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476 lines
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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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<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>The Preventable Tragedy of Polio in New York</strong> - Polio is one of the few diseases that can be eradicated—but faltering vaccination rates could undo years of hard-won global progress. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-preventable-tragedy-of-polio-in-new-york">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Is There a Serious Case for a Not-Awful Election for Democrats This Fall?</strong> - One strategist’s “Trumptimism” is another’s “hopium.” - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-bidens-washington/is-there-a-serious-case-for-a-not-awful-election-for-democrats-this-fall">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How Anthony Fauci Became America’s Doctor</strong> - An infectious-disease expert’s long crusade against some of humanity’s most virulent threats. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/04/20/how-anthony-fauci-became-americas-doctor">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Afghan Women Left Behind</strong> - After the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, a U.S. organization shut down the country’s largest network of women’s shelters. Its founders think that it made a huge mistake. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/the-afghan-women-left-behind">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Florida Primary Map: Live Election Results</strong> - The latest results from the Florida primary ahead of the 2022 midterms. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/election-2022/live-midterm-results-florida">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>Caring about the future doesn’t mean ignoring the present</strong> -
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<figure>
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/kWAKORdnoIhvtyOUPttglzKD40M=/225x0:1576x1013/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71278502/effectivealtruism_red.0.jpg"/>
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<figcaption>
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Dion Lee/Vox; 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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Effective altruism hasn’t abandoned its roots.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ej5ET8">
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Effective altruism (EA) has been unusually active in the news this month with the release of the book <a href="https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/william-macaskill/what-we-owe-the-future/9781541618633/"><em>What We Owe the Future</em></a> by the Oxford philosopher and founding EA figure Will MacAskill. In it, MacAskill argues for what he calls “longtermism” — donations, policy, and activism focused on preserving the best possible long-term future of humanity.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="09I1U2">
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One frequent — and reasonable — <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/08/15/the-reluctant-prophet-of-effective-altruism">critique</a> of longtermism is that it could steer the effective altruist movement away from its biggest achievements to date: saving lots of peoples’ lives in the present with direct and immediate measures.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5LvFGX">
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Effective altruism encourages donating a <a href="https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/">far larger share</a> of rich Westerners’ household income than most people do on average. My wife and I, for example, target giving 30 percent of our pre-tax income.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="atHVIO">
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Effective altruist money has funded vaccinations, <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/21728843/best-charities-donate-giving-tuesday">lifesaving health care</a>, <a href="https://www.givewell.org/international/technical/programs/vitamin-A">vitamins</a> targeting critical nutrient deficiencies, <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/11/25/20973151/givedirectly-basic-income-kenya-study-stimulus">cash distributions in poor areas</a>, and research into <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22350815/develop-vaccines-fast-pandemic">pandemic prevention</a>, <a href="https://www.vox.com/22778286/child-mortality-kenya-chlorine-clean-water">global development</a>, <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22331708/eggs-cages-chickens-hens-meat-poultry">humane farming</a>, and other critical, immediate stuff dedicated to helping those in need right here, right now.
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</p>
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<h3 id="2pWifj">
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Effective altruism is growing on all fronts
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="U0OFmx">
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I agree with longtermism’s central claim that people not yet born should be a key priority in our policy and decision-making. But if the shift to longtermism meant that effective altruists would stop helping the people of the present, and would instead put all their money and energy into projects meant to help the distant future, it would be doing an obvious and immediate harm.<strong> </strong>That would make it hard to be sure EA was a good thing overall, even to someone like me who shares its key assumptions.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KLFzhD">
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However, recent data from GiveWell, which directs effective altruist cash to top-priority global health causes, suggests that trade-off is a myth. That’s because, for all the attention on longtermism recently, the last year has also been the best year ever for effective altruist money funding present-day global health and development.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IyBsrI">
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Here’s <a href="https://www.givewell.org/about/impact">GiveWell’s estimate:</a>
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</p>
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<figure class="e-image">
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<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/BnH-RiJeoJ879Z-hPYy3h8ndU7g=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23966005/Screen_Shot_2022_08_22_at_4.42.11_PM.png"/> <cite>GiveWell</cite>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vDfYm1">
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For people who worry about whether effective altruism is a competitive tussle between a few cause areas, with some gaining at the expense of others, I think this chart ought to be enormously reassuring.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tIArlg">
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The picture it paints instead is that as effective altruism has gotten big — and as effective altruist-aligned institutions have broadly oriented themselves more toward long-term and existential-risk priorities — the movement has also gotten stronger and healthier in terms of the money focused on global health and development.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="W3iFEi">
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Of course, it’s impossible to rule out that EA would be growing even faster if not for longtermist “weird stuff.” But I think that’s a hard-to-demonstrate claim, and one I don’t totally buy.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xu2AXo">
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MacAskill’s book has put weird stuff front and center, but the reception has been remarkably positive, introducing tons of people to effective altruism, including to the more direct work on today’s concrete problems.
