Month: March 2022

That grass on that other side of that hill

benfell

Work


Gene Marks, “Turns out the Great Resignation may be followed by the Great Regret,” Guardian, March 20, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/mar/20/great-resignation-great-regret-employees-quitting

Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelensky keeps warning about World War III,[1] we certainly see the North Atlantic Treaty Organization bending over backwards to avoid World War III,[2] and Vladimir Putin has already threatened nuclear war,[3] which obviously and certainly merits NATO caution, but I never see Zelensky’s logic, how he infers this possibility. The logic I do see here is my own, in short that I see no real limit or even a logic for a limit to Putin’s ambition short of utter defeat and abject humiliation.[4]

Barring Putin’s defeat and humiliation, I see the West being drawn into war much as it was in World War II, with appeasement (in the modern form, allowing Putin to grind Ukraine to dust, then to take Moldava) failing, a dawning realization that Putin must be confronted, just as Adolf Hitler had to be confronted. How such a conflict fails to go nuclear escapes me.

Locally, I am counting on Pittsburgh not actually being a target. The steel industry here is all but gone; high technology remains centered in Silicon Valley, much closer, I’m afraid, to my mother. But the chaos that follows a nuclear strike, perhaps on Washington, D.C., or New York City, all well within a day’s drive of here, should not be underestimated.

Throughout my life, so-called ‘preppers’ and survivalists, who prepare for armageddon, have always been considered wackos on the fringe. I no longer feel we have the luxury of complacency. The ham radios I ordered have all arrived but the Geiger counters are, annoyingly, taking a while. I am also ordering a sleeping bag and emergency water filter. Thanks to COVID-19, Uber passengers are still not permitted in my car’s front seat, so I can keep all this there.

Philip Gourevitch, “Is It Time to Call Putin’s War in Ukraine Genocide?” New Yorker, March 13, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/is-it-time-to-call-putins-war-in-ukraine-genocide

Luke Harding, Peter Beaumont, and Lorenzo Tondo, “Russia missile strike on Ukraine base close to Polish border kills 35, governor says,” Guardian, March 13, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/13/russia-widens-attacks-on-ukraine-with-missile-strike-on-base-close-to-polish-border

Jennifer Maloney, Emily Glazer, and Heather Haddon, “Russian Prosecutors Warn Western Companies of Arrests, Asset Seizures,” Wall Street Journal, March 13, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-prosecutors-warn-western-companies-of-arrests-asset-seizures-11647206193

Amy Davidson Sorkin, “The Trumpist Ukraine Blame Game,” New Yorker, March 13, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/03/21/the-trumpist-ukraine-blame-game

Richard Spencer, “Putin wipes out entire Ukrainian city of Volnovakha,” Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/putin-wipes-out-entire-ukrainian-city-of-volnovakha-b28k0lwh7

Edward Wong and Julian E. Barnes, “Russia Asked China for Military and Economic Aid for Ukraine War, U.S. Officials Say,” New York Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/13/us/politics/russia-china-ukraine.html

Henry Zeffman, “Russia ‘using banned white phosphorus bombs’ in attack on Ukrainian city,” Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russia-using-banned-white-phosphorus-in-attack-on-ukrainian-city-nj3rq6mg6

Rodion Ebbighausen, “Why China thinks the West is to blame for Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Deutschewelle, March 14, 2022, https://www.dw.com/en/why-china-thinks-the-west-is-to-blame-for-russias-war-in-ukraine/a-61119517

Martin Farrer, “Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 20 of the Russian invasion,” Guardian, March 14, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/15/russia-ukraine-war-what-we-know-on-day-20-of-the-russian-invasion

John Ismay, “Russia Deploys a Mystery Munition in Ukraine,” New York Times, March 14, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/14/us/russia-ukraine-weapons-decoy.html

Robert Mendick, Nataliya Vasilyeva, and Nick Allen, “China ‘willing to supply Russia’ with weapons and military support,” Telegraph, March 14, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/14/china-willing-supply-russia-weapons-military-support/

Nomaan Merchant, “US View of Putin: Angry, Frustrated, Likely to Escalate War,” Military.com, March 14, 2022, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/03/14/us-view-of-putin-angry-frustrated-likely-escalate-war.html

Ashley Parker et al., “U.S. warns China not to assist Russia,” Washington Post, March 15, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/14/us-china-ukraine/

Yaroslav Trofimov and James Marson, “Russian Forces Kill Civilians, Loot for Supplies in Occupied Ukraine, Residents Say,” Wall Street Journal, March 14, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-forces-kill-civilians-loot-for-supplies-in-occupied-ukraine-residents-say-11647267560

Jon Allsop, “The biases in coverage of the war in Ukraine,” Columbia Journalism Review, March 15, 2022, https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/media_bias_ukraine_war.php

Associated Press, “China Says it’s ‘Impartial’ on Ukraine, Denies Aiding Russia,” Military.com, March 15, 2022, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/03/15/china-says-its-impartial-ukraine-denies-aiding-russia.html

Isobel Koshiw, Jon Henley, and Julian Borger, “Ukraine will not join Nato, says Zelenskiy, as shelling of Kyiv continues,” Guardian, March 15, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/15/kyiv-facing-dangerous-moment-amid-signs-of-russias-tightening-grip

Poppie Platt et al., “Volodymyr Zelensky says talks with Russia were ‘pretty good’ as Ukraine pushes for ‘a fair peace,’” Telegraph, March 15, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/14/russia-ukraine-war-latest-news-putin-refugees-zelensky/

Helene Cooper, Julian E. Barnes, and Eric Schmitt, “As Russian Troop Deaths Climb, Morale Becomes an Issue, Officials Say,” New York Times, March 16, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/16/us/politics/russia-troop-deaths.html

James Crisp, “Russia and Ukraine ‘draw up 15-point peace plan,’” Telegraph, March 16, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/16/ukraine-could-become-neutral-state-like-austria-moscow-kyiv/

Julia Ioffe, “Inside Biden’s Ukraine War Room,” Puck News, March 16, 2022, https://puck.news/inside-bidens-ukraine-war-room/

Molly Jong-Fast, “The Far Right Is Now Anti–anti-Putin,” Atlantic, March 16, 2022, https://newsletters.theatlantic.com/wait-what/62323220199fdd002140baa5/gop-tucker-carlson-putin-propaganda/

Rick Noack, “U.N. court orders Russia to halt its invasion of Ukraine, in a largely symbolic ruling,” Washington Post, March 16, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/16/icj-ukraine-russia-genocide/

Grace Segers, “‘There Was Barely a Breath’: How Capitol Hill Reacted to Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s Plea for Help,” New Republic, March 16, 2022, https://newrepublic.com/article/165759/volodymyr-zelenskiy-congress-reaction-ukraine

Daniel Boffey and Dan Sabbagh, “Vladimir Putin accused of war crimes as school and theatre are hit in Ukraine,” Guardian, March 17, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/17/kyiv-ukraine-says-moscow-russia-must-accept-ceasefire-as-west-doubts-putin-sincerity

Larisa Brown, Charlie Parker, and Richard Spencer, “Ukraine forces ‘counter-attack’ as Russia loses estimated 7,000 troops and 230 tanks,” Times, March 18, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-crisis-world-war-three-may-have-already-started-warns-zelensky-f5fs72vq5

Isabel Coles, Alan Cullison, and Yaroslav Trofimov, “Ukraine Awaits Word of Deaths, Survivors After Russia Hits Theater Turned Bomb Shelter,” Wall Street Journal, March 17, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-forces-attack-theater-in-southern-ukraine-where-civilians-were-hiding-11647511730

Yuka Hayashi and Eliza Collins, “House Passes Legislation to End Normal Trade Relations With Russia,” Wall Street Journal, March 17, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/house-passes-legislation-to-end-normal-trade-relations-with-russia-11647545860

Loveday Morris, “In Ukraine’s second city, a furious rain of bombs and rockets takes a toll: ‘There are no coffins left,’” Washington Post, March 18, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/17/kharkiv-bodies-human-toll/

James Mackenzie, Natalia Zinets, and Oleksandr Kozhukhar, “Russia getting bogged down in Ukraine, Western nations say,” Reuters, March 17, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/shells-hit-theatre-sheltering-ukraine-civilians-biden-calls-putin-war-criminal-2022-03-17/

Rachel Roubein with McKenzie Beard, “Health care is becoming a target in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 17, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/17/health-care-is-becoming-target-ukraine/

Dan Sabbagh, “Is an outright Russian military victory in Ukraine possible?” Guardian, March 17, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/17/is-an-outright-russian-military-victory-in-ukraine-possible

Joshua Goodman, “American gunmakers help Ukrainians fight back against Putin,” Associated Press, March 18, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-american-gunmakers-3c5fa03742ebc5806293a84a0e2b73cd

Rebecca Ratcliffe and Abené Clayton, “Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 24 of the invasion,” Guardian, March 18, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/19/russia-ukraine-war-what-we-know-on-day-24-of-the-invasion

Michael Levenson, Marc Santora, and Valerie Hopkins, “Deadly Strike on Ukraine Barracks Punctuates Russian Military Gains,” New York Times, March 19, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/19/world/europe/mariupol-russia-ukraine-war.html

Warren P. Strobel and Michael R. Gordon, “Reported Detention of Russian Spy Boss Shows Tension Over Stalled Ukraine Invasion, U.S. Officials Say,” Wall Street Journal, March 19, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/reported-detention-of-russian-spy-boss-shows-tension-over-stalled-ukraine-invasion-u-s-officials-say-11647687601

Devan Cole, “Zelensky: “I’m ready for negotiations’ with Putin, but if they fail, it could mean ‘a third World War,’” CNN, March 20, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/20/politics/zelensky-putin-ukraine-negotiations-war-cnntv/index.html

Loveday Morris, Annabelle Timsit, and Jennifer Hassan, “Russia bombs Mariupol art school where 400 people in besieged city were sheltering, Ukrainian officials say,” Washington Post, March 20, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/20/mariupol-art-school-civilians-russia/

Liz Sly and Dan Lamothe, “Russia’s war for Ukraine could be headed toward stalemate,” Washington Post, March 20, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/20/russia-ukraine-military-offensive/

  1. [1]Devan Cole, “Zelensky: “I’m ready for negotiations’ with Putin, but if they fail, it could mean ‘a third World War,’” CNN, March 20, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/20/politics/zelensky-putin-ukraine-negotiations-war-cnntv/index.html; Jake Epstein and John Haltiwanger, “Ukraine’s president warns a Russian invasion would spark a ‘fully-fledged’ European war,” Business Insider, February 1, 2022, https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-president-warns-russia-invasion-could-spark-european-war-2022-2; Julia Ioffe, “Will Putin Get His World War III?” Puck News, February 22, 2022, https://puck.news/will-putin-get-his-world-war-iii/↩
  2. [2]Simon Lewis and Sabine Siebold, “NATO rejects Ukraine no-fly zone, says ‘not part of this’ war,” Reuters, March 4, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/nato-meets-ukraine-calls-no-fly-zone-hinder-russia-2022-03-04/; Brett Samuels, “Biden: Direct conflict between NATO and Russia would be ‘World War III,’” Hill, March 11, 2022, https://thehill.com/policy/international/597842-biden-direct-conflict-between-nato-and-russia-would-be-world-war-iii↩
  3. [3]Julia Ioffe, “Putin’s New Iron Curtain,” Puck News, February 24, 2022, https://puck.news/putins-new-iron-curtain/; Yuras Karmanau, “Putin puts nuclear forces on high alert, escalating tensions,” Associated Press, February 27, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-business-europe-moscow-2e4e1cf784f22b6afbe5a2f936725550; Tom Nichols, “How Should the U.S. Respond to Putin’s Nuclear Provocation?” Atlantic, February 27, 2022, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/02/how-the-west-should-respond-to-putins-nuclear-provocation/622943/; Jordan Michael Smith, “Would Putin Really Go Nuclear? Well …,” New Republic, March 7, 2022, https://newrepublic.com/article/165634/putin-nuclear-weapons-ukraine-us-response; Robin Wright, “What Does Putin’s Nuclear Sabre Rattling Mean?” New Yorker, March 1, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/what-does-putins-nuclear-sabre-rattling-mean↩
  4. [4]David Benfell, “Where does Vladimir Putin stop?” Not Housebroken, March 18, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/03/04/where-does-vladimir-putin-stop/↩

Churchill (not Winston) gets a reprieve its politicians don’t want

benfell

Churchill

If it was up to the yard signs, the Churchill borough council would have overwhelmingly turned down the Amazon distribution center proposed for the old Westinghouse Research and Technology Park along the Parkway (Interstate 376). This is not how it went, but now, to the disappointment of a bunch of local politicians, not all of them in Churchill, Amazon has withdrawn.[1]

Just driving around the area, I gotta tell you, I see the opposing homeowners’ point. Though the site is adjacent to the Parkway, the freeway access around there is a mess; indeed, one of the reasons I needed a more powerful car than the one I had was exemplified in Google Maps directions that have you accelerating onto the often very busy Parkway into the left lane, with the routine speeding 20 miles per hour over the posted limit (55 mph, therefore a prevailing speed often at 75 mph), cutting across three similarly speeding and similarly busy lanes, to get off in a quite ludicrously short distance to get off at exit 80 for Business U.S. Highway 22 from the right lane.

The exit that trucks would have to use to access the site is a fairly tight, single-lane horseshoe that I would expect they probably can navigate, but the the roadway to the entrance itself is two-lane (one in each direction) roadway. The traffic all around there is already bad due to the way the roads connect, which was clearly not designed to have a freeway dropped right smack into the middle of them. And on the Parkway itself, it’s a mess due to a bottleneck with an old bridge, between exits 79A and 79B that only has room for two lanes in each direction. I can definitely imagine that the traffic from this project could have been catastrophically bad, on the order of the Fort Pitt and Fort Duquesne Bridges.

Apparently, the site has been vacant for twenty years.[2] I don’t know who’s keeping it up; the buildings have not fallen into obvious (from the distance I’m able to view them, anyway) disrepair and the lawns are all still mowed.

The politicians mourn jobs that will be created elsewhere, perhaps the old and now razed Eastland Mall in North Versailles,[3] and the loss of potential tax revenue.[4]

Off hand, I think the traffic might be a little less awful in North Versailles, but it’s a lot farther from any existing freeway and even when (if) the proposed Mon-Fayette Expressway (Pennsylvania Route 43) is extended that far north, it doesn’t look to me like it will be particularly close.[5] The Expressway currently only reaches Pennsylvania Route 51 in Jefferson Hills; the next segment, assuming it’s ever built, would reach through West Mifflin, then across the Monongahela River.[6] The section that would serve the old Eastland Mall site could only be constructed after that.[7]

What I see of Churchill is mostly middle class houses, often on the small side, and tree-lined streets. Much of it is actually quite charming. But a main route from Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania Route 130, passes through it, ultimately connecting to Allegheny River Boulevard, on the south side of its namesake river. Rodi Road (pronounced in a way rhyming ‘Lodi,’ a town south of Sacramento, California) runs roughly parallel to that route, connecting to Frankstown Road, which Route 130 also intersects, a main thoroughfare through Penn Hills.

My own preference would be to preserve the existing buildings—I hate tearing down perfectly good buildings—if they are indeed serviceable but get something in there that’s a lot less traffic-intensive.

