Dear patient readers,

Lambert and I, and many readers, agree that Ukraine has prompted the worst informational environment ever. We hope readers will collaborate in mitigating the fog of war — both real fog and stage fog — in comments. None of us need more cheerleading and link- free repetition of memes; there are platforms for that. Low-value, link-free pom pom-wavers will be summarily whacked.

And for those who are new here, this is not a mere polite request. We have written site Policies and those who comment have accepted those terms. To prevent having to resort to the nuclear option of shutting comments down entirely until more sanity prevails, as we did during the 2015 Greek bailout negotiations and shortly after the 2020 electionwe are going to be ruthless about moderating and blacklisting offenders.

–Yves

PS Also, before further stressing our already stressed moderators, read our site policies:

Please do not write us to ask why a comment has not appeared. We do not have the bandwidth to investigate and reply. Using the comments section to complain about moderation decisions/tripwires earns that commenter troll points. Please don’t do it. Those comments will also be removed if we encounter them.

PPS One of our mods is on holiday till the end of the month, so comment liberation may take longer than usual. We are very sorry! Please be patient.

What Makes a Great Opening Line? Literary Hub

Thou Old Serpent! London Review of Books

Underselling Hawking Inference

Antarctica’s volatile ‘Deception Island’ BBC

Momos Are Taking Over the Dumpling World for a Reason Bloomberg

daydream houses of oman McMansion Hell

Long-lost Canova sculpture bought for couple’s garden could fetch £8m Guardian

Body composting takes root in US ‘green’ burial trend Agence France-Presse

A Big Bet to Kill the Password for Good Wired

#COVID-19

Why Protecting the Immunocompromised Is Critical To Ending the Pandemic The Wire

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‘There is a whole lot more to negotiate’: how Covid-19 has changed housemate hunting Guardian

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Cyclist pedaling slowly holds up People’s Convoy as it continues to make daily loops of DC Beltway demanding end to all COVID restrictions and the removal of BLM mural on road leading to White House Daily Mail

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Opinion: ‘Freedom Day’ is a slap in the face of history Deutsche Welle

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Breaking | Coronavirus: Hong Kong to lift flight bans, reduce quarantine for arrivals; mass testing plans put on hold South China Morning Post

Millions in China’s northeast placed under COVID-19 lockdown Al Jazeera

Covid-19: China lockdown hits Indian companies Telegraph (India)

New Not-So-Cold-War

Ukraine refuses to surrender Mariupol as Russia warns of humanitarian ‘catastrophe’ Reuters

US and NATO allies arm neo-Nazi units in Ukraine as foreign policy elites yearn for Afghan-style insurgency Grayzone

The Only ‘Agency’ Ukraine Has Is The Central Intelligence Kind Caitlin Johnstone

How a Sleazy American Dating Coach Became a Pro-Putin Shill in Ukraine Daily Beast (Brunches with Cats) Moi: Translation: Lira is getting some traction.

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Good news: not everyone in the Western music world has lost courage and humanistic valuesGilbert Doctorow

THE CANCELATION OF RUSSIAN CULTURE irst things

War in Ukraine: Backlash in Russia against anti-war musicians BBC

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Why So Many Countries Want to Sit Out the New Cold War Bloomberg. Pankaj Mishra.

Imran lauds New Delhi’s foreign policy Telegraph (India)

Expand your horizons: English language news broadcasters from India and Iran Gilbert Doctorow (JZ)

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Think Twice Before Sanctioning Russia Further Project Syndicate. Robert Skidelsky.

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Russia is risking the creation of a “splinternet” – and it could be irreversible MIT Technology Review

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Becoming toast? Qantara

War in Ukraine Is Already Taking Its Toll on Global Food Supplies WSJ

Thread https://t.co/pLJN1PHhr0

— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) March 20, 2022

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Germany to ‘fast-track’ gas terminals as part of Qatar deal Agence France-Presse

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Zelensky blasts Israel for refusing to send weapons to help battle Russia and says Putin is planning new ‘final solution’ against people of Ukraine Daily Mail

For American politicians Israel’s stance on Ukraine is comically awkward. Israel must never be criticized yet Zelensky can never be wrong.

What happens when sacred cows fight with each other? https://t.co/dAR4p8JBaY

— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) March 20, 2022

Amid the horrors of war, the Ukrainian left has faced tremendous and violent repression. Read their plea for international solidarity. pic.twitter.com/bX42kYKurV

— Pawe? Wargan (@pawelwargan) March 19, 2022

General Staff of the Armed Forces of #Ukraine states that there is high threat of Belarusian offensive on my native Volyn in Western Ukraine near Poland. According to intelligence, Belarus will enter war with Ukraine on Russia side in the next 1 or 2 days. https://t.co/nc3RCOeJAt

— Ivan Katchanovski (@I_Katchanovski) March 20, 2022

Agreement and uncertainty: The Iran nuclear deal in a new global order Responsible Statecraft

Big Brother IS Watching You Watch

Major government surveillance revelations fail to make a big splash The Hill

Given that intense rage over the anodyne NY Times Editorial is somehow into its fifth day or whatever, I’d like to ask those who deny that censorship mania and authoritarianism have consumed the liberal-left to reconcile that denialism with this extremely stark 2021 polling data : pic.twitter.com/WTsQuFGrPB

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) March 20, 2022

Our Famously Free Press

The Birth of the American Foreign Correspondent New Yorker. I think I’ll dedicate this afternoon to rereading Evelyn Waugh’s Scoop – just what the doctor ordered for some comic relief from these dark and dire days.

When did it become totally normal to just explicitly brag that news about public policy is quite literally “presented by” the corporations buying said policy? https://t.co/05SjrqJ0Gh

— David Sirota (@davidsirota) March 20, 2022

Old Blighty

Labour urges Kwasi Kwarteng to launch legal action against P&O Ferries Guardian

Family’s MP says Johnson’s ‘poor grasp’ of Zaghari-Ratcliffe case led to errors Guardian

Supply Chain

There goes all the Canadian potash. https://t.co/fwBuUEIgvk

— Nathan Carson (@ndcarson) March 20, 2022

The Supremes

What to watch as Jackson’s Supreme Court hearings begin AP

The Senate’s Supreme Court peacekeeper prepares for his moment Politico

Justice Clarence Thomas hospitalized with infection; Supreme Court says he’ll miss some oral arguments this week WaPo

Is turnabout fair play under the Federal Arbitration Act? Scotusblog

Biden Administration

US watchers in Beijing urge closer look at Biden’s tough new ‘China hands’ South China Morning Post

Activists Condemn Deep-Sea Mining Effort by Defense Contractor Lockheed Martin TruthOut

Tübingen: Europe’s fiercely vegan, fairy-tale city BBC

Demand for This Toad’s Psychedelic Venom Is Booming. Some Warn That’s Bad for the Toad. NYT

Is there such a thing as the perfect alarm tone? We think so (and this is what it might sound like The Conversation

Climate Change

California’s ‘Solar Canals’ Will Save Water and Produce Clean Energy Treehugger

Queens BP Donovan Richards endorses LaGuardia Airport boat service NY Post

Ski Resorts Threatened by Wildfires Prepare to Defend and Rebuild WSJ

Myanmar

Biden administration rules Myanmar army committed genocide against Rohingya Reuters

All that we’ve gained, all that we’ve lost Dhaka Tribune

India

In Assam, locals and forest officials have joined hands to save elephants from train hits scroll

After 2 Years, India Restores Valid Tourist E-Visas to Citizens of 156 CountriesThe Wire

UN Sec-Gen Establishes Advisory Board on Multilateralism; Indian Economist Jayati Ghosh Among Members The Wire

Antidote du Jour (via):

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.