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</p>
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<h3 id="J3vD97">
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A symbiotic relationship
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dGIlgG">
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My main takeaway from the GiveWell chart is that it’s a mistake to believe that global health and development charities have to fight with AI and biosecurity charities for limited resources.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CKIGnd">
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The vast majority of Americans <a href="https://www.lendingtree.com/debt-consolidation/charitable-donations-survey-study/#:~:text=More%20than%20half%20(56%25)%20of%20Americans%20have%20donated%20to,two%2Dthirds%20made%20charitable%20contributions.">don’t donate much to charity at all</a>, nor do they choose their careers on the basis of making progress on critical global issues. But as effective altruism has become more prominent, it has gotten more people on board, each of whom decides for themselves which EA priorities persuade them — and then works on those topics.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="J4dVK4">
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You could imagine the EA movement growing to the point where further growth is mostly about persuading people of intra-movement priority changes, but that day is very far in the future.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BfS1Mh">
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This is not to say that I think effective altruism should just be about whatever EAs want to do or fund. Prioritization of causes is at the heart of the movement — it’s the “effective” in effective altruism.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9uLHGU">
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But the recent funding data does incline me toward worrying less that new focuses for effective altruism will come at the direct expense of existing ones, or that we must sacrifice the welfare of the present for the possibilities of the future.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="S1zer0">
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In a growing, energized, and increasingly powerful movement, there is plenty of passion — and money — to go around.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="w2fnme">
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<em>A version of this story was initially published in the Future Perfect newsletter. </em><a href="https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/A2BA26698741513A"><em>Sign up here to subscribe!</em></a>
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</p></li>
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<li><strong>How do we know who’s winning in Ukraine?</strong> -
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<figure>
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/F8JJkriS6q2xve8o4IEKS8j8FRM=/10x0:2677x2000/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71278433/GettyImages_1241324225a.0.jpg"/>
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<figcaption>
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Ukrainian soldiers fire a French CAESAR self-propelled howitzer toward Russian positions at a front line in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas on June 15. | Aris Messinis/AFP 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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How experts understand what’s happening on the ground in Ukraine — and what the war looks like six months in.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WU4o4C">
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It has been six months since Russia invaded Ukraine, and it’s not obvious who’s “winning” the war.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qz8ryv">
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The first stage of the Russian attack in February, a lightning thrust aimed at seizing Kyiv and decapitating the Ukrainian government, was <a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/3/18/22977801/russia-ukraine-war-losing-map-kyiv-kharkiv-odessa-week-three">a swift and humiliating failure</a>. Stiff Ukrainian resistance forced the Russians to withdraw to the eastern part of the country, where their ambitions <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62231936">narrowed in the short term</a> to a conquest of the Donbas region (much of which had already been controlled by Russian-backed separatists since 2014).
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZEyRL4">
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In the Donbas offensive, <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/4/22/23034480/russia-donbas-new-phase-war-ukraine-explained">which began in late April</a>, the two sides have been locked in an artillery duel — less rapid troop advancement and more firing shells and rockets from afar. This played to Russia’s primary strength, a <a href="https://kyivindependent.com/national/why-ukraine-struggles-to-combat-russias-artillery-superiority">numerically superior artillery corps</a>, and led to high Ukrainian casualties and slow but steady Russian gains <a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/6/3/23151490/ukraine-war-russia-donbas-sievierodonetsk">in the spring and early summer</a>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KM1pbu">
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More recently, however, the momentum has started to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraines-southern-forces-wage-a-slow-campaign-to-wear-the-russians-down-11660906801?reflink=desktopwebshare_twitter">swing back to the Ukrainian side</a>. Western military aid — most notably an <a href="https://kyivindependent.com/national/why-is-russia-so-vulnerable-to-himars-in-ukraine">American rocket artillery system called HIMARS</a> — has helped level the artillery playing field and wreaked havoc on Russian supply lines. Today, experts aren’t asking whether Ukraine will launch a counteroffensive aimed at retaking Russian-held territory, but when it will start and where it will focus.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Jv4aYO">
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Whether this means Ukraine is now “winning,” however, is a somewhat more <a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/ukraine/russia-repeat-failures">complicated question to answer</a>. We don’t know that the upcoming counteroffensive is likely to succeed; it depends on factors about which we have limited evidence, like Ukraine’s ability to conduct <a href="https://warontherocks.com/2022/05/the-changing-character-of-combined-arms/">so-called “combined arms” offensive operations</a> (ones that employ multiple components of military power simultaneously to accomplish a particular goal). Some important quantitative metrics, like the size of their respective ammunition stockpiles, are hard to estimate based on publicly available information. At this point, even leading experts on the conflict find it difficult to assess with real confidence who’s winning on the battlefield.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KSdnsa">
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The broader strategic picture is less opaque — but only somewhat.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="69LyAl">
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On one level, it’s been clear ever since Russia failed to take Kyiv that Russia was facing some kind of defeat. Nothing short of successfully seizing control of the Ukrainian state could justify the damage done to Russia’s military, economy, and international reputation. The invasion has already backfired on Russia, and its remaining battlefield efforts are focused on making the most out of a bad situation — to make sufficient gains that it could sell the war as a win to its population and the world.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WTCW0f">
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But just because the war has been bad for Russia doesn’t mean that it’s a victory for Ukraine. The invaded nation has suffered grievous losses since the fighting began; a large swath of its east and south is currently occupied by Russia. Improving its postwar situation will almost certainly require more battlefield victories, ones that would leave Russia no choice but to give up many of its gains at the negotiating table.
