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Russia must cancel dangerous plan to station nuclear weapons in Belarus

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is head of the United Transitional Cabinet and leader of democratic forces of Belarus. Daniel Högsta is interim executive director of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, ICAN.Announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the end of May, Russia’s plan to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus is a dangerous escalation in his nuclear brinkmanship.Putin’s nuclear bluster began last February, when Russia threatened to use nuclear weapons against anyone interfering in its invasion of Ukraine. And since his announcement, Russia’s Ministry of Defense has said it has started training Belarusian pilots in how to use nuclear weapons,while Russia has also supplied Minsk with the Iskander-M nuclear-capable tactical missile system, which has already been placed on combat duty.If carried out, however, this plan to deploy nukes and involve Belarusian air crew would compromise the country’s international commitments under the Nucle...

EU looks before it leaps on hitting countries that help Russia beat sanctions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

Brussels is considering a new, unprecedented step in its sanctions approach against Russia. But first, it has to find a deal among the EU’s 27 countries.Since the start Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine over a year ago, Brussels has adopted 10 sanctions packages against Moscow — covering everything from energy to banking — in a bid to empty Vladimir Putin’s war chest. One unintended consequence is that trade has boomed with a handful of of countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia becoming intermediaries in commerce with Russia.Now, Brussels wants to make sure its sanctions, especially for high-tech goods useful for the Russian army, are not being circumvented. EU countries are now negotiating an 11th sanctions package that could target other countries helping Moscow dodge its trade embargo. Yet this move is aggravating underlying tensions in the bloc. While a number of countries, such as Poland and the Baltics, want Brussels to go further, a large...

Viral star Harriette makes tour stop at the Sinclair

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

The singer/songwriter Harriette admits she has a love-hate relationship with the internet. Like many people, she spent way too much time online during shutdown. Unlike many people, she also became a viral star with her first single and video.So it’s no wonder that the Texas-born artist’s latest single is called “I Heart the Internet.” As she explains, “It’s definitely sarcastic, and maybe a coming of age song. I felt during COVID like the internet was giving me a lot of things and taking things away, so I love-slash-hated it.” As for her fast notoriety, “I still don’t really connect with that. I feel grateful and honored certainly, but I feel more connected when I tour with different artists and see their fans showing up.”Harriette, 23, began putting up recordings after graduating from Parsons School of Design in New York. She later moved to Nashville for a time, and is now based in Brooklyn. She’s currently on tour with the band Joan, and the tour hits the Sinclair tonight. Though ...

Lowry: Left wrong to paint Daniel Penny as vigilante

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

Pretty much everything you need to know about the Daniel Penny case you can learn from the “Death Wish” movies.Or so you might conclude if you took seriously the left’s analysis of the tragic incident in a New York City subway car last month that led to Penny, a former Marine, getting charged with second-degree manslaughter.The upshot of this commentary is that conservatives favor “vigilantism” and support it, of course, because it’s a bulwark of white supremacy.“The Republican Embrace of Vigilantism Is No Accident,” according to New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie. Greg Sargent and Paul Waldman rapped Ron DeSantis in The Washington Post for his support of Penny: “DeSantis’s celebration of vigilantism is a new low in MAGA extremism.”Jon Marshall, an associate professor at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, was quoted in another Washington Post piece, “What we’re seeing now for ...

Wirtz: Agriculture set to become next hot political issue

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

Whether it’s Mexico’s threat of banning the import of American corn, or the five-year revamp of the American Farm Bill, agriculture is not merely about growing food. As the politics of farming affects the livelihoods of each American, it transforms agricultural policy into an electoral issue.The Biden administration recently announced the creation of a $1 billion grant fund to aid farmers in their renewable energy transition. The money comes from the Inflation Reduction Act and seeks to allow ranchers and rural farmers to make investments in their green energy efficiency. It is one of the many instances in which governments are seeking to reshape farming policies to match green agendas – whether it’s in Washington or over in Europe.Agriculture is blamed for many environmental woes of our time, from carbon dioxide to methane and nitrous oxide emissions, despite the fact that the sector has for decades ensured that Americans buy their food at affordable prices while ...

Editorial: U.S. must make EV transition work for consumers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

The Biden Administration has proposed new rules to sharply limit tailpipe emissions, with the aim of compelling automakers to devote at least two-thirds of new sales to electric vehicles within the next decade.The logic behind the plan is straightforward: To eliminate carbon emissions by 2050, the US needs to slash pollution from cars and trucks. Getting more electric vehicles on the road will help. But without supporting policies, EVs are unlikely to cut carbon emissions as much as advocates envision. Policymakers owe the public an honest accounting of costs and benefits.Worldwide, EVs account for 13% of new car sales, up from 0.2% a decade ago. Their market share in the US has nearly doubled over the last year, to 5.8%. Biden’s new regulations aim to accelerate the transition, by lowering the cap on carbon emissions for new vehicles by 56% between 2026 and 2032. For automakers to meet the tougher standards, 67% of their sales would have to come from zero-emission EVs. The administ...

Friday’s high school roundup/scores: Hingham enjoys walkoff win on Tadd Cavanaugh’s