Mila Sanina, “Amazon nixes its plan to build a distribution center in Churchill,” Public Source, March 18, 2022, https://www.publicsource.org/amazon-cancels-churchill-westinghouse-warehouse-development-plan/

  1. [1]Mila Sanina, “Amazon nixes its plan to build a distribution center in Churchill,” Public Source, March 18, 2022, https://www.publicsource.org/amazon-cancels-churchill-westinghouse-warehouse-development-plan/↩
  2. [2]Mila Sanina, “Amazon nixes its plan to build a distribution center in Churchill,” Public Source, March 18, 2022, https://www.publicsource.org/amazon-cancels-churchill-westinghouse-warehouse-development-plan/↩
  3. [3]Tim Schooley, “Real estate record reveals Amazon closes on buying former Eastland Mall site in North Versailles,” WPXI, October 15, 2021, https://www.wpxi.com/news/business/real-estate-record-reveals-amazon-closes-buying-former-eastland-mall-site-north-versailles/IAYCQ5EVEVFPVNSKMBCKPYN2LI/↩
  4. [4]Mila Sanina, “Amazon nixes its plan to build a distribution center in Churchill,” Public Source, March 18, 2022, https://www.publicsource.org/amazon-cancels-churchill-westinghouse-warehouse-development-plan/↩
  5. [5]Pennsylvania Turnpike, “PA Route 51 to I-376 of the Mon Fayette Expressway,” 2016, https://www.patpconstruction.com/monfaysb/↩
  6. [6]Ed Blazina, “Pittsburgh-area leaders press for federal funds to finally build northern section of Mon-Fayette Expressway,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 2, 2021, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2021/06/01/Mon-Fayette-Expressway-Monroeville-Jefferson-Hills-Duquesne-state-hearing/stories/202106010144↩
  7. [7]Pennsylvania Turnpike, “PA Route 51 to I-376 of the Mon Fayette Expressway,” 2016, https://www.patpconstruction.com/monfaysb/↩

Some are starting to worry about Omicron subvariant BA.2

benfell

COVID-19 Pandemic

Doctors and charlatans

The truth is that I haven’t heard much about the Omicron subvariant BA.2.[1] But at least in British Columbia, they’re worried.[2]

A week or so ago, I actually had a passenger, expressing surprise that Uber still has masking requirements and still forbids passengers in the front seat (limiting my passenger capacity to three), who thought that COVID-19 was over, that it was all about “World War III” now. As if a disease gave a rat’s ass about the news cycle. And no, he didn’t seem to be joking. Uber has since reiterated their rules on this.

Joe Davidson, “Airline passenger traffic dropped in the pandemic. But TSA seized more guns than ever,” Washington Post, March 18, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/18/tsa-gun-seizures-airport-security/

Moira Wyton, “It’s Not Over. Experts Warn of New COVID Wave,” Tyee, March 18, 2022, https://thetyee.ca/News/2022/03/18/Experts-Warn-New-COVID-Wave/

Ukraine

To summarize in Ukraine:

  1. Ukraine fights alone[3] against a quantitatively vastly superior Russian force invading the country that has nonetheless become bogged down in many regions.[4]
  2. Reports of Russian atrocities and potential atrocities continue to mount;[5] these crimes likely amount to genocide under international law.[6]
  3. Diplomatic and economic pressure against Russia are failing to diminish Vladimir Putin’s determination.[7] To the extent they work, economic sanctions increase the likelihood that Putin will resort to a nuclear attack,[8] but, in Russia’s case, state control means resilience,[9] making it unlikely that sanctions will dissuade Putin from his invasion anytime soon.
  4. Russia’s participation in negotiations to end the invasion may be a mere pretense.[10]
  5. There is no hope of a coup against Vladimir Putin.[11] If that assessment is wrong, then what little hope there is would be with the security services,[12] but they probably aren’t really smart enough to pull it off.[13]
  6. There is no hope of a popular uprising in Russia against Putin.[14]
  7. Nobody knows how this ends beyond a devastated Ukraine.[15]

Somebody will have to capitulate, because everyone has staked positions they say they will not back down from,[16] sooner or later. And right now, it looks like an extremely devastating later, with no assurance whatsoever in the meantime that Putin will not expand the war, no assurance that Putin will not launch nuclear weapons, including against North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries.[17] Even if you’re immorally willing to sacrifice Ukraine, I’m having a hard time seeing how this status quo isn’t foolhardy and reckless.

Kaitlan Collins et al., “Biden calls for suspending normal trade relations with Russia and will ban imports of vodka and seafood,” CNN, March 11, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/10/politics/russia-trade-status-us-g7-eu-biden/index.html

Nick Gutteridge, “Russia ‘stockpiling bodies of Ukrainian soldiers’ to use in ‘false flag’ attack on Chernobyl,” Telegraph, March 11, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/11/vladimir-putin-planning-terror-attack-releasing-radioactive/

David Horovitz, “What does Putin think he’s doing? An expert’s primer on why he invaded, what’s next,” Times of Israel, March 11, 2022, https://www.timesofisrael.com/what-does-putin-think-hes-doing-an-experts-primer-on-why-he-invaded-whats-next/

Eric Levitz, “Ukraine Is a War Without Endgame,” New York, March 11, 2022, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/03/ukraine-is-a-war-without-endgame.html

Ashley Parker et al., “‘No off-ramps’: U.S. and European officials don’t see a clear endgame in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/10/ukraine-end-game/

David Remnick, “The Weakness of the Despot,” New Yorker, March 11, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/stephen-kotkin-putin-russia-ukraine-stalin

Reuters, “UN rights office says it has credible reports of Russian cluster bomb use in Ukraine,” March 11, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/un-rights-office-has-credible-reports-russian-cluster-bomb-use-ukraine-2022-03-11/

Brett Samuels, “Biden: Direct conflict between NATO and Russia would be ‘World War III,’” Hill, March 11, 2022, https://thehill.com/policy/international/597842-biden-direct-conflict-between-nato-and-russia-would-be-world-war-iii

David L. Stern et al., “Intelligence points to heightened risk of Russian chemical attack in Ukraine, officials say,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/11/intelligence-russian-chemical-attack/

Maureen Dowd, “Zelensky Answers Hamlet,” New York Times, March 12, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/12/opinion/zelensky-ukraine-russia-biden.html

Philip Gourevitch, “Is It Time to Call Putin’s War in Ukraine Genocide?” New Yorker, March 13, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/is-it-time-to-call-putins-war-in-ukraine-genocide

Luke Harding, Peter Beaumont, and Lorenzo Tondo, “Russia missile strike on Ukraine base close to Polish border kills 35, governor says,” Guardian, March 13, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/13/russia-widens-attacks-on-ukraine-with-missile-strike-on-base-close-to-polish-border

Jennifer Maloney, Emily Glazer, and Heather Haddon, “Russian Prosecutors Warn Western Companies of Arrests, Asset Seizures,” Wall Street Journal, March 13, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-prosecutors-warn-western-companies-of-arrests-asset-seizures-11647206193

Amy Davidson Sorkin, “The Trumpist Ukraine Blame Game,” New Yorker, March 13, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/03/21/the-trumpist-ukraine-blame-game

Richard Spencer, “Putin wipes out entire Ukrainian city of Volnovakha,” Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/putin-wipes-out-entire-ukrainian-city-of-volnovakha-b28k0lwh7

Edward Wong and Julian E. Barnes, “Russia Asked China for Military and Economic Aid for Ukraine War, U.S. Officials Say,” New York Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/13/us/politics/russia-china-ukraine.html

Henry Zeffman, “Russia ‘using banned white phosphorus bombs’ in attack on Ukrainian city,” Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russia-using-banned-white-phosphorus-in-attack-on-ukrainian-city-nj3rq6mg6

Rodion Ebbighausen, “Why China thinks the West is to blame for Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Deutschewelle, March 14, 2022, https://www.dw.com/en/why-china-thinks-the-west-is-to-blame-for-russias-war-in-ukraine/a-61119517

Martin Farrer, “Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 20 of the Russian invasion,” Guardian, March 14, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/15/russia-ukraine-war-what-we-know-on-day-20-of-the-russian-invasion

John Ismay, “Russia Deploys a Mystery Munition in Ukraine,” New York Times, March 14, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/14/us/russia-ukraine-weapons-decoy.html

Robert Mendick, Nataliya Vasilyeva, and Nick Allen, “China ‘willing to supply Russia’ with weapons and military support,” Telegraph, March 14, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/14/china-willing-supply-russia-weapons-military-support/

Nomaan Merchant, “US View of Putin: Angry, Frustrated, Likely to Escalate War,” Military.com, March 14, 2022, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/03/14/us-view-of-putin-angry-frustrated-likely-escalate-war.html

Ashley Parker et al., “U.S. warns China not to assist Russia,” Washington Post, March 15, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/14/us-china-ukraine/

Yaroslav Trofimov and James Marson, “Russian Forces Kill Civilians, Loot for Supplies in Occupied Ukraine, Residents Say,” Wall Street Journal, March 14, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-forces-kill-civilians-loot-for-supplies-in-occupied-ukraine-residents-say-11647267560

Jon Allsop, “The biases in coverage of the war in Ukraine,” Columbia Journalism Review, March 15, 2022, https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/media_bias_ukraine_war.php

Associated Press, “China Says it’s ‘Impartial’ on Ukraine, Denies Aiding Russia,” Military.com, March 15, 2022, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/03/15/china-says-its-impartial-ukraine-denies-aiding-russia.html

Isobel Koshiw, Jon Henley, and Julian Borger, “Ukraine will not join Nato, says Zelenskiy, as shelling of Kyiv continues,” Guardian, March 15, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/15/kyiv-facing-dangerous-moment-amid-signs-of-russias-tightening-grip

Poppie Platt et al., “Volodymyr Zelensky says talks with Russia were ‘pretty good’ as Ukraine pushes for ‘a fair peace,’” Telegraph, March 15, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/14/russia-ukraine-war-latest-news-putin-refugees-zelensky/

Helene Cooper, Julian E. Barnes, and Eric Schmitt, “As Russian Troop Deaths Climb, Morale Becomes an Issue, Officials Say,” New York Times, March 16, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/16/us/politics/russia-troop-deaths.html

James Crisp, “Russia and Ukraine ‘draw up 15-point peace plan,’” Telegraph, March 16, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/16/ukraine-could-become-neutral-state-like-austria-moscow-kyiv/

Julia Ioffe, “Inside Biden’s Ukraine War Room,” Puck News, March 16, 2022, https://puck.news/inside-bidens-ukraine-war-room/

Molly Jong-Fast, “The Far Right Is Now Anti–anti-Putin,” Atlantic, March 16, 2022, https://newsletters.theatlantic.com/wait-what/62323220199fdd002140baa5/gop-tucker-carlson-putin-propaganda/

Rick Noack, “U.N. court orders Russia to halt its invasion of Ukraine, in a largely symbolic ruling,” Washington Post, March 16, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/16/icj-ukraine-russia-genocide/

Grace Segers, “‘There Was Barely a Breath’: How Capitol Hill Reacted to Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s Plea for Help,” New Republic, March 16, 2022, https://newrepublic.com/article/165759/volodymyr-zelenskiy-congress-reaction-ukraine

Daniel Boffey and Dan Sabbagh, “Vladimir Putin accused of war crimes as school and theatre are hit in Ukraine,” Guardian, March 17, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/17/kyiv-ukraine-says-moscow-russia-must-accept-ceasefire-as-west-doubts-putin-sincerity

Larisa Brown, Charlie Parker, and Richard Spencer, “Ukraine forces ‘counter-attack’ as Russia loses estimated 7,000 troops and 230 tanks,” Times, March 18, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-crisis-world-war-three-may-have-already-started-warns-zelensky-f5fs72vq5

Isabel Coles, Alan Cullison, and Yaroslav Trofimov, “Ukraine Awaits Word of Deaths, Survivors After Russia Hits Theater Turned Bomb Shelter,” Wall Street Journal, March 17, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-forces-attack-theater-in-southern-ukraine-where-civilians-were-hiding-11647511730

Yuka Hayashi and Eliza Collins, “House Passes Legislation to End Normal Trade Relations With Russia,” Wall Street Journal, March 17, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/house-passes-legislation-to-end-normal-trade-relations-with-russia-11647545860

Loveday Morris, “In Ukraine’s second city, a furious rain of bombs and rockets takes a toll: ‘There are no coffins left,’” Washington Post, March 18, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/17/kharkiv-bodies-human-toll/

James Mackenzie, Natalia Zinets, and Oleksandr Kozhukhar, “Russia getting bogged down in Ukraine, Western nations say,” Reuters, March 17, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/shells-hit-theatre-sheltering-ukraine-civilians-biden-calls-putin-war-criminal-2022-03-17/

Rachel Roubein with McKenzie Beard, “Health care is becoming a target in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 17, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/17/health-care-is-becoming-target-ukraine/

Dan Sabbagh, “Is an outright Russian military victory in Ukraine possible?” Guardian, March 17, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/17/is-an-outright-russian-military-victory-in-ukraine-possible

Rebecca Ratcliffe and Abené Clayton, “Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 24 of the invasion,” Guardian, March 18, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/19/russia-ukraine-war-what-we-know-on-day-24-of-the-invasion