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</p>
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<figure class="e-image">
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<img alt="Two young women with fake blood on them hold signs over their heads. One is a picture of Vladimir Putin and the words “stop killer.”" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/02BKtbmxtt-zIyBZzS5pOVOh-BQ=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23966276/GettyImages_1242248392a.jpg"/> <cite>Alexey Furman/Getty Images</cite>
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<figcaption>
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Olha, 23, right, whose fiancé serves in the Azov Regiment and now is a prisoner of war, rallies in support of Azov members on August 1 in Zhytomyr, Ukraine.
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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="yroYCW">
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So six months in, we know quite a bit more about what things will look like after the war than we did when it started. But there’s still a lot to be determined, and neither side is showing signs of backing down. There’s almost certain to be a lot more fighting ahead.
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</p>
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<h3 id="ljly98">
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How to assess who’s winning on the battlefield, and why Ukraine is poised to go on the offensive
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="V5TTW2">
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Sometimes, progress in war can be approximately measured by territorial gains and losses. But in artillery duels like the current fighting in the Donbas, territorial changes are typically a lagging indicator rather than a leading one. So long as both sides maintain the ability to keep up the barrage, it’s hard for either one to make significant advances. Large changes in control typically happen after one side is exhausted — when they’ve lost so many troops, artillery pieces, and/or shells that they are forced to rapidly retreat.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0nC6vh">
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“In a war of attrition forces are degraded gradually, but may then lose control suddenly, because they find themselves eventually placed in an untenable position,” says Michael Kofman, an expert on the Russian and Ukrainian militaries at the CNA think tank.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7bG7SD">
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Instead of tracking territory, Kofman proposes a three-part test for assessing which side is winning:
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</p>
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<ol>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aDv9Ze">
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Which side has the <strong>initiative</strong>, defined as “setting the pace of operations and forcing the other side to react to them.”
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</li>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GRqB32">
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Which side is losing the war of <strong>attrition</strong>, defined as who is suffering greater losses in manpower and materiel.
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</li>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="csf5Su">
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Which side has a better capacity for <strong>sustainment</strong>, defined as “which side is better able to reconstitute their forces and replace their losses” in the “medium-to-long term.”
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</li>
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</ol>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DRYFh4">
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For most of the conflict, Russia has had the initiative. Moscow launched the invasion and then forced Ukraine to mount desperate defenses of its major cities, including the capital Kyiv. Even after this assault failed, Russia was able to set the terms for the next part of the conflict — launching a new offensive in the Donbas region that forced a reactive Ukrainian defense.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NcGtwR">
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But in the past few weeks, Ukraine has started to take the initiative. A key factor has been Ukraine’s ability to target the Russian army’s supply chain — what Simon Schlegel, the International Crisis Group’s senior analyst for Ukraine, describes as its “Achilles’ heel.”
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</p>
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<figure class="e-image">
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<img alt="A tank-like truck driving through green bushes." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/H84qYF_h01MWBdKMk6Ej-Bk3ZFg=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23966328/GettyImages_1241658570a.jpg"/> <cite>Anastasia Vlasov/Washington Post via Getty Images</cite>
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<figcaption>
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A Ukrainian serviceman rides on a HIMARS vehicle in eastern Ukraine on July 1.
