The Weird Times

Inner Monologues and Desultory Reporting from Outer Spaces

The Weird Times: Issue 97, March 20, 2022 (V2 #45)

“War is a product of despotism. Those who want to fight war must only fight despotism.”—Leo Tolstoy

“i dig for the truth, but, while i do, something happens to it.” —Andrei Tarkovsky, Stalker

“There prevails an ill-defined, general agreement that the essential structure of all civilizations is at the breaking point. Although it may seem better preserved in some parts of the world than in others, it can nowhere provide the guidance to the possibilities of the century, or an adequate response to its horrors. Desperate hope and desperate fear often seem closer to the center of such events than balanced judgment and measured insight.” —Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism

“Peace in your country doesn’t depend anymore only on you and your people. It depends on those next to you and those who are strong. Strong doesn’t mean big. Strong is brave and ready to fight for the life of his citizens and citizens of the world. For human rights, for freedom, for the right to live decently, and to die when your time comes, and not when it’s wanted by someone else, by your neighbor.”—Volodymyr Zelensky

does language know how to draw another toward it
or only how to turn the other one away? can each word,
then, risk the transit, believe itself
invulnerable, dipped in pitch and hard as steel? 

—Maja Haderlap, from “translation” in distant transit, translated from the German by Tess Lewis, Archipelago Books

Peace is not the Absence of War

From War of Choice to War of Perseverance, What could make the situation in Ukraine more ripe for a peaceful resolution? There are three potential sources of pressure that could be brought to bear on Russian President Vladimir Putin, but none is likely to induce him to negotiate seriously,  Richard Haass, Project Syndicate, 3/14/22

As Koch Industries continues business in Russia, Koch-backed groups oppose sanctions, Judd Legum, Rebecca Crosby, Popular Information, 3/16/22. Update: Koch Industries breaks silence, Judd Legum, 3/17/22: "all Koch’s talk of rights and liberty means nothing… making money is what they value." (Jane Mayer)

Over 400 Companies Have Withdrawn from Russia—But Some Remain, Yale School of Management, 3/17/22

America’s Hesitation Is Heartbreaking: As the leader of NATO and of the free world, the United States needs to think much bigger than it has thus far, Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 3/14/22

Network Wars: Uploading Violence into the 21st Century. Ukraine is showing that wars are transitioning from physical to digital, Thomas Pueyo, Uncharted Territories, 3/13/22

Nina Khrushcheva on Putin’s Poisonous Nationalism and a New “New Russia:” The great-granddaughter of Stalin’s successor discusses Ukrainian identity and the lingering wounds of the Cold War, Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 3/15/22

Putin Needs an Off-Ramp: The question for world leaders is how to ensure the Russian president is defeated while nevertheless providing him with a route out of the crisis, Tom McTague, The Atlantic, 3/14/22

IT Army of Ukraine: The amateur hacker team striking at Russia: An amateur army of hackers formed by the Ukrainian government is bringing down the websites of Russian government departments and national banks, Matthew Sparkes, New Scientist, 3/15/22

Xi Jinping’s Faltering Foreign Policy: The War in Ukraine and the Perils of Strongman Rule, Jude Blanchette, Foreign Affairs, 3/16/22

Texas Voting Restrictions Take Their Toll: “Sorry—No Democrat Voting:” In Texas and at least 18 other states, restrictive new voting laws spell problems for upcoming runoffs, primaries, and the November general election, Akela Lacy, The Intercept, 3/15/22

A Ukrainian Town Deals Russia One of the War’s Most Decisive Routs: In the two-day battle of Voznesensk, local volunteers and the military repelled the invaders, who fled leaving behind armor and dead soldiers, Yaroslav, Trofimov, Wall Street Journal, 3/16/22

Daniel Yergin on Russia losing its status as an “energy superpower:” The energy analyst and award-winning author of “The Prize” and “The New Map” says Vladimir Putin is destroying the foundation of his country’s economic power, The Economist, 3/19/22

How do we solve a problem like Putin? Five leading writers on Russia have their say: The Russian president’s invasion of Ukraine threatens the safety of the entire world. Writers on Russian history and politics suggest possible ways forward, Tom Burgis, Catriona Kelly, Oliver Bullough, Ruth Deyermond, Peter Pomerantsev, The Guardian, 3/20/22: ‘Solving the problem means confronting the psychological grip he has on people’

Bombed Out: Why we keep making war… and tolerating it, Lucian K. Truscott IV, Newsletter, 3/19/22: “History becomes present becomes future and nothing changes. The thing that is forever is war.”

