Russia is currently demonstrating just how powerful and dangerous nuclear weapons are—and, unfortunately, how complicated disarmament is. link to ‘In Washington, Putin’s Nuclear Threats Stir Growing Alarm - The New York Times’

So, here’s a case where TikTok’s Chinese ownership is actually a really big deal—though, of course, YouTube and other U.S. companies have also been quicker to moderate than to archive material that could be valuable in a similar way. link to ‘TikTok resists calls to preserve Ukraine content for war crime investigations | Ars Technica’

Good article on our past optimism for Putin. link to ‘When Vladimir Putin joined George W. Bush in Crawford, Texas : NPR’

Faut pas transformer l’Ukraine un héros irréprochable. link to ‘Des crimes de guerre auraient aussi été commis par des soldats ukrainiens - rts.ch - Monde’

Not that I was inclined to believe Russian cries of fake news anyway, but I still appreciate Bellingcat on the case. link to ‘Russia’s Bucha “Facts” Versus the Evidence - bellingcat’

This kind of article is why I read The Intercept—to give me fresh perspectives on important issues. link to ‘The U.S. Has Its Own Agenda Against Russia’

Do not be fooled by the headline, the article’s best contribution is its indictment of U.S. politicians and companies for their complicity in this sort of thing. link to ‘Nokia Busted Helping Russia’s FSB Spy On Citizens, Activists, Journalists | Techdirt’

Speaking of the non-neutrality of platforms… Granted, Google has a difficult line to walk here, but this is still disappointing. link to ‘Google Ordered Translators to Replace References to Ukraine “War”’

This article is the most helpful thing I’ve seen on the cosmonauts’ uniform choice so far. link to ‘So how do Russian cosmonauts feel about Russia’s war on Ukraine? | Ars Technica’

Yemen has been on my mind a lot since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but mostly because I’m belatedly realizing I haven’t been paying attention. It’s not that Ukraine doesn’t deserve our attention, it’s that Yemen has long deserved just as much. There, we’re the ones complicit in civilian deaths, and we need to own up to that. link to ‘Yemen Crisis Has Only Worsened, Despite Biden Pledge’

The Onion speaks uncomfortable truth. Americans must hold Putin accountable, but we meed to turn our attention inward, too. link to ‘U.S. Condemns Russian Bombing Of Hospital As Horrific Act That Any World Power Could Theoretically Commit’

KONY 2012 has been on my mind a lot lately, and this is a good read. It doesn’t bring up why I’ve had it on the mind, though. I’m afraid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could turn into a sequel of sorts: Something important and meaningful that people glom onto because they see something oversimplified on social media. link to ‘How KONY 2012 Trained the Audience— and YouTube — to Love Reactionary Media | by Jamie Cohen | Mar, 2022 | OneZero’

Interesting if disconcerting story. The idea of whataboutism as misinformation is particularly disturbing, and it’s important to remember that misinformation is a non-partisan phenomenon (even if the GOP is particularly keen on it). The worst part from a personal angle is how this relates to my own struggling to balance calling out the invasion of Ukraine with knowing that I haven’t been as attentive to other conflicts that deserve my brainspace.

On one hand, this is actual social media censorship, not what bad actors in the U.S. complain about. On the other, it is a reminder that even the best intentioned laws against misinformation, etc. could have unintended effects. We need to tread carefully when figuring out legal responses to social media problems. link to ‘Russia Can Now Jail People for 15 Years for Tweeting About the War on Ukraine’

Eurovision is not supposed to be political, but it always sneaks in. My money is on a lot of sympathy votes for Ukraine’s entry, and a very low score for Russia. link to ‘Russia’s still eligible for the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest : NPR’

Lots of important reminders in here. I also feel ashamed that I have not protested my country’s wars in the way these Russians are doing so now. link to ‘How liberal Russians are reacting to Putin’s war with Ukraine.’

Putin has outwitted every U.S. President since W, not necessarily because he’s smarter, but because he doesn’t operate with the same constraints U.S. presidents do. To blame this on Biden is moronic. We obviously shouldn’t let this episode of the culture war overshadow the more important crisis happening in Ukraine itself, but this appropriation of the crisis really worries me in the context of U.S. politics. These stances are largely indefensible.

There is no denying that Putin is smart and strategic, but expressing awe instead of concern is typically Trump in its idiocy. link to ‘Trump Thinks Putin Is a ‘Genius’ for Invading Ukraine’

Bellingcat does good work. It gives me hope to see people using the internet to fight back against disinformation spread by the internet, but I’m also glad the article touches on the dangers involved. link to ‘The Internet Is Debunking Russian War Propaganda in Real Time’

This is terrifying on so many levels. Besides the possibility of war, the thing I’m most spooked by is the sheer cynicism of Russian efforts here. It doesn’t matter how bad the disinformation is if you can count on enough people to believe it. Trumpian, but turned up to 14. link to ‘Russia’s ‘Idiotic’ Disinformation Campaign Could Still Lead to War in Ukraine’