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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="SB7IXM">
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In the past few weeks, Ukraine has used its artillery systems to hit Russian railways, infrastructure, and ammunition dumps. The Russians have been making significant use of truck convoys to bring supplies to the front, but those are less efficient and easy for the Ukrainians to target while being offloaded.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fa6FSf">
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HIMARS, an American-made rocket launcher system mounted on a truck, has been a central part of the strategy. HIMARS rockets are precise, capable of destroying Russian facilities at range. They’re also fairly easy to move — the acronym HIMARS stands for “high mobility artillery rocket system” — which makes it hard for Russian counter-battery forces to target. So far, Ukraine <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russias-shoigu-says-6-ukrainian-himars-systems-destroyed-interfax-2022-08-02/">has yet to lose a single HIMARS launcher to enemy fire</a>. And HIMARS is one of several advanced systems given to Ukraine as part of the <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/u-s-set-to-announce-800-million-in-military-aid-for-ukraine">roughly $10 billion in military aid provided by the Biden administration</a>, supplemented by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-seeks-keep-up-support-ukraine-despite-economic-damage-2022-07-18/">billions more from European nations</a>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aVJGTg">
|
||
Ukraine has also demonstrated an ability to strike deep into Russian-held territory. Since early August, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/20/world/europe/ukraine-attacks-putin-war.html">Ukrainian aircraft</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/17/world/europe/ukraine-partisans-insurgency-russia.html">partisans</a> have hit military targets in Crimea, the southern Ukrainian peninsula seized by Russia back in 2014, including an airbase and the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. These strikes haven’t transformed the conflict, but they have created a sense of insecurity on the side and contributed to a sense that Ukraine is setting the terms of the conflict.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7Bp1M1">
|
||
There appears to be a window open for Ukraine to launch its own counteroffensive: to try to take advantage of Russia’s weakness and retake vital territory. The attack appears likely to come in southern Ukraine, but it’s not obvious where.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/iTrHEdy-aVta1fGkEcjuOd3QpZ4=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23964954/DraftUkraineCoTAugust22_2022.png"/> <cite>Institute for the Study of War</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Map of Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine as of August 22.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jGjpWV">
|
||
The most <a href="https://www.grid.news/story/global/2022/08/03/ukraine-turning-point-the-offensive-against-russia-that-may-decide-the-war/">bandied-about target is Kherson</a>, the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/07/04/1109737273/russia-has-control-of-a-key-eastern-ukrainian-city">only Ukrainian provincial capital taken by Russian forces</a>. Liberating Kherson would be a significant victory for Ukrainians, a potent symbol that would shore up Ukrainian morale and encourage its Western patrons to keep backing what looks like the winning horse.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Chzvvf">
|
||
A bolder option would be a push south down from <a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/8/20/23314161/ukraines-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-power-plant-russia-united-nations">Zaporizhzhia</a>, a city just on the east side of the Dnipro River. In this plan, Ukrainian forces would primarily aim to sever the lines connecting Crimea to Russian holdings in the Donbas — a move that could do significant damage to Russia’s ability to maintain these holdings, but that also risks Ukrainian forces becoming enveloped by Russians positioned on either side of their advance.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uNvwpp">
|
||
Whatever the Ukrainians attempt, it very well may not succeed.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="h43ojz">
|
||
Attacking is generally harder than defending; the military rule of thumb is that attackers need a three-to-one troop advantage in order to have a chance of success. Ukraine has a manpower advantage despite its smaller population, as the Kremlin has proven unwilling to go to a total war footing and call up its reserves, but has suffered heavy losses of its own in the past six months. (Ukraine’s top general recently said about <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/22/nearly-9000-ukrainian-troops-killed-since-february-kyiv-says">9,000 of his country’s soldiers have been killed</a>, but the actual number is probably significantly higher.) It’s far from clear how much of an advantage they’ll have in any southern offensive.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2bMJt2">
|
||
Moreover, the kind of offensive Ukraine seems poised to launch depends heavily on Ukraine’s “combined arms” capacity. Combined arms operations are complex, requiring that infantry, armor, artillery, and airpower all coordinate effectively to cover each other’s vulnerabilities and enable movement through enemy-controlled territory. So far, the Ukrainians have not yet mounted a significant combined arms offensive in the current war, and we have little insight into their capacity for doing so.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ckCCnL8oFd-xlMQcYprR8YthI6I=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23966361/GettyImages_1242659514.jpg"/> <cite>Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Ukrainian volunteer fighters rest at a position along the front line in the Donetsk region on August 22. Nearly 9,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since Russia’s February 24 invasion, Ukraine’s commander-in-chief said on August 22.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nqEFeA">
|
||
Any such attack will be costly, leading to significant Ukrainian attrition. While territorial success might encourage the West to increase its support for Ukraine, poor battlefield performance could undermine it — significantly weakening Ukraine’s capacity for sustainment across the board.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kLZlMn">
|
||
So, yes, things are looking up for Ukraine on the battlefield right now. But how long that will continue is far from clear.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="qRPjRJ">
|
||
Russia probably can’t win — but that doesn’t mean Ukraine will
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VY7omI">
|
||