  1. [1]Lenny Bernstein and Joel Achenbach, “A covid surge in Western Europe has U.S. bracing for another wave,” Washington Post, March 16, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/03/16/covid-ba2-omicron-surge/; Keith Bradsher, “Surge of Omicron Infections Prompts Lockdowns in China,” New York Times, March 14, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/14/world/asia/china-covid-omicron-lockdowns.html; Brenda Goodman, “As BA.2 subvariant of Omicron rises, lab studies point to signs of severity,” CNN, February 19, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/17/health/ba-2-covid-severity/index.html; David Stanway and Roxanne Liu, “China’s soaring COVID infections fuel concern about cost of containment,” Reuters, March 15, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-reports-3602-new-confirmed-coronavirus-cases-march-14-vs-1437-day-earlier-2022-03-15/↩
  2. [2]Moira Wyton, “It’s Not Over. Experts Warn of New COVID Wave,” Tyee, March 18, 2022, https://thetyee.ca/News/2022/03/18/Experts-Warn-New-COVID-Wave/↩
  3. [3]Simon Lewis and Sabine Siebold, “NATO rejects Ukraine no-fly zone, says ‘not part of this’ war,” Reuters, March 4, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/nato-meets-ukraine-calls-no-fly-zone-hinder-russia-2022-03-04/; Isobel Koshiw, Jon Henley, and Julian Borger, “Ukraine will not join Nato, says Zelenskiy, as shelling of Kyiv continues,” Guardian, March 15, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/15/kyiv-facing-dangerous-moment-amid-signs-of-russias-tightening-grip; Brett Samuels, “Biden: Direct conflict between NATO and Russia would be ‘World War III,’” Hill, March 11, 2022, https://thehill.com/policy/international/597842-biden-direct-conflict-between-nato-and-russia-would-be-world-war-iii; Grace Segers, “‘There Was Barely a Breath’: How Capitol Hill Reacted to Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s Plea for Help,” New Republic, March 16, 2022, https://newrepublic.com/article/165759/volodymyr-zelenskiy-congress-reaction-ukraine↩
  4. [4]Larisa Brown, Charlie Parker, and Richard Spencer, “Ukraine forces ‘counter-attack’ as Russia loses estimated 7,000 troops and 230 tanks,” Times, March 18, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-crisis-world-war-three-may-have-already-started-warns-zelensky-f5fs72vq5; Helene Cooper, Julian E. Barnes, and Eric Schmitt, “As Russian Troop Deaths Climb, Morale Becomes an Issue, Officials Say,” New York Times, March 16, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/16/us/politics/russia-troop-deaths.html; Mark Galeotti, “How does Putin extract himself from this nightmare of his own making?” Times, March 5, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/how-does-putin-extract-himself-from-this-nightmare-of-his-own-making-v2ktvw08g; Dan Lamothe, Alex Horton, and Karoun Demirjian, “Ukraine’s military adapts tactics after enduring Russia’s initial invasion,” Washington Post, March 5, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/05/ukraine-military-strategy/; Eric Levitz, “Putin’s War Looks Increasingly Insane,” New York, March 4, 2022, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/03/putins-war-looks-increasingly-insane.html; James Mackenzie, Natalia Zinets, and Oleksandr Kozhukhar, “Russia getting bogged down in Ukraine, Western nations say,” Reuters, March 17, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/shells-hit-theatre-sheltering-ukraine-civilians-biden-calls-putin-war-criminal-2022-03-17/; Justin McCurry, Samantha Lock, and Luke Harding, “Russia targeting cities as strength of Ukraine’s resistance ‘continues to surprise’, UK says,” Guardian, March 6, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/06/biden-and-zelenskiy-discuss-more-aid-for-ukraine-as-russian-attacks-intensify; Ashley Parker et al., “‘No off-ramps’: U.S. and European officials don’t see a clear endgame in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/10/ukraine-end-game/; David Remnick, “The Weakness of the Despot,” New Yorker, March 11, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/stephen-kotkin-putin-russia-ukraine-stalin; Dan Sabbagh, “Is an outright Russian military victory in Ukraine possible?” Guardian, March 17, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/17/is-an-outright-russian-military-victory-in-ukraine-possible↩
  5. [5]Agence France-Presse, “Chernobyl power supply cut but IAEA says ‘no critical impact on safety,’” Guardian, March 9, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/09/chernobyl-power-supply-cut-completely-after-russian-seizure-warns-ukaine; Daniel Boffey and Dan Sabbagh, “Vladimir Putin accused of war crimes as school and theatre are hit in Ukraine,” Guardian, March 17, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/17/kyiv-ukraine-says-moscow-russia-must-accept-ceasefire-as-west-doubts-putin-sincerity; Isabel Coles, Alan Cullison, and Yaroslav Trofimov, “Ukraine Awaits Word of Deaths, Survivors After Russia Hits Theater Turned Bomb Shelter,” Wall Street Journal, March 17, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-forces-attack-theater-in-southern-ukraine-where-civilians-were-hiding-11647511730; Nick Gutteridge, “Russia ‘stockpiling bodies of Ukrainian soldiers’ to use in ‘false flag’ attack on Chernobyl,” Telegraph, March 11, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/11/vladimir-putin-planning-terror-attack-releasing-radioactive/; Jim Heintz, Yuras Karmanau, and Mstyslav Chernov, “Fire out at key Ukraine nuclear plant, no radiation released,” Associated Press, March 4, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-volodymyr-zelenskyy-joe-biden-kyiv-business-33b6c1709dee937750f95c6786832840; Yuras Karmanau, “Crisis deepens, Ukraine accuses Moscow of ‘medieval’ tactics,” Associated Press, March 7, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-europe-evacuations-kharkiv-01693b3373cf8bcf2400ae29af992bbe; James Kilner, “Russia ‘may be preparing to use chemical weapons in Ukraine,’” Telegraph, March 4, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/04/russia-may-ready-use-chemical-weapons-ukraine/; Justin McCurry, Samantha Lock, and Luke Harding, “Russia targeting cities as strength of Ukraine’s resistance ‘continues to surprise’, UK says,” Guardian, March 6, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/06/biden-and-zelenskiy-discuss-more-aid-for-ukraine-as-russian-attacks-intensify; Loveday Morris, “In Ukraine’s second city, a furious rain of bombs and rockets takes a toll: ‘There are no coffins left,’” Washington Post, March 18, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/17/kharkiv-bodies-human-toll/; Catherine Philp, Caroline Wheeler, and Matthew Campbell, “Merciless Vladimir Putin shells Ukrainian evacuees,” Times, March 6, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/merciless-vladimir-putin-shells-ukrainian-evacuees-s98r0j50x; Pavel Polityuk and Tuvan Gumrukcu, “Ukraine says Russia snubs plea for humanitarian access to besieged civilians,” Reuters, March 10, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-accuses-russia-genocide-after-bombing-childrens-hospital-2022-03-10/; Reuters, “UN rights office says it has credible reports of Russian cluster bomb use in Ukraine,” March 11, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/un-rights-office-has-credible-reports-russian-cluster-bomb-use-ukraine-2022-03-11/; Rachel Roubein with McKenzie Beard, “Health care is becoming a target in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 17, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/17/health-care-is-becoming-target-ukraine/; Jim Sleeper, “Too much reality: Putin’s Ukraine invasion summons Europe’s dark past,” Tikkun, March 2, 2022, https://www.tikkun.org/too-much-reality-putins-ukraine-invasion-summons-europes-dark-past/; Jordan Michael Smith, “Would Putin Really Go Nuclear? Well …,” New Republic, March 7, 2022, https://newrepublic.com/article/165634/putin-nuclear-weapons-ukraine-us-response; Richard Spencer, “Putin wipes out entire Ukrainian city of Volnovakha,” Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/putin-wipes-out-entire-ukrainian-city-of-volnovakha-b28k0lwh7; David L. Stern et al., “Russian airstrike hits maternity hospital, as officials warn of fast-rising civilian toll,” Washington Post, March 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/09/russian-airstrike-hospital/; David L. Stern et al., “Intelligence points to heightened risk of Russian chemical attack in Ukraine, officials say,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/11/intelligence-russian-chemical-attack/; Adela Suliman and David L. Stern, “Chernobyl plant disconnected from power grid; Ukraine demands cease-fire for urgent repairs,” Washington Post, March 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/09/chernobyl-ukraine-russia-iaea-nuclear-monitoring-lost/; Yaroslav Trofimov, “Ukraine, Russia Agreement on Evacuating Mariupol Civilians Collapses,” Wall Street Journal, March 5, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraine-and-russia-agree-to-open-corridors-for-civilians-to-evacuate-mariupol-11646470358; Yaroslav Trofimov, “Russian Artillery Kills Ukrainian Civilians Fleeing Kyiv Suburb,” Wall Street Journal, March 6, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-artillery-kills-ukrainian-civilians-fleeing-kyiv-suburb-11646575238; Yaroslav Trofimov and Alan Cullison, “Ukraine Faces Fresh Wave of Attacks Focused on Population Centers,” Wall Street Journal, March 6, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraine-resumes-evacuation-attempts-as-russia-presses-offensive-11646564330; Yaroslav Trofimov and James Marson, “Russian Forces Kill Civilians, Loot for Supplies in Occupied Ukraine, Residents Say,” Wall Street Journal, March 14, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-forces-kill-civilians-loot-for-supplies-in-occupied-ukraine-residents-say-11647267560; Victoria Ward, “‘Atrocity’ as maternity hospital in besieged Mariupol destroyed by Russian air strikes,” Telegraph, March 9, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/09/childrens-hospital-mariupol-destroyed-russian-air-strikes/; Robin Wright, “What Does Putin’s Nuclear Sabre Rattling Mean?” New Yorker, March 1, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/what-does-putins-nuclear-sabre-rattling-mean; Henry Zeffman, “Russia ‘using banned white phosphorus bombs’ in attack on Ukrainian city,” Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russia-using-banned-white-phosphorus-in-attack-on-ukrainian-city-nj3rq6mg6↩
  6. [6]Philip Gourevitch, “Is It Time to Call Putin’s War in Ukraine Genocide?” New Yorker, March 13, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/is-it-time-to-call-putins-war-in-ukraine-genocide↩
  7. [7]Yuka Hayashi and Eliza Collins, “House Passes Legislation to End Normal Trade Relations With Russia,” Wall Street Journal, March 17, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/house-passes-legislation-to-end-normal-trade-relations-with-russia-11647545860; Ashley Parker et al., “‘No off-ramps’: U.S. and European officials don’t see a clear endgame in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/10/ukraine-end-game/↩
  8. [8]Eric Levitz, “Ukraine Is a War Without Endgame,” New York, March 11, 2022, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/03/ukraine-is-a-war-without-endgame.html↩
  9. [9]Associated Press, “Russia built an economy like a fortress but the pain is real,” March 10, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-europe-global-trade-economy-cd99ba45b1e36bb2ab80574eeaa69e4c↩
  10. [10]Daniel Boffey and Dan Sabbagh, “Vladimir Putin accused of war crimes as school and theatre are hit in Ukraine,” Guardian, March 17, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/17/kyiv-ukraine-says-moscow-russia-must-accept-ceasefire-as-west-doubts-putin-sincerity↩
  11. [11]Mark Galeotti, “How does Putin extract himself from this nightmare of his own making?” Times, March 5, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/how-does-putin-extract-himself-from-this-nightmare-of-his-own-making-v2ktvw08g; Julia Ioffe, “Europe’s 9/11,” Puck News, March 3, 2022, https://puck.news/europes-9-11/; Paul Nuki, “Why Vladimir Putin may stay in power longer than we think,” Telegraph, March 8, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/03/08/vladimir-putin-may-stay-power-longer-think/↩
  12. [12]Steven L. Hall, “Putin doesn’t fear a coup by oligarchs. But he should fear his fellow spies,” Washington Post, March 10, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/03/10/putin-coup-russia-siloviki/↩
  13. [13]David Remnick, “The Weakness of the Despot,” New Yorker, March 11, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/stephen-kotkin-putin-russia-ukraine-stalin↩
  14. [14]Julia Ioffe, “Inside Russia’s Media Black Hole,” Puck News, March 10, 2022, https://puck.news/inside-russias-media-black-hole/↩
  15. [15]Eric Levitz, “Ukraine Is a War Without Endgame,” New York, March 11, 2022, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/03/ukraine-is-a-war-without-endgame.html; Ashley Parker et al., “‘No off-ramps’: U.S. and European officials don’t see a clear endgame in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/10/ukraine-end-game/↩
  16. [16]Ashley Parker et al., “‘No off-ramps’: U.S. and European officials don’t see a clear endgame in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/10/ukraine-end-game/; Dan Sabbagh, “Is an outright Russian military victory in Ukraine possible?” Guardian, March 17, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/17/is-an-outright-russian-military-victory-in-ukraine-possible↩
  17. [17]David Benfell, “Where does Vladimir Putin stop?” Not Housebroken, March 10, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/03/04/where-does-vladimir-putin-stop/; Eric Levitz, “Ukraine Is a War Without Endgame,” New York, March 11, 2022, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/03/ukraine-is-a-war-without-endgame.html↩

When it isn’t just gun nuttery, but gun stupidity

benfell

There is a new blog post entitled, “Our complicity with Vladimir Putin.”

COVID-19 Pandemic

Doctors and charlatans

Joe Davidson, “Airline passenger traffic dropped in the pandemic. But TSA seized more guns than ever,” Washington Post, March 18, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/18/tsa-gun-seizures-airport-security/

Gun nuttery

United States

Joe Davidson, “Airline passenger traffic dropped in the pandemic. But TSA seized more guns than ever,” Washington Post, March 18, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/18/tsa-gun-seizures-airport-security/

Ukraine

Kaitlan Collins et al., “Biden calls for suspending normal trade relations with Russia and will ban imports of vodka and seafood,” CNN, March 11, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/10/politics/russia-trade-status-us-g7-eu-biden/index.html

Nick Gutteridge, “Russia ‘stockpiling bodies of Ukrainian soldiers’ to use in ‘false flag’ attack on Chernobyl,” Telegraph, March 11, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/11/vladimir-putin-planning-terror-attack-releasing-radioactive/

David Horovitz, “What does Putin think he’s doing? An expert’s primer on why he invaded, what’s next,” Times of Israel, March 11, 2022, https://www.timesofisrael.com/what-does-putin-think-hes-doing-an-experts-primer-on-why-he-invaded-whats-next/

Eric Levitz, “Ukraine Is a War Without Endgame,” New York, March 11, 2022, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/03/ukraine-is-a-war-without-endgame.html

Ashley Parker et al., “‘No off-ramps’: U.S. and European officials don’t see a clear endgame in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/10/ukraine-end-game/

David Remnick, “The Weakness of the Despot,” New Yorker, March 11, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/stephen-kotkin-putin-russia-ukraine-stalin

Reuters, “UN rights office says it has credible reports of Russian cluster bomb use in Ukraine,” March 11, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/un-rights-office-has-credible-reports-russian-cluster-bomb-use-ukraine-2022-03-11/

Brett Samuels, “Biden: Direct conflict between NATO and Russia would be ‘World War III,’” Hill, March 11, 2022, https://thehill.com/policy/international/597842-biden-direct-conflict-between-nato-and-russia-would-be-world-war-iii

David L. Stern et al., “Intelligence points to heightened risk of Russian chemical attack in Ukraine, officials say,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/11/intelligence-russian-chemical-attack/

Maureen Dowd, “Zelensky Answers Hamlet,” New York Times, March 12, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/12/opinion/zelensky-ukraine-russia-biden.html

Philip Gourevitch, “Is It Time to Call Putin’s War in Ukraine Genocide?” New Yorker, March 13, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/is-it-time-to-call-putins-war-in-ukraine-genocide

Luke Harding, Peter Beaumont, and Lorenzo Tondo, “Russia missile strike on Ukraine base close to Polish border kills 35, governor says,” Guardian, March 13, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/13/russia-widens-attacks-on-ukraine-with-missile-strike-on-base-close-to-polish-border

Jennifer Maloney, Emily Glazer, and Heather Haddon, “Russian Prosecutors Warn Western Companies of Arrests, Asset Seizures,” Wall Street Journal, March 13, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-prosecutors-warn-western-companies-of-arrests-asset-seizures-11647206193

Amy Davidson Sorkin, “The Trumpist Ukraine Blame Game,” New Yorker, March 13, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/03/21/the-trumpist-ukraine-blame-game

Richard Spencer, “Putin wipes out entire Ukrainian city of Volnovakha,” Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/putin-wipes-out-entire-ukrainian-city-of-volnovakha-b28k0lwh7

Edward Wong and Julian E. Barnes, “Russia Asked China for Military and Economic Aid for Ukraine War, U.S. Officials Say,” New York Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/13/us/politics/russia-china-ukraine.html

Henry Zeffman, “Russia ‘using banned white phosphorus bombs’ in attack on Ukrainian city,” Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russia-using-banned-white-phosphorus-in-attack-on-ukrainian-city-nj3rq6mg6

Rodion Ebbighausen, “Why China thinks the West is to blame for Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Deutschewelle, March 14, 2022, https://www.dw.com/en/why-china-thinks-the-west-is-to-blame-for-russias-war-in-ukraine/a-61119517

Martin Farrer, “Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 20 of the Russian invasion,” Guardian, March 14, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/15/russia-ukraine-war-what-we-know-on-day-20-of-the-russian-invasion

John Ismay, “Russia Deploys a Mystery Munition in Ukraine,” New York Times, March 14, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/14/us/russia-ukraine-weapons-decoy.html

Robert Mendick, Nataliya Vasilyeva, and Nick Allen, “China ‘willing to supply Russia’ with weapons and military support,” Telegraph, March 14, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/14/china-willing-supply-russia-weapons-military-support/

Nomaan Merchant, “US View of Putin: Angry, Frustrated, Likely to Escalate War,” Military.com, March 14, 2022, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/03/14/us-view-of-putin-angry-frustrated-likely-escalate-war.html

