Tolerance

 One of the disquieting awkwardnesses of the later stages of life is the realization that there are many bedrock ideas you are now older than, for better and for worse.

For example, you could say that people my age (75) are older than human rights.

That somewhat shocking assertion is based in the fact that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights wasn’t issued by the UN until late 1948, after we early Baby Boomers were already toddling on the scene.

It is a tragic reality of human history that it took until the end of World War II for the world to get around to taking such an elemental step toward equality and justice.

Then again, women only got the right to vote in the U.S. a century ago, and racial segregation persisted into the 1960s. Sexism and racial discrimination remain embedded structurally in our society to this day.

The achievement of full human rights anywhere on the planet remains elusive and aspirational, which is why the work of advocacy organizations devoted to exposing human rights abuses is so important.

Every single day, as I gather the news headlines, reports of egregious human rights abuses surface here and overseas. Today in Miramar, for example, villages are burning while in Michigan yet another unarmed black man was shot and killed by police after a traffic stop. 

And of course there is the ongoing unprovoked extermination of civilians in Ukraine.

Lately I’ve become newly curious about origin of our fundamental concepts of human rights. Historians have long traced it back to 539 BC, when Cyrus the Great conquered the city of Babylon, freed the slaves, and declared that people should have a choice in their religion.

This inspired many of the reforms in Greece, Rome and India — societies that advanced the rights and freedoms of people beyond what previously had been known.

It was many centuries later before seminal advances like the U.S. Declaration of Independence in 1776.

That occurred just over the equivalent of three of my lifetimes ago. We still have a long way to go as a species, but there is some small comfort that over the past 75 years, we’ve made some progress inside the U.S. on civil rights, women’s rights, gay and lesbian rights (if not along the entire spectrum of gender and sexuality), disability rights, and discriminatory practices like ageism, bullying, religious extremism and many other forms of hate.

Let’s hope that over the next 75 years that progress on all of these human rights issues accelerates in every corner of the globe. Our common humanity requires that to happen. Please speak out in support of tolerance of all kinds, as well as for the people and the organizations in your community in pursuit of that goal.

Today’s News (46):

1. ‘Clear Patterns’ of Russian Rights Abuses Found in Ukraine, Report Says (NYT)

2. VIDEO: Yellen Warns China Against Undermining Sanctions on Russia (AP)

3. Moscow digs in for protracted fight as war stretches into 50th day (WP)

4. Russian navy evacuates badly damaged flagship in Black Sea. Ukraine claims it was hit by a missile (CNN)

5. The flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet was seriously damaged and its crew evacuated today, following an explosion on board that Ukraine said was caused by a missile strike. The loss of the missile cruiser would be a blow for Russia, as it readies for a new assault in the eastern Donbas region that is likely to define the outcome of the conflict. (Reuters)

6. Pentagon confirms explosion aboard Russian warship (Politico)

7. Pressure on US to give Ukraine more intelligence on Russia (AP)

8. We need more weapons and we need them now, Zelensky tells BBC (BBC)

9. Despite Russian Warnings, Finland and Sweden Draw Closer to NATO (NYT)

10. One of Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest allies warned NATO that if Sweden and Finland joined the U.S.-led military alliance, then Russia would have to bolster its defences in the region, including by deploying nuclear weapons. (Reuters)

11. Ominous rhetoric gains ground in Russia as war struggles persist in Ukraine (WP)

12. Biden commits another $800 million in assistance during one-hour call with Zelenskyy (USA Today)

13. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) proposed making the U.S. a member of the International Criminal Court in The Hague and repealing a George W. Bush-era law that requires the U.S. to block the court from investigating Americans. “It’s really important for us not to have a law on the books that says in many ways it is OK for everyone to be prosecuted” but not Americans, Omar said. [HuffPost]

14. Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas says Russia already has nuclear weapons in the Baltic region. Anusauskas said that nuclear weapons have been deployed in Russia's Kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic Sea since before the current crisis. (Reuters)

15. Ukraine war is ‘massive setback’ for global economic recovery, says IMF chief (Financial Times)

16. Pencil Cases and Air-Raid Sirens: School at War for Ukraine’s Children (NYT)

17. Poland builds a border wall, even as it welcomes Ukrainian refugees (WP)

18. RNC votes to withdraw from Commission on Presidential Debates (Fox)

19. Blaming Trump, Jan. 6 Suspect Says He Fell Down a ‘Rabbit Hole’ of Lies (NYT)

20. Grassley says Republicans won’t repeal Affordable Care Act if they retake Senate (WP)

21. California voters say state is moving in the wrong direction, feel financial squeeze (LAT)

22. Mortgage Rates Hit 5% for First Time Since 2011 (WSJ)

23. Rents in the U.S. increased by 17.1% in the past year, to an average of $1,792 per month, a new report found. The steepest hikes: Austin at 40% and Portland, Ore., at 39%. (WP)

