Nine myths about the effects of sanctions and business retreats, debunked.

That these misunderstandings persist is not entirely surprising given the lack of available economic data. In fact, many of the excessively sanguine Russian economic analyses, forecasts, and projections that have proliferated in recent months share a crucial methodological flaw: These analyses draw most, if not all, of their underlying evidence from periodic economic releases by the Russian government itself. Numbers released by the Kremlin have long been held to be largely if not always credible, but there are certain problems.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/07/22/russia-economy-sanctions-myths-ruble-business

https://www.theonion.com/new-windex-formula-removes-menacing-apparitions-from-mi-1849107983

RACINE, WI—Touting the cleaning product’s dual use on both beings from parallel pockets of existence and the spirit world, SC Johnson introduced a new Windex formula Friday for removing menacing apparitions from the mirror. “There’s nothing more off-putting than a dirty mirror covered with streaks and a shadowy, leering figure standing directly behind your shoulder—Windex’s new formula banishes them both,”

Found on Facebook:

Peter Lamborn Wilson, Advocate of ‘Poetic Terrorism,’ Dies at 76

His concept of a “temporary autonomous zone” became an inspiration for protests like Occupy Wall Street and for gatherings like Burning Man.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/11/us/peter-lamborn-wilson-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuomT1JKd6J17Vw1cRCfTTMQmqxCdw_PIxftm3iWka3DLDm8biPkORJCN50rXIK5qYtE0xTLeW95FK7gpAfB_x-MZP1BoT0PghKq4r6k_And_r5OvDCRx1ojRXLs8_HjjNTS1cux1mPix4RvadWW-XvbA2XAqJRI185E1cl353ncPwf3VA6UijIkFqPQrD5F7RzkCbDDb_KW7TkUjZ6jVK03U-QI0WOpGWD7MndX667wIdApaCF6uX2ooqC9nq4saYIVLSf65ex0we8P-gqETDHhrL-qqAZ42QIvWk9Z6oPu8XF7wiRKunffruMafMv0&smid=url-share

Putin dies and goes to hell, but after a while he is given a day off for good behavior. So he goes to Moscow, enters a bar, orders a drink, and asks the bartender:
-Is Crimea ours?
-Yes, it is.
-And the Donbas?
-Also ours.
-And Kyiv?
-We got that too.
Satisfied, Putin drinks, and asks:
-Thanks, how much do I owe you?
The bartender replies:
-5 euros.

For Your Information, Found on Facebook - Center for Free, Fair, and Accountable Democracy

https://cffad.org

Their modus operandi seems to be to post click bait links with titles that hint at right wing extremist canards, that lead to thoughtful and liberal analysis.

EG: America: Republic or Democracy? https://cffad.org/america-republic-or-democracy/

FYI, Found on FaceBook: https://educationtruthproject.org/

.

European nations are weighing climate benefits against the perils of putting nuclear power plants in harm’s way...

The war in Ukraine has intensified interest across Europe in building new nuclear energy plants or extending the lives of old ones to liberate the continent from its heavy reliance on Russian oil and natural gas.

Belgium... The Czech Republic... Poland... [Romania] “They’re all doing it for the same reasons: decarbonization, energy security and national security,” said Westinghouse’s energy systems business.

WaPo, No Paywall: https://wapo.st/3jJYuS8

An acquaintance of mine, a young woman who is a union carpenter, shared this with me, and asked me to share it with others:

https://gofund.me/672524c4



Solidarity!

An assistant principal read the children’s book ‘I Need a New Butt!’ to second graders. He was fired.

https://wapo.st/35Qi6Av (WaPo, No Paywall)

When a guest who was scheduled to read to second graders over Zoom earlier this month didn’t show up, Toby Price, the assistant principal at a Mississippi elementary school, improvised.

Price’s boss at Gary Road Elementary School suggested Price read to the students, so he reached for one of his favorite children’s books: “I Need a New Butt!” written by Dawn McMillan and illustrated by Ross Kinnaird.

“It’s a funny, silly book,” Price, 46, said in an interview with The Washington Post. “I’m a firm believer that … if kids see that books can be funny and silly, they’ll hang around long enough to see all the other cool things that books can be.”

The students “thought it was hilarious,” Price recalled. But the superintendent for the Hinds County School District near Jackson, Miss., did not, and about an hour after the event, Price was placed on administrative leave. Two days later, on March 4, he was fired.

On Telegram and other platforms, cracks are appearing in the official Russian narrative

WaPo, no paywall: https://wapo.st/3trzu6g

While Vladimir Putin’s military lays siege to Kyiv, his propaganda organs at home are waging an impossible war to simultaneously hide and justify the invasion of Ukraine. Despite the Russian president’s reputation as a master media strategist, his government is losing the propaganda war — and fast.

His propaganda assault is monotonous. The news is full of references to the “special military operation” — a term that is as tedious in Russian as it is in translation. While the sense of war pervades this media space, it is never named as such: The conflict is supposedly between the West, which has insidiously spread anti-Russian and “fascist” oppression, and the innocent people of Ukraine; Russia and its armies are absent from the battlefield.

But look beyond the state’s social media sphere, and cracks begin to emerge. Only 47 percent of younger Russians profess support for the war. More active on independent or foreign-owned platforms such as Instagram and the messaging service Telegram, they are expressing support for Ukraine and hearing anti-government views.

Telegram, which allows total anonymity and provides strong encryption, has thus far proved unblockable by the government. It has in recent years increasingly been used as an organizing space for anti-government protest. Opening one of an array of Russian-language Telegram channels — some with subscriber counts in the millions — gives Russians easy access to a counternarrative.