Ashley Parker et al., “U.S. warns China not to assist Russia,” Washington Post, March 15, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/14/us-china-ukraine/

Yaroslav Trofimov and James Marson, “Russian Forces Kill Civilians, Loot for Supplies in Occupied Ukraine, Residents Say,” Wall Street Journal, March 14, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-forces-kill-civilians-loot-for-supplies-in-occupied-ukraine-residents-say-11647267560

Jon Allsop, “The biases in coverage of the war in Ukraine,” Columbia Journalism Review, March 15, 2022, https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/media_bias_ukraine_war.php

Associated Press, “China Says it’s ‘Impartial’ on Ukraine, Denies Aiding Russia,” Military.com, March 15, 2022, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/03/15/china-says-its-impartial-ukraine-denies-aiding-russia.html

Isobel Koshiw, Jon Henley, and Julian Borger, “Ukraine will not join Nato, says Zelenskiy, as shelling of Kyiv continues,” Guardian, March 15, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/15/kyiv-facing-dangerous-moment-amid-signs-of-russias-tightening-grip

Poppie Platt et al., “Volodymyr Zelensky says talks with Russia were ‘pretty good’ as Ukraine pushes for ‘a fair peace,’” Telegraph, March 15, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/14/russia-ukraine-war-latest-news-putin-refugees-zelensky/

Helene Cooper, Julian E. Barnes, and Eric Schmitt, “As Russian Troop Deaths Climb, Morale Becomes an Issue, Officials Say,” New York Times, March 16, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/16/us/politics/russia-troop-deaths.html

James Crisp, “Russia and Ukraine ‘draw up 15-point peace plan,’” Telegraph, March 16, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/16/ukraine-could-become-neutral-state-like-austria-moscow-kyiv/

Julia Ioffe, “Inside Biden’s Ukraine War Room,” Puck News, March 16, 2022, https://puck.news/inside-bidens-ukraine-war-room/

Molly Jong-Fast, “The Far Right Is Now Anti–anti-Putin,” Atlantic, March 16, 2022, https://newsletters.theatlantic.com/wait-what/62323220199fdd002140baa5/gop-tucker-carlson-putin-propaganda/

Rick Noack, “U.N. court orders Russia to halt its invasion of Ukraine, in a largely symbolic ruling,” Washington Post, March 16, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/16/icj-ukraine-russia-genocide/

Grace Segers, “‘There Was Barely a Breath’: How Capitol Hill Reacted to Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s Plea for Help,” New Republic, March 16, 2022, https://newrepublic.com/article/165759/volodymyr-zelenskiy-congress-reaction-ukraine

Daniel Boffey and Dan Sabbagh, “Vladimir Putin accused of war crimes as school and theatre are hit in Ukraine,” Guardian, March 17, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/17/kyiv-ukraine-says-moscow-russia-must-accept-ceasefire-as-west-doubts-putin-sincerity

Larisa Brown, Charlie Parker, and Richard Spencer, “Ukraine forces ‘counter-attack’ as Russia loses estimated 7,000 troops and 230 tanks,” Times, March 18, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-crisis-world-war-three-may-have-already-started-warns-zelensky-f5fs72vq5

Isabel Coles, Alan Cullison, and Yaroslav Trofimov, “Ukraine Awaits Word of Deaths, Survivors After Russia Hits Theater Turned Bomb Shelter,” Wall Street Journal, March 17, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-forces-attack-theater-in-southern-ukraine-where-civilians-were-hiding-11647511730

Yuka Hayashi and Eliza Collins, “House Passes Legislation to End Normal Trade Relations With Russia,” Wall Street Journal, March 17, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/house-passes-legislation-to-end-normal-trade-relations-with-russia-11647545860

Loveday Morris, “In Ukraine’s second city, a furious rain of bombs and rockets takes a toll: ‘There are no coffins left,’” Washington Post, March 18, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/17/kharkiv-bodies-human-toll/

James Mackenzie, Natalia Zinets, and Oleksandr Kozhukhar, “Russia getting bogged down in Ukraine, Western nations say,” Reuters, March 17, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/shells-hit-theatre-sheltering-ukraine-civilians-biden-calls-putin-war-criminal-2022-03-17/

Rachel Roubein with McKenzie Beard, “Health care is becoming a target in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 17, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/17/health-care-is-becoming-target-ukraine/

Dan Sabbagh, “Is an outright Russian military victory in Ukraine possible?” Guardian, March 17, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/17/is-an-outright-russian-military-victory-in-ukraine-possible

What will Omicron subvariant BA.2 do in the U.S.?

benfell

COVID-19 Pandemic

Doctors and charlatans

The Omicron subvariant BA.2 is prompting a surge in case counts in western Europe. In the past, such surges have been followed by similar surges in the U.S. This time might be (and, so far, is) different:[1]

A number of variables — including relaxed precautions against viral transmission, vaccination rates, the availability of antiviral medications and natural immunity acquired by previous infection — may affect the course of any surge in the United States, experts said.

Most importantly, it is unclear at this point how many people will become severely ill, stressing hospitals and the health-care system as BA.1 did.[2]

Jen Christensen and Holly Yan, “A 4th dose of Covid-19 vaccine will be needed, Pfizer’s CEO says, but the company is working on a shot to handle all variants,” CNN, March 13, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/13/health/pfizer-vaccine-4th-dose/index.html

Keith Bradsher, “Surge of Omicron Infections Prompts Lockdowns in China,” New York Times, March 14, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/14/world/asia/china-covid-omicron-lockdowns.html

Laurie McGinley, Tyler Pager, and Carolyn Y. Johnson, “Pfizer and BioNTech to seek authorization of second coronavirus booster shot for people 65 and older,” Washington Post, March 15, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/03/15/pfizer-second-booster-shot/

David Stanway and Roxanne Liu, “China’s soaring COVID infections fuel concern about cost of containment,” Reuters, March 15, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-reports-3602-new-confirmed-coronavirus-cases-march-14-vs-1437-day-earlier-2022-03-15/

Lenny Bernstein and Joel Achenbach, “A covid surge in Western Europe has U.S. bracing for another wave,” Washington Post, March 16, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/03/16/covid-ba2-omicron-surge/

Ukraine

Molly Jong-Fast points to an ideological compatibility between Vladimir Putin and some Trumpists.[3] This would entail homophobia, transphobia, and conservative Christianity. But I think Trumpists also see Putin as strong—everybody else might mock photographs of a bare-chested Putin riding horseback but Trumpists are also deeply into toxic masculinity. Between these two factors, Putin is, for many Trumpists, irresistible.

In a way, it reminds me of the patriarch of that Jewish family-run vegan restaurant, Fortuitea, in North Strabane: He gets his information from the the same sources as anti-Semitic white supremacists; the dissonance I felt makes it impossible for me to patronize the place, a loss because the guy’s a brilliant cook and that restaurant is the closest vegan restaurant to where I now live. Similarly, supposedly left-wing “tankies” recite these extreme Trumpist conspiracy theories as they embrace anyone who’s against the U.S. or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.[4] I’ve never been good at tolerating stupidity. These examples are of the asinine.

Associated Press, “Russia built an economy like a fortress but the pain is real,” March 10, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-europe-global-trade-economy-cd99ba45b1e36bb2ab80574eeaa69e4c

Daniel Boffey, “Western Europe leaders rebuff Ukraine fast-track EU membership appeal,” Guardian, March 10, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/10/western-europe-leaders-rebuff-ukraine-fast-track-eu-membership-appeal

Vladislav Davidzon, “No Quiet Place Left on Earth,” Tablet, March 10, 2022, https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/no-quiet-place-left-on-earth

Steven L. Hall, “Putin doesn’t fear a coup by oligarchs. But he should fear his fellow spies,” Washington Post, March 10, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/03/10/putin-coup-russia-siloviki/

Julia Ioffe, “Inside Russia’s Media Black Hole,” Puck News, March 10, 2022, https://puck.news/inside-russias-media-black-hole/

Pavel Polityuk and Tuvan Gumrukcu, “Ukraine says Russia snubs plea for humanitarian access to besieged civilians,” Reuters, March 10, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-accuses-russia-genocide-after-bombing-childrens-hospital-2022-03-10/

Reuters, “Russia, Ukraine foreign ministers meet as war enters third week,” March 10, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-accuses-russia-genocide-after-bombing-childrens-hospital-2022-03-10/

William Vaillancourt, “Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin Sets Hannity Straight on Russian Propaganda,” Daily Beast, March 10, 2022, https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-news-jennifer-griffin-sets-hannity-straight-on-russian-propaganda

Kaitlan Collins et al., “Biden calls for suspending normal trade relations with Russia and will ban imports of vodka and seafood,” CNN, March 11, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/10/politics/russia-trade-status-us-g7-eu-biden/index.html

Nick Gutteridge, “Russia ‘stockpiling bodies of Ukrainian soldiers’ to use in ‘false flag’ attack on Chernobyl,” Telegraph, March 11, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/11/vladimir-putin-planning-terror-attack-releasing-radioactive/

David Horovitz, “What does Putin think he’s doing? An expert’s primer on why he invaded, what’s next,” Times of Israel, March 11, 2022, https://www.timesofisrael.com/what-does-putin-think-hes-doing-an-experts-primer-on-why-he-invaded-whats-next/

Eric Levitz, “Ukraine Is a War Without Endgame,” New York, March 11, 2022, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/03/ukraine-is-a-war-without-endgame.html

Ashley Parker et al., “‘No off-ramps’: U.S. and European officials don’t see a clear endgame in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/10/ukraine-end-game/

David Remnick, “The Weakness of the Despot,” New Yorker, March 11, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/stephen-kotkin-putin-russia-ukraine-stalin

Reuters, “UN rights office says it has credible reports of Russian cluster bomb use in Ukraine,” March 11, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/un-rights-office-has-credible-reports-russian-cluster-bomb-use-ukraine-2022-03-11/

Brett Samuels, “Biden: Direct conflict between NATO and Russia would be ‘World War III,’” Hill, March 11, 2022, https://thehill.com/policy/international/597842-biden-direct-conflict-between-nato-and-russia-would-be-world-war-iii

David L. Stern et al., “Intelligence points to heightened risk of Russian chemical attack in Ukraine, officials say,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/11/intelligence-russian-chemical-attack/

Maureen Dowd, “Zelensky Answers Hamlet,” New York Times, March 12, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/12/opinion/zelensky-ukraine-russia-biden.html

Philip Gourevitch, “Is It Time to Call Putin’s War in Ukraine Genocide?” New Yorker, March 13, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/is-it-time-to-call-putins-war-in-ukraine-genocide

Luke Harding, Peter Beaumont, and Lorenzo Tondo, “Russia missile strike on Ukraine base close to Polish border kills 35, governor says,” Guardian, March 13, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/13/russia-widens-attacks-on-ukraine-with-missile-strike-on-base-close-to-polish-border

Jennifer Maloney, Emily Glazer, and Heather Haddon, “Russian Prosecutors Warn Western Companies of Arrests, Asset Seizures,” Wall Street Journal, March 13, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-prosecutors-warn-western-companies-of-arrests-asset-seizures-11647206193

Amy Davidson Sorkin, “The Trumpist Ukraine Blame Game,” New Yorker, March 13, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/03/21/the-trumpist-ukraine-blame-game

Richard Spencer, “Putin wipes out entire Ukrainian city of Volnovakha,” Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/putin-wipes-out-entire-ukrainian-city-of-volnovakha-b28k0lwh7

Edward Wong and Julian E. Barnes, “Russia Asked China for Military and Economic Aid for Ukraine War, U.S. Officials Say,” New York Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/13/us/politics/russia-china-ukraine.html

Henry Zeffman, “Russia ‘using banned white phosphorus bombs’ in attack on Ukrainian city,” Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russia-using-banned-white-phosphorus-in-attack-on-ukrainian-city-nj3rq6mg6

Rodion Ebbighausen, “Why China thinks the West is to blame for Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Deutschewelle, March 14, 2022, https://www.dw.com/en/why-china-thinks-the-west-is-to-blame-for-russias-war-in-ukraine/a-61119517

Martin Farrer, “Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 20 of the Russian invasion,” Guardian, March 14, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/15/russia-ukraine-war-what-we-know-on-day-20-of-the-russian-invasion

John Ismay, “Russia Deploys a Mystery Munition in Ukraine,” New York Times, March 14, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/14/us/russia-ukraine-weapons-decoy.html

Robert Mendick, Nataliya Vasilyeva, and Nick Allen, “China ‘willing to supply Russia’ with weapons and military support,” Telegraph, March 14, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/14/china-willing-supply-russia-weapons-military-support/

Nomaan Merchant, “US View of Putin: Angry, Frustrated, Likely to Escalate War,” Military.com, March 14, 2022, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/03/14/us-view-of-putin-angry-frustrated-likely-escalate-war.html

Ashley Parker et al., “U.S. warns China not to assist Russia,” Washington Post, March 15, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/14/us-china-ukraine/

Yaroslav Trofimov and James Marson, “Russian Forces Kill Civilians, Loot for Supplies in Occupied Ukraine, Residents Say,” Wall Street Journal, March 14, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-forces-kill-civilians-loot-for-supplies-in-occupied-ukraine-residents-say-11647267560

Jon Allsop, “The biases in coverage of the war in Ukraine,” Columbia Journalism Review, March 15, 2022, https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/media_bias_ukraine_war.php

Associated Press, “China Says it’s ‘Impartial’ on Ukraine, Denies Aiding Russia,” Military.com, March 15, 2022, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/03/15/china-says-its-impartial-ukraine-denies-aiding-russia.html

Isobel Koshiw, Jon Henley, and Julian Borger, “Ukraine will not join Nato, says Zelenskiy, as shelling of Kyiv continues,” Guardian, March 15, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/15/kyiv-facing-dangerous-moment-amid-signs-of-russias-tightening-grip

Poppie Platt et al., “Volodymyr Zelensky says talks with Russia were ‘pretty good’ as Ukraine pushes for ‘a fair peace,’” Telegraph, March 15, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/14/russia-ukraine-war-latest-news-putin-refugees-zelensky/

Helene Cooper, Julian E. Barnes, and Eric Schmitt, “As Russian Troop Deaths Climb, Morale Becomes an Issue, Officials Say,” New York Times, March 16, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/16/us/politics/russia-troop-deaths.html

James Crisp, “Russia and Ukraine ‘draw up 15-point peace plan,’” Telegraph, March 16, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/16/ukraine-could-become-neutral-state-like-austria-moscow-kyiv/

Julia Ioffe, “Inside Biden’s Ukraine War Room,” Puck News, March 16, 2022, https://puck.news/inside-bidens-ukraine-war-room/

Molly Jong-Fast, “The Far Right Is Now Anti–anti-Putin,” Atlantic, March 16, 2022, https://newsletters.theatlantic.com/wait-what/62323220199fdd002140baa5/gop-tucker-carlson-putin-propaganda/

Rick Noack, “U.N. court orders Russia to halt its invasion of Ukraine, in a largely symbolic ruling,” Washington Post, March 16, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/16/icj-ukraine-russia-genocide/

  1. [1]Lenny Bernstein and Joel Achenbach, “A covid surge in Western Europe has U.S. bracing for another wave,” Washington Post, March 16, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/03/16/covid-ba2-omicron-surge/↩
  2. [2]Lenny Bernstein and Joel Achenbach, “A covid surge in Western Europe has U.S. bracing for another wave,” Washington Post, March 16, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/03/16/covid-ba2-omicron-surge/↩
  3. [3]Molly Jong-Fast, “The Far Right Is Now Anti–anti-Putin,” Atlantic, March 16, 2022, https://newsletters.theatlantic.com/wait-what/62323220199fdd002140baa5/gop-tucker-carlson-putin-propaganda/↩
  4. [4]Roane Carey, “Don’t Be a Tankie: How the Left Should Respond to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine,” Intecept, March 1, 2022, https://theintercept.com/2022/03/01/ukraine-russia-leftists-tankie/↩

Bullies never stop

benfell

Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelensky has conceded that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s “open door” is not open to Ukraine.[1]


My bullies got away with it and they were relentless. I spent nearly my entire primary and secondary school life on the run, trying to hide from them. I don’t know if they also beat other kids; I suppose it is likely they did.

