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431 lines
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<meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=yes" name="viewport"/>
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<title>25 February, 2023</title>
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<title>Daily-Dose</title><meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" name="viewport"/><link href="styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="../styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><style>*{overflow-x:hidden;}</style><link href="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.css" rel="stylesheet"/><script src="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.js"></script></head>
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<body>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>An Anniversary of Destruction, Loss, and Bravery in Ukraine</strong> - Ukrainians have responded with remarkable dignity and courage, but there is little to romanticize one year into the Russian invasion. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/essay/an-anniversary-of-destruction-loss-and-bravery-in-ukraine">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How the Government Cancelled Betty Ann’s Debts</strong> - For a ninety-one-year-old law-school graduate, the Department of Education discharged more than three hundred thousand dollars in student debt. Could relief be that simple? - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-the-government-forgave-betty-anns-debts">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What Is Ron DeSantis Doing to Florida’s Public Liberal-Arts College?</strong> - DeSantis is not simply inveighing against progressive control of institutions. He is using his powers as governor to remake them. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-political-scene/what-is-ron-desantis-doing-to-floridas-public-liberal-arts-college">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Watching Tucker Carlson for Work</strong> - According to Kat Abughazaleh, a researcher at Media Matters for America, “You don’t know Fox News until you are watching it for a job.” - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-communications/watching-tucker-carlson-for-work">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Pandemic at Three: Who Got It Right?</strong> - Can we fix the response to COVID-19 in a country that seems broken? Plus, Stephanie Hsu talks with Jia Tolentino about “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-new-yorker-radio-hour/the-pandemic-at-three-who-got-it-right">link</a></p></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><strong>Netflix’s Perfect Match is a panopticon of sex and humiliation</strong> -
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<figure>
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<img alt="A woman with her mouth open in surprise, sitting beside a smiling man." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/7VPRGVWCNMa8u7ZxBy8UfcpAZAw=/0x0:2880x2160/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72012079/Perfect_Match_S1_E7_00_11_48_07_R.0.jpg"/>
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<figcaption>
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Francesca, left, is the star of <em>Perfect Match</em>. Here, it seems that a twist on <em>Perfect Match</em> has surprised her! | Netflix
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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Ceaseless watcher, gaze upon this wretched thing.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EigoN5">
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Humiliation has always been at least a small part of reality television dating shows. Whether it’s the tear-stained rejection confessional on <a href="https://www.vox.com/reset/2020/2/24/21145335/the-bachelor-instagram-social-media-influencers-money"><em>The Bachelor</em></a><em>, Love Island</em>’s public vote selecting the couple Britain likes the least, or <a href="https://www.instagram.com/pattistanger/?hl=en"><em>Millionaire Matchmaker</em>’s Patti Stanger</a> berating a sugar baby into submission, the gist is always the same: The risk of on-camera embarrassment is worth the one-of-a-kind love one may find on these shows (or at least the love of being on camera).
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="92J6RJ">
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In the last two weeks, I’ve discovered a sinister show in which utter human debasement is the sole point. This sadomasochistic program not only fools the contestants it treats like lowly worms into believing that flawless compatibility with another human exists and can be quantified, but makes those sick little piggies grovel every night for the chance to stay on for more humiliation.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1Gkb6B">
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Welcome to Netflix’s <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81497817"><em>Perfect Match</em></a>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Z88PjU">
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To be fair, I should have seen this coming: This is Netflix. The streaming platform gave us <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/23464762/love-is-blind-cole-zanab-season-3"><em>Love Is Blind</em></a>, a series where people who have never seen each other and only spoken through an adjoining wall fall in love and get married within a couple of months. Its premise is allegedly about finding true love and how looks don’t matter, but over the course of its three seasons, it has maniacally warped into something close to the <a href="https://www.prisonexp.org">Stanford Prison Experiment</a>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YGOhza">
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The streamer is also home to <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/too_hot_to_handle/s01"><em>Too Hot to Handle</em></a>, a show that tricks extremely attractive, extremely horny people into believing they’re on a regular reality dating show. What these possible sex addicts are really in for is a show where they can win a cash prize if they can last the entire show without boning anyone on the show. If they do have sex, the cash prize is reduced little by little based on the audacity of the sexual act. Impurity will cost you!
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GS80IW">
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Contestants from both those shows and other Netflix offerings like <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/1/16/21067999/netflixs-the-circle-review-recap-spoilers-summary-who-won"><em>The Circle</em></a> (a deeply obnoxious competitive reality series about social media where people yell commands at a screen), <em>The Circle: France</em> (I’m assuming it is also deeply obnoxious, but includes French people), <em>The Mole</em>, <em>Selling Tampa</em>, and <em>Sexy Beasts</em> all appear on <em>Perfect Match</em>, which is somehow crueler than any Netflix show that isn’t <a href="https://www.vox.com/22704474/squid-game-games-korean-references-symbols"><em>Squid Game</em></a>. The series appears to be Netflix’s foray into ABC’s vaunted <em>Bachelor</em>-<em>Bachelorette</em> universe where contestants from both those shows participate in the extracurricular spinoff <em>Bachelor in Paradise</em>. <strong> </strong>
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="av3e5A">
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On <em>Perfect Match</em>, Netflix has assembled a rotating roster — five men and five women — of its reality television personalities and plunged them into what appears to be a gorgeous Airbnb in Panama.