24. Billionaire Elon Musk, a critic of social media who weeks ago became Twitter's largest shareholder, offered to buy all of the company's shares for $54.20 each. That's a 54% premium over the share price the day before Musk began investing in the company in January. "Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it," he said. [HuffPost]

25. Live Analysis: Musk Says He Has ‘Sufficient Assets’ to Make Purchase (WSJ)

26. ‘Extremely important to the future of civilization’: Musk describes a Twitter remade in his own image (Politico)

27. Russian companies and global banks including BNY Mellon, Deutsche Bank, Citigroup and JPMorgan could profit if Moscow moves to de-list Russian companies' depositary receipts from foreign exchanges, according to two people familiar with the matter. (Reuters)

28. Canada ignored warnings of virus infecting farmed and wild salmon (Guardian)

29. Little support for a return to mask mandates. (Politico)

30. Two Long Years (Atlantic)

31. Pfizer COVID-19 booster provides strong immune boost in kids ages 5-11, new study shows (USA Today)

32. China Covid-19 Lockdowns Spread Beyond Shanghai to Other Cities (WSJ)

33. Reuters poll has shown China's economic growth is likely to slow to 5.0% in 2022 amid renewed COVID outbreaks and a weakening global recovery, raising pressure on the central bank to ease policy further. (Reuters)

34. White House on the lookout for BA.4 and BA.5 (Politico)

35. The Complicated Politics of Crypto and Web3 (Economist)

36. Senators, staff question Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s fitness to serve (SFC)

37. Hubble Confirms Giant Comet With 85-Mile-Wide 'Dirty Snowball' Nucleus (CNET)

38. Forever chemicals' broad reach (Politico)

39. For the first time, wind power eclipsed both coal and nuclear in the U.S. (NPR)

40. Dozens of satellite images, reviewed by Reuters, show widespread torching of villages in the central part of Myanmar. (Reuters)

41. Videos show Michigan officer fatally shooting Black man (CBS)

42. The Pentagon Just Confirmed the First-Ever Interstellar Visitor to Earth (Popular Mechanics)

43. Sports Are Great Because They’re Pointless (Atlantic)

44. Taxes 2022: Here's how to get a filing extension from the IRS (CBS)

45. Husband of Japan's former princess not on NY bar exam pass list (NHK)

46. Climate Report Finds Antarctica Could Support Multiple Golf Courses By 2050 (The Onion)

Forever Old Or Young

 Today is not only a new day for me but an old one. At least it feels that way, reaching the odd milestone of three-quarters of a century.

If the past year has taught me anything the previous 74 did not, it is that time isn’t going to slow down at this point. So I better make of the most of it.

Time has its own purpose, which is to pass. And of course we all will too. But the good news is we haven’t yet.

I’m grateful for my family and the great many friends who have been in contact over the past year — old friends and new ones as well. 

As for wisdom at this juncture, I’m not sure I have any beyond the cliche about living in the moment, even though I’ve never been completely sure what that means. Then again, it’s apparently better than any of the known alternatives.

TODAY’s NEWS (42):

1. VIDEO: The Taliban Promised Them Amnesty. Then They Were Executed. (NYT)

2. U.S. President Joe Biden has said for the first time that Russia's invasion of Ukraine amounts to genocide, a significant escalation of the president’s rhetoric. (Reuters)

3. U.S. to Provide Ukraine With More Intelligence, Heavier Weapons to Fight Russia (WSJ)

4. Russia has yet to slow a Western arms express into Ukraine (AP)

5. Bucha’s Month of Terror (NYT)

6. French forensic experts have arrived in Bucha near Kyiv to help investigate possible war crimes, and to establish what happened in the town where hundreds of bodies have been discovered since Russian forces withdrew. (Reuters)

7. Lengthening war creates major problems for global economy (WP)

8. Russia claims more than a thousand Ukrainian marines have surrendered in the besieged port of Mariupol, Moscow's main target in the eastern Donbas region. (Reuters)