Thanks especially to China, who entertains Russia’s claim to be the victim,[2] but also to NATO’s fear of World War III,[3] Russia is getting away with its invasion of Ukraine. Zelensky warns that Russia will attack other countries.[4] I cannot but feel the very same betrayal I felt throughout my childhood, as my father beat me, as schoolyard bullies beat me, really even today as employers refuse me, as they have for twenty-one infuriating years, a real job,[5] and no one in authority ever came to my aid.

The countries of eastern Europe, the countries around the South China Sea, and, from a lifetime, myself, we all know bullies. They never stop.

Agence France-Presse, “Chernobyl power supply cut but IAEA says ‘no critical impact on safety,’” Guardian, March 9, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/09/chernobyl-power-supply-cut-completely-after-russian-seizure-warns-ukaine

Samantha Lock and Maanvi Singh, “Russia-Ukraine war update: what we know on day 15 of the Russian invasion,” Guardian, March 9, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/10/russia-ukraine-war-update-what-we-know-on-day-15-of-the-russian-invasion

David L. Stern et al., “Russian airstrike hits maternity hospital, as officials warn of fast-rising civilian toll,” Washington Post, March 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/09/russian-airstrike-hospital/

Adela Suliman and David L. Stern, “Chernobyl plant disconnected from power grid; Ukraine demands cease-fire for urgent repairs,” Washington Post, March 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/09/chernobyl-ukraine-russia-iaea-nuclear-monitoring-lost/

Victoria Ward, “‘Atrocity’ as maternity hospital in besieged Mariupol destroyed by Russian air strikes,” Telegraph, March 9, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/09/childrens-hospital-mariupol-destroyed-russian-air-strikes/

Associated Press, “Russia built an economy like a fortress but the pain is real,” March 10, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-europe-global-trade-economy-cd99ba45b1e36bb2ab80574eeaa69e4c

Daniel Boffey, “Western Europe leaders rebuff Ukraine fast-track EU membership appeal,” Guardian, March 10, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/10/western-europe-leaders-rebuff-ukraine-fast-track-eu-membership-appeal

Vladislav Davidzon, “No Quiet Place Left on Earth,” Tablet, March 10, 2022, https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/no-quiet-place-left-on-earth

Steven L. Hall, “Putin doesn’t fear a coup by oligarchs. But he should fear his fellow spies,” Washington Post, March 10, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/03/10/putin-coup-russia-siloviki/

Julia Ioffe, “Inside Russia’s Media Black Hole,” Puck News, March 10, 2022, https://puck.news/inside-russias-media-black-hole/

Pavel Polityuk and Tuvan Gumrukcu, “Ukraine says Russia snubs plea for humanitarian access to besieged civilians,” Reuters, March 10, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-accuses-russia-genocide-after-bombing-childrens-hospital-2022-03-10/

Reuters, “Russia, Ukraine foreign ministers meet as war enters third week,” March 10, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-accuses-russia-genocide-after-bombing-childrens-hospital-2022-03-10/

William Vaillancourt, “Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin Sets Hannity Straight on Russian Propaganda,” Daily Beast, March 10, 2022, https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-news-jennifer-griffin-sets-hannity-straight-on-russian-propaganda

Kaitlan Collins et al., “Biden calls for suspending normal trade relations with Russia and will ban imports of vodka and seafood,” CNN, March 11, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/10/politics/russia-trade-status-us-g7-eu-biden/index.html

Nick Gutteridge, “Russia ‘stockpiling bodies of Ukrainian soldiers’ to use in ‘false flag’ attack on Chernobyl,” Telegraph, March 11, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/11/vladimir-putin-planning-terror-attack-releasing-radioactive/

David Horovitz, “What does Putin think he’s doing? An expert’s primer on why he invaded, what’s next,” Times of Israel, March 11, 2022, https://www.timesofisrael.com/what-does-putin-think-hes-doing-an-experts-primer-on-why-he-invaded-whats-next/

Eric Levitz, “Ukraine Is a War Without Endgame,” New York, March 11, 2022, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/03/ukraine-is-a-war-without-endgame.html

Ashley Parker et al., “‘No off-ramps’: U.S. and European officials don’t see a clear endgame in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/10/ukraine-end-game/

David Remnick, “The Weakness of the Despot,” New Yorker, March 11, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/stephen-kotkin-putin-russia-ukraine-stalin

Reuters, “UN rights office says it has credible reports of Russian cluster bomb use in Ukraine,” March 11, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/un-rights-office-has-credible-reports-russian-cluster-bomb-use-ukraine-2022-03-11/

David L. Stern et al., “Intelligence points to heightened risk of Russian chemical attack in Ukraine, officials say,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/11/intelligence-russian-chemical-attack/

Maureen Dowd, “Zelensky Answers Hamlet,” New York Times, March 12, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/12/opinion/zelensky-ukraine-russia-biden.html

Philip Gourevitch, “Is It Time to Call Putin’s War in Ukraine Genocide?” New Yorker, March 13, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/is-it-time-to-call-putins-war-in-ukraine-genocide

Luke Harding, Peter Beaumont, and Lorenzo Tondo, “Russia missile strike on Ukraine base close to Polish border kills 35, governor says,” Guardian, March 13, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/13/russia-widens-attacks-on-ukraine-with-missile-strike-on-base-close-to-polish-border

Jennifer Maloney, Emily Glazer, and Heather Haddon, “Russian Prosecutors Warn Western Companies of Arrests, Asset Seizures,” Wall Street Journal, March 13, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-prosecutors-warn-western-companies-of-arrests-asset-seizures-11647206193

Richard Spencer, “Putin wipes out entire Ukrainian city of Volnovakha,” Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/putin-wipes-out-entire-ukrainian-city-of-volnovakha-b28k0lwh7

Edward Wong and Julian E. Barnes, “Russia Asked China for Military and Economic Aid for Ukraine War, U.S. Officials Say,” New York Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/13/us/politics/russia-china-ukraine.html

Henry Zeffman, “Russia ‘using banned white phosphorus bombs’ in attack on Ukrainian city,” Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russia-using-banned-white-phosphorus-in-attack-on-ukrainian-city-nj3rq6mg6

Rodion Ebbighausen, “Why China thinks the West is to blame for Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Deutschewelle, March 14, 2022, https://www.dw.com/en/why-china-thinks-the-west-is-to-blame-for-russias-war-in-ukraine/a-61119517

Martin Farrer, “Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 20 of the Russian invasion,” Guardian, March 14, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/15/russia-ukraine-war-what-we-know-on-day-20-of-the-russian-invasion

John Ismay, “Russia Deploys a Mystery Munition in Ukraine,” New York Times, March 14, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/14/us/russia-ukraine-weapons-decoy.html

Robert Mendick, Nataliya Vasilyeva, and Nick Allen, “China ‘willing to supply Russia’ with weapons and military support,” Telegraph, March 14, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/14/china-willing-supply-russia-weapons-military-support/

Nomaan Merchant, “US View of Putin: Angry, Frustrated, Likely to Escalate War,” Military.com, March 14, 2022, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/03/14/us-view-of-putin-angry-frustrated-likely-escalate-war.html

Ashley Parker et al., “U.S. warns China not to assist Russia,” Washington Post, March 15, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/14/us-china-ukraine/

Yaroslav Trofimov and James Marson, “Russian Forces Kill Civilians, Loot for Supplies in Occupied Ukraine, Residents Say,” Wall Street Journal, March 14, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-forces-kill-civilians-loot-for-supplies-in-occupied-ukraine-residents-say-11647267560

Jon Allsop, “The biases in coverage of the war in Ukraine,” Columbia Journalism Review, March 15, 2022, https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/media_bias_ukraine_war.php

Associated Press, “China Says it’s ‘Impartial’ on Ukraine, Denies Aiding Russia,” Military.com, March 15, 2022, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/03/15/china-says-its-impartial-ukraine-denies-aiding-russia.html

Isobel Koshiw, Jon Henley, and Julian Borger, “Ukraine will not join Nato, says Zelenskiy, as shelling of Kyiv continues,” Guardian, March 15, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/15/kyiv-facing-dangerous-moment-amid-signs-of-russias-tightening-grip

Poppie Platt et al., “Volodymyr Zelensky says talks with Russia were ‘pretty good’ as Ukraine pushes for ‘a fair peace,’” Telegraph, March 15, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/14/russia-ukraine-war-latest-news-putin-refugees-zelensky/

  1. [1]Isobel Koshiw, Jon Henley, and Julian Borger, “Ukraine will not join Nato, says Zelenskiy, as shelling of Kyiv continues,” Guardian, March 15, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/15/kyiv-facing-dangerous-moment-amid-signs-of-russias-tightening-grip↩
  2. [2]Rodion Ebbighausen, “Why China thinks the West is to blame for Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Deutschewelle, March 14, 2022, https://www.dw.com/en/why-china-thinks-the-west-is-to-blame-for-russias-war-in-ukraine/a-61119517; Robert Mendick, Nataliya Vasilyeva, and Nick Allen, “China ‘willing to supply Russia’ with weapons and military support,” Telegraph, March 14, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/14/china-willing-supply-russia-weapons-military-support/; Edward Wong and Julian E. Barnes, “Russia Asked China for Military and Economic Aid for Ukraine War, U.S. Officials Say,” New York Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/13/us/politics/russia-china-ukraine.html; ↩
  3. [3]Simon Lewis and Sabine Siebold, “NATO rejects Ukraine no-fly zone, says ‘not part of this’ war,” Reuters, March 4, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/nato-meets-ukraine-calls-no-fly-zone-hinder-russia-2022-03-04/↩
  4. [4]Isobel Koshiw, Jon Henley, and Julian Borger, “Ukraine will not join Nato, says Zelenskiy, as shelling of Kyiv continues,” Guardian, March 15, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/15/kyiv-facing-dangerous-moment-amid-signs-of-russias-tightening-grip↩
  5. [5]David Benfell, “About my job hunt,” Not Housebroken, n.d., https://disunitedstates.org/about-my-job-hunt/; David Benfell, “About that alleged ‘labor shortage,’” Not Housebroken, October 16, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/05/09/about-that-alleged-labor-shortage/↩

Brace for further supply chain problems

benfell

Supply chain

What I’m not seeing here is what happens if North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries slap China with sanctions for aiding Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.[1]

Keith Bradsher, “Surge of Omicron Infections Prompts Lockdowns in China,” New York Times, March 14, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/14/world/asia/china-covid-omicron-lockdowns.html

Matt O’Brien, “War in Ukraine disrupts key supply chains – and lives,” Associated Press, March 15, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-technology-business-europe-texas-2d6a87d8b0af4b4b4872a1b8fd0f276d

Carol Ryan, “Ukraine War Stokes Insecurity in the World’s Food Supply,” Wall Street Journal, March 15, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraine-war-stokes-insecurity-in-the-worlds-food-supply-11647343035

COVID-19 Pandemic

Doctors and charlatans

Here’s another reason for concern about the supply chain: Much of the world’s manufacturing is in China now; supply chain issues originate there and then ripple outwards, compounded by neoliberal privileging of “efficiency” over resilience.[2] China has had decent success in containing COVID-19 outbreaks so far, but that now appears to be faltering,[3] in part due to—yes, this again—vaccine resistance,[4] and Chinese lockdowns to contain outbreaks are a known factor in the supply chain crisis.[5]

Keith Bradsher, “Surge of Omicron Infections Prompts Lockdowns in China,” New York Times, March 14, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/14/world/asia/china-covid-omicron-lockdowns.html

Laurie McGinley, Tyler Pager, and Carolyn Y. Johnson, “Pfizer and BioNTech to seek authorization of second coronavirus booster shot for people 65 and older,” Washington Post, March 15, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/03/15/pfizer-second-booster-shot/

David Stanway and Roxanne Liu, “China’s soaring COVID infections fuel concern about cost of containment,” Reuters, March 15, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-reports-3602-new-confirmed-coronavirus-cases-march-14-vs-1437-day-earlier-2022-03-15/

Pittsburgh

Infrastructure

Jonathan D. Silver et al., “Pittsburgh-area bridges left in chronic disrepair as funding system leaves some of the worst spans behind,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 13, 2022, https://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2022/03/13/pittsburgh-area-bridges-chronic-disrepair-funding-system/stories/202203130044

Ukraine

It appears China will support Russia, with military as well as economic aid.[6] China denies this,[7] perhaps because the U.S. is threatening to extend sanctions against China as well, if it does so.[8]

Aaron Blake, “Tucker Carlson goes full blame-America on Russia’s Ukraine invasion,” Washington Post, March 8, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/08/tucker-carlson-goes-full-blame-america-russias-ukraine-invasion/

Kaitlan Collins et al., “Biden announces ban on Russian energy imports,” CNN, March 8, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/08/politics/russian-energy-import-ban/index.html

Anthony Faiola, “Through Putin’s looking glass: How the Russians are seeing — or not seeing — the war in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 8, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/08/russian-media-state-television-ukraine/

Julia Ioffe, “The Death of Putin,” Puck News, March 8, 2022, https://puck.news/the-death-of-putin/

Yuras Karmanau, “People flee embattled Ukraine city, supplies head to another,” Associated Press, March 8, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-europe-united-nations-evacuations-62fa232dcb9d6260fef0e9c7f5386f9a

Matthew Luxmoore, Drew Hinshaw, and Nancy A. Youssef, “NATO Members Mount Huge Operation to Resupply Ukrainian Fighters,” Wall Street Journal, March 8, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/nato-members-mount-huge-operation-to-resupply-ukrainian-fighters-11646761821

Paul Nuki, “Why Vladimir Putin may stay in power longer than we think,” Telegraph, March 8, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/03/08/vladimir-putin-may-stay-power-longer-think/

Matt Oliver, “West scrambles for alternatives to Russian oil and gas,7rdquo; Telegraph, March 8, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/03/08/inside-wests-battle-wean-russian-oil-gas/

Emily Rauhala, “E.U. presents plan to cut Russian gas imports by two-thirds this year, stops short of boycott,” Washington Post, March 8, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/08/eu-russian-gas/

Daniel Thomas & Michael Race, “War in Ukraine: Russia says it may cut gas supplies if oil ban goes ahead,” British Broadcasting Corporation, March 8, 2022, https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60656673

Agence France-Presse, “Chernobyl power supply cut but IAEA says ‘no critical impact on safety,’” Guardian, March 9, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/09/chernobyl-power-supply-cut-completely-after-russian-seizure-warns-ukaine

Samantha Lock and Maanvi Singh, “Russia-Ukraine war update: what we know on day 15 of the Russian invasion,” Guardian, March 9, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/10/russia-ukraine-war-update-what-we-know-on-day-15-of-the-russian-invasion

David L. Stern et al., “Russian airstrike hits maternity hospital, as officials warn of fast-rising civilian toll,” Washington Post, March 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/09/russian-airstrike-hospital/

