Today's News: the "Before Times" are gone

I tell you, I'm getting very very tired of the 2020s. 

If I could return them for a refund, I sure would.

I had been thinking of the days before March 2020 as the "Before Times" -- when we could enjoy going to stores and restaurants and visiting people and going to the office, without worrying about a dreadful disease that could kill us and our families.

Now I realize the days before February 2022 were actually the "Before Times" -- when we could keep ourselves safe by getting vaccinated and wearing masks and working from home, without worrying about a Russian madman threatening to start a nuclear World War Three.

We don't know how this is going to go, and it's going to take a while before anyone will find out:

In any case, my biggest worries for worst case scenarios ranked in descending order of likelihood:

- protracted insurgency
- mistargeted/overflying cruise missile hits NATO country
- US gets caught with a JSOC team
- tactical nuke is used but doesn’t rise to retaliation
- does

— Emilite Gorcenski (@EmilyGorcenski) March 1, 2022

putin took a piece of georgia in 2008
got away with it

two pieces of ukraine in 2014
got away with it

messed w us elections in 2016
got away with it

you can see why putin thought his 2022 gambit was a winner

— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) February 28, 2022

Fiona Hill: "Putin has an idea of a “Russky Mir”or “Russian World”-Ukrainians and Russians are one and the same..re-gathering all the Russian-speakers that belonged at some point to the Russian tsardom."https://t.co/KvNRsKeJoS via @politico

— Cathie from Canada 🇨🇦 😷🏳️‍🌈 (@CathieCanada) March 1, 2022

Meanwhile, the tweets go on and I keep assembling them to post here -- I notice that apparently the people who "did their research" in Epidemiology in 2020 are now doing post-graduate work in Slavic Studies!

After months of frustration dealing with self-declared science experts, time to turn over the job to my history colleagues.

Good luck. pic.twitter.com/WCx9nKBzMG

— Glen Pyle | #GetVaccinated💉 (@glenpyle) February 28, 2022

Can’t believe it’s taking me 6 years to get a PhD when everyone on twitter managed to get one in Eastern European geopolitics in just 4 days

— Aarit Ahuja (@aarit_ahuja) February 27, 2022

Today, I noticed a little more realism on twitter, sharing the warning that this isn't going to be a quick or easy conflict.

It's not a Chuck Norris movie.

Those things all require significant material support, intel, communications, logistics, transport, etc, etc, and more etc.

Again, you send in troops, whatever their specialty and mission, you're in the war. https://t.co/xOukKK88G4

— Stonekettle (@Stonekettle) February 28, 2022

Hi, I'm John287494793. You might know me from my hits like "Masks don't work", "Covid is just the flu" and "Trudeau is a dictator". Here are my thoughts on the geopolitical implications of the current conflict and how it may impact intercontinental foreign policy going forward...

— Aaron Hoyland (@aaronhoyland) February 28, 2022

Exasperated Twitter user: "I mean, like what, are we supposed to just shape our WHOLE foreign policy about going to war with Russia or not around nuclear weapons?"

Yes, that is exactly what we do.

— Mike (@xiipre) March 1, 2022

Aliens recovering a twitter server from the rubbles... "whatever species lived here were sure witty"

— Farzam (@minimaani) March 1, 2022

“I just can’t doom scroll anymore. Let’s risk it.”

— 🤟🏻Jesse James Richard (Bro/Bra) 🤙🏻 (@jessejamesrich) March 1, 2022

I had no idea until this week how little was remembered about nuclear deterrence. I don't understand how the Cold War can be understood without a basic grasp of that concept generally and with regard to Russia specifically.

— Al 🇺🇸(🇫🇮🇬🇧🇸🇯)🏳️‍🌈 (@altacomadc) February 28, 2022

Every day, I am proud to be Canadian and to have leaders like Trudeau, Freeland, Rae, and Joly:

No Western politician understands Ukraine and Russia better than @cafreeland, Canada's deputy prime minister (a Ukrainian-Canadian whose mother helped write the Ukrainian constitution), and Freeland's push to sanction Russia's central bank was a great move. https://t.co/qv8m6bCT6F

— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) February 28, 2022

Take 10 minutes to watch Canada's @UN ambassador @BobRae48 give one of the great speeches the General Assembly has ever heard. https://t.co/LSePuxwBuL #Ukraine #Russia #RussiaUkraine #russianinvasion #UkraineWar #UkraineRussia #UkraineInvasion #WARINUKRAINE

— Steve Paikin (@spaikin) February 28, 2022

Individuals are figuring out how to do their part:

Clever. One Twitter account is tracking private jets of Russian oligarchs (@RUOligarchJets) & another is tracking their yachts. (@PutinIsAVirus)
(*Which, I believe, oligarchs are moving around to avoid sanction confiscation?)
Are ya seeing this, @USTreasury?#StandingWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/ZINfbLgmxL

— ͏Postcards4USA (@postcards4USA) February 28, 2022

A splendid note from the Ukrainian Library Association

— Dr Peter Caddick-Adams #StandwithUkraine (@militaryhistori) February 28, 2022

I don't usually post pictures of myself, but today is an exception. pic.twitter.com/IvuiH3QVZv

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) February 28, 2022

Live from #toronto #ukraine rally pic.twitter.com/kflDGVnaqx

— Margaret E. Atwood (@MargaretAtwood) February 27, 2022

And there is one funny thing about all this -- Fox News and the Republicans are both looking pathetic:

And in the blink of an eye, "Russia, go fvck yourself!" is more popular than "Let's go Brandon!".
😂😂😂

— AntifaPuddin’Pop™️ (@Andie00471) February 27, 2022

every Republican pretending to stand with Ukraine this week is hoping you'll forget they were kissing Putin's ass last week. fuck that, I'm never forgetting

— Jeff Tiedrich (@itsJeffTiedrich) February 28, 2022

Tucker Carlson trying belatedly to distance himself from Vladimir Putin is the most unconvincing change of heart since Sammy the Bull flipped on John Gotti

— David Frum (@davidfrum) March 1, 2022