Monday, March 07, 2022

Today's News: Return of the Red Phone

Our son asked me yesterday what it was like to live in the time of the Cold War.
That's when I realized that for him, the threat of nuclear annihilation was ancient history. 
Our children didn't have to grow up like we did, in a world undergirded by terror, one where everyone's life and future were predicated on the hope that neither the American President nor the Russian Premier would go crazy and take the world with them.
They had a Red Phone, you see. 
It was for the leaders of US and Russia to talk to each other directly, whenever there was such high international tension that it risked nuclear war, so tempers could cool down and wiser heads prevail. They set up the Red Phone after the Cuban Missile Crisis with the idea that Cold War should never again get so hot   And apparently the next 30 years were less risky, though there were other close calls that we knew little or nothing about at the time. 
For more than 45 years, from 1945 to 1991, just about every element of world international relations was based on the Cold War -- your country's "side" was the single factor that determined just about everything else that happened to you in the world. 
Anyone under the age of 40 really has no idea what it was like. Profoundly discouraging, really, to realize how easily it might start up again. 
So hey, everybody, as if the 2020s couldn't get any worse -- welcome to the Spring 2022 semester of Return To Ancient History 101: Let's Find The Red Phone Again!
Come to think of it, I really really HOPE there is still a Red Phone tucked away in a drawer in the White House and another in the Kremlin, so Putin and Biden can talk to each other and maybe figure out how we can save Ukraine while still ratchetting down the NFZ hyperbole and the WW3 hysteria. 
As I recall, one of the ways we used to do that was to figure out some mutual work-around that would make it look like each side had "won" something, so everybody could walk away with their heads held high. 
So maybe that will be the next step here -- can Biden figure out how both Putin and the Ukraine can "win" in this conflict? I'm not sure.
Getting back to today, from my reading of tweets, it appears Russia is divided internally over this war too -- thousands of Russians are protesting even though they are getting arrested, but many other Russians are showing support for the war, and the large white "Z" symbol has become their version of the MAGA hat or the "Q" symbol.
Here is a fascinating though very lengthy thread about what Russians are thinking and experiencing: And more history here: The No Fly Zone discussion continues here: One critical question about how this war will progress may now be this: where does China fit? Will they end up supporting Putin's aggression or will they remain somewhat neutral? 
Here is some discussion about this: Finally, on the lighter side: I hope David Frum's wife Danielle Crittenden is right: On other topics, I saw some interesting tweets about "living with" COVID and what this could mean -- here's a good thread: Here's an interesting though discouraging VOX article about the two-century-old roots of "anti-vaxxers":
 Whether in the 19th century or today, it should be no surprise that vaccines, more than other medical advances, require trust and conversation, and sometimes inspire intense resistance. 
 “People are healthy when you give it to them, and it’s asking them to accept this to protect them from a danger that may or may not happen to them,” Colgrove said. In some ways, communication around vaccines encapsulates the problem of public health as a field: “The benefits that it promises are invisible,” Colgrove said. “When it succeeds, you’re not aware of it.” 
 The challenge, then, is to convince people to trust the public health system enough that they will accept a treatment whose benefits they may not see right away — or ever. History shows such trust is possible, but it has to be earned. And when that trust is broken, it may take generations to repair. 
  And if your vocabulary needs a boost:
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Sunday, March 06, 2022

Today's News: Small Mercies

Thank heaven for small mercies, at least -- because as awful as things are, at least TFG (The Former Guy) isn't still president: What an ass! Compare and contrast with how Biden is handling the uncertainty and danger of these times: Such admirable courage in Ukraine: Lots of thoughtful articles and good tweet threads today, with fresh information and insight: Options for helping Ukraine are limited, but Biden is working as hard as he can to find some: When the going gets tough, the tough get trolled on twitter:
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Saturday, March 05, 2022

Today's News: Oops

I deleted one of my tweets today. 
It was, of course, about the situation in the Ukraine and in it, I supported the NATO decision not to implement a No Fly List, also criticizing Ukraine's negative reaction to NATO's decision. 
But as the hours went by, and I got some people criticizing me and some supporting me, I came to the conclusion that my opinion was likely wrong, or at the very least, too slapdash and not nuanced enough: All in all, I was reminded of the pinned tweet from the great Charles Pierce: Yes, we definitely do need to escape that, don't we.
And now, on with the news for today:
In the good news category, aid is now reaching Ukraine. And file this under the category "There ain't nobody here but us chickens":
And Ottawa is absolutely furious tonight:
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Thursday, March 03, 2022

