January 25, 2023: Turkey cancels trilateral Sweden-Finland meet after protest -state TV, Germany moves closer to sending tanks to Ukraine.
Front Page: The New York Times – January 25, 2023
U.S. Plans to Send Abrams Tanks to Ukraine, Officials Say
The Biden administration had resisted sending tanks, which Ukraine says it needs, but the move is seen as likely to push Germany to approve the transfer of its own tanks.
‘Only in America’: California Grapples With a Mounting Toll of Gun Violence
With at least 19 people killed in mass shootings in the state in less than three days, the attacks posed another challenge for beleaguered Californians.
‘Tragedy Upon Tragedy’: January Brings Dozens of Mass Shootings So Far
In the first few weeks of 2023, at least 69 people have been killed in mass shootings across the country, including two shootings within days of each other in California.
Biden’s Handling of Secret Documents Complicates the Case Against Trump
The cases are markedly different in their particulars. But they are similar enough that as a practical matter, Democrats will have a hard time using the issue against former President Donald J. Trump.
Architectural History: New York City Subways From 1904 To 2017 (AD)
Design: Costume History Behind ‘Moulin Rouge! The Musical’ (V&A Museum)
Video timeline: 00:00 Catherine Zuber’s design process 0:29 What is Moulin Rouge! The Musical? 00:49 Was the Moulin Rouge real? 01:05 Adapting Baz Luhrmann’s film 01:23 Creating a costume for Satine – design sketches 02:17 Researching the history of showgirls 02:49 How does the costume work? 03:53 Designing costumes for theatre 04:12 Mounting and installing the costume in the Re:Imagining Musicals display
Join Costume Designer Catherine Zuber and Curator Harriet Reed as they take us behind the scenes, introducing the real Moulin Rouge and showgirls of the time, showing the original design sketches for Satine’s dazzling diamond studded costume, and demonstrating how one vital mechanism is crucial for the piece’s quick change on stage.
The costume is now in the V&A’s collection of Theatre and Performance and can be seen as part of the Re:Imagining Musicals display until November 2023.
Winter 2023: A Walk In The Snow In Vienna, Austria
Vienna is a city and Bundesland (federal state), the capital of Austria. Of the country’s nine states, Vienna is the smallest in area but the largest in population.
Modern Vienna has undergone several historical incarnations. From 1558 to 1918 it was an imperial city—until 1806 the seat of the Holy Roman Empire and then the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1918 it became the capital of the truncated, landlocked central European country that emerged from World War I as a republic. From 1938 to 1945 Austria was a part of Adolf Hitler’s “Greater” Germany, and Vienna became “Greater” Vienna, reflecting the Nazi revision of the city limits.
In the decade following World War II, Austria was occupied by British, French, American, and Soviet forces, and Vienna was divided into five zones, including an international zone, covering the Innere Stadt (“Inner City”). In 1955 the State Treaty, by which the country regained independence, was signed with the four occupying powers, and Vienna became once again the capital of a sovereign Austria.
Filmed on January 22, 2023 by: Travel and Adventure Studios
News: EU Sanctions Iran, Russia-China-South Africa Naval Drills, Oslo Design
January 24, 2023 – We report on the EU’s new sanctions against Iran. Plus: a look at South Africa’s worsening energy crisis and controversial plans to hold joint naval drills with Russia and China, the latest fashion news, and this year’s Oslo Design Fair.
Front Page: The New York Times – January 24, 2023
Authorities Ask Why Gunman Attacked California Ballroom He Once Enjoyed
The authorities did not specify a motive in attack that killed 11, but investigators were focusing on the theory that the gunman was driven by personal grievances.
A Dreamy Place of Refuge Turns Into Another Spasm of American Violence
Officials are still releasing the names of the 11 people killed at a Los Angeles dance club.
In Moscow, a Quiet Antiwar Protest With Flowers and Plush Toys
Amid Russia’s crackdown on resistance to the war in Ukraine, some have dared to lay bouquets and other offerings at a statue of a Ukrainian poet, protesting the recent Russian strike on civilians in Dnipro.
Depleted Under Trump, a ‘Traumatized’ E.P.A. Struggles With Its Mission
Despite an injection of funding, the agency still has not recovered from an exodus of scientists and policy experts, both insiders and critics say.
Books: London Review Of Books – February 2, 2023
‘Island nations tend to be complacent about border problems, seeing them as things that happen to someone else. But then you have Brexit and Northern Ireland, and it suddenly becomes clear that no one is safe.
Russia is fighting Ukraine about borders. This means that, as well as dodging bombs and getting used to living in the dark, residents of the border zone have to decide if they are “really” Russian or “really” Ukrainian.
Some will no doubt be keeping the non-chosen identity in a trunk in the attic, to be retrieved in case of future need. But the logic of war is stern: those who choose to be Ukrainians are also opting to hate Russians as the enemy invader, while those in Ukraine who choose to be Russians are contemplating the possibility of having to move east.
Wherever the border ultimately settles, there will be fortifications and troops stationed on either side and a series of tightly controlled crossing points. Villages and families will be divided and the normal commerce of economic and social life disrupted. Schools will teach in the language of the victor. Roads that used to lead somewhere will end abruptly.’
The Curtain and the Wall: A Modern Journey along Europe’s Cold War Border by Timothy Phillips
On the Edge: Life along the Russia-China Border by Franck Billé and Caroline Humphrey
Medicine: ‘Single Drop’ Blood Testing Advances
“Even more importantly, we’ve shown you can collect the blood drop at home and mail it into the lab,” said Michael Snyder, PhD, director of the Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine and senior author on the research, which was published in Nature Biomedical Engineering on Jan. 19.
Stanford Medicine (January 19, 2023) – Researchers at Stanford Medicine have shown they can measure thousands of molecules — some of which are signals of health — from a single drop of blood.
Unlike finger-prick testing for diabetes, which measures a single type of molecule (glucose), multi-omics microsampling gives data about thousands of different molecules at once.
The new approach combines a microsampling device — a tool used to self-administer a finger prick — with “multi-omics” technologies, which simultaneously analyze a vast array of proteins, fats, by-products of metabolism and inflammatory markers.
Culture/Society: Monocle Magazine – February 2023
Boomers Daily 