More than two dozen Senate Republicans demand Biden do more for Ukraine after voting against $13.6 billion for Ukraine: Thirty-one Senate Republicans voted last week against the $1.5 trillion spending bill to fund the government, increase U.S. defense spending and provide humanitarian and military assistance to Ukraine. In recent days, many of them have clamored for more weapons and aid, Mariana Alfaro, Eugene Scott, Washington Post, 3/17/22

U.S. state capacity is actually pretty high: A divided society is not the same as a declining nation, Noah Smith, Noahpinion, 3/17/22

I Know What It's Like to Be a Florida Teen Who Can't Say Gay. I Was One, Kristin Arnett, Time, 3/14/22: “It was fear that kept me silent. Because I knew that the things I felt were not acceptable.”

Lizzo Slams “Regressive” Texas Policies On Trans Kids and Abortion: “Mind your business. Stay out of my body,” James Factora, Them, 3/14/22

A tiny, largely unknown Christian college is at the epicenter of today's dark conservative movement, Rebekah Sager, Daily Kos, 3/15/22

Researchers warn that Christian nationalists are becoming more radical and are targeting voting, Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post, 3/18/22

Bookish

‘The War Never Left:’ A conversation with Ilya Kaminsky about memory, viral poetry, and the tragedy of Ukraine, Talia Lavin, New York, 3/15/22

Rare Thoughts on Writing From Cormac McCarthy in This Unlikely Interview: It Only Took Two Arizona High School Students to Get Answers From the Legendarily Reclusive Author, Murray Carpenter, LitHub, 3/15/22: “Writing is very subconscious and the last thing I want to do is think about it.”

I’m going to write the novel of the future: And design the future of publishing while I’m at it, Elle Griffin, The Novelleist, 3/14/22: “ I don’t want to be limited by the constraints of the existing publishing industry and I want to be wildly experimental with my art. And I want to re-imagine the future of fiction while I’m doing so!”

How a scientist-artist transformed our view of the brain: ‘The Brain in Search of Itself’ chronicles the life and work of anatomist Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Laura Sanders, Science News, 3/17/22: The Brain in Search of Itself by Benjamin Ehrlich

“War shortens the distance from person to person, from birth to death.” New Work by Ukrainian Poet Halyna Kruk, trans by Amelia Glase, Yuliya Ilchuk, LitHub, 3/17/22

we stopped digging deep long ago
in this uncertain field of ours-yours
because all kinds of junk can turn up:
human bones, horses’ heads, unexploded mines

It's not Cancel Culture, it's Cancel Technology: Social ostracism is as old as the hills. Social media is not, Noah Smith, Noahpinion, 3/20/22: “My big thesis about technology is that “technology weirds the world” — instead of ruining or fixing it, it typically changes it in a bunch of unexpected ways, twisting the contours of human life into shapes never seen before. Culture’s job is to adapt human society to the new set of technologies in ways that leave us better off than before.”

Shell Shock: Compassion defies death at the turtle hospital, Sy Montgomery, Orion Magazine: “Turtles are unlikely, surprising animals. Some breathe through their butts, some pee through their mouths. Some stay active under ice-covered waters; others climb fences and trees. Some are red, some are yellow, and some change color dramatically once a year. There are turtles with soft shells; turtles with necks longer than their bodies; turtles with heads so big they can’t retract them; turtles whose shells glow in the dark.”

New Writerscast interview with Betsy Dovydenas about her powerful book, If You Want to Know How I Got Brainwashed

Climate/Science/Nature

It’s 70 degrees warmer than normal in eastern Antarctica. Scientists are flabbergasted: ‘This event is completely unprecedented and upended our expectations about the Antarctic climate system,’ one expert said, Jason Samenow, Kasha Patel, Washington Post, 3/18/22

Here's What We Gain From Preserving Nature's Sounds, Guananí Gómez-Van Cortright, KQED, 3/14/22

To Revive a River, Restore Its Hidden Gut: Radical reconstruction in Seattle is bringing nearly dead urban streams back to productive life, Erica Gies, Scientific American, 4/1/22 issue