Adela Suliman and David L. Stern, “Chernobyl plant disconnected from power grid; Ukraine demands cease-fire for urgent repairs,” Washington Post, March 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/09/chernobyl-ukraine-russia-iaea-nuclear-monitoring-lost/

Victoria Ward, “‘Atrocity’ as maternity hospital in besieged Mariupol destroyed by Russian air strikes,” Telegraph, March 9, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/09/childrens-hospital-mariupol-destroyed-russian-air-strikes/

Associated Press, “Russia built an economy like a fortress but the pain is real,” March 10, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-europe-global-trade-economy-cd99ba45b1e36bb2ab80574eeaa69e4c

Daniel Boffey, “Western Europe leaders rebuff Ukraine fast-track EU membership appeal,” Guardian, March 10, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/10/western-europe-leaders-rebuff-ukraine-fast-track-eu-membership-appeal

Vladislav Davidzon, “No Quiet Place Left on Earth,” Tablet, March 10, 2022, https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/no-quiet-place-left-on-earth

Steven L. Hall, “Putin doesn’t fear a coup by oligarchs. But he should fear his fellow spies,” Washington Post, March 10, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/03/10/putin-coup-russia-siloviki/

Julia Ioffe, “Inside Russia’s Media Black Hole,” Puck News, March 10, 2022, https://puck.news/inside-russias-media-black-hole/

Pavel Polityuk and Tuvan Gumrukcu, “Ukraine says Russia snubs plea for humanitarian access to besieged civilians,” Reuters, March 10, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-accuses-russia-genocide-after-bombing-childrens-hospital-2022-03-10/

Reuters, “Russia, Ukraine foreign ministers meet as war enters third week,” March 10, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-accuses-russia-genocide-after-bombing-childrens-hospital-2022-03-10/

William Vaillancourt, “Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin Sets Hannity Straight on Russian Propaganda,” Daily Beast, March 10, 2022, https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-news-jennifer-griffin-sets-hannity-straight-on-russian-propaganda

Kaitlan Collins et al., “Biden calls for suspending normal trade relations with Russia and will ban imports of vodka and seafood,” CNN, March 11, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/10/politics/russia-trade-status-us-g7-eu-biden/index.html

Nick Gutteridge, “Russia ‘stockpiling bodies of Ukrainian soldiers’ to use in ‘false flag’ attack on Chernobyl,” Telegraph, March 11, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/11/vladimir-putin-planning-terror-attack-releasing-radioactive/

David Horovitz, “What does Putin think he’s doing? An expert’s primer on why he invaded, what’s next,” Times of Israel, March 11, 2022, https://www.timesofisrael.com/what-does-putin-think-hes-doing-an-experts-primer-on-why-he-invaded-whats-next/

Eric Levitz, “Ukraine Is a War Without Endgame,” New York, March 11, 2022, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/03/ukraine-is-a-war-without-endgame.html

Ashley Parker et al., “‘No off-ramps’: U.S. and European officials don’t see a clear endgame in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/10/ukraine-end-game/

David Remnick, “The Weakness of the Despot,” New Yorker, March 11, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/stephen-kotkin-putin-russia-ukraine-stalin

Reuters, “UN rights office says it has credible reports of Russian cluster bomb use in Ukraine,” March 11, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/un-rights-office-has-credible-reports-russian-cluster-bomb-use-ukraine-2022-03-11/

David L. Stern et al., “Intelligence points to heightened risk of Russian chemical attack in Ukraine, officials say,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/11/intelligence-russian-chemical-attack/

Maureen Dowd, “Zelensky Answers Hamlet,” New York Times, March 12, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/12/opinion/zelensky-ukraine-russia-biden.html

Philip Gourevitch, “Is It Time to Call Putin’s War in Ukraine Genocide?” New Yorker, March 13, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/is-it-time-to-call-putins-war-in-ukraine-genocide

Luke Harding, Peter Beaumont, and Lorenzo Tondo, “Russia missile strike on Ukraine base close to Polish border kills 35, governor says,” Guardian, March 13, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/13/russia-widens-attacks-on-ukraine-with-missile-strike-on-base-close-to-polish-border

Jennifer Maloney, Emily Glazer, and Heather Haddon, “Russian Prosecutors Warn Western Companies of Arrests, Asset Seizures,” Wall Street Journal, March 13, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-prosecutors-warn-western-companies-of-arrests-asset-seizures-11647206193

Richard Spencer, “Putin wipes out entire Ukrainian city of Volnovakha,” Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/putin-wipes-out-entire-ukrainian-city-of-volnovakha-b28k0lwh7

Edward Wong and Julian E. Barnes, “Russia Asked China for Military and Economic Aid for Ukraine War, U.S. Officials Say,” New York Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/13/us/politics/russia-china-ukraine.html

Henry Zeffman, “Russia ‘using banned white phosphorus bombs’ in attack on Ukrainian city,” Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russia-using-banned-white-phosphorus-in-attack-on-ukrainian-city-nj3rq6mg6

Rodion Ebbighausen, “Why China thinks the West is to blame for Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Deutschewelle, March 14, 2022, https://www.dw.com/en/why-china-thinks-the-west-is-to-blame-for-russias-war-in-ukraine/a-61119517

Martin Farrer, “Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 20 of the Russian invasion,” Guardian, March 14, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/15/russia-ukraine-war-what-we-know-on-day-20-of-the-russian-invasion

John Ismay, “Russia Deploys a Mystery Munition in Ukraine,” New York Times, March 14, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/14/us/russia-ukraine-weapons-decoy.html

Robert Mendick, Nataliya Vasilyeva, and Nick Allen, “China ‘willing to supply Russia’ with weapons and military support,” Telegraph, March 14, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/14/china-willing-supply-russia-weapons-military-support/

Nomaan Merchant, “US View of Putin: Angry, Frustrated, Likely to Escalate War,” Military.com, March 14, 2022, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/03/14/us-view-of-putin-angry-frustrated-likely-escalate-war.html

Ashley Parker et al., “U.S. warns China not to assist Russia,” Washington Post, March 15, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/14/us-china-ukraine/

Yaroslav Trofimov and James Marson, “Russian Forces Kill Civilians, Loot for Supplies in Occupied Ukraine, Residents Say,” Wall Street Journal, March 14, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-forces-kill-civilians-loot-for-supplies-in-occupied-ukraine-residents-say-11647267560

Jon Allsop, “The biases in coverage of the war in Ukraine,” Columbia Journalism Review, March 15, 2022, https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/media_bias_ukraine_war.php

Associated Press, “China Says it’s ‘Impartial’ on Ukraine, Denies Aiding Russia,” Military.com, March 15, 2022, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/03/15/china-says-its-impartial-ukraine-denies-aiding-russia.html

Poppie Platt et al., “Volodymyr Zelensky says talks with Russia were ‘pretty good’ as Ukraine pushes for ‘a fair peace,’” Telegraph, March 15, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/14/russia-ukraine-war-latest-news-putin-refugees-zelensky/

  1. [1]Robert Mendick, Nataliya Vasilyeva, and Nick Allen, “China ‘willing to supply Russia’ with weapons and military support,” Telegraph, March 14, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/14/china-willing-supply-russia-weapons-military-support/↩
  2. [2]Matthew Jinoo Buck, “How America’s Supply Chains Got Railroaded,” American Prospect, February 4, 2022, https://prospect.org/economy/how-americas-supply-chains-got-railroaded/; David Dayen, “Re-Engineering Our Supply Chains,” American Prospect, February 11, 2022, https://prospect.org/economy/re-engineering-our-supply-chains/; David Dayen and Rakeen Mabud, “How We Broke the Supply Chain,” American Prospect, January 31, 2022, https://prospect.org/economy/how-we-broke-the-supply-chain-intro/; Esther Eriksson von Allmen, “Medical Emergency,” American Prospect, February 1, 2022, https://prospect.org/health/medical-emergency-supply-chain/; Jarod Facundo, “Not Even a Superhero Could Fix Global Supply Chains,” American Prospect, February 8, 2022, https://prospect.org/economy/not-even-a-superhero-could-fix-global-supply-chains/; Ella Fanger, “Labor Fight Brews on the Docks,” American Prospect, February 3, 2022, https://prospect.org/labor/labor-fight-brews-on-the-docks/; Gabrielle Gurley, “The Warehouse Space Race,” American Prospect, February 8, 2022, https://prospect.org/economy/warehouse-space-race/; Amir Khafagy, “The Hidden Costs of Containerization,” American Prospect, February 2, 2022, https://prospect.org/economy/hidden-costs-of-containerization/; Robert Kuttner, “China: Epicenter of the Supply Chain Crisis,” American Prospect, February 1, 2022, https://prospect.org/economy/china-epicenter-of-the-supply-chain-crisis/; David J. Lynch, “Auto industry already feeling the pinch from Canadian bridge blockade,” Washington Post, February 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/02/09/canada-truck-bridge-protest-autos/; Harold Meyerson, “Why Trucking Can’t Deliver the Goods,” American Prospect, February 7, 2022, https://prospect.org/economy/why-trucking-cant-deliver-the-goods/; Alexander Sammon, “We Were Warned About the Ports,” American Prospect, February 3, 2022, https://prospect.org/economy/we-were-warned-about-the-ports/↩
  3. [3]Keith Bradsher, “Surge of Omicron Infections Prompts Lockdowns in China,” New York Times, March 14, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/14/world/asia/china-covid-omicron-lockdowns.html; David Stanway and Roxanne Liu, “China’s soaring COVID infections fuel concern about cost of containment,” Reuters, March 15, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-reports-3602-new-confirmed-coronavirus-cases-march-14-vs-1437-day-earlier-2022-03-15/↩
  4. [4]Keith Bradsher, “Surge of Omicron Infections Prompts Lockdowns in China,” New York Times, March 14, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/14/world/asia/china-covid-omicron-lockdowns.html; Alexandra Stevenson and Austin Ramzy, “‘I Don’t Dare Get the Shot’: Virus Ravages Unvaccinated Older Hong Kongers,” New York Times, February 25, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/25/business/hong-kong-unvaccinated-elderly.html↩
  5. [5]Robert Kuttner, “China: Epicenter of the Supply Chain Crisis,” American Prospect, February 1, 2022, https://prospect.org/economy/china-epicenter-of-the-supply-chain-crisis/↩
  6. [6]Robert Mendick, Nataliya Vasilyeva, and Nick Allen, “China ‘willing to supply Russia’ with weapons and military support,” Telegraph, March 14, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/14/china-willing-supply-russia-weapons-military-support/↩
  7. [7]Associated Press, “China Says it’s ‘Impartial’ on Ukraine, Denies Aiding Russia,” Military.com, March 15, 2022, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/03/15/china-says-its-impartial-ukraine-denies-aiding-russia.html; Ashley Parker et al., “U.S. warns China not to assist Russia,” Washington Post, March 15, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/14/us-china-ukraine/↩
  8. [8]Robert Mendick, Nataliya Vasilyeva, and Nick Allen, “China ‘willing to supply Russia’ with weapons and military support,” Telegraph, March 14, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/14/china-willing-supply-russia-weapons-military-support/; Ashley Parker et al., “U.S. warns China not to assist Russia,” Washington Post, March 15, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/14/us-china-ukraine/↩

Idaho follows Texas in abortion ban

benfell

COVID-19 pandemic

Evictions

Lori Teresa Yearwood, “Evictions Are Back. Black Renters Are Suffering the Most—Again,” New Republic, March 14, 2022, https://newrepublic.com/article/165585/indianapolis-eviction-moratorium-black-renters-suffer

Abortion

Caroline Kitchener, “Idaho legislature approves bill banning abortion after six weeks, modeling its legislation on restrictive Texas law,” Washington Post, March 14, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/14/abortion-ban-idaho-texas/

Ukraine

Tom Ball, “This war will be a total failure, FSB whistleblower says,” Times, March 7, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/this-war-will-be-a-total-failure-fsb-whistleblower-says-wl2gtdl9m

Martin Farrer, “Russia Ukraine war: what we know on day 13 of the Russian invasion,” Guardian, March 7, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/08/russia-ukraine-war-what-we-know-on-day-13-of-the-russian-invasion

Jesus Jiménez, “What Is NATO and Which Countries Are Members?” New York Times, March 7, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/article/what-is-nato.html

Jacob Judah, “Moldova braces for ‘spectrum of threats’ as Russia bids to seize south of Ukraine,” Telegraph, March 7, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/07/moldova-braced-spectrum-threats-russia-bids-seize-south-ukraine/

Yuras Karmanau, “Crisis deepens, Ukraine accuses Moscow of ‘medieval’ tactics,” Associated Press, March 7, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-europe-evacuations-kharkiv-01693b3373cf8bcf2400ae29af992bbe

David Leonhardt, “Preventing This War,” New York Times, March 7, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/07/briefing/russia-ukraine-war-us-involvement.html

Robert Mendick and Dominic Nicholls, “Russian aircraft losses in Ukraine ‘unsustainable for more than a fortnight,’” Telegraph, March 7, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/07/russian-aircraft-losses-ukraine-unsustainable-fortnight/

David Moye, “Ukraine Expert Alexander Vindman Humiliates Marjorie Taylor Greene With Brutal Fact Check,” HuffPost, March 7, 2022, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marjorie-taylor-greene-ukraine-alexander-vindman-twitter-fact-check_n_62263198e4b02186be2570f3

Andrew Nikiforuk, “Can Ukraine Win?” Tyee, March 7, 2022, https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2022/03/07/Can-Ukraine-Win/

Tina Nguyen, “The G.O.P.’s New Trump-Putin Headache,” Puck News, March 7, 2022, https://puck.news/the-g-o-p-s-new-trump-putin-headache/

Daphne Rousseau, “Ukraine parades Russian troops captured during invasion before cameras,” Times of Israel, March 7, 2022, https://www.timesofisrael.com/ukraine-parades-russian-troops-captured-during-invasion-before-cameras/

Jordan Michael Smith, “Would Putin Really Go Nuclear? Well …,” New Republic, March 7, 2022, https://newrepublic.com/article/165634/putin-nuclear-weapons-ukraine-us-response

Aaron Blake, “Tucker Carlson goes full blame-America on Russia’s Ukraine invasion,” Washington Post, March 8, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/08/tucker-carlson-goes-full-blame-america-russias-ukraine-invasion/

Kaitlan Collins et al., “Biden announces ban on Russian energy imports,” CNN, March 8, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/08/politics/russian-energy-import-ban/index.html

Anthony Faiola, “Through Putin’s looking glass: How the Russians are seeing — or not seeing — the war in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 8, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/08/russian-media-state-television-ukraine/

Julia Ioffe, “The Death of Putin,” Puck News, March 8, 2022, https://puck.news/the-death-of-putin/

Yuras Karmanau, “People flee embattled Ukraine city, supplies head to another,” Associated Press, March 8, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-europe-united-nations-evacuations-62fa232dcb9d6260fef0e9c7f5386f9a

Matthew Luxmoore, Drew Hinshaw, and Nancy A. Youssef, “NATO Members Mount Huge Operation to Resupply Ukrainian Fighters,” Wall Street Journal, March 8, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/nato-members-mount-huge-operation-to-resupply-ukrainian-fighters-11646761821

Paul Nuki, “Why Vladimir Putin may stay in power longer than we think,” Telegraph, March 8, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/03/08/vladimir-putin-may-stay-power-longer-think/

Matt Oliver, “West scrambles for alternatives to Russian oil and gas,7rdquo; Telegraph, March 8, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/03/08/inside-wests-battle-wean-russian-oil-gas/