9. Russian Forces Renew Focus on Southern and Eastern Ukraine (WSJ)

10. If Putin isn’t stopped in Ukraine, the Baltics are likely next (WP)

11. Putin Calls Talks a ‘Dead End’ but Limits War Aim to Eastern Ukraine (NYT)

12. Success: Years of NATO Training (WSJ)

13. Pentagon looks to vastly expand weapons for Ukraine (WP)

14. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy mocked Moscow's insistence that the war against his nation was going well, asking how President Vladimir Putin could have approved a plan that involved so many Russians dying. (Reuters)

15. Putin defends war as possible use of chemical weapons is investigated (WP)

16. As Ukraine war intensifies, questions from first Trump impeachment linger (Politico)

17. And the presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are on their way to Kyiv to meet Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, an adviser to the Polish leader said today. (Reuters)

18. Ukrainian fighter pilots in old jets take on better-equipped Russians (WP)

19. Images of Zelenskyy show the physical toll that trauma and stress can have on the body (NPR)

20. Heavy Floods and Mudslides Leave at Least 45 Dead in South Africa (NYT)

21. British consumer price inflation leapt to a 30-year high of 7.0% in March, its highest since March 1992 and up from 6.2% in February, official figures show. The leap reflects the intensifying cost-of-living squeeze faced by British households. (Reuters)

22. Why there are growing fears the U.S. is headed to a recession (NPR)

23. Amazon is adding a 5% fuel and inflation surcharge (CNN)

24. Human rights and democracy eroding globally, U.S. finds (WP)

25. China activists call for reboot of State Dept. annual human rights report (Politico)

26. In Conference Call Before Riot, a Plea to ‘Descend on the Capitol’ (NYT)

27. Jason Sullivan, a QAnon promoter and former aide to GOP political consultant Roger Stone, called on Trump supporters to "descend on the Capitol" to prevent the certification of Joe Biden's election win. “If we make the people inside that building sweat, and they understand that they may not be able to walk in the streets any longer if they do the wrong thing, then maybe they’ll do the right thing,” he said on conference call a week before the Jan. 6 insurrection. [HuffPost]

28. The Department of Justice rejected a request by the House Oversight Committee to disclose the contents of records that former President Donald Trump took to his Florida residence after leaving the White House, saying it needed to protect confidential information that may compromise an ongoing investigation. [AP]

29. China's overall trade with Russia rose by more than 12% in March from a year earlier in dollar terms, even as Beijing criticized Western sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Overall trade with Russia increased 12.76% in March to $11.67 billion. (Reuters)

30. Battle over carbon capture as tool to fight climate change (AP)

31. We’ve Never Seen a Carbon-Removal Plan Like This Before — Companies including Google and Facebook are pouring more than $900 million into a nascent technology that’s essential to zeroing out emissions. (Atlantic)

32. Gas Prices Force Biden Into an Unlikely Embrace of Fossil Fuels (NYT)

33. There’s still a way to reach global goal on climate change (AP)

34. Covid rises in Northeast as subvariant takes hold (WP)

35. Covid-19 Vaccine for Young Kids: What to Know (WSJ)

36. Red States Push L.G.B.T.Q. Restrictions as Education Battles Intensify (NYT)

37. As some states race to make abortion more restrictive, California legislation would make abortions easier and more affordable. (Cal Today)

38. Political brawl looms over nuclear cruise missile Biden plans to scrap (Politico)

39. The U.S. recorded its highest death total in history in 2021, attributed largely to COVID-19 and overdoses. While scientists expected the vaccine rollout would help reduce pandemic-related deaths compared to 2020, new variants coupled with vaccine hesitancy and resistance to public health guidance  led to an increase. [AP]

40. US says it conducted subcritical nuclear tests twice in 2021 (NHK)

41. A recent study offers genomic evidence that the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe’s connection to the Bay Area goes back at least 2,000 years. (Cal Today)

42. Study Finds Fewer Americans Than Ever Trust News Bloopers (The Onion)

TODAY’s LYRICS (Thanks to my friend Mary):

“Forever Young”

By Bob Dylan

May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young
May you stay forever young

May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the light surrounding you
May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
May you stay forever young
May you stay forever young

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
May your song always be sung
And may you stay forever young
May you stay forever young

Words

Sticks and stones may break my bones
But words shall never hurt me. — children’s rhyme

______

That old kids’ rhyme may still be an effective retort to verbal bullies but it is not true in a literal sense. Words hurt, of course, and they hurt relentlessly, cruelly and sometimes irreversibly. 