As the US Rushes After the Minerals for the Energy Transition, a 150-Year-Old Law Allows Mining Companies Free Reign on Public Lands: The Mining Law of 1872 lets miners pay no royalties for the precious minerals they dig from federal land and requires no restraints on their activities, Jim Robbins, Inside Climate News, 3/13/22

The stealth operative for big oil who's out to derail America's climate fight: Phil Goldberg, a self-described “committed environmentalist”, has a powerful strategy to shield the largest oil companies in America, Chris McGreal, The Guardian, 3/17/22

Oregon Is Turning Sewage into an Endless Supply of Green Energy: Converting poop into heat and electricity offers a tantalizing proposition: more waste equals more clean power, Britany Robinson, Reasons to be Cheerful, 3/17/22

Curious Test Reveals Dogs Have a Stunning Awareness of Themselves, Carly Cassella, Science Alert, 3/15/22

What an Ecofeminist Pioneer Can Teach Us Today: On Françoise d’Eaubonne's Radical Vision, Myriam Bahaffou, Julie Gorecki, LitHub, 3/17/22

Will Russia’s War Spur Europe to Move on Green Energy? As the conflict in Ukraine rages, European leaders are pushing for a faster switch to renewables as part of a strategy to end dependence on Russian gas. Their ambitious plans now call for fast-tracking deployment of solar and tripling clean energy capacity by 2030, Paul Hockenos, Yale Env 360, 3/14/22

The frontline of conservation: how Indigenous guardians are reinforcing sovereignty and science on their lands: From catching poachers to documenting species to saving lives, guardians all along the B.C. coast are bringing back traditional practices of territorial safeguarding — and filling major knowledge and conservation gaps while they’re at it, Jimmy Thomson, The Narwhal, 3/12/22

Australian researchers claim ‘giant leap’ in technology to produce affordable renewable hydrogen: Morrison government’s hydrogen stretch goal of $2 a kilogram to make the fuel competitive could be reached by 2025, Hysata says, Peter Hannam, The Guardian, 3/16/22

A new monitor could revolutionize the way air pollution is regulated: “Our goal is to create a dense network of highly accurate, extremely localized, real-time air quality data, which doesn’t exist today,” Kristina Marusic, Environmental Health News, 3/17/22

Corporations have failed to stop deforestation. Can that change in time to save the Amazon rainforest? The situation is dire now, but there are also signs that businesses are beginning to find better solutions, Adele Peters, Fast Company, 3/16/22

Unnatural Barriers: How the Boom in Fences Is Harming Wildlife: From the U.S. West to Mongolia, fences are going up rapidly as border barriers and livestock farming increase. Now, a growing number of studies are showing the impact of these fences, from impeding wildlife migrations to increasing the genetic isolation of threatened species, Jim Robbins, Yale Environment 360, 3/17/22

Can Small Seaweed Farms Help Kelp Scale Up? While some farms plan to grow massive quantities of kelp, Atlantic Sea Farms is counting on Maine’s small-scale fishermen to expand the industry and distribute ownership, Lynn Fantom, Civil Eats, 3/16/22

Dead coral found at Great Barrier Reef as widespread bleaching event unfolds: Marine park’s chief scientist says aerial surveys so far indicate bleaching worst off Townsville, Graham Readfearn, The Guardian, 3/18/22

Impacts on pregnant people now a focus of climate science: The latest IPCC report includes a new section on climate change and maternal health. One of the lead authors explains why, Jessica Kutz, The Narwhal, 3/15/22

Using Thoreau’s Notebooks to Understand Climate Change: Thoreau’s time at Walden Pond has provided substantial data for scientists monitoring the effects of a warming climate on the area’s plant life, Olivia Box, JSTOR Daily, 3/16/22

Why we need to ‘electrify everything’ according to Saul Griffith, Maxine Joselow, Washington Post, 3/17/22: “We have to focus on what's actually going to work, which is electrifying all of our end uses — cooking, driving and heating your home — and powering them with emissions-free electricity from nuclear or renewables.”