Emily Rauhala, “E.U. presents plan to cut Russian gas imports by two-thirds this year, stops short of boycott,” Washington Post, March 8, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/08/eu-russian-gas/

Daniel Thomas & Michael Race, “War in Ukraine: Russia says it may cut gas supplies if oil ban goes ahead,” British Broadcasting Corporation, March 8, 2022, https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60656673

Agence France-Presse, “Chernobyl power supply cut but IAEA says ‘no critical impact on safety,’” Guardian, March 9, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/09/chernobyl-power-supply-cut-completely-after-russian-seizure-warns-ukaine

Samantha Lock and Maanvi Singh, “Russia-Ukraine war update: what we know on day 15 of the Russian invasion,” Guardian, March 9, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/10/russia-ukraine-war-update-what-we-know-on-day-15-of-the-russian-invasion

David L. Stern et al., “Russian airstrike hits maternity hospital, as officials warn of fast-rising civilian toll,” Washington Post, March 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/09/russian-airstrike-hospital/

Adela Suliman and David L. Stern, “Chernobyl plant disconnected from power grid; Ukraine demands cease-fire for urgent repairs,” Washington Post, March 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/09/chernobyl-ukraine-russia-iaea-nuclear-monitoring-lost/

Victoria Ward, “‘Atrocity’ as maternity hospital in besieged Mariupol destroyed by Russian air strikes,” Telegraph, March 9, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/09/childrens-hospital-mariupol-destroyed-russian-air-strikes/

Associated Press, “Russia built an economy like a fortress but the pain is real,” March 10, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-europe-global-trade-economy-cd99ba45b1e36bb2ab80574eeaa69e4c

Daniel Boffey, “Western Europe leaders rebuff Ukraine fast-track EU membership appeal,” Guardian, March 10, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/10/western-europe-leaders-rebuff-ukraine-fast-track-eu-membership-appeal

Vladislav Davidzon, “No Quiet Place Left on Earth,” Tablet, March 10, 2022, https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/no-quiet-place-left-on-earth

Steven L. Hall, “Putin doesn’t fear a coup by oligarchs. But he should fear his fellow spies,” Washington Post, March 10, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/03/10/putin-coup-russia-siloviki/

Julia Ioffe, “Inside Russia’s Media Black Hole,” Puck News, March 10, 2022, https://puck.news/inside-russias-media-black-hole/

Pavel Polityuk and Tuvan Gumrukcu, “Ukraine says Russia snubs plea for humanitarian access to besieged civilians,” Reuters, March 10, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-accuses-russia-genocide-after-bombing-childrens-hospital-2022-03-10/

Reuters, “Russia, Ukraine foreign ministers meet as war enters third week,” March 10, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-accuses-russia-genocide-after-bombing-childrens-hospital-2022-03-10/

William Vaillancourt, “Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin Sets Hannity Straight on Russian Propaganda,” Daily Beast, March 10, 2022, https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-news-jennifer-griffin-sets-hannity-straight-on-russian-propaganda

Kaitlan Collins et al., “Biden calls for suspending normal trade relations with Russia and will ban imports of vodka and seafood,” CNN, March 11, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/10/politics/russia-trade-status-us-g7-eu-biden/index.html

Nick Gutteridge, “Russia ‘stockpiling bodies of Ukrainian soldiers’ to use in ‘false flag’ attack on Chernobyl,” Telegraph, March 11, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/11/vladimir-putin-planning-terror-attack-releasing-radioactive/

David Horovitz, “What does Putin think he’s doing? An expert’s primer on why he invaded, what’s next,” Times of Israel, March 11, 2022, https://www.timesofisrael.com/what-does-putin-think-hes-doing-an-experts-primer-on-why-he-invaded-whats-next/

Eric Levitz, “Ukraine Is a War Without Endgame,” New York, March 11, 2022, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/03/ukraine-is-a-war-without-endgame.html

Ashley Parker et al., “‘No off-ramps’: U.S. and European officials don’t see a clear endgame in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/10/ukraine-end-game/

David Remnick, “The Weakness of the Despot,” New Yorker, March 11, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/stephen-kotkin-putin-russia-ukraine-stalin

Reuters, “UN rights office says it has credible reports of Russian cluster bomb use in Ukraine,” March 11, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/un-rights-office-has-credible-reports-russian-cluster-bomb-use-ukraine-2022-03-11/

David L. Stern et al., “Intelligence points to heightened risk of Russian chemical attack in Ukraine, officials say,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/11/intelligence-russian-chemical-attack/

Maureen Dowd, “Zelensky Answers Hamlet,” New York Times, March 12, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/12/opinion/zelensky-ukraine-russia-biden.html

Philip Gourevitch, “Is It Time to Call Putin’s War in Ukraine Genocide?” New Yorker, March 13, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/is-it-time-to-call-putins-war-in-ukraine-genocide

Luke Harding, Peter Beaumont, and Lorenzo Tondo, “Russia missile strike on Ukraine base close to Polish border kills 35, governor says,” Guardian, March 13, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/13/russia-widens-attacks-on-ukraine-with-missile-strike-on-base-close-to-polish-border

Jennifer Maloney, Emily Glazer, and Heather Haddon, “Russian Prosecutors Warn Western Companies of Arrests, Asset Seizures,” Wall Street Journal, March 13, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-prosecutors-warn-western-companies-of-arrests-asset-seizures-11647206193

Richard Spencer, “Putin wipes out entire Ukrainian city of Volnovakha,” Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/putin-wipes-out-entire-ukrainian-city-of-volnovakha-b28k0lwh7

Edward Wong and Julian E. Barnes, “Russia Asked China for Military and Economic Aid for Ukraine War, U.S. Officials Say,” New York Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/13/us/politics/russia-china-ukraine.html

Henry Zeffman, “Russia ‘using banned white phosphorus bombs’ in attack on Ukrainian city,” Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russia-using-banned-white-phosphorus-in-attack-on-ukrainian-city-nj3rq6mg6

Rodion Ebbighausen, “Why China thinks the West is to blame for Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Deutschewelle, March 14, 2022, https://www.dw.com/en/why-china-thinks-the-west-is-to-blame-for-russias-war-in-ukraine/a-61119517

Yaroslav Trofimov and James Marson, “Russian Forces Kill Civilians, Loot for Supplies in Occupied Ukraine, Residents Say,” Wall Street Journal, March 14, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-forces-kill-civilians-loot-for-supplies-in-occupied-ukraine-residents-say-11647267560

Poppie Platt et al., “Volodymyr Zelensky says talks with Russia were ‘pretty good’ as Ukraine pushes for ‘a fair peace,’” Telegraph, March 15, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/14/russia-ukraine-war-latest-news-putin-refugees-zelensky/

Escalation

benfell

Ukraine

As it emerges that Russia is using white phosphorus in civilian areas, a potential “game changer” for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization,[1] I have a new blog post entitled, “Nuclear survival.”

Updated: To summarize in Ukraine:

  1. Ukraine fights alone[2] against a numerically vastly superior Russian force invading the country that has nonetheless become bogged down in some, but not all, regions.[3]
  2. Reports of Russian atrocities and potential atrocities continue to mount.[4]
  3. Diplomatic and economic pressure against Russia are failing to diminish Vladimir Putin’s determination.[5] To the extent they work, economic sanctions increase the likelihood that Putin will resort to a nuclear attack,[6] but, in Russia’s case, state control means resilience,[7] making it unlikely that Putin will be dissuaded from his invasion anytime soon.
  4. There is no hope of a coup against Vladimir Putin.[8] If that assessment is wrong, then what little hope there is would be with the security services,[9] but they probably aren’t really smart enough to pull it off.[10]
  5. There is no hope of a popular uprising in Russia against Putin.[11]
  6. Nobody knows how this ends beyond a devastated Ukraine.[12]

Somebody will have to capitulate, because everyone has staked positions they say they will not back down from,[13] sooner or later. And right now, it looks like an extremely devastating later, with no assurance whatsoever in the meantime that Putin will not expand the war, no assurance that Putin will not launch nuclear weapons, including against North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries.[14] Even if you’re immorally willing to sacrifice Ukraine, I’m having a hard time seeing how this status quo isn’t foolhardy and reckless.

Tom Ball, “This war will be a total failure, FSB whistleblower says,” Times, March 7, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/this-war-will-be-a-total-failure-fsb-whistleblower-says-wl2gtdl9m

Martin Farrer, “Russia Ukraine war: what we know on day 13 of the Russian invasion,” Guardian, March 7, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/08/russia-ukraine-war-what-we-know-on-day-13-of-the-russian-invasion

Jesus Jiménez, “What Is NATO and Which Countries Are Members?” New York Times, March 7, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/article/what-is-nato.html

Jacob Judah, “Moldova braces for ‘spectrum of threats’ as Russia bids to seize south of Ukraine,” Telegraph, March 7, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/07/moldova-braced-spectrum-threats-russia-bids-seize-south-ukraine/

Yuras Karmanau, “Crisis deepens, Ukraine accuses Moscow of ‘medieval’ tactics,” Associated Press, March 7, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-europe-evacuations-kharkiv-01693b3373cf8bcf2400ae29af992bbe

David Leonhardt, “Preventing This War,” New York Times, March 7, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/07/briefing/russia-ukraine-war-us-involvement.html

Robert Mendick and Dominic Nicholls, “Russian aircraft losses in Ukraine ‘unsustainable for more than a fortnight,’” Telegraph, March 7, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/07/russian-aircraft-losses-ukraine-unsustainable-fortnight/

David Moye, “Ukraine Expert Alexander Vindman Humiliates Marjorie Taylor Greene With Brutal Fact Check,” HuffPost, March 7, 2022, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marjorie-taylor-greene-ukraine-alexander-vindman-twitter-fact-check_n_62263198e4b02186be2570f3

Andrew Nikiforuk, “Can Ukraine Win?” Tyee, March 7, 2022, https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2022/03/07/Can-Ukraine-Win/

Tina Nguyen, “The G.O.P.’s New Trump-Putin Headache,” Puck News, March 7, 2022, https://puck.news/the-g-o-p-s-new-trump-putin-headache/

Daphne Rousseau, “Ukraine parades Russian troops captured during invasion before cameras,” Times of Israel, March 7, 2022, https://www.timesofisrael.com/ukraine-parades-russian-troops-captured-during-invasion-before-cameras/

Jordan Michael Smith, “Would Putin Really Go Nuclear? Well …,” New Republic, March 7, 2022, https://newrepublic.com/article/165634/putin-nuclear-weapons-ukraine-us-response

Aaron Blake, “Tucker Carlson goes full blame-America on Russia’s Ukraine invasion,” Washington Post, March 8, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/08/tucker-carlson-goes-full-blame-america-russias-ukraine-invasion/

Kaitlan Collins et al., “Biden announces ban on Russian energy imports,” CNN, March 8, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/08/politics/russian-energy-import-ban/index.html

Anthony Faiola, “Through Putin’s looking glass: How the Russians are seeing — or not seeing — the war in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 8, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/08/russian-media-state-television-ukraine/

Julia Ioffe, “The Death of Putin,” Puck News, March 8, 2022, https://puck.news/the-death-of-putin/

Yuras Karmanau, “People flee embattled Ukraine city, supplies head to another,” Associated Press, March 8, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-europe-united-nations-evacuations-62fa232dcb9d6260fef0e9c7f5386f9a

Matthew Luxmoore, Drew Hinshaw, and Nancy A. Youssef, “NATO Members Mount Huge Operation to Resupply Ukrainian Fighters,” Wall Street Journal, March 8, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/nato-members-mount-huge-operation-to-resupply-ukrainian-fighters-11646761821

Paul Nuki, “Why Vladimir Putin may stay in power longer than we think,” Telegraph, March 8, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/03/08/vladimir-putin-may-stay-power-longer-think/

Matt Oliver, “West scrambles for alternatives to Russian oil and gas,7rdquo; Telegraph, March 8, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/03/08/inside-wests-battle-wean-russian-oil-gas/

Emily Rauhala, “E.U. presents plan to cut Russian gas imports by two-thirds this year, stops short of boycott,” Washington Post, March 8, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/08/eu-russian-gas/

Daniel Thomas & Michael Race, “War in Ukraine: Russia says it may cut gas supplies if oil ban goes ahead,” British Broadcasting Corporation, March 8, 2022, https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60656673

Agence France-Presse, “Chernobyl power supply cut but IAEA says ‘no critical impact on safety,’” Guardian, March 9, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/09/chernobyl-power-supply-cut-completely-after-russian-seizure-warns-ukaine

Samantha Lock and Maanvi Singh, “Russia-Ukraine war update: what we know on day 15 of the Russian invasion,” Guardian, March 9, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/10/russia-ukraine-war-update-what-we-know-on-day-15-of-the-russian-invasion

David L. Stern et al., “Russian airstrike hits maternity hospital, as officials warn of fast-rising civilian toll,” Washington Post, March 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/09/russian-airstrike-hospital/

Adela Suliman and David L. Stern, “Chernobyl plant disconnected from power grid; Ukraine demands cease-fire for urgent repairs,” Washington Post, March 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/09/chernobyl-ukraine-russia-iaea-nuclear-monitoring-lost/

Victoria Ward, “‘Atrocity’ as maternity hospital in besieged Mariupol destroyed by Russian air strikes,” Telegraph, March 9, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/09/childrens-hospital-mariupol-destroyed-russian-air-strikes/

Associated Press, “Russia built an economy like a fortress but the pain is real,” March 10, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-europe-global-trade-economy-cd99ba45b1e36bb2ab80574eeaa69e4c

Daniel Boffey, “Western Europe leaders rebuff Ukraine fast-track EU membership appeal,” Guardian, March 10, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/10/western-europe-leaders-rebuff-ukraine-fast-track-eu-membership-appeal

Vladislav Davidzon, “No Quiet Place Left on Earth,” Tablet, March 10, 2022, https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/no-quiet-place-left-on-earth

Steven L. Hall, “Putin doesn’t fear a coup by oligarchs. But he should fear his fellow spies,” Washington Post, March 10, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/03/10/putin-coup-russia-siloviki/

Julia Ioffe, “Inside Russia’s Media Black Hole,” Puck News, March 10, 2022, https://puck.news/inside-russias-media-black-hole/

Ashley Parker et al., “‘No off-ramps’: U.S. and European officials don’t see a clear endgame in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/10/ukraine-end-game/

Pavel Polityuk and Tuvan Gumrukcu, “Ukraine says Russia snubs plea for humanitarian access to besieged civilians,” Reuters, March 10, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-accuses-russia-genocide-after-bombing-childrens-hospital-2022-03-10/

Reuters, “Russia, Ukraine foreign ministers meet as war enters third week,” March 10, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-accuses-russia-genocide-after-bombing-childrens-hospital-2022-03-10/

William Vaillancourt, “Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin Sets Hannity Straight on Russian Propaganda,” Daily Beast, March 10, 2022, https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-news-jennifer-griffin-sets-hannity-straight-on-russian-propaganda

Kaitlan Collins et al., “Biden calls for suspending normal trade relations with Russia and will ban imports of vodka and seafood,” CNN, March 11, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/10/politics/russia-trade-status-us-g7-eu-biden/index.html

Nick Gutteridge, “Russia ‘stockpiling bodies of Ukrainian soldiers’ to use in ‘false flag’ attack on Chernobyl,” Telegraph, March 11, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/11/vladimir-putin-planning-terror-attack-releasing-radioactive/