Today's News: Holding on

That much-discussed convoy to Kyiv doesn't seem to be getting there very fast: Here's the latest Conspiracy Theory that Russia is using to try to explain this war to its own people: And just in case you didn't already notice.... And in Canadian news, here's the zombie bite question:
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Wednesday, March 02, 2022

Today's News: Two remarkable politicians

Two remarkable politicians are earning the world's gratitude: Joe Biden and Chrystia Freeland. 
Biden's State of the Union was tonight and he deserves the credit he is getting for rallying the world to defend Ukraine. I don't think there is any other American politician who could have done it, even Clinton or Obama. Chrystia Freeland is getting credit for rallying the world to go to war against the Russian economy. The Russian economic sanctions have had another positive effect - a vast reduction in those tiresome social media right-wing trolls and bots, because nobody is paying them anymore: On a side note, here's the Saskatchewan edition of Things that Make You Go Hmmm.....all of a sudden, Premier Moe's tweets aren't getting thousands of "likes" anymore:
And here's another aspect of the #UkraineRussiaWar that is going to be increasingly important in the next few weeks -- spring: Its worthwhile to point this out, too: Here's today's cartoon (and on a side note, the so-called trucker convoys that were supposed to disrupt the State of the Union speech fizzled): In other news, here's the Thought of the day:
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Tuesday, March 01, 2022

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: 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! Today, I noticed a little more realism on twitter, sharing the warning that this isn't going to be a quick or easy conflict.
Every day, I am proud to be Canadian and to have leaders like Trudeau, Freeland, Rae, and Joly: Individuals are figuring out how to do their part: And there is one funny thing about all this -- Fox News and the Republicans are both looking pathetic:
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Monday, February 28, 2022

Today's News: Ukraine Strong

For Ukraine coverage, here's some great resources: 
Josh Marshall's twitter list 2022 Ukraine Crisis 
Canadian reporter Justin Ling's twitter 
Balloon Juice's War In Ukraine page
New York Times Russia-Ukraine War page 
Washington Post War in Ukraine page 
Globe and Mail Ukraine page
For the first time, the entire European Union is ready for a fight: As I write this, it is Monday morning in Russia -- the ruble is crashing and the Russian stock market opening has been postponed again: The nations of the Europe and North America are speaking with one voice: Thanks to Biden: And to Canada: It was a little bit terrifying to hear that Putin had put Russia on nuclear alert. But the world didn't seem to panic over this: And the world's admiration for Ukraine just keeps growing: Trump's Putin-worship is looking increasingly pathetic and treasonous: Not to mention, really really stupid: Canada has a message for Trump and all the MAGAs who follow him:
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Sunday, February 27, 2022

Today's News: Fighting the good fight

Nobody knows if Ukraine will prevail over Russia - its hard to see what "winning" would look like in this context, maybe Russia will not just turn tail and go home, but instead maybe just that Ukraine keeps on fighting. 
But for today, at least, it seems like Ukraine is still hanging in there. As people see how courageous and steadfast the Ukrainians are, more and more countries are demanding their governments take action, sending arms to Ukraine and implementing significant sanctions against Russia. Russia is going to be feeling the pain of the world's condemnation: Even Germany is climbing on board now: Trudeau and Freeland have been key players in persuading Europe to increase sanctions: One of the most effective actions to protect Ukraine would be instituting a no-fly zone to prevent Russian jets from bombing cities. But as Dale Smith notes, this ain't gonna happen -- no other country will risk shooting down a Russian jet and starting world war three between all of Europe and a nuclear-armed Russia. So the Ukrainians must keep on fighting for themselves, and they are doing it:
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Saturday, February 26, 2022

Today's News: Lighting up the world for Ukraine

The world is supporting Ukraine, a development that apparently Putin did not expect. Even, apparently now, China. Trudeau and Johnson are getting Europe and the world on board with tougher sanctions: And if there's one person who should know the pitfalls of a nation starting a war of choice, its David Frum: Even Republicans are starting to parrot "Its really all Biden's fault somehow" as they desperately try to make everyone forget their knee-jerk pro-Putin reactions yesterday. And here's a timely reminder: Sean Penn is in Ukraine right now shooting a documentary about the war because of course he is: To his credit, Louis CK refused to cancel his show tonight in Kyiv -- though it also led to this tweet: Russian athletes are being put on the spot and, with some risk to their families in Russia, are speaking up: I hope its not just wishful thinking, but the war doesn't seem to be going Putin's way: The courage of the Ukrainians is legendary now: Canada proudly proclaims one of the largest Ukrainian diaspora in the world - the paintings of Manitoba artist William Kurelek tell their story here:
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