The need for COVID funding: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/bidens-return-normal-covid-strategy-faces-new-test-funding-stalls-rcna20522 . Again, these delays are just ridiculous. The pandemic is not over. Only about 50% of those eligible have received their booster. And BA2 is the most contagious variant yet. So what else do you need to know?
70% of long COVID sufferers have memory issues: https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-03-17/memory-issues-plague-long-covid-patients . This article suggests 10% to 25% of COVID patients suffer from long COVID. However, prior estimates have been around 30%.
“COVID toe” does not appear to be a symptom of COVID: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-covid-toes-actually-caused-by-the-coronavirus/ .
US Army discharges first 3 vaccine refusers: https://www.stripes.com/branches/army/2022-03-18/army-soldiers-coronavirus-vaccine-mandate-refusers-exemptions-5390003.html .
Omicron closes Disney Shanghai: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/disney-closes-shanghai-park-virus-rises-shenzhen-reopens-83571432 . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/shanghai-disney-resort-to-close-monday-amid-covid-19-surge-in-china-11647805418 .
Omicron surges in Samoa: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/samoa-detects-scores-covid-cases-020538012.html .
Austria brings back masking requirements: https://www.politico.eu/article/austria-reintroduce-face-mask-coronavirus-case-surge/ . Sigh. Over and over again, governments reopen too early.
South Carolina brings back the firing squad: https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2022-03-18/south-carolina-institutes-firing-squad-executions . Lacking drugs for lethal injections, the South Carolina brain trust has turned to bullets as the “least painful” method of execution: https://apnews.com/article/business-executions-south-carolina-columbia-e9e1e1108d337526883b1b2b179ba223 . However, how are firing squads not “cruel and unusual punishment”?
WSJ: Judge Jackson’s Supreme Court hearings start tomorrow (Monday): https://www.wsj.com/articles/ketanji-brown-jacksons-hearings-to-focus-on-legal-experience-record-on-crime-11647781202 .
Russians move closer to siege mentality: https://www.aol.com/news/ukraine-says-russia-failed-offensive-065850840.html . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-failing-to-achieve-early-victory-in-ukraine-is-seen-shifting-to-plan-b-11647824374 . The Russian advances never got very far, and the map has changed little in the last two weeks. But missile strikes have increased. Russians are now focused on civilian targets, which is (another) war crime.
The first article tells us that the ground forces are led by about 20 generals. The deaths of five (25%) clearly suggest that Ukraine is targeting command and control. The removal of battlefield command means flexibility in Russian tactics is shrinking. Then the siege mentality, which Russia has fallen back on in its recent wars, will become an entrenched feature of this war. But it is also likely to further stiffen Ukrainian resistance.
Deputy commander of Russia’s Black Sea fleet killed in Mariupol fighting: https://thehill.com/policy/international/europe/598970-russian-navy-commander-killed-in-mariupol-fighting . This reinforces my view that the Ukrainians are targeting Russian command and control.
Zelensky: We are not giving land to Russia: https://news.yahoo.com/volodymyr-zelensky-fareed-zakaria-cnn-ukraine-165552475.html . To me, these comments reflect Ukraine’s “improving” situation in the invasion. The West will help Ukraine rebuild if they can eject Russian interventionism.
WSJ: Ukrainian invasion threatens world food supply: https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraine-war-farming-food-supplies-grain-russia-11647796055 . So this was clear from the beginning. However, the details flesh out the extent of the problems.
A Ukrainian’s view of Putin: https://thehill.com/policy/international/russia/598931-ukrainian-historian-putin-made-two-huge-miscalculations . The last sentence sums up the situation nicely: “Simply put, a victorious democratic revolution is almost impossible in Russia, whereas a viable authoritarian government is almost impossible in Ukraine.”
WSJ: US fights back against Russian chemical weapons disinformation: https://www.wsj.com/articles/pentagons-work-with-ukraines-biological-facilities-becomes-flashpoint-in-russias-information-war-11647768601 .
WSJ: China’s property market remains very uneven: https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-says-housing-prices-are-stable-but-developers-see-significant-declines-11647768602 . In short, government data is based on the largest cities. However, China has a lot of cities. Developers have significant problems in the smaller cities.