In war, battlefield victories are not an end in themselves; they are a means to attaining particular political goals.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QKBG5S">
|
||
In some cases, the relationship between battlefield and political objectives is straightforward. One side defeats the other completely, conquering their territory or forcing an unconditional surrender. Some of history’s most famous conflicts, including the US Civil War and World War II, fit this model. But these conflicts are the exception rather than the rule.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JFAEOH">
|
||
“The World War II settlement [in which] the losers lose everything is relatively uncommon in history,” says Emma Ashford, a resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="x4Rpu2">
|
||
The current war in Ukraine, according to Ashford, is not likely to buck the trend. A total Russian victory, conquering Ukraine, is at this point clearly out of reach. Ukraine’s maximalist aim, pushing Russian forces out of its internationally recognized territory entirely, does not currently appear to be within its capacity.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AAccj3">
|
||
As a result, it is overwhelmingly likely that this war will be resolved at the negotiating table: through Kyiv and Moscow agreeing to some kind of ceasefire or treaty in which neither side gets all of what it wants.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="x5Dtbk">
|
||
These negotiations will be fundamentally shaped by battlefield outcomes: If one side has a significant advantage in the field, they have more leverage to extract favorable terms from the other. But it will also be shaped by other factors, including public opinion in Ukraine and Russia, economic damage caused by continued fighting (in Ukraine) and Western sanctions (in Russia), and the capacity for Western states to continue resupplying Ukraine from their own stockpiles and factories. So if “winning,” in a strategic sense, is defined as attaining a more favorable political outcome, battlefield victories do matter — but they’re not the only thing that does.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/LswF7WMdO_tFN4726T8Dmsy54zI=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23965489/GettyImages_1242613926a.jpg"/> <cite>Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
A child stands on top of a destroyed Russian military vehicle on Khreshchatyk Street in Kyiv, Ukraine, on August 20. The street has been turned into an open-air military museum ahead of Ukraine’s Independence Day on August 24, amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WvGHvW">
|
||
Right now, any kind of negotiated settlement seems very far away. Peace talks held early in the conflict proved abortive, and while <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/07/22/ukraine-grain-deal-turkey-russia/">talks have produced some small agreements between the two countries</a>, the leadership on both sides seems convinced that they can still improve their situation on the battlefield. So long as this will to fight remains, it’s extremely difficult to speculate about the specifics of a peace settlement, let alone whether it would be more favorable to one side or the other.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KzklHC">
|
||
That said, there is one big-picture conclusion that’s already clear: This war is a strategic disaster for Russia.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iJ1uXs">
|
||
At the outset, the Russian war plan <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/interactive/2022/ukraine-road-to-war/">depended on speed</a>: a rapid march to topple the Ukrainian government that would end the war before it really got started. Once Russia seized the bulk of the country, it would present it to the world as a fait accompli — one that Washington and Brussels would be unwilling to seriously contest. Russia would get what it wanted — effective sovereignty over Ukraine — at little cost.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WEr8BE">
|
||
But this plan was badly flawed, depending as it did on wildly unrealistic assumptions about Ukrainian military weakness. Once it failed, and Russia became bogged down in a protracted war without any decisive end, the costs in manpower and materiel began to mount — as did the damage to Russia’s economy and international reputation. Russia could still meaningfully improve its situation on the battlefield, by expanding its territorial holdings in Ukraine and potentially forcing Kyiv to formally cede some of it to Russia, but it’s nearly impossible that Russia could realistically seize enough territory to make its decision to invade pass any rational cost-benefit analysis.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="d8zDs7">
|
||
“Russia clearly failed to achieve its early war aims,” Ashford says. “They probably lost strategically already.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3xLHlp">
|
||
But if Russia has “lost” in that most basic sense, it doesn’t follow that Ukraine has already won.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="75cldR">
|
||
True, Ukraine has repulsed Russia’s initial invasion attempt; its survival as a sovereign entity is no longer in immediate jeopardy. But the long-term damage from the invasion — the mass <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60555472">death and displacement of its citizens</a>, the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-60854503">destruction of its cities</a>, the demolition of its <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/05/04/russia-demilitarize-ukraine-arms-facilities/">domestic manufacturing capacity</a>, the <a href="https://www.agri-pulse.com/articles/17914-war-damages-to-ukraines-ag-sector-is-in-the-billions-and-rising">torching of its agricultural sector</a> — is severe. For Ukraine to secure a stable footing for itself in the long run, it would need to extract some significant concessions from Russia and an extensive international commitment to support its postwar reconstruction efforts.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/bbx2vWqWKhk6Tge2sUzlfcEhVX4=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23966400/GettyImages_1242559054a.jpg"/> <cite>Alexey Furman/Getty Images</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
A cemetery worker puts a cross on top of a grave during a mass burial for unidentified civilians in Bucha, Ukraine, on August 17.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vEUcYP">
|
||
Ukraine’s future, then, depends on the success of its war effort. Russia, by contrast, is fighting to minimize its losses — to salvage something from the geopolitical wreckage wrought by the decision to invade in the first place. Both sides believe they can improve their ultimate outcomes on these metrics on the battlefield; neither shows any interest in suing for peace.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="x3Me5O">
|
||
As a result, the length of the most devastating European war since 1945 is less likely to be measured in months than in years.