On the other hand, words also can bring pleasure as surely as food, drink, stories and sex, among other delights.

Thus for many of us, word games are among our favorite daily habits.

The venerable Scrabble and the addictive Wordle are two of my personal favorites. Two of my sons compete in “Words With Friends.”

And then there are  Semantle, Dordle, Quordle, Octordle, Nerdle, and hello wordl, among others.

Josh Wardle, the creator of Wordle says "What's fun about Wordle, I think, is what you can tease out, based on what you know about language. What the word should be."

Some of what goes wrong in our national and international dialogues can be traced to words and what they should mean. Political and military opponents often seem to be talking right past each other.

Certainly this is the case between Russia and Ukraine.

But enough of the serious stuff. I’ve got to get back to Wordle, where I’ve won 98 percent of the time (two silly losses came when I rushed), 25 percent by the third guess, 78 percent by the fourth, 92 percent by the fifth, and six percent on the last try.

During my recent trip to Arizona, one revealing moment found my three sisters and I all independently playing variations of Wordle at the same time.

It must be in the genes.

***

It’s baseball season, which around here means you see a lot of fans wearing San Francisco Giants gear on Bart and in the streets of the city. And last night, Alyssa Nakken became the first female coach in a regular season Major League Baseball game in the long history of the sport when she coached at first base for the Giants against the San Diego Padres.

Oh, and the Giants won the game, 13-2.

Today’s News (66):

1. Putin defends 'noble' war amid allegations of rape, brutality and chemical weapons (Reuters)

2. Far From Defeated, Putin Intends to Escalate War in Ukraine (NYT)

3. Putin vows to press invasion until Russia’s goals are met (AP)

4. U.S. expects ‘brutal tactics’ as Russian troops push to the east (WP)

5. In Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pleaded for more weapons from the West to help it end the siege of Mariupol and fend off an expected Russian offensive in the east. (Reuters)

6. US and UK investigating reports of chemical weapons being used by Russia in Ukraine war (BBC)

7. Russian military-linked hackers target Ukrainian power company, investigators say (CNN)

8. A spokesman for Ukraine's defense ministry said Russia has nearly completed its buildup for a renewed assault on Ukraine's eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions. He added that Ukraine's army was ready to face the renewed assault. (Reuters)

9. Vadym Boychenko, mayor of the port city of Mariupol, said Russian forces have killed over 10,000 civilians there over the past six weeks and are blocking humanitarian convoys. The Kremlin is now reportedly shifting its attention to the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, where Russian-allied separatists have claimed independence, pulling troops out of Belarus to support the operation. [AP]

10. Donbas: Battle in east Ukraine expected to be bloody and decisive (BBC)

11. Ukrainians Use Drones, Facial-Recognition Software as They Probe Alleged War Crimes (WSJ)

12. Japan to send prosecutors to ICC to help Ukraine investigation (NHK)

13. War impels many Ukrainians to abandon Russian language, culture (WP)

14. Putin says peace talks at 'dead end' (USA Today)

15. No More ‘Have a Nice Day’: Lviv Learns to Live With War (NYT)

16. Bucha mayor: 403 bodies found (NHK)

17. Zelenskyy says retreating Russian soldiers left thousands of unexploded bombs and mines across the country (Business Insider)

18. This Is the War’s Decisive Moment (Atlantic)

19. UN: Nearly two-thirds of Ukraine’s children have fled homes (AP)

20. Mariupol mayor: Civilian deaths could surpass 21,000 (NHK)

21. Hubris and isolation led Vladimir Putin to misjudge Ukraine (WP)

22. U.S. Weighs Shift to Support Hague Court as It Investigates Russian Atrocities (NYT)

23. Rocketing Prices Test Europe’s Political Resolve in Confrontation With Russia (WSJ)

24. VIDEO: Biden Discusses Ukraine War With Indian Prime Minister (AP)

25. In Taiwan, the military released a handbook on civil defense for the first time, giving citizens survival guidance in a war scenario, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine focuses attention on how the island should respond to China's pressure. The handbook details how to find bomb shelters via smartphone apps, as well as tips for preparing emergency first aid kits. (Reuters)

26. The city of Philadelphia will reinstate an indoor mask mandate, the first major U.S. city to do so this spring. (NYT)

27. 'Pandemic, Inc.' author says financial predators made more than $1 billion off COVID (NPR)