David Horovitz, “What does Putin think he’s doing? An expert’s primer on why he invaded, what’s next,” Times of Israel, March 11, 2022, https://www.timesofisrael.com/what-does-putin-think-hes-doing-an-experts-primer-on-why-he-invaded-whats-next/

Eric Levitz, “Ukraine Is a War Without Endgame,” New York, March 11, 2022, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/03/ukraine-is-a-war-without-endgame.html

David Remnick, “The Weakness of the Despot,” New Yorker, March 11, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/stephen-kotkin-putin-russia-ukraine-stalin

Reuters, “UN rights office says it has credible reports of Russian cluster bomb use in Ukraine,” March 11, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/un-rights-office-has-credible-reports-russian-cluster-bomb-use-ukraine-2022-03-11/

David L. Stern et al., “Intelligence points to heightened risk of Russian chemical attack in Ukraine, officials say,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/11/intelligence-russian-chemical-attack/

Maureen Dowd, “Zelensky Answers Hamlet,” New York Times, March 12, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/12/opinion/zelensky-ukraine-russia-biden.html

Luke Harding, Peter Beaumont, and Lorenzo Tondo, “Russia missile strike on Ukraine base close to Polish border kills 35, governor says,” Guardian, March 13, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/13/russia-widens-attacks-on-ukraine-with-missile-strike-on-base-close-to-polish-border

Jennifer Maloney, Emily Glazer, and Heather Haddon, “Russian Prosecutors Warn Western Companies of Arrests, Asset Seizures,” Wall Street Journal, March 13, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-prosecutors-warn-western-companies-of-arrests-asset-seizures-11647206193

Richard Spencer, “Putin wipes out entire Ukrainian city of Volnovakha,” Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/putin-wipes-out-entire-ukrainian-city-of-volnovakha-b28k0lwh7

Edward Wong and Julian E. Barnes, “Russia Asked China for Military and Economic Aid for Ukraine War, U.S. Officials Say,” New York Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/13/us/politics/russia-china-ukraine.html

Henry Zeffman, “Russia ‘using banned white phosphorus bombs’ in attack on Ukrainian city,” Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russia-using-banned-white-phosphorus-in-attack-on-ukrainian-city-nj3rq6mg6

  1. [1]Henry Zeffman, “Russia ‘using banned white phosphorus bombs’ in attack on Ukrainian city,” Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russia-using-banned-white-phosphorus-in-attack-on-ukrainian-city-nj3rq6mg6↩
  2. [2]Simon Lewis and Sabine Siebold, “NATO rejects Ukraine no-fly zone, says ‘not part of this’ war,” Reuters, March 4, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/nato-meets-ukraine-calls-no-fly-zone-hinder-russia-2022-03-04/↩
  3. [3]Mark Galeotti, “How does Putin extract himself from this nightmare of his own making?” Times, March 5, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/how-does-putin-extract-himself-from-this-nightmare-of-his-own-making-v2ktvw08g; Dan Lamothe, Alex Horton, and Karoun Demirjian, “Ukraine’s military adapts tactics after enduring Russia’s initial invasion,” Washington Post, March 5, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/05/ukraine-military-strategy/; Eric Levitz, “Putin’s War Looks Increasingly Insane,” New York, March 4, 2022, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/03/putins-war-looks-increasingly-insane.html; Justin McCurry, Samantha Lock, and Luke Harding, “Russia targeting cities as strength of Ukraine’s resistance ‘continues to surprise’, UK says,” Guardian, March 6, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/06/biden-and-zelenskiy-discuss-more-aid-for-ukraine-as-russian-attacks-intensify; Ashley Parker et al., “‘No off-ramps’: U.S. and European officials don’t see a clear endgame in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/10/ukraine-end-game/; David Remnick, “The Weakness of the Despot,” New Yorker, March 11, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/stephen-kotkin-putin-russia-ukraine-stalin↩
  4. [4]Agence France-Presse, “Chernobyl power supply cut but IAEA says ‘no critical impact on safety,’” Guardian, March 9, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/09/chernobyl-power-supply-cut-completely-after-russian-seizure-warns-ukaine; Nick Gutteridge, “Russia ‘stockpiling bodies of Ukrainian soldiers’ to use in ‘false flag’ attack on Chernobyl,” Telegraph, March 11, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/11/vladimir-putin-planning-terror-attack-releasing-radioactive/; Jim Heintz, Yuras Karmanau, and Mstyslav Chernov, “Fire out at key Ukraine nuclear plant, no radiation released,” Associated Press, March 4, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-volodymyr-zelenskyy-joe-biden-kyiv-business-33b6c1709dee937750f95c6786832840; Yuras Karmanau, “Crisis deepens, Ukraine accuses Moscow of ‘medieval’ tactics,” Associated Press, March 7, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-europe-evacuations-kharkiv-01693b3373cf8bcf2400ae29af992bbe; James Kilner, “Russia ‘may be preparing to use chemical weapons in Ukraine,’” Telegraph, March 4, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/04/russia-may-ready-use-chemical-weapons-ukraine/; Justin McCurry, Samantha Lock, and Luke Harding, “Russia targeting cities as strength of Ukraine’s resistance ‘continues to surprise’, UK says,” Guardian, March 6, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/06/biden-and-zelenskiy-discuss-more-aid-for-ukraine-as-russian-attacks-intensify; Catherine Philp, Caroline Wheeler, and Matthew Campbell, “Merciless Vladimir Putin shells Ukrainian evacuees,” Times, March 6, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/merciless-vladimir-putin-shells-ukrainian-evacuees-s98r0j50x; Pavel Polityuk and Tuvan Gumrukcu, “Ukraine says Russia snubs plea for humanitarian access to besieged civilians,” Reuters, March 10, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-accuses-russia-genocide-after-bombing-childrens-hospital-2022-03-10/; Reuters, “UN rights office says it has credible reports of Russian cluster bomb use in Ukraine,” March 11, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/un-rights-office-has-credible-reports-russian-cluster-bomb-use-ukraine-2022-03-11/; Jim Sleeper, “Too much reality: Putin’s Ukraine invasion summons Europe’s dark past,” Tikkun, March 2, 2022, https://www.tikkun.org/too-much-reality-putins-ukraine-invasion-summons-europes-dark-past/; Jordan Michael Smith, “Would Putin Really Go Nuclear? Well …,” New Republic, March 7, 2022, https://newrepublic.com/article/165634/putin-nuclear-weapons-ukraine-us-response; Richard Spencer, “Putin wipes out entire Ukrainian city of Volnovakha,” Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/putin-wipes-out-entire-ukrainian-city-of-volnovakha-b28k0lwh7; David L. Stern et al., “Russian airstrike hits maternity hospital, as officials warn of fast-rising civilian toll,” Washington Post, March 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/09/russian-airstrike-hospital/; David L. Stern et al., “Intelligence points to heightened risk of Russian chemical attack in Ukraine, officials say,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/11/intelligence-russian-chemical-attack/; Adela Suliman and David L. Stern, “Chernobyl plant disconnected from power grid; Ukraine demands cease-fire for urgent repairs,” Washington Post, March 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/09/chernobyl-ukraine-russia-iaea-nuclear-monitoring-lost/; Yaroslav Trofimov, “Ukraine, Russia Agreement on Evacuating Mariupol Civilians Collapses,” Wall Street Journal, March 5, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraine-and-russia-agree-to-open-corridors-for-civilians-to-evacuate-mariupol-11646470358; Yaroslav Trofimov, “Russian Artillery Kills Ukrainian Civilians Fleeing Kyiv Suburb,” Wall Street Journal, March 6, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-artillery-kills-ukrainian-civilians-fleeing-kyiv-suburb-11646575238; Yaroslav Trofimov and Alan Cullison, “Ukraine Faces Fresh Wave of Attacks Focused on Population Centers,” Wall Street Journal, March 6, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraine-resumes-evacuation-attempts-as-russia-presses-offensive-11646564330; Victoria Ward, “‘Atrocity’ as maternity hospital in besieged Mariupol destroyed by Russian air strikes,” Telegraph, March 9, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/09/childrens-hospital-mariupol-destroyed-russian-air-strikes/; Robin Wright, “What Does Putin’s Nuclear Sabre Rattling Mean?” New Yorker, March 1, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/what-does-putins-nuclear-sabre-rattling-mean; Henry Zeffman, “Russia ‘using banned white phosphorus bombs’ in attack on Ukrainian city,” Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russia-using-banned-white-phosphorus-in-attack-on-ukrainian-city-nj3rq6mg6↩
  5. [5]Ashley Parker et al., “‘No off-ramps’: U.S. and European officials don’t see a clear endgame in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/10/ukraine-end-game/↩
  6. [6]Eric Levitz, “Ukraine Is a War Without Endgame,” New York, March 11, 2022, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/03/ukraine-is-a-war-without-endgame.html↩
  7. [7]Associated Press, “Russia built an economy like a fortress but the pain is real,” March 10, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-europe-global-trade-economy-cd99ba45b1e36bb2ab80574eeaa69e4c↩
  8. [8]Mark Galeotti, “How does Putin extract himself from this nightmare of his own making?” Times, March 5, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/how-does-putin-extract-himself-from-this-nightmare-of-his-own-making-v2ktvw08g; Julia Ioffe, “Europe’s 9/11,” Puck News, March 3, 2022, https://puck.news/europes-9-11/; Paul Nuki, “Why Vladimir Putin may stay in power longer than we think,” Telegraph, March 8, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/03/08/vladimir-putin-may-stay-power-longer-think/↩
  9. [9]Steven L. Hall, “Putin doesn’t fear a coup by oligarchs. But he should fear his fellow spies,” Washington Post, March 10, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/03/10/putin-coup-russia-siloviki/↩
  10. [10]David Remnick, “The Weakness of the Despot,” New Yorker, March 11, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/stephen-kotkin-putin-russia-ukraine-stalin↩
  11. [11]Julia Ioffe, “Inside Russia’s Media Black Hole,” Puck News, March 10, 2022, https://puck.news/inside-russias-media-black-hole/↩
  12. [12]Eric Levitz, “Ukraine Is a War Without Endgame,” New York, March 11, 2022, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/03/ukraine-is-a-war-without-endgame.html; Ashley Parker et al., “‘No off-ramps’: U.S. and European officials don’t see a clear endgame in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/10/ukraine-end-game/↩
  13. [13]Ashley Parker et al., “‘No off-ramps’: U.S. and European officials don’t see a clear endgame in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/10/ukraine-end-game/↩
  14. [14]David Benfell, “Where does Vladimir Putin stop?” Not Housebroken, March 10, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/03/04/where-does-vladimir-putin-stop/; Eric Levitz, “Ukraine Is a War Without Endgame,” New York, March 11, 2022, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/03/ukraine-is-a-war-without-endgame.html↩

Try not to look at the radioactive flash that precedes the mushroom cloud

benfell

Ukraine

If Russia attacks a military base (the International Centre for Peacekeeping and Security near Lviv, also near Poland) that Russia claims is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization base, whether or not it is in fact a NATO base,[1] is it in fact an attack on NATO?

The attack on the base is highly significant for a number of reasons. Long viewed with suspicion by Russia – whose media has claimed falsely in that the past the facility was a secret Nato base in Ukraine – the proximity, so close to the Polish border, marks a sharp escalation in the scope of Russian airstrikes.[2]

For now, I guess, but only for now, the answer has to be no, not quite. But it’s a nuanced ‘no,’ rather a warning shot, that signals Vladimir Putin’s willingness to expand the war beyond Ukraine and against NATO, even as it seems unlikely he can truly prevail in Ukraine.[3]

I get that Stephen Kotkin resists aspersions on Putin’s sanity—Kotkin does so for good reason, really I think much the same reason I resisted treating conservatives as mentally disordered in my dissertation[4]—but Putin’s apparent willingness to widen the war is inescapably madness.

That said, just as Putin is deluded, so increasingly it appears are NATO leaders refusing even the no-fly zone in what increasingly appears to be the vain hope of containing this war to Ukraine.[5] As I previously explained,

Fundamentally, imperialist logic exists on a slippery slope. There is always a necessity, indeed, an existential necessity, to expand; such is, in fact, intrinsic to our system of social organization and a fundamental reason it is unsustainable, for at some point, even after all the wars of expansion that can be fought have been fought, there is nothing on earth left to expand into.[6][7]

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky seems increasingly likely to have been right when he warned that this war might not be containable to Ukraine.[8] Putin will lose. One way or another, he will lose.[9] But just as surely as we all lose with the climate crisis that we seem incapable of addressing substantively, we will also lose with a nuclear war, which this wider war would surely become, that seems increasingly impossible to avoid.

Luke Harding, Peter Beaumont, and Lorenzo Tondo, “Russia missile strike on Ukraine base close to Polish border kills 35, governor says,” Guardian, March 13, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/13/russia-widens-attacks-on-ukraine-with-missile-strike-on-base-close-to-polish-border

Richard Spencer, “Putin wipes out entire Ukrainian city of Volnovakha,” Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/putin-wipes-out-entire-ukrainian-city-of-volnovakha-b28k0lwh7

  1. [1]Luke Harding, Peter Beaumont, and Lorenzo Tondo, “Russia missile strike on Ukraine base close to Polish border kills 35, governor says,” Guardian, March 13, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/13/russia-widens-attacks-on-ukraine-with-missile-strike-on-base-close-to-polish-border↩
  2. [2]Luke Harding, Peter Beaumont, and Lorenzo Tondo, “Russia missile strike on Ukraine base close to Polish border kills 35, governor says,” Guardian, March 13, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/13/russia-widens-attacks-on-ukraine-with-missile-strike-on-base-close-to-polish-border↩
  3. [3]Julian Borger and Angelique Chrisafis, “Decision to invade Ukraine raises questions over Putin’s ‘sense of reality,’” Guardian, February 24, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/24/putin-russian-president-ukraine-invasion-mental-fitness; Eric Levitz, “Ukraine Is a War Without Endgame,” New York, March 11, 2022, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/03/ukraine-is-a-war-without-endgame.html; Andrew Nikiforuk, “Can Ukraine Win?” Tyee, March 7, 2022, https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2022/03/07/Can-Ukraine-Win/↩
  4. [4]David Benfell, “Conservative Views on Undocumented Migration” (doctoral dissertation, Saybrook, 2016). ProQuest (1765416126).↩
  5. [5]Simon Lewis and Sabine Siebold, “NATO rejects Ukraine no-fly zone, says ‘not part of this’ war,” Reuters, March 4, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/nato-meets-ukraine-calls-no-fly-zone-hinder-russia-2022-03-04/↩
  6. [6]John H. Bodley, Victims of Progress, 5th ed. (Lanham, MD: AltaMira, 2008).↩
  7. [7]David Benfell, “Where does Vladimir Putin stop?” Not Housebroken, March 13, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/03/04/where-does-vladimir-putin-stop/↩
  8. [8]Jake Epstein and John Haltiwanger, “Ukraine’s president warns a Russian invasion would spark a ‘fully-fledged’ European war,” Business Insider, February 1, 2022, https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-president-warns-russia-invasion-could-spark-european-war-2022-2↩
  9. [9]Julian Borger and Angelique Chrisafis, “Decision to invade Ukraine raises questions over Putin’s ‘sense of reality,’” Guardian, February 24, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/24/putin-russian-president-ukraine-invasion-mental-fitness; Eric Levitz, “Ukraine Is a War Without Endgame,” New York, March 11, 2022, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/03/ukraine-is-a-war-without-endgame.html; Andrew Nikiforuk, “Can Ukraine Win?” Tyee, March 7, 2022, https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2022/03/07/Can-Ukraine-Win/↩