|
||
</p></li>
|
||
<li><strong>How to make small talk when you hate small talk</strong> -
|
||
<figure>
|
||
<img alt="An illustration of a young man and woman sitting around large blank thought bubble against white background" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5OsxN5cyrgSrGvGh_65MRFHtCJs=/0x885:7071x6188/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71246541/GettyImages_1303781708.0.jpg"/>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Getty Images
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
In defense of the much-maligned conversational form.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SjTg7H">
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div class="c-float-left">
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/YYgW4HsU995yniG4Y5QuEoQvF0Y=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/21899595/VOX_The_Highlight_Box_Logo_Horizontal.png"/>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OL3PPu">
|
||
<em>Part of the </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/23191507/welcome-to-the-friendship-issue-of-the-highlight"><em><strong>Friendship Issue</strong></em></a><em><strong> </strong></em><em>of </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/the-highlight"><em><strong>The Highlight</strong></em></a><em>, our home for ambitious stories that explain our world.</em>
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MRsB09">
|
||
Remarking on the temperature is often cited as an example of boring conversation, but quite possibly the least awful effect of climate change is the fact that talking about the weather is now extremely interesting. In fact, often the weather is all I <em>want </em>to talk about, because aside from being a sinister reminder of the terror humans have wreaked on our home, it is, on rare occasions, also mysterious and wonderful. But it hardly matters what the weather is, just like it hardly matters what you watched on TV last night or what you did last weekend, because that isn’t the point of small talk.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="51PGAs">
|
||
There’s been a strong cultural pushback against small talk in recent years, or at least the idea of it. A cursory search on Twitter indicates that at least once per day, someone goes minorly viral tweeting about how much they <a href="https://twitter.com/nunidior/status/1552479846420324353">hate</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/httpsnimroood/status/1552650660952170508">small</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/NeoRapetsoa/status/1551554953113649153">talk</a>. It’s a common marketing strategy on dating apps (e.g., “let’s skip the small talk and go straight to the deep stuff”). This very website even <a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/7/7/8903123/small-talk">published a piece by a staunch small-talk hater</a> about why small talk is so “excruciating.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div id="BJh330">
|
||
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
|
||
i hate small talk. i want to hear about your childhood, your favorite scents, what types of music you like, your religious views, where you want to live when you get older, what keeps you up at night, how much certain things mean to you, your insecurities & fears.
|
||
</p>
|
||
— . (<span class="citation" data-cites="httpsnimroood">@httpsnimroood</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/httpsnimroood/status/1552650660952170508?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2022</a>
|
||
</blockquote></div></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LNYlMV">
|
||
To a certain extent, the haters have a point. You can only endure so many Tinder back-and-forths that start and end with “How was your weekend?” until you declare the act of small talk completely pointless. Perhaps you, like many of us, dread the moment you’re asked something about what you’re planning to do for the rest of the summer and your brain decides to take a vacation. Or you might experience the other problem, in which you, out of nerves or masochism or too many cocktails, spill your deepest secrets to a work acquaintance. (I have never done this!)
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0QCdGc">
|
||
That combination of performance anxiety and the perceived meaningless of it all is a powerful repellent. But however painful it may be to some, small talk — which can be defined as light, polite conversation about trivial topics, either as a means of opening or closing a social interaction or simply to fill silence — has a point beyond surface-level time-wasting and cookie-cutter DMs. Meredith Marra, a professor of linguistics at the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, has studied the social function of small talk for decades, and says that the very people who complain about it don’t realize how often they use it in their everyday lives. “There are some very masculine workplaces where if you don’t do small talk, everything stops,” she explains. “We can’t just go straight into work because we haven’t established our relationship yet. And if we don’t establish that we’re on the same page, how on earth are we going to get the other stuff done?”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SjSXaO">
|
||
She asserts that small talk is more than just avoiding awkward silence; it’s social glue. “Otherwise you’re just two people, not two people that are connected and trying to do the same thing,” she says.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4wLCle">
|
||
It’s not new news that small talk makes us happier: In 2014, University of Chicago psychologist and scholar Nicholas Epley <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-28833-001">conducted an experiment</a> in which some subway commuters were told to spark a conversation with the stranger sitting next to them while others were told to keep to themselves. Those who engaged in conversation enjoyed the ride more, and the longer the conversation, the happier they felt. This was true even for people who generally preferred solitude: “Those who misunderstand the consequences of social interactions may not, in at least some contexts, be social enough for their own well-being,” writes Epley.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div id="WE9tgm">
|
||
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
|
||
“i hate small talk” i don’t. that weather was crazy. let’s revel in our shared experience and grow closer as individuals
|
||
</p>
|
||
— (<span class="citation" data-cites="realaccountyeah">@realaccountyeah</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/realaccountyeah/status/1550284751273091072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 22, 2022</a>
|
||
</blockquote>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mWVVio">
|
||
Small talk is also a useful tool to build friendships. In <em>Women Talk,</em> published in 1996, the linguistics scholar Jennifer Coates argues that chatter between women, often dismissed as frivolous and unimportant, actually constructs and maintains relationships through layered communicative devices, like storytelling, questioning, and repetition. Even when the conversation doesn’t “matter” in a traditional sense, perhaps that’s part of the joy: a small escape from the serious, a reprieve from the heavier matters at hand.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AnM11j">
|
||
Nowhere was the importance of casual encounters more clear than during the pandemic, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/21677026211053320?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=5AxcW.0ht_ZygSziVQG_XEPebgVaTscgsqUFmbaOYdo-1642115511-0-gaNycGzNB6U">when researchers found</a> that those living closely with others, and therefore more frequently confronted with such encounters, fared better emotionally than people living alone. “I became incredibly grateful for my neighbors,” says Lizzie Post, co-president of the Emily Post Institute, which has provided resources on etiquette for the past 76 years. “Even those very basic, ‘How’s your day?’-type interactions that would happen over the fence became precious.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="DEvSSB">
|
||
The pandemic has had other, more curious effects on how we engage in small talk. Post says the institute typically categorizes conversation topics into tiers: Tier one is what we’d consider appropriate for small talk — safe, comfortable realms that don’t need to be super personal. Tier two might be something a little deeper: conversations you might have at a party or with acquaintances. Tier three topics, meanwhile, are quite personal and mostly discussed with inner-circle family and friends.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="T4zmvh">
|
||
Over the past few years, Post has noticed a shift: “We tend to put medical histories in a tier three, but I’ve noticed that a lot more people are willing to disclose whatever part of the medical journey they’re on. The number of people who talk about ‘Yeah, I had a colonoscopy yesterday’ cracks me up, and I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing.” (Ditto with finances, perhaps because the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/4/10/21207520/coronavirus-deaths-economy-layoffs-inequality-covid-pandemic">pandemic exposed so much of our systemic inequalities</a> that discussing our individual experiences no longer feels isolating, and instead helps us connect.)
