Yesterday, I took some time to look up interesting women for this month. My collection is rather personal – mostly women I had never hear of myself, but also a few whom I had heard of but who have been forgotten since. Perhaps we can all learn something.
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Crooks and Liars – GOP Senators Ripped For Reckless Tweets During Zelenskyy Zoom Call
Quotes – “The Ukrainian Ambassador very intentionally asked each of us on the zoom to NOT share anything on social media during the meeting to protect the security of President Zelenskyy. Appalling and reckless ignorance by two US Senators.”
“Why the hell would you risk that man’s life by tweeting this in real time when you were specifically asked not to?!”
“Still on the payroll, I see. Couldn’t follow directions on the Zoom call, huh? Is Pootie paying you in crypto now that the ruble has tanked?” Click through for more. You probably heard that this happened (although Grassley was not included when I first heard it.) And the volcano of fury it stirred up among all decent prople will do nothing to help keep him alive. But ti’s good to know decent prople are out there. (Is there any difference between this and Bo ebert tweeting out Speaker Pelosi’s location on January 6?)
Letters from an American – March 5, 2022
Quote – Aaron Blake of the Washington Post reported on Thursday that after Trump won the 2016 election and we learned that Russia had interfered to help him, Republicans’ approval of Putin jumped from about 14% to 37%. In the Des Moines Register today, columnist Rekha Basu explained how the American right then swung behind Putin because they saw him as a moral crusader, defending religion and “traditional values,” from modern secularism and “decadence,” using a strong hand to silence those who would, for example, defend LGBTQ rights. [emphasis mine]
Click through, and you’ll learn a lot about tha conflict in Ukraine. But it’s the conflict in the United States I wanted to highight. Wingnuts were not brainwashed by Trump**. They were brainwashed in advance to accept Trump**. At least that goes to explain why so many who are now turning on him over vaccines are not letting go of the tiniest fraction of the insanity.
Women’s History – Wikipedia – Hypatia of Alexandria
Quote – Hypatia was renowned in her own lifetime as a great teacher and a wise counselor. She wrote a commentary on Diophantus’s thirteen-volume Arithmetica, which may survive in part, having been interpolated into Diophantus’s original text, and another commentary on Apollonius of Perga’s treatise on conic sections, which has not survived. Many modern scholars also believe that Hypatia may have edited the surviving text of Ptolemy’s Almagest, based on the title of her father Theon’s commentary on Book III of the Almagest. Click hrough for bio. Her name survived into my lifetime as a decriptive term applied to a woman who was a teacher of, and or inspirational to, some dude (e.g., “His wife iwas his Hypatia.”) But that seems to have dropped out of common use, at least in the U.S.
Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as “unceasing,” “grudging,” and “vengeful destruction.”
I’ve already said(or implied) that I am too emotionally invested in the Russia-Ukraine confit to wrote about it, and that is still true. This is not so much about the conflict itself as the science behind certain actual and/or possible developments from that conflict. I think this is important, and I’m sure I’ll get agreement on that.
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Military action in radioactive Chernobyl could be dangerous for people and the environment
The site of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in northern Ukraine has been surrounded for more than three decades by a 1,000-square-mile (2,600-square-kilometer) exclusion zone that keeps people out. On April 26, 1986, Chernobyl’s reactor number four melted down as a result of human error, releasing vast quantities of radioactive particles and gases into the surrounding landscape – 400 times more radioactivity to the environment than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Put in place to contain the radioactive contaminants, the exclusion zone also protects the region from human disturbance.
Apart from a handful of industrial areas, most of the exclusion zone is completely isolated from human activity and appears almost normal. In some areas, where radiation levels have dropped over time, plants and animals have returned in significant numbers.
A fox near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. T. A. Mousseau, 2019, CC BY-ND
Some scientists have suggested the zone has become an Eden for wildlife, while others are skeptical of that possibility. Looks can be deceiving, at least in areas of high radioactivity, where bird, mammal and insect population sizes and diversity are significantly lower than in the “clean” parts of the exclusion zone.
As of the beginning of March 2022, Russian forces controlled the Chernobyl facility.
Why invade via Chernobyl?
In hindsight, the strategic benefits of basing military operations in the Chernobyl exclusion zone seem obvious. It is a large, unpopulated area connected by a paved highway straight to the Ukrainian capital, with few obstacles or human developments along the way. The Chernobyl zone abuts Belarus and is thus immune from attack from Ukrainian forces from the north. The reactor site’s industrial area is, in effect, a large parking lot suitable for staging an invading army’s thousands of vehicles.
The power plant site also houses the main electrical grid switching network for the entire region. It’s possible to turn the lights off in Kyiv from here, even though the power plant itself has not generated any electricity since 2000, when the last of Chernobyl’s four reactors was shut down. Such control over the power supply likely has strategic importance, although Kyiv’s electrical needs could probably also be supplied via other nodes on the Ukrainian national power grid.
The reactor site likely offers considerable protection from aerial attack, given the improbability that Ukrainian or other forces would risk combat on a site containing more than 5.3 million pounds (2.4 million kilograms) of radioactive spent nuclear fuel. This is the highly radioactive material produced by a nuclear reactor during normal operations. A direct hit on the power plant’s spent fuel pools or dry cask storage facilities could release substantially more radioactive material into the environment than the original meltdown and explosions in 1986 and thus cause an environmental disaster of global proportions.
View of the power plant site from a distance, with the containment shield structure in place over the destroyed reactor. T.A. Mousseau, CC BY-ND
Environmental risks on the ground in Chernobyl
The Chernobyl exclusion zone is among the most radioactively contaminated regions on the planet. Thousands of acres surrounding the reactor site have ambient radiation dose rates exceeding typical background levels by thousands of times. In parts of the so-called Red Forest near the power plant it’s possible to receive a dangerous radiation dose in just a few days of exposure.
Radiation monitoring stations across the Chernobyl zone recorded the first obvious environmental impact of the invasion. Sensors put in place by the Ukrainian Chernobyl EcoCenter in case of accidents or forest fires showed dramatic jumps in radiation levels along major roads and next to the reactor facilities starting after 9 p.m on Feb. 24, 2022. That’s when Russian invaders reached the area from neighboring Belarus.
Because the rise in radiation levels was most obvious in the immediate vicinity of the reactor buildings, there was concern that the containment structures had been damaged, although Russian authorities have denied this possibility. The sensor network abruptly stopped reporting early on Feb. 25 and did not restart until March 1, 2022, so the full magnitude of disturbance to the region from the troop movements is unclear.
If, in fact, it was dust stirred up by vehicles and not damage to any containment facilities that caused the rise in radiation readings, and assuming the increase lasted for just a few hours, it’s not likely to be of long-term concern, as the dust will settle again once troops move through.
Forest fires, like this one in 2020 in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, can release radioactive particles that had been trapped in the burning materials. Volodymyr Shuvayev/AFP via Getty Images
Possible impacts further afield
Perhaps the greater environmental threat to the region stems from the potential release to the atmosphere of radionuclides stored in soil and plants should a forest fire ignite.
Currently the zone is home to massive amounts of dead trees and debris that could act as fuel for a fire. Even in the absence of combat, military activity – like thousands of troops transiting, eating, smoking and building campfires to stay warm – increases the risk of forest fires.
A bird from Chernobyl with a tumor on its head. T. A. Mousseau, 2009, CC BY-ND
There is no “safe” level when it comes to ionizing radiation. The hazards to life are in direct proportion to the level of exposure. Should the ongoing conflict escalate and damage the radiation confinement facilities at Chernobyl, or at any of the 15 nuclear reactors at four other sites across Ukraine, the magnitude of harm to the environment would be catastrophic.
============================================================== Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone, some of this could probably have been anticipated by educated people who stay up to date. Other aspects were surprising (who knew that, from Chernobyl, after all this time, it might still be possible to “turn off the lights in Kyiv”?) And there is still so much we don’t know.
Farron Balanced – Republican State Of The Union Response Was Dumber Than Expected
The Daily Show – Tyranol: The Drug For Conservatives Who Want to Forget They Praised Putin
Shirley Serban – A Song for Ukraine 2022 (hanky alert) We have seen Shirley’s work before – she is the person who created “Bohemian Catsody.” Now I know she has a whole channel, and I have bookmarked it.
Beau – Let’s talk about a Russian article from the future….
Yesterday, the opera was a historic broadcast (next week they will get back to live broadcasts for the rest of the season.) They had a list of around 10 and asked listeners to vote (I didn’t because I didn’t have aa favorite.) The voting went to “Tha Daughter of the Regiment” from 1973, with Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti. What’s primarily historic about it is that it was Pavarotti’s broadcast debut, and includes the aria which gave him the nickname “Monarch of the high C’s.” I’m not a dedicated Pavarotti fan, but there’s no question he deserved that title. Those C’s were beautiful to hear, as well as inspiring to so many tenors who have come after him. (It’s also the opera in which RBG famously played the [speaking] role of the Duchess of Krakenthorpe – but that was not in this production, it was in Washington DC in 2016 – and again in 2021.) in esearching those dates. I also discovered she loved new opereas as much as lder ones, as do I. But this one – and the one written about her and Scalia, must have held special places in her heart.
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Vox – The fate of American elections is in Amy Coney Barrett’s hands
Quote – Four members of the Court have already endorsed [the independent state legislature] doctrine, despite the fact that the Supreme Court has repeatedly rejected it over the course of more than a century. Along with Gorsuch, Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh all embraced it in lawsuits seeking to alter which rules would govern the 2020 election. Meanwhile, the three liberal justices plus Chief Justice John Roberts have all signaled that they will not overrule the more than 100 years’ worth of Supreme Court decisions rejecting [this] doctrine. So, unless Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, or Kavanaugh has an unexpected change of heart, the fate of American democracy is now in Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s hands. Click through for details. I sense a possible subtext here, though I may be wrong – if it isn’t just random, if someone decides which justice gets to consider each case, it could be that someone is willing to throw Barrett under the bus if (when) the backlash is overwhelming.
Aeon – The many deaths of liberalism
Quote – Not coincidentally, all of these critics are living, writing and publishing in liberal countries. And they are demonstrating one of liberalism’s most successful features simply by participating in the quintessentially liberal enterprise of dialogue and disagreement under constitutional protections (with liberal limitations). These are, in fact, the only states in which actual competition for power and dissent is not just allowed but fostered. No one living in a totalitarian society has had the luxury of declaring liberalism, let alone totalitarianism, dead. Click through for essay. There’s very little new information here, but it’s a strong reminder that the fight to make our nation more liberal – closer to the actual ideals of liberalism – will never ne over, by its very nature. So we always need to keep going. And as Samuel Johnson said, human beings do not need to be instructed so much as they need to be reminded
Women’s History – Smithsonian: Women’s Futures Month
Quote – Calling all citizen scientists, do-gooders, plant lovers, activists, advocates, dreamers, and creators! Join us in March 2022, when the Smithsonian shakes up Women’s History Month with a new Women’s Futures Month: a forward-looking celebration of the power of women and girls in STEM to shape a better world. Click through for background and programs. The Smithsonian wants to focus on the future rather than the past, and that is certainly also useful – not just for women.
[NOTE: My 92 y/o uncle (retired Lutheran minister) died last week, and his funeral was yesterday. So I’ve been spending time w/ relatives. With families now tending to be far-flung, probably like most families it’s down to reunions, weddings and funerals. So that is why I’ve been AWOL. But I wanted to share a lighthearted moment from the otherwise tragic Russian invasion of the Ukraine.]
Russian Soldier vs. Ukranian Door
A stealth Ukranian captured a hilarious video of a hapless Russian soldier trying to break-in to an electronics store in Kherson, no doubt to loot some new gadgets.
Fortunately, there were no casualties. The only losses recorded were some bullets, the door’s window and the Russky soldier’s pride, as he slinks off in defeat! It became such a popular meme that it even earned its own Wikipedia page:
Ever the dutiful and dependable reporter, Moshe Schwartz supplies us with a scorecard summary of the Battle of Techno House. (You have to scroll down and click the Tweet to open it in its own window to view the entire entry.)
Glenn Kirschner – NY Prosecutors Investigating Trump Resign, DA Alvin Bragg Refuses to Release Resignation Letters I am posting this because I am not hiding anything. But I would point out that a straight stick points two ways. And I have not forgotten that when Tish James jumped in in Trump** her office announced that they and the Manhattan DA’s office would be coordinating their efforts. I would expect that a major element of that coordination would be coordinating the order in which steps would be taken. Again, a straight stick points two ways. We don’t have evidence for either direction at this point.
Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party – February 28, 2022
Ring of Fire – Mitch McConnell Brutally Smacks Down Donald Trump And Rick Scott
MSNBC – Trump Crime? MAGA Riot Panel Reveals Evidence Of ‘Criminal Conspiracy’
Truth Matters – State of Democracy
Armageddon Update | What Is It Good For? (“Scream Sanity” indeed!)
Beau – Let’s talk about Psaki, Hawley, energy, and national security….
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has shocked and horrified the world. However, it has had the positive affect of bringing nations, leaders and people together. Russians have gathered by the tens of thousands to protest the invasion, risking arrest – and often getting arrested – for expressing their sentiments. Companies are refusing to do business with Russia so Russian companies can neither sell goods nor get necessary raw materials. The global banking system SWIFT is contemplating kicking Russian banks out. Already, Russian citizens are stampeding to make withdrawals from their accounts.
So far, looks as though sanctions are working. Russia’s economy is (ahem!) tanking as more and more countries and companies impose sanctions – even legendarily neutral Switzerland has joined this party. The Russian stock market is in a tailspin as Russian businesses are being cut out of international trade. Athletic competitions have banned Russians from competing. Not only that, many Russian tycoons are breaking ranks with the Kremlin and calling for an end to this war; some have even fled Russia. Putin may have started strong, but he’s running out of allies and resources.
Meanwhile, governments, NGOs and individual citizens around the world are supplying Ukraine with humanitarian relief and offering to take in refugees. Soldiers from some countries are volunteering to help the Ukrainians fight back. The Russian military has encountered resistance that is probably fiercer than what they anticipated. Indeed, Ukraine could turn out to be a tar baby as Afghanistan was for the Soviet Union a generation ago.
Putin clearly has issues, probably including a Napoleon complex. He is a creature of the old KGB who apparently wants to restore the power and glories of Imperial Russia. Like Hitler laying claim to majority-German parts of Europe, so Putin is trying to grab any land that he perceives as being rightfully Russian.
As if Putin’s lunacy isn’t bad enough, prominent Republicans and right-wingers have not just defended but even praised his actions. Trump’s reaction to the Ukrainian invasion was nothing short of jaw-dropping. Not only that, righties are accusing Biden of being soft, when in fact he had some very stern words for Putin.
What do the righties want – all-out war? Blood and guts and the planet reduced to cinders too radioactive for even cockroaches? We need to give sanctions a chance to bleed and cripple Putin’s Russia so we can bring the bloodshed to an end. Russia can’t wage war for long if it has no money to pay its military or buy weapons. Sanctions will take a while to work, so we need to be patient.
Already some people are having nightmares about mushroom clouds. Fear of nuclear escalation is not entirely unfounded. Putin is a child of the Soviet era and the Cold War when kids practiced duck-and-cover at school and people dug bomb shelters in their back yards. Some fear that Putin is just nuke-happy enough that he will decide, if he cannot dominate the world, there won’t be anything left to dominate.
Only time will tell if Ukraine is the beginning of the end for Putin. In the meantime, we need to use sanctions to choke off his military, and diplomacy to try to make him see his folly and realize it is in his, and Russia’s, interest to withdraw from Ukraine. Putin may be crazy, but he isn’t stupid.