28. Fox News star Tucker Carlson revealed he has not received a single COVID-19 vaccine shot. Carlson, a prominent anti-vaccine voice on Fox News, argued at a recent megachurch event in San Diego that he's not a vaccine skeptic, but takes issue with COVID shots. He previously dodged questions around his vaccination status. [HuffPost]

29. Pressure builds as Shanghai, a city of 25 million, remains locked inside (CNN)

30. Shanghai eases 2-week shutdown, letting some residents out (AP)

31. New Drug Slashed Deaths Among Patients With Severe Covid, Maker Claims (NYT)

32. Florida is accusing the Walgreens pharmacy chain of putting profit over health for improperly handing out millions of powerful painkillers that caused tens of thousands of deaths, in a trial that began Monday. CVS, which was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, already settled the case for an estimated $870 million. [AP]

33. Representative Ami Bera was among at least eight people bitten by a fox infected with rabies near the U.S. Capitol (Los Angeles Times)

34. Gasoline drives up U.S. consumer prices; inflation likely peaked (Reuters)

35. EPA Will Allow More Ethanol in Gas This Summer in Bid to Tame Prices (WSJ)

36. White House in Damage Control Mode as Crypto Markets Brace for 8%-Plus Inflation (Yahoo)

37. Stocks Climb After Inflation Data (WSJ)

38. Recession shock' is coming, Bank of America warns. (CNN)

39. Paul Krugman on Why the Economy Is Doing Better Than We Think (NYT)

40. Sri Lanka will temporarily suspend foreign debt payments to avoid a hard default, the central bank governor said today, with its limited foreign reserves required for imports of essential items such as fuel. (Reuters)

41. Potential far-right victory in France seen as threat to EU (AP)

42. Biden says 'ghost gun' crackdown should be 'just the start' on gun control: 'None of this absolves Congress' (Fox)

43. Multiple people shot in Brooklyn subway station, ‘undetonated devices’ found, FDNY officials say (WP)

44. Far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has a new defense of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot: It happened only once. “The American people are fed up with this over-dramatization of a riot that happened here at the Capitol one time,” Greene told NBC News. [HuffPost]

45. Oklahoma governor signs bill to make abortion illegal (AP)

46. An off-duty police officer who breached the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack was found guilty of multiple felonies, a notable victory for prosecutors in one of the first trials relating to the attack. (Reuters)

47. Amazon’s $2 billion housing push has mostly left out D.C. area’s poorest (WP)

48. 'RINO' versus 'political prostitute': Bitter GOP primary hinges on infrastructure plans (Politico)

49. 'Dead sunspot' launches ball of plasma toward Earth (LiveScience)

50. Nasa spots record breaking, huge comet headed towards Earth (Independent)

51. ‘Ain't Nobody in It:' San Francisco Police Stop Self-Driving Car (NBC)

52. Criminal groups are battling for control over territory, forcing people to flee from Michoacán and other Mexican states. Cartels have torched businesses, planted land mines and launched bombs from drones. (WP)

53. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States was monitoring what he described as a rise in human rights abuses in India by some officials, in a rare direct rebuke by Washington of the Asian nation's rights record. (Reuters)

54. Psilocybin Rewires Brain Connections To Help Alleviate Depression (SciTechDaily)

55. Patients with allergic disorders have greater risk of high blood pressure and coronary heart disease (NewsMedical)

56. Children as Young as 8 Should Be Screened for Anxiety, Experts Recommend (WSJ)

57. COVID-19, overdoses pushed US to highest death total ever (AP)

58. Teen drug overdose deaths rose sharply in 2020, driven by fentanyl-laced pills (NPR)

59. Seventy percent of the Southern Plains is already experiencing severe drought. That’s up from just 7% six months ago — and it’s expected to get worse. (WP)

60. Pouring it on: Climate change made 2020 hurricanes rainier (AP)

61. Baseball Has a Historic Rookie Class. The Lockout Might Be the Reason Why. (WSJ)

62. Once a retail giant, Kmart nears extinction after New Jersey closure (NBC)

63. The Safe Investment That Will Soon Yield Almost 10% — The March surge in the consumer-price index is the latest boon to buyers of U.S. savings bonds that are adjusted for inflation, known as I Bonds. (WSJ)

64. Wordle creator describes game’s rise, says NYT sale was “a way to walk away” (Ars Technica)

65. Wordle: The Game Everyone Is Talking About (Hark)

66. Insane Man Makes It Through Another Day Without Anyone Catching On (The Onion)

Today’s Lyrics:

“If You Ever Have Forever in Mind”

(Songwriters: Troy Harold Seals / Vince Gill)

You're climbing mountains, I'm on a hill

You're always running I'm standing still

You live for the moment, no future no past

I may be a fool to love by the rules and want it to last

If you ever have forever in mind

I'll be here and easy to find

If your heart isn't ready to lay down with mine

If you ever have forever in mind

The music has ended still you want to dance

I know that feeling, I can't take that chance

You live for the moment no future no past

I may be a fool to love by the rules, I want it to last

If you ever have forever in mind

I'll be here and easy to find

If your heart isn't ready to lay down with mine

If you ever have forever in mind 

Not So Fast, Buddy

 

"It does leave one very tired and exhausted doesn't it, this horrible pandemic?"

— Queen Elizabeth

Yesterday I declared that “Covid is over,” which immediately drew a number of comments from friends begging to dispute that claim. And I take their point. Especially in some places and situations, it is still necessary to take precautions to avoid infection.

Certainly in Shanghai, for example, the virus has continued to dominate life lately, but there are other examples all over the world.

So, mea culpa on that one. When you write every single day of the year like I do, you’re going to get something wrong now and then. Probably what I actually should have written is “Personally, I am so over Covid.”

I’m so tired of the isolation we have endured since March 2020 that I could scream. That it was utterly necessary is not in question. Hundreds of thousands of us are alive because of masking, social distancing and vaccines.

And millions are worldwide.

But everywhere I look I also see the damage that isolation has done. And that is my main worry now.

Covid may indeed continue to make comebacks — new variants will continue to spring up here and there. And even though they almost certainly will be more contagious as they mutate, they also appear to be getting less lethal.

So that means the virus is retreating to something more akin to the flu — still a nasty infection one wants to avoid but only life-threatening in extreme situations.

There is no need to debate whether or when Covid will achieve endemic status; it will. And its impacts have already been severe. An entire generation of infants have been raised unable to read the emotions on the masked faces of the adults caring for them or of other children.

You’ve no doubt seen the same studies I have — this could cause incalculable harm to their emotional development.

And an entire generation of young adults had their age-appropriate socializing and networking stolen from them when educational institutions necessarily had to go virtual. I worry about the impacts on them.

Plus the elderly have been especially hard hit with so many premature deaths cutting short their chance to enjoy retirement, meet grandchildren, or tell their stories before passing on.

So the human tragedy has been immense, and (as usual) it has been disproportionately borne by the poor, minorities and rural populations.

None of this even begins to describe the unknown health impacts of “long-term Covid,” or the effect of vaccinations on the young. There are disturbing studies suggesting brain abnormalities, dementia and other potential impacts.

There is much we don’t know and I don’t take any of that lightly.

Yet in the end I’m just too tired of thinking about Covid to let it intrude on my consciousness any further. Yes indeed I am over it — perhaps too over it to be useful as a Covid commentator any longer.

Today’s News (40):

1. Racing for safety, Ukrainians meet new perils. (NYT)

2. Ukrainian troops have repulsed several Russian assaults in the country's east, the focus of a new offensive by the invading forces, British intelligence said, while President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said this week will be crucial to the course of the war. (Reuters)

3. Ukraine’s Zelensky Calls for More Military Aid as a Chemical Weapons Attack Is Alleged (WSJ)

4. As war enters bloody new phase, Ukraine again calls for more weapons (WP)

5. Zelenskyy said his nation came together as a "single fist" to resist Russia's invasion, but warned the outcome will depend on support from the U.S. Addressing reports Russian President Vladimir Putin was expecting him to flee Ukraine in the early days of the war, Zelenskyy said he recognizes the dangers of staying, but he is prepared to die for his country. [HuffPost]

6. A Stricken Ukrainian City Empties, and Those Left Fear What’s Next (NYT)

7. Champion boxer turned Kyiv mayor becomes a rousing wartime leader (WP)

8. Tens of thousands of people have likely been killed in Russia's assault on the southeastern city of Mariupol, Zelenskiy said, as he asked Seoul for any military aid it could provide. (Reuters)

9. Mariupol mayor says siege has killed more than 10K civilians (AP)

10. Ukraine’s Draft Dodgers Face Guilt, Shame and Reproach (NYT)

11. An airport was destroyed and several civilian targets were damaged. (WP)

12. Ukrainian defenders dig in as Russia boosts firepower (AP)

13. Israel’s Ukraine Policy Prompts Scrutiny of Russian-Israeli Oligarchs (NYT)

14. ‘Everything Was Destroyed’: War Hits Ukraine’s Farms (NYT)

15. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has indicated that the multinational alliance plans to heavily bolster its military presence on its eastern border long-term. This is part of a "reset," which would involve an increase in national defense spending by member countries. [HuffPost]

16. How Kyiv was saved by Ukrainian ingenuity as well as Russian blunders (Financial Times)

17. Russia says it destroyed missile systems supplied to Ukraine (NHK)

18. 'Russian soldiers raped me and killed my husband' (BBC)

19. VIDEO: ‘We’ll Bury Them, Like Humans’: Ukrainian Officials Identify Bodies in Bucha (NYT)

20. White House Expected to Name New Commander to Lead Allied Forces in Europe (WSJ)

21. The dysfunction in the food arm of the FDA (Politico)

22. Eight Months Later, A Look At The Taliban's Broken Promises (NPR)

23. Islamic State morphs and grows in Pakistan, Afghanistan (AP)

24. The Federal Reserve is expected to deliver two back-to-back half-point interest rate hikes in May and June to tackle runaway inflation, according to economists polled by Reuters who also say the probability of a recession next year is 40%. (Reuters)

25. In a major reversal, Elon Musk won’t join Twitter’s board of directors after all (WP)

26. Macron to Face Le Pen for President as French Gravitate Toward Extremes (NYT)

27. Joyce Vance, a former U.S. attorney in Alabama, said Donald Trump Jr.'s texts to then-chief of staff Mark Meadows about taking “operational control” of the 2020 presidential election even before the race was called “could be a smoking gun” amid ongoing criminal probes into the Jan. 6 insurrection. [HuffPost]

28. Before Giving Billions to Jared Kushner, Saudi Investment Fund Had Big Doubts (NYT)

29. China's financial center of Shanghai started easing its lockdown in some areas on Monday despite reporting a record of more than 25,000 new COVID-19 infections, as authorities strive to get the city moving again after more than two weeks. (Reuters)

30. Philadelphia to restore indoor mask mandate as cases rise (AP)

31. Some scientists think a squirt of droplets up people’s nostrils could help block infections — and limit spread of Covid — by creating a wall of immunity in the airways, where viruses take hold. (WP)

32. Guangzhou closes to most arrivals as China’s outbreak grows (AP)

33. Jan. 6 Panel Has Evidence for Criminal Referral of Trump, but Splits on Sending (NYT)

34. Study: Africa cyclones exacerbated by climate change (AP)

35. Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid (Atlantic)

36. President Joe Biden will announce a new rule to rein in ghost guns and ban the manufacturing of such firearms as the administration faces growing pressure to crack down on gun deaths and violent crime in the United States. (Reuters)

37. California utility to pay $55 million for massive wildfires (AP)

38. John Lennon's son, Julian, performs 'Imagine' for the 1st time, in support of Ukraine (NPR)

39. Why American Teens Are So Sad — Four forces are propelling the rising rates of depression among young people. (Atlantic)

40. Supreme Court Agrees To Hear The Case Of The Haunted Harbor (The Onion)

In Motion

 Lately I’ve spent more time moving around the Bay Area than has been the case for many years, either by commuter train, hired car, or courtesy of a vehicle driven by family or friends.

This, after two years of relative immobility due to the pandemic.

In the process, I’ve been in and out of train stations, restaurants, grocery stores, parks, coffee houses, family homes, doctor’s offices, a Tesla, crowded streets, empty streets, hilly paths, familiar places and new places.

The masks are coming off here, there and everywhere, though they are still “required” by some, namely Bart and Lyft.

Maybe because it’s been unseasonably warm, this all seems like a brand new world to me. We’ve been doing all the same old things — celebrating birthdays, shopping, meeting for coffee, working on taxes, getting eye care and dental care, having work meetings, catching up with friends — but it all seems lighter, airier, nicer.

After all, the Covid-19 pandemic is finally over.

While that may not be technically true for everybody, it is true for the great majority of us. And it should be because there is no reason to be afraid anymore or to hang back from socializing.

Those who continue to shrink from contact (except those who are severely immunocompromised) are doing so by choice and making a statement in the process. They are saying they don’t really want to be with other people, they’d prefer to be alone.

But as I have written many times, isolation kills, so too much alone time is a very bad idea. It is healthier to reach out, connect, get out of your comfort zone if necessary.