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CafnAo">
|
||
It’s certainly reasonable to want to avoid discussing your most recent invasive medical procedure with a stranger on the bus or on a first date, but there are plenty of other reasons people hate small talk that go deeper than just discomfort. For some disabled or neurodivergent people, <a href="https://www.drclairejack.com/the-horrors-of-small-talk-when-you-have-autism-spectrum-disorder/">unplanned social interactions are recipes for sensory overload and stress</a>. What’s more, their aversions to these situations can often have consequences that extend beyond the conversation. “People think we’re not team players because we don’t want to go out to social things or make small talk. It’s quite stressful to have those water cooler conversations,” explains Rachel Morgan-Trimmer, a workplace neurodiversity consultant. But, she says, that doesn’t mean neurodivergent people should automatically take on the burden of adapting to the neurotypical world. “It’s ableist, basically, trying to make people be ‘normal.’ It dampens our uniqueness.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iRcqJF">
|
||
After her autism diagnosis, Morgan-Trimmer recalls being taught to practice small talk in a group course. “Everyone in my group was like, ‘I don’t want to do that. Why should I be doing that?’”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aNpt4r">
|
||
What would truly inclusive small talk look like? Morgan-Trimmer suggests that people can make others feel more at ease by asking closed-ended rather than open-ended questions. “Don’t ask, ‘How was your weekend?’, ask ‘What did you do this weekend that you really enjoyed?’ You could also ask specific follow-up questions to get flavor and color. ‘I went to the beach’ tells me nothing, but ‘I went to the beach and I had a swim and built a sandcastle and got sand in my eye’ is a story.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jq9o6d">
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Context, of course, matters, particularly within different cultures. “In New Zealand, if you get into the elevator and say nothing, it is <em>so</em> uncomfortable,” Marra says. “But we know that when we have migrant newcomers into workplaces, they often don’t want to do the small talk, because they think that’s not what you do at work, that it wastes time. As a result, often their colleagues think that they don’t fit in.” She, along with other scholars, have worked with government agencies to create resources for both migrants and employers on how to adapt to and better understand each other.
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A common misconception about small talk is that it’s an innate talent that people either have or don’t. But perhaps it doesn’t have to be that complicated. “You don’t have to be great at it,” Marra says. “If someone asks you, ‘How are you?’ you can just say, ‘Fine,’ and pass it back. As long as you’re handing it back and being a good audience member, you’re giving somebody else the chance to shine.”
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“I’m a firm believer in the idea that etiquette and manners can be things to turn to when you’re really unsure of what to do,” adds Post. “It can help give you a lot of confidence and take the pressure off of you having to be completely original.”
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This, I think, is why most people erroneously convince themselves they’re terrible at small talk: We put so much pressure on the interaction that it becomes impossible to succeed. I tend to convince myself that if a conversation doesn’t land somewhere “deeper” than, say, a tier one topic, then I’ve failed at being sufficiently interesting. But the value of small talk is meaningful on its own.
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“Checking in on that surface level doesn’t mean somehow that you are fake or phony,” says Post. “It reflects more authentically our actual lives. Not every day is terribly exciting.” Neither is every person. And that’s okay.