What Is the Heartland Virus, the Potentially Deadly Tick-Borne Illness Found in At Least 6 States? Here’s what you should know, Carolyn L. Todd, Self, 3/17/22

Nope—COVID is not over

Read of the Week (in which Ed. makes a suggestion – if you only have time to read one of the many articles linked in TWT, read this one: If You Thought Covid Was Over…Congratulations, You’re an Idiot: Covid’s Back and the Pandemic’s Not Over. Just Like — Wait for It — Science Said, Umair Haque, Eudaimonia and Co, 3/17/22: “Freedom? That’s what the Ukrainians are fighting for. Wearing a mask is just common sense, because, yes, the science says it works.”

Two years into covid-19, has Congress learned nothing? Leana S. Wen, Washington Post, 3/16/22

A possible new COVID-19 vaccine could be accessible for more of the world: The protein subunit vaccine, which can be manufactured using engineered yeast, has shown promise in preclinical studies, MIT, Eureka Alert, 3/16/22

CDC’s wastewater surveillance system serves as early COVID detection: The early detection system that’s proven to be a valuable tool in predicting COVID-19 trends could soon expand, Will Atwater, NC Health News, 3/18/22

New PCR test can identify all SARS-CoV-2 variants in a positive patient sample: Assay can quickly and easily inform decisions about public health policy and treatment for individual patients and can rapidly detect new variants, such as omicron, investigators report in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, Elsevier, Eurekalert, 3/17/22

Birds

NestWatch: Where Birds Come to Life, Cornell Ornithology: NestWatch is a nationwide nest watching program designed to track status and trends in the reproductive biology of birds.

Smart Raspberry Pi Bird Feeder Logs Avian Guests: This Raspberry Pi smart bird feeder keeps track of all of the birds it detects and stores images in a log, Ash Hill, Tom’s Hardware, 3/17/22

The bio-inspired robots going undercover to study animal behaviour: Bio-inspired robots that can fly like birds and creep like cockroaches are helping researchers to understand more about how animals move and behave, Hayley Bennett, BBC Science Focus, 3/16/22

First-of-its-kind global catalog of bird shapes yields ecological ‘gold mine:’ Measurements offer a new window into avian evolution and ecosystem health, Erik Stokstad, Science, 3/16/22

American White Pelicans and many other waterbirds on Chester Island in Matagorda Bay, Texas. Photo: Peggy Wilkinson

A Plan to Keep Texas's Rookeries Rooted in Place: Without action, a century of bird conservation could wash away with these small islands on the Texas coast, Rachel Guillory, Audubon, 3/16/22

Wintering sandhill cranes attracting attention of researchers, bird-watchers, Dennis Webb, Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, 3/16/22

Helping Ukraine

From the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation: Razom has been operating at scale, and has been widely endorsed; Cash for Refugees, a group of Americans with roots in Russia and Ukraine have organized an ad-hoc program to distribute small amounts of cash to refugees coming across the border to Romania.  

The 24.02 Fund, raising funds to support Ukrainian journalists in the war, including buying them supplies and protective gear.

Vostok SOS has been working in Ukraine to help resettle refugees displaced from eastern Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict with Russian in 2014. Via credit card through their Swiss partner, Libereco.

NextDraft Fundraiser: Buy a shirt, Dave Pell will donate $20 “to organizations keeping honest journalism alive in Ukraine and Russia.

Helping Ukrainians Directly: Easy ways to get money to people in Ukraine right now, Timothy Snyder, Thinking About, 3/16/22

This Massive Indie Game Bundle Costs $10 and Benefits Ukraine Charities: The collection spans hundreds of games, and donations go straight to organizations assisting Ukraine, Lauryn Stramp, Wired, 3/12/22

Turn on your TV, turn it on so loud
And watch the fool a smiling there and tell me that you're proud
And listen to your radio, the noise it starts to pour
Oh I know you're set for fighting, but what are you fighting for?

—Phil Ochs, from “What Are You Fighting For”

There are days when I seem to run out of things to say and on those occasions, and this is all I have to offer: Res ipsa loquitur.

And love, and hope, and that we are present to make a difference. I am grateful to you all for listening and for always being present. Be well all. Stay safe!

For all in whose heart dwells respect, who follow the wisdom and compassion, of the Way, may your life prosper in the four blessings of old age, beauty, happiness, and strength.

And some good news to close out the week: Syrian refugees welcomed to Canada return the favour to Ukrainians fleeing Russian invasion, Joanne Roberts, CBC News, 3/17/22