As Covid fades from the headlines (it barely accounts for 5 percent of the news these days), we need to recover our sense of social balance. Humans are social animals. We need to be together.

That is the headline. We all have to make the story work.

Today’s Headlines (43):

1. Russia Shuffles Command in Ukraine as Thousands Flee the East (NYT)

2. Evacuations urged as war moves east; Zelensky presses for oil boycotts (WP)

3. Refugees continued to flee eastern Ukraine ahead of a looming Russian assault, as both sides prepared for what is likely to become the war’s biggest battles. Russia’s main objective now is to seize the parts of the eastern Donbas region not yet controlled by Moscow. Fresh Russian units arrived to staging grounds for an expected offensive north of the Ukrainian city of Izyum. (WSJ)

4. As battle looms in Ukraine's east, Austrian leader to meet Putin (Reuters)

5. Ukraine 'ready for big battles' against Russia (BBC)

6. Ukrainian defenders dig in as Russia lines up more firepower (AP)

7. Putin’s War in Ukraine Shatters an Illusion in Russia (NYT)

8. Exodus swells to more than 4.5 million as battlefronts shift (WP)

9. Civilian casualties increase in eastern Ukraine (NHK)

10. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister: Country Preparing for Next Battle After Winning Kyiv (WSJ)

11. War to slash Ukraine's GDP output by over 45%, World Bank forecasts (Reuters)

12. Ukraine braces for a new, potentially more challenging phase (WP)

13. Ukraine's prosecutor general: 1,222 bodies found in Kyiv region (NHK)

14. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called a train-station strike in Kramatorsk the “latest war crime of Russia.” Residents in Bucha continued to clean up from weeks of Russian occupation, which they described as a spree of killing, raping and looting. (WSJ)

15. Spurred by Putin, Russians Turn on One Another Over the War (NYT)

16. In Ukraine, civilians are helping to shape the narrative of the war (WP)

17. US doubts new Russian war chief can end Moscow’s floundering (AP)

18. Hundreds of thousands of professional workers, many of them young, have left Russia since its invasion of Ukraine, accelerating an exodus of business talent and further threatening an economy targeted by Western sanctions. Russia’s central bank cut its key interest rate to 17% from 20%, saying the ruble’s rebound had reduced the risk that inflation would spike. (WSJ)

19. Inside the covert network sending arms and drones to Ukraine forces (WP)

20. Why Calls for War Crimes Justice Over Ukraine Face Long Odds (NYT)

21. Russian students are turning in teachers who don’t back the war (WP)

22. Biden to Discuss Ukraine With India’s Modi in Virtual Meeting (WSJ)

23. Most Americans blame Vladimir Putin, oil companies for high gas prices: POLL (ABC)

24. War crimes were part of Russia's master plan, national security adviser says (Politico)

25. Even with ties, Ukrainian families struggle to reach the United States (NPR)

26. Protest spotlights child death toll in Ukraine’s Mariupol (WP)

27. From Nuremberg to Darfur, history has seen some war criminals brought to trial (NPR)

28. French elections: Macron and Le Pen to fight for presidency (BBC)

29. Cheney says Jan. 6 committee has enough evidence for a criminal referral for Trump (Politico)

30. Why This Coastal County Has the Highest Covid Death Rate in Its State (NYT)

31. Greetings from the pandemic memory hole, where the last two years are one big blur (WP)

32. America’s homeless ranks graying as more retire on streets (AP)

33. Texas woman charged with murder after ‘self-induced abortion’ (KXAN)

34. Murder charges to be dropped for Texas woman arrested over abortion (WP)

35. Not just Florida. More than a dozen states propose so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bills (NPR)

36. What's the tallest wave ever recorded on Earth? (LiveScience)

37. New Theory Suggests That Dark Matter Could Be an Extra-Dimensional Cosmic Refugee (ScienceAlert)

38. In This Michigan County, Pandemic Stimulus Funds Are Remaking Public Health Programs (NYT)

39. What Humans Can Learn From Nature’s Biggest Hibernators — Could bears hold the key to better treatments for stroke, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer’s? (Atlantic)

40. 10 hidden Gmail features you should be using (Komando)

41. Globalization Is Over. The Global Culture Wars Have Begun. (David Brooks/NYT)

42. How Moneyball and Stadium Politics Killed Opening Day in Oakland (Politico)

43. Study Finds Big Bang Result Of Last Universe Blowing Itself Up With Fireworks (The Onion)