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
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<ul>
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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>ICC ODI Rankings | Shubman Gill jumps 45 places to 38th; Virat Kohli remains static in fifth</strong> - Pakistan skipper Babar Azam remains world’s top-ranked batter</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>‘No more racing in Russia’: F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali reiterates stand over Ukraine invasion</strong> - ‘We will no longer negotiate with them,’ said F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali as the CEO of the Russian GP promoter said the country is expecting a refund from the sporting body for cancelling this year’s race in Sochi</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>Badminton | Lakshya Sen enters pre-quarters of BWF World Championships</strong> - Commonwealth Games champion beats Spanish Luis Penalver 21-17 21-10</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>Watch | These Hong Kongers are bonding over kabaddi</strong> - A video on how young Hong Kong students are bonding over the ancient Indian game, Kabaddi.</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>Neeraj Chopra to compete in Lausanne Diamond League on Friday</strong> - A good show in Lausanne can ensure Neeraj Chopra a berth in the Diamond League Finals in Zurich on September 7 and 8</p></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
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<ul>
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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>Andhra Pradesh: Names of eligible people being removed from voters’ list, alleges BJP</strong> - We have taken the issue to the notice of the CEC, says G.V.L. Narasimha Rao</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>49,608 MSMEs registered in State: Minister</strong> - Target is to start one lakh such units this financial year</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>Why can’t govt call all-party meeting to discuss freebies?: SC asks Centre</strong> - The court asked to draw line between State largesse and welfare schemes</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>I was misquoted, was only paraphrasing Ambedkar's views: JNU VC on ‘caste of gods’ remark</strong> - “I was asked to speak on B. R. Ambedkar’s views on gender justice. I was paraphrasing him. You can see his writings. Why should people get angry with me?” said JNU Vice Chancellor Santishree Pandit</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>Central stance on off-Budget loans discriminatory: Kerala CM</strong> - As per CAG report, Union government has not shown extra-Budget borrowings in Centre’s figures</p></li>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
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<ul>
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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>Ukraine war: The war is static, but ousting Russia is a seismic task</strong> - Six months on from the start of Russia’s invasion, the threat will test Ukraine’s spirit.</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>Russian war dissident Roizman detained in Yekaterinburg</strong> - Yevgeny Roizman, ex-mayor of Yekaterinburg, said he was being held for using the word “invasion”.</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>Go-karting for French prisoners a mistake, admits Fresnes governor</strong> - It was meant as a day of fun and games at France’s second largest prison, but it prompted an outcry.</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>Europe’s drought the worst in 500 years - report</strong> - Researchers say two-thirds of the continent is under some sort of drought warning.</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>Eurotunnel Le Shuttle: Passengers stuck for hours inside Channel Tunnel</strong> - “Several people were freaking out,” said one traveller, after a Calais to Folkestone train was evacuated.</p></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Long-awaited Dead Island 2 reveal headlines Gamescom announcement frenzy</strong> - Also: <em>Homeworld 3</em>, <em>Return to Monkey Island</em>, and a car that connects to <em>Pokemon</em> games. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1875571">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Scanning students’ homes during remote testing is unconstitutional, judge says</strong> - Ohio judge says room scans could form a slippery slope to more illegal searches. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1875691">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Sony enters the high-end custom controller arena with the DualSense Edge</strong> - Also: The PlayStation VR2 gets a release window at long last. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1875478">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Devs are making progress getting macOS Ventura to run on unsupported, decade-old Macs</strong> - Widening gap between supported and unsupported hardware makes things tricky. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1875499">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Twitter whistleblower claims Musk was right about bots; FTC reviewing report</strong> - Twitter’s former security chief alleges execs hid security risks from regulators. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1875550">link</a></p></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
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<ul>
|
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<li><strong>What’s the oldest you can be to get a circumcision?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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I need to know the cutoff date.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/NopeNopeNope2020"> /u/NopeNopeNope2020 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/ww35u1/whats_the_oldest_you_can_be_to_get_a_circumcision/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/ww35u1/whats_the_oldest_you_can_be_to_get_a_circumcision/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
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<li><strong>An 80-year-old man married a 20-year-old girl.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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After a year she gave birth in a hospital. The nurse congratulated the fellow. “This is amazing. How do you do it at your age?” He answered, “You’ve got to keep that old motor running.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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The following year she gave birth again. The same nurse said, “You really are amazing. What’s the secret?” He again said, “You’ve got to keep the old motor running.”
|
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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The same thing happened the next year. The nurse said, “You must be quite a man.” He responded, “You’ve got to keep that old motor running.”
|
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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The nurse then said, “Well, you had better change the oil, this one’s black!”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Leonjy92"> /u/Leonjy92 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/wvqpkt/an_80yearold_man_married_a_20yearold_girl/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/wvqpkt/an_80yearold_man_married_a_20yearold_girl/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
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<li><strong>I told a joke about miscarriage to a group of women, but none of them laughed.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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<div class="md">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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I guess it was a bad delivery
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Tamburrelo"> /u/Tamburrelo </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/wwgjuh/i_told_a_joke_about_miscarriage_to_a_group_of/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/wwgjuh/i_told_a_joke_about_miscarriage_to_a_group_of/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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<li><strong>My friend told me, “You have a Bachelor’s, a Master’s, and a Ph.D., but you still act like an idiot.”</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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<div class="md">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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That was a third degree burn.
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</p>
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</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/porichoygupto"> /u/porichoygupto </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/ww6vic/my_friend_told_me_you_have_a_bachelors_a_masters/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/ww6vic/my_friend_told_me_you_have_a_bachelors_a_masters/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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<li><strong>My wife says she feels like a dog…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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I said “that makes sense, you’ve been a real bitch lately…”<br/> Now I don’t get to see my son.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/DerangedPuP"> /u/DerangedPuP </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/wwbd6n/my_wife_says_she_feels_like_a_dog/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/wwbd6n/my_wife_says_she_feels_like_a_dog/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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</ul>
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