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</p>
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<figure class="e-image">
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<img alt="Two women in cocktail dresses sitting talking on a sofa." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jRCrMsi-lcazs2_E-qmrAJISX-g=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24459136/Perfect_Match_S1_E3_00_48_36_13_R.jpg"/> <cite>Netflix</cite>
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<figcaption>
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Kariselle, left, has a name that didn’t click for me until one of her castmates said it out loud.
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9GC9Cu">
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Those who watch multiple Netflix shows will be rewarded by knowing the deep lore of these cast members and their personalities — like a woman named “Kariselle” from <em>Sexy Beasts</em>, whose carnival ride of a name didn’t unlock for me until it was said out loud.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Xg2W4O">
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There’s also Shayne, an alum of <a href="https://www.vox.com/22958499/love-is-blind-season-2-recap-review"><em>Love is Blind</em></a> who may or may not have been emotionally abusive to the woman he was supposed to marry on the show. Shayne is unnerving because you cannot tell when this toothy man is joking, especially when he threatens a fellow contestant by saying he will run that guy’s dreams into the ground. I hope that is a joke.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QnVPAx">
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My personal favorite is Francesca, a <em>Too Hot to Handle </em>alum who treats the game like <em>Survivor</em> and has had the kind of plastic surgery that makes it look like her mother was a Kardashian and her father was an Instagram filter.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BFF9zK">
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Shayne, Kariselle, Francesca, and the other men and women pair off as heterosexual couples based on how attracted they are to each other. Then the next day, they take part in some kind of competition (these convoluted contests vary from physical challenges to kissing to quizzes and everything in between) where the winning couple gets to bring in two men or two women to the house. That decision deliberately creates an imbalance where there are either five men and seven women or vice versa. Whichever gender has the smaller number gets to choose their partner for the night, which almost always results in two contestants being left out in the cold (although later in the season, a same-sex couple materializes).
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Xzo6Lf">
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When I say cold, I mean it literally and figuratively. It appears to be cold at night in Panama, and these pairing ceremonies take place outdoors. Women on the show rarely wear pants. Men on the show rarely wear shirts. None of these Netflix stars brought warm knitwear to Central America.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eNEyAO">
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The “pairing” ceremony takes place over drinks and the course of the night, throughout the various outdoor areas of the palatial Airbnb. To match with someone and thus stay on the show, one has to be invited to a room by a person whose gender is doing the choosing that night (e.g. girls pick guys when there are fewer girls). The innuendo is, of course, sexual as each couple will be sharing not just a room but a bed.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9eNnhD">
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As couples pair off, they leave the remaining, unchosen people downstairs. At the end of the night, the two people not invited to bedrooms must leave together, like the lingering guests at a party when the host has gone to bed. They exit through the front door, while everyone else has put up “do not disturb” on their bedroom doors.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eha4et">
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In the short term, winners get to stay another day and cozy up to their match, but it’s unclear what anyone wins at the end of the competition other than being deemed compatible. Host Nick Lachey says they’ll be deemed a “perfect match” but does not specify if there’s money or some kind of vacation as a reward.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="k0UnhU">
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Uncertainty is part of Netflix reality television charm. Since many of the streaming platform’s shows are the first of their kind, the contestants tend to fill in how the game is played, the way that, in the first season of <em>The Circle</em>, the players decided it was about teamwork. (Spoiler: It wasn’t, but it worked.) <em>Perfect Match </em>is filled with Netflix vets, and the contestants have determined among themselves that someone “here for the right reasons” should win. That said, the “right reasons” seems to be more or less arbitrary and largely dependent on if Francesca and her friends like someone.
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</p>
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<figure class="e-image">
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<img alt="A woman hanging a “do not disturb” sign outside her room." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/a-YB2Eyf7GTIOKMj7OEjbyxSrII=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24459141/21c16abb_801d_4f7b_bd10_307fccef788c.jpeg"/> <cite>Netflix</cite>
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<figcaption>
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<em>The Bachelor</em> has roses. <em>Perfect Match</em> has “do not disturb” signs.
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Tl5NQ1">
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While no one outright says it, the looming humiliation of having to leave the house with your fellow loser at the end of a drunken night has to be a motivating factor for staying on the show. The circumstances were created to trigger and maximize desperation. Existing couples reassure each other that they really like each other, not just because one person in the relationship held the power the previous night. Someone in a pairing who doesn’t necessarily like their partner might put on a charm offensive not because of genuine interest but because they know one else will invite them to a room. The two newbies who get picked to enter the villa have to work speedily to convince anyone to let them stay. After all, they did not fly all that way to Panama to get barely any screen time on a Netflix show.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oHINkG">
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During one brutal pairing-off ceremony, Dom, Francesca’s longstanding match, watches as Francesca cozies up to a new man. He cries to the camera lamenting the connection they or he had. He weeps because she’s chosen another muscled himbo, one who she says is more appetizing to her sexually than the man crying is. The whimpering man at one point tells the cameraman that he told Francesca he loves her. This man has felt a full lifetime of emotion for Francesca, it seems, in just 72 or so hours.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DGN3ei">
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The next morning, Francesca and her new match talk about how they don’t have foot fetishes but they like feet.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5UlII1">
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Then the <em>Hunger Games</em>-like cycle repeats itself as two more people enter the house, the power shifts, from women to men, and two more people leave alone together. And on and on.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jMHE0x">
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Despite extensive <a href="https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/a42879599/netflix-the-perfect-match-rules/">Googling</a>, the show has an opacity that I cannot penetrate: It’s still unclear what the winning couple actually gets. What’s in store for them? Cash? Another trip to a sandy beach? His and hers matching sets? It doesn’t matter. The humiliation is the point.
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</p></li>
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<li><strong>People living near the Ohio train derailment will have to watch their health for years</strong> -
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<figure>
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<img alt="A family from Pennsylvania inspects the wreckage of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, on February 19, 2023." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/MJZyF_dlDHu6twXCztWYMFWsszs=/377x0:5710x4000/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72012044/GettyImages_1247411068.0.jpeg"/>
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<figcaption>
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The EPA has ordered Norfolk Southern to pay for the cleanup of its train derailment and chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio. | Matthew Hatcher/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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It’s the beginning of a years-long effort to clean up and track the effects of chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6SjKje">
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Many residents of East Palestine, Ohio, have warily returned to their homes after a <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/23597778/ohio-train-east-palestine-trainwreck-accident-chemical-norfolk">Norfolk Southern train derailed</a> and spilled more than 100,000 gallons of dangerous chemicals into the air and water earlier this month.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Nt3G9x">
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The towering smoke cloud from the burning vinyl chloride has drifted away, and the track has been cleared. Trains are now running again through the town. But the 4,700 residents of East Palestine say they still smell chemical residue in the air, see an oily sheen in the water, and are suffering from headaches and nausea. Concern is mounting about the long-term effects of the disaster.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8zTn0o">
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It’s also become a <a href="https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/2/23/23611697/ohio-train-derailment-east-palestine-trump-republicans">political football</a>. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited East Palestine this week and <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/23/buttigieg-derailment-spoken-sooner-00084177">apologized for not speaking about the derailment sooner</a>. Former President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/23/east-palestine-derailment-buttigieg-giuliani-00084286">also visited the town</a> and criticized President Joe Biden for going to Ukraine this week instead of Ohio. (Trump himself has faced criticism for <a href="https://apnews.com/article/wv-state-wire-north-america-donald-trump-us-news-ap-top-news-2e91c7211b4947de8837ebeda53080b9mp-us-news-ap-top-news-transportation-1936e77a11924c909880f1ef014c7ca7">rolling back train safety rules</a>.)
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QRTBzC">
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Other government officials are trying to assure residents that much of the risk has faded. This week, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan both <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/epa-administrator-ohio-gov-dewine-visit-east-palestine/story?id=97362950">visited East Palestine and drank tap water</a> in a resident’s home.
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</p>
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<figure class="e-image">
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<img alt="Pete Buttigieg speaks during a news conference near the site of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/nilJfEvqSG_LitoVJaFP8NwiqV0=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24459592/GettyImages_1247414267.jpeg"/> <cite>Matthew Hatcher/Bloomberg via Getty Images</cite>
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<figcaption>
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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg apologized to residents of East Palestine, Ohio, for not responding sooner to the train derailment.
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gfnq49">
|
|||
|
|
“You don’t know who to trust. That’s a big part of it — the uncertainty. You don’t know if you’re going to have to move,” one resident, Carolyn Brown, told <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/epa-administrator-ohio-gov-dewine-visit-east-palestine/story?id=97362950">ABC News</a>. “We need to feel that we’re safe.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="F1y2EA">
|
|||
|
|
But “safe” may be more than anyone can promise.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fA81Bg">
|
|||
|
|
“‘Safe’ is one of those four-letter words in a [disaster] response you just don’t use,” said <a href="https://www.graduate.cees.wfu.edu/contributor/dr-stan-meiburg">Stan Meiburg</a>, executive director of the Center for Energy, Environment, and Sustainability at Wake Forest University and a former career EPA official who worked on toxic waste cleanup. “What people consider ‘safe’ is highly variable … plus, EPA just can’t answer that question.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CLIfGn">
|
|||
|
|
Instead, agencies like the EPA try to measure what they can and extrapolate from past research. They compare the concentrations of pollutants they measure to limits established by health departments, which don’t always reflect the dangers an individual will face. Children, for example, breathe in more air proportionate to their body size and thus are more vulnerable to airborne toxic chemicals. And scientists aren’t clear how the health effects of the specific toxic chemical brew that shrouded East Palestine will play out over time.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KUYtn7">
|
|||
|
|
Authorities nevertheless told residents they could return home. In doing so, the people of East Palestine may face low levels of exposure to some of the dangerous chemicals from the derailment, with uncertain health effects.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rBUCvW">
|
|||
|
|
So now begins a years-long effort to track the effects of the leaked chemicals, to mitigate their harms, to analyze why the train derailed, and to prevent the next spill. While this is uncharted territory for health and environment agencies, experts say there are some best practices to better understand the disaster and to protect residents. But they require continued attention and resources long after media coverage fades and political wrangling stops.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="trxA7Y">
|
|||
|
|
The next steps in the response to the East Palestine chemical spill
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="z0GfPj">
|
|||
|
|
Of the 38 cars that derailed on February 3, 11 were known to hold hazardous chemicals, according to the <a href="https://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/NR20230222.aspx">National Transportation Safety Board</a>. These included chemicals like <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/substances/vinyl-chloride">vinyl chloride</a>, a flammable carcinogenic gas, and <a href="https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Butyl-acrylate">butyl acrylate</a>, a toxic flammable liquid. Some leaked, some were vented, and some burned, further complicating the picture.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AdPOdQ">
|
|||
|
|
“Each of the chemicals that leaked are respiratory irritants, and some of their breakdown products are also irritants,” said <a href="https://www.med.upenn.edu/apps/faculty/index.php/g310/p10762">Marilyn Howarth</a>, an environmental toxicologist at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, in an email. “This is part of what is unclear: How much of each was experienced by each person and for how long?”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="F1PVBE">
|
|||
|
|
Occupational health researchers have found that workers who are regularly exposed to chemicals like vinyl chloride have <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6737312/">higher rates of liver cancer</a>. It’s a signal that can take 20 years or more to emerge, Howarth said. However, these workers were exposed to higher doses and in enclosed spaces, unlike the residents of East Palestine. It’s not clear how exposures from the train derailment will play out, but the long latency of vinyl chloride’s worst effects means that it’s critical to track its concentrations in the community for years to come.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<figure class="e-image">
|
|||
|
|
<img alt="A fish lays dead following a train derailment prompting health concerns on February 20, 2023 in East Palestine, Ohio." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/EOYcadepvGT0gemyDS8rAwuUybI=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24459613/GettyImages_1247332026.jpeg"/> <cite>Michael Swensen/Getty Images</cite>
|
|||
|
|
<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
More than 40,000 fish died after chemicals spilled into waterways during a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this month.
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TW1N2U">
|
|||
|
|
Meanwhile, residues from burning vinyl chloride, like dioxin, and other leaked chemicals, like butyl acrylate, can haunt water supplies for years and spread through watersheds and underground aquifers that provide drinking water.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fAeBHS">
|
|||
|
|
“The aquifer may remain contaminated for years, even a decade, despite best clean-up efforts in the short and long term,” <a href="https://people.wright.edu/abinash.agrawal">Abinash Agrawal</a>, a professor of earth and environmental sciences at Wright State University, said in an email. “This may not be a threat to breathable air quality, but definitely toxic in drinking water as it can migrate and move/travel in a groundwater plume of contamination to the pumping wells nearby up to several thousand feet.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tEftzQ">
|
|||
|
|
So state and federal environmental agencies will also need to check water and soil samples regularly for contamination for years.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ffA1OL">
|
|||
|
|
Parts of East Palestine and the surrounding region will also have to be decontaminated, cleaned up, and remediated. The water used to extinguish the train fire is now toxic, and 2 million gallons of it are being sent to Texas, <a href="https://www.wkbn.com/news/local-news/east-palestine-train-derailment/texas-and-michigan-getting-toxic-waste-and-contaminated-soil-from-east-palestine/">where it will be injected underground for disposal</a>. The contaminated soil around the train tracks is being excavated and sent to a toxic waste disposal site in Michigan. The community may also have to look for a new drinking water source, Agrawal said.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IY3nyP">
|
|||
|
|
The National Transportation Safety Board is conducting an investigation of the root causes of the train wreck. Federal regulators will have to consider whether to impose new safety regulations on the rail industry.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="f5EpEP">
|
|||
|
|
The residents of East Palestine will also have to keep tabs on their health. <a href="https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/offices/office-of-university-communications/for-the-media/boston-college-faculty-experts/Phil-Landrigan.html">Philip Landrigan</a>, director of the public health program at Boston College, studied 20,000 first responders and rescue workers in New York City after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. He said one of the key lessons learned from that study was that in addition to figuring out exactly what was in the dust that people were breathing in, it was also important to conduct regular health assessments to catch problems that emerged over time.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fHUF0A">
|
|||
|
|
“A program has to be put in place to get baseline health evaluations of people in the town, even people that appear to be okay, and follow them up periodically over the next decade or more,” Landrigan said.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="ncBtQd">
|
|||
|
|
Norfolk Southern will have to pay
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ob4Dgr">
|
|||
|
|
All these measures, however, will cost a lot of money. “You can’t expect the people who were the victims of this catastrophe to pay for that themselves,” Landrigan said.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xYRxDY">
|
|||
|
|
To that end, the EPA has <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-orders-norfolk-southern-conduct-all-cleanup-actions-associated-east-palestine">ordered Norfolk Southern</a> to pay for the cleanup of the train derailment and the response. If they fall short, the rail operator could face a fine of <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/22/us/ohio-train-derailment-east-palestine-wednesday/index.html">$70,000 per day</a> according to EPA administrator Regan. “Norfolk Southern will pay for the mess that they created and the trauma that they inflicted on this community,” he said during a press conference this week.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hD7PQp">
|
|||
|
|
But that doesn’t account for the ongoing health needs of East Palestine, and the total medical bill could be massive. A number of residents are now looking to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/24/us/east-palestine-ohio-residents-lawsuits.html">sue the railroad company</a>. Norfolk Southern has also <a href="https://nscorp.mediaroom.com/2023-02-20-Norfolk-Southern-furthers-East-Palestine-community-engagement-and-recovery">committed $5.6 million</a> in financial assistance and support to the town.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<figure class="e-image">
|
|||
|
|
<img alt="East Palestine, Ohio, residents sitting on folding chairs gather in a crowded room facing people speaking from behind tables and in front of a banner reading, “Make Norfolk Southern pay.”" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/DVTkCd0PoqYWyqBNY9TOX5MJKdI=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24459598/GettyImages_1247440488.jpeg"/> <cite>Matthew Hatcher/Bloomberg via Getty Images</cite>
|
|||
|
|
<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
East Palestine, Ohio, residents gathered at a town hall meeting to voice their concerns after a train derailed and spilled chemicals earlier this month.
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="g9WIux">
|
|||
|
|
One of the biggest challenges, however, will be rebuilding trust between the community and the government. A half-dozen federal offices along with local authorities are playing roles in the disaster response, which is making it difficult for some residents to figure out who should be held accountable.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LH3j7Y">
|
|||
|
|
And agencies like the EPA are struggling to communicate how to interpret their measurements of chemical exposures and how residents should respond to their findings. Things like quantifying the toxic chemicals in the air, soil, and water and determining that they’re below reference levels don’t address the anxiety that the people of East Palestine may feel.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xEWq7q">
|
|||
|
|
“One thing that I hope we will see the agency doing is recognizing that assurances to people are not just giving them numbers but rather helping them have access to resources that will help them discuss their feeling about the matter,” said Meiburg.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yZ3MPE">
|
|||
|
|
“This has been a traumatizing event for the community,” he added. “To think about this as a ‘one and done’ experience is probably a mistake.”
|
|||
|
|
</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>The last US-Russia arms control treaty is in big trouble</strong> -
|
|||
|
|
<figure>
|
|||
|
|
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2ZYL5zzNmFtFVWlreobmvPtZ6jo=/206x0:4535x3247/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72011975/1247346004.0.jpg"/>
|
|||
|
|
<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual state of the nation address at the Gostiny Dvor conference centre in central Moscow on February 21, 2023. | Ramil Sitdikov/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
Vladimir Putin is suspending New START amid Ukraine war tensions.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zjJgqs">
|
|||
|
|
The last standing nuclear arms control treaty between Russia and the United States is in deep danger.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aRnPqu">
|
|||
|
|
Russian President Vladimir Putin said this week that Russia was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/21/world/europe/putin-new-start-treaty.html">“suspending”</a> its participation in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New START, which limits the number of deployed long-range nuclear weapons for each country. Putin made the announcement in <a href="http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/70565">a speech marking the first year of his war in Ukraine</a>, and he effectively tied his decision to the conflict, saying Washington wants <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/21/putin-russia-halt-participation-new-start-nuclear-arms-treaty">“to inflict a strategic defeat on us and claim our nuclear facilities.”</a>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CLbbPb">
|
|||
|
|
Putin’s decision is a distressing signal not just for New START but for <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/23510633/arms-control-bioweapons-convention-nukes-ukraine-putin">global arms control and nonproliferation more broadly</a>. Russia and the United States have the world’s largest nuclear weapons arsenals, and a pact like New START should serve as a safeguard during moments of tension, rather than a tool in a geopolitical standoff.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ouOIPm">
|
|||
|
|
New START specifically caps the number of long-range missiles each country <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/what-is-new-start-nuclear-arms-treaty-2023-02-21/">can deploy to 1,550</a> and allows for a maximum of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/22/what-is-the-new-start-nuclear-arms-treaty-and-what-are-the-risks-if-russia-vladimir-putin-suspends-it#:~:text=What%20is%20New%20Start%3F,of%20the%20world's%20nuclear%20weapons.">700 long-range missiles and bombers.</a>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mUxNfF">
|
|||
|
|
It all sounds very technical, but strategic nuclear arms are “the big intercontinental systems that are essentially an existential threat — not only to the United States and to the Russian Federation, but to the global community, to humanity as a whole,” said Rose Gottemoeller, who served as the chief negotiator in the Obama administration for the New START Treaty and is now<strong> </strong>the Steven C. Házy Lecturer at Stanford University.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nxvFxb">
|
|||
|
|
Russia has said it is going to continue to follow the limits set out by New START — in other words, according to Moscow, it’s not going to amass more warheads. But beyond the nuke limits, New START has formal mechanisms for data-sharing and verification — including inspections — which give both the US and Russia transparency into what the other was doing, and brought stability and predictability to the nuclear relationship. The <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/11/10/nuclear-talks-russia-us-biden-putin-new-start-treaty/">Biden administration renewed the pact with Russia</a> in 2021<a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/11/10/nuclear-talks-russia-us-biden-putin-new-start-treaty/">,</a> but the agreement is set to expire in 2026 unless a new deal can be negotiated. The <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/lavrov-not-optimistic-about-new-start-treaty-talks-with-u-s-/30719433.html">prospects for a new deal were already pretty grim</a>, even before the Ukraine war poisoned US-Russia relations even further.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BCKzAL">
|
|||
|
|
Russia had been gumming up the pact even before Putin’s announcement this week. Inspections were paused during the pandemic, but Russia has continued to block them, most recently <a href="https://tass.com/politics/1491709">claiming that US sanctions are preventing Russian officials from conducting checks</a>. (The US State Department <a href="https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2022-New-START-Implementation-Report.pdf">says that’s not true</a>.) Russia also bailed on technical talks, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/11/30/russia-us-start-nuclear-treaty/">linking that to the US’s weapons support for Ukraine</a>.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2S71jy">
|
|||
|
|
Russia’s so-called suspension isn’t actually a legal possibility under the treaty — but, then again, this isn’t exactly a good faith effort. Instead, Putin is trying to use New START as a bargaining chip in the Ukraine war. It’s another way for him “to impose costs or risks on the United States and the West, basically, saying: ‘We know you value this arms control treaty, but if you continue supporting Ukraine the way you are, you can say goodbye to that treaty’ — or he’s at least kind of hinting at the possibility that that could happen down the road,” said Nicholas Miller, nonproliferation expert and associate professor of government at Dartmouth University.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lIcl5m">
|
|||
|
|
Putin has also used <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2022/9/21/23364683/russia-mobilization-war-ukraine-nuclear-threats-putin-speech">nuclear threats</a> during the Ukraine war. The suspension of New START follows that playbook — an attempt to raise fears in the West about what Russia might do — in an effort to force the US and its partners to back off their support for Ukraine.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="H74xGi">
|
|||
|
|
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Russia’s decision “deeply unfortunate and irresponsible,” but made it clear that the US wants to engage with Russia on arms control at any time, “irrespective of anything else going on in the world or in our relationship.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="voF4Nl">
|
|||
|
|
In the past, Washington and Moscow have tried to separate talks on strategic nuclear arms from other issues, even if the rest of the relationship was a mess. That seems much less of a possibility now, which is trouble for the US-Russia relationship — and the entire world.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="drH59M">
|
|||
|
|
What happens if New START stops?
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oh6eOx">
|
|||
|
|
New START is the last of the bilateral arms control pacts between Washington and Moscow, as the rest of the architecture built from the Cold War onward unravels. New START was negotiated in the early years of the Obama administration, and officially went into force in February 2011. The treaty was set to expire in February 2021, but President Joe Biden and Putin <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/putin-and-biden-confirm-extension-of-new-start-treaty/">agreed to extend it for five years, until February 2026, its current termination date</a>.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="27VotG">
|
|||
|
|
Now, Putin has put the existing New START in jeopardy. The prospects of a follow-on treaty, however, were already pretty precarious even before the Ukraine war and Putin’s New START decision. “The pathway that we’re on is no different, but the slope is steeper,” said Amy Woolf, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and former specialist on nuclear weapons at the Congressional Research Service.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4EWbCu">
|
|||
|
|
The arms control agenda between Washington and Moscow has been stalled for some time; Russia and the US want different things. Also, any new New START would need to be ratified by the US Senate with a two-thirds majority, and good luck with that in the current US political environment.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LbFt9r">
|
|||
|
|
“We’ve known for 10 years that our lists are very different, and we’ve been unable to reach any agreement on what should be on the table,” said Woolf. “If you think that Ukraine caused the problem, all Ukraine did was highlight the fact that there was already a problem.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6cIv2I">
|
|||
|
|
Both the US and Moscow had been chipping away at the arms control regime in recent years. The Trump administration withdrew from a few arms control agreements, including the <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2019/8/2/20750158/inf-treaty-trump-russia-withdraw">Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF)</a> and the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/27/us/politics/us-russia-open-skies-treaty.html">Open Skies Treaty</a>, which allowed for unarmed reconnaissance flights. The US had <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2019/8/2/20750158/inf-treaty-trump-russia-withdraw">valid claims of Russian noncompliance</a>, but both ended and left a vacuum behind. Some experts worry that this is Putin’s current modus operandi around New START:<strong> </strong>don’t comply, trample on the treaty, and force the US to withdraw, allowing Putin to blame Washington for tearing up the agreement.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OZXiLh">
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So far, the United States’ tack has been to say they’re disappointed in Moscow but still open to finding a way out of this jam. Exactly what that means for the treaty going forward is unclear, but the most immediate risk is that both sides get a lot less clarity about what the other is doing with their nuclear arsenal. And we’ll know if that concern materializes pretty soon: The treaty calls for a biannual data exchange, and the <a href="https://thebulletin.org/2023/02/russia-suspends-new-start-and-is-ready-to-resume-nuclear-testing/">next one is due March 1</a>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TSY6Xv">
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But even beyond that, New START provides both sides updates about what the other is doing — for example, if someone’s conducting a test or the US moves a missile out of a silo for repairs, it has to notify Russia about it. “Over time, that gives the Russians a great 24/7 view of the status and US Strategic Force posture,” Gottemoeller said. “That’s important for their security, it’s important for their stability; they understand exactly what’s going on in the US strategic nuclear arsenal.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PIofXc">
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The same is true for the United States, of course. Once those updates don’t happen, the US and Russia will likely have to use other means to verify nuke limits. That is time-consuming, probably not as accurate (although both sides are allowed to use “national technical means” — like satellites — to verify information, and neither party is supposed to interfere with those), and also much more expensive. New START is “cost-saving,” said Jessica Rogers, impact fellow at the Federation of American Scientists. “You can use those resources for other things, or for other defense purposes.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cDyywx">
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Without that information, the pressure could grow on both sides to build up the nuclear arsenals.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="S5mW5x">
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“Confidence in what’s going on in the Russian force will degrade. The voices arguing for an expansion of the US force because of what Russia is doing and what China’s doing will grow louder. And Russia will see what we’re doing and their voices to expand will grow louder,” said Woolf. “It’s a cascading effect over time — it’s not a concern that next week will pop out with an extra 1,000 warheads. That’s not going to happen.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kPX0DI">
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Experts caution that an immediate buildup by Russia is probably not the immediate threat. That takes time and money, and <a href="https://www.vox.com/world-politics/23600837/ukraine-war-russia-whats-next">Russia has a lot going on</a>. Again, at least for now, Putin has said that Russia will not increase its strategic nuclear arsenal beyond the current New START limits.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YMUBh8">
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But even if an arms race isn’t an urgent worry, the potential for an arms free-for-all exists — not just between the US and Russia, but also China and other nuclear powers. Putin’s weakening of New START starts this process, and the treaty expiring might accelerate it.
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</p>
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5Wt140">
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“If 2026 rolls around and there’s no replacement, then there is a possibility that each country could substantially upload more nuclear weapons,” said Shannon Bugos, senior policy analyst at the Arms Control Association.
|
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</p>
|
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<h3 id="ovQ83W">
|
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A grim moment for global arms control, in a series of tough moments
|
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Xhs2ZH">
|
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A renewed and unrestrained arms race is not an inevitable conclusion, but as the arms control regime erodes, the greater the risk becomes over time.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ofPuHc">
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And if that happens now, it is not a reprise of the Cold War, with two superpowers, Russia and the United States, locked in competition. It is a much more multipolar world. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iaea-says-discussions-with-iran-after-report-enrichment-2023-02-19/">Iran is inching closer to enriching weapons-grade uranium</a> (something facilitated by the US throwing out the Iran Nuclear Deal). Even US allies like South Korea are more publicly <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/21/asia/us-nuclear-umbrella-south-korea-analysis-intl-hnk-dst/index.html">debating getting nuclear weapons</a>, worried about the threat from North Korea’s program.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="irNeIY">
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But most critically, China, another superpower, is also in the mix. Beijing’s strategic nuclear arsenal is still far below either the US or Russia’s, but it is likely trying to <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/11/29/politics/china-nuclear-arsenal-military-power-report-pentagon/index.html">build closer to their levels</a> over the next decades — strategic nuclear arms levels currently fenced in by New START. If Russia and the US throw off the remaining restraints, it removes some of the incentive for China (who has been <a href="https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2022-12/features/engaging-china-multilateral-arms-control">reluctant to engage bilaterally or multilaterally on arms control</a>), or anyone else, to follow suit.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MsDUS9">
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And once countries start down an arms-race path, it is hard to get off the ride. Trust is broken, and getting any agreement on arms control is much harder if tensions among parties are high. Once you invest in building up a nuclear arsenal, it’s not easy to shift, and it’s not cheap to dismantle nuclear warheads, either. And even if you’re a country that thinks some 1,500 strategic nuclear weapons is enough for your defense, sitting out an arms race with an adversary is a pretty hard sell when it comes to domestic politics.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3Td8xI">
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Again, this is not happening at this moment, but chipping away at pacts like New START make that all the more possible. And often it takes a near-catastrophe — say, a Cuban missile crisis — for countries to acknowledge it’s in their national security to do arms control.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ImYuKK">
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If anything, the Ukraine war should prove the need for Russia and the US to sit down on strategic arms, no matter what else. After all, that’s the point of these kinds of arms control treaties: They are supposed to provide guardrails when geopolitics are at a fever pitch because they help maintain a level of mutual trust and transparency that protects against miscalculation. They restrain powers when the impulse would be the opposite.
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</p>
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="K2l4MT">
|
|||
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|
Which is also what’s so dangerous about Putin’s New START tactics. He is explicitly linking it to the US’s support for Ukraine in the war, which as Rogers pointed out, imperils not just arms control but international law more broadly.
|
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</p>
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PirADs">
|
|||
|
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Putin isn’t the only president who’s used treaties as a form of politics, but it adds to a troubling norm. By wielding New START as a cudgel, Putin is trying to escalate the nuclear risk, and get the US and the West to climb down from their Ukraine support. That ultimately makes the conflict more dangerous, adding uncertainty and even more mistrust — this time around weapons of mass destruction.
|
|||
|
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</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
|
|||
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|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ankit Gulia lands a bronze</strong> -</p></li>
|
|||
|
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Dhoni was the only one who reached out during my bad form, recalls Kohli</strong> - Kohli shares a strong bond with Dhoni and that reflects in the manner in which he talks about India’s World Cup-winning skipper.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Eng vs NZ 2nd Test | England dominates New Zealand on rain-affected second day</strong> - For the second day in a row rain has come to New Zealand’s rescue in the second cricket test, saving it from an even greater mauling by England</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Europa League & Europa Conference League round of 16 draws</strong> - Here is the complete list of UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Coneference round of 16 draws</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Women’s cricket has changed a lot over the last few years, says all-rounder D. Hemalatha</strong> - Hemalatha, the batting all-rounder who has played nine ODIs and 15 T20Is but wasn’t able to make it to the Indian team for the T20 World Cup in South Africa, believes the WPL will provide a big platform for players like her</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>‘Pranaya Vilasam’ movie review: juggling time frames to shape up a pleasant take on lost love and understanding in relationships</strong> - The slightly misleading title works in favour of the movie as it explores a subject with ease yet keeping its subtlety intact</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A year since the Ukraine war began, these students have moved on</strong> - Some students have sought transfer to other countries and a few have changed track to make a fresh beginning</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Man’s body cut into pieces, burnt in Palnadu district of Andhra Pradesh</strong> -</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>I stand by my statement to field an ordinary party worker in Hassan: HDK</strong> - Mr. Kumaraswamy said he had called a meeting of over 300 workers from the Hassan constituency in Bengaluru on February 26</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>J&K govt. launches massive campaign over imposing maiden property tax</strong> - Property tax in J&K will be one of the lowest in the country, J&K Lt. Gov. said.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine war: Zelensky wants Xi Jinping meeting following China’s peace plan</strong> - Beijing’s call for a Ukraine war ceasefire shows China is involved in the search for peace, Ukraine’s leader says.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Turkish journalists detained over earthquake reports</strong> - Press freedom groups criticise a new “disinformation law” used to target reporting on the disaster.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How Putin’s fate is tied to Russia’s war in Ukraine</strong> - Steve Rosenberg looks at why Vladimir Putin set sail in a storm of his own making a year ago.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>New US sanctions for Russia on war anniversary</strong> - President Biden also announced over $2bn in military aid to both Ukraine and neighbouring Moldova.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine war: One year in 87 seconds on anniversary</strong> - On 24 February 2022, Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine, hoping to take over the country in a matter of days.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The return of Flat Earth, the grandfather of conspiracy theories</strong> - A new book argues Flat Earth beliefs provide a guide to conspiratorial thinking. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1919818">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Signal CEO: We “1,000% won’t participate” in UK law to weaken encryption</strong> - The UK’s Safety Online Bill would require Signal to police user messages. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1920090">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Google has gotten so cheap, employees now have to share desks</strong> - Google’s cost-cutters take aim at the company’s office space and workspace culture. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1919813">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>As COVID vaccine patent dispute drags on, Moderna forks over $400M to NIH</strong> - Moderna called the sum a “catch-up payment” for borrowing a molecular technique. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1920085">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Report: More Twitter drama after Slack shutdown; employees play hooky</strong> - It’s possible that Twitter might be ditching Slack. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1920032">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Why don’t women parachute naked?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
That annoying whistling sound on the way down.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/ValleyGrouch"> /u/ValleyGrouch </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/11b5vft/why_dont_women_parachute_naked/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/11b5vft/why_dont_women_parachute_naked/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Whats the difference between a politician and a hooker?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
A hooker will stop fucking you once you run out of money.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/cloudswarm"> /u/cloudswarm </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/11bc97x/whats_the_difference_between_a_politician_and_a/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/11bc97x/whats_the_difference_between_a_politician_and_a/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Is the capital of Kentucky pronounced Loo-iss-ville or Loo-ee-ville?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
Wrong. It’s pronounced Frank-fort.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/MrQuickLine"> /u/MrQuickLine </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/11b7gq2/is_the_capital_of_kentucky_pronounced_looissville/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/11b7gq2/is_the_capital_of_kentucky_pronounced_looissville/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>My wife asked me what my favourite part of a blow job is.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
I should not have said the 5 minutes of peace and quiet.
|
|||
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</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
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|
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Mundane_Character365"> /u/Mundane_Character365 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/11bgc38/my_wife_asked_me_what_my_favourite_part_of_a_blow/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/11bgc38/my_wife_asked_me_what_my_favourite_part_of_a_blow/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Arnold Schwarzenegger has a big one. Michael J. Fox has a small one. Madonna doesn’t have one. The Pope has one but never uses. Donald Trump has one and uses it. What is it?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
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|
<div class="md">
|
|||
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
A surname/last name
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
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Edit: Donald Trump has one and uses it all the time.
|
|||
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|
</p>
|
|||
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|
</div>
|
|||
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|
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
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|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/CryingCars_"> /u/CryingCars_ </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/11awgw0/arnold_schwarzenegger_has_a_big_one_michael_j_fox/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/11awgw0/arnold_schwarzenegger_has_a_big_one_michael_j_fox/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
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</ul>
|
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