troops stand guard. (NYT)

• U.S. says Russia ‘clearly’ now has capability to attack Ukraine (WP)

• Ukrainian schools train for bomb alerts (Reuters)

• VIDEO: Pentagon: Russia Has More Than 100,000 Troops at Ukraine’s Borders (NYT)

• How a Russian invasion of Ukraine would reverberate around the world (CNN)

• The latest Covid variant is 1.5 times more contagious than omicron and already circulating in almost half of U.S. states (CNBC)

• Biden Had Strategy to Beat Covid-19. Then Variants Arrived. (WSJ)

• The Coronavirus Will Surprise Us Again (Atlantic)

• A new COVID-19 variant surge ‘will happen again,’ experts say (Deseret News)

• The shadow pandemic: Antibiotic resistance is growing (WP)

• On Patrol: 12 Days With a Taliban Police Unit in Kabul (NYT)

• Stuck without housing, Afghan evacuees languish inside D.C.-area hotel rooms (WP)

• State Department delivers crushing news to Fulbright scholar hopefuls in Afghanistan (ABC)

• Taliban stress efforts to improve female education (NHK)

• U.S. Blocks $130 Million in Aid for Egypt Over Rights Abuses (NYT)

• Trump facing legal, political headwinds as he eyes comeback (AP)

• ‘No Regrets’ Is No Way to Live — It’s tempting never to look back, but we’re hard-wired to focus on our mistakes. Rather than deny them, we can lift ourselves up by seeing them in a new light. (WSJ)

• Object found in the Milky Way 'unlike anything astronomers have seen' (Phys.org)

• SEC’s crypto crusade at risk in looming legal battles (Politico)

• Ubisoft execs: “Gamers are always right”—yet they somehow “misunderstand” NFTs (Ars Technica)

• Cryptocurrency industry fights proposed NY moratorium. Here is what's at stake. (Politico)

• San Francisco has the best sports teams in the U.S., at least according to one analysis (SFC)

• Joni Mitchell pulls music from Spotify in stand with Neil Young against covid misinformation (WP)

• Spotify Isn’t Really About the Music Anymore (Atlantic)

• The Best Wordle Starting Word Has Been Figured Out With (Computer) Science (Gamespot)

• Art Spiegelman sees the new ban of his Holocaust graphic novel ‘Maus’ as a ‘red alert’ (WP)

• Scientists regrow frogs’ amputated limbs in massive leap for regenerative medicine (EuroNews)

• Stuff On TV Show Always Going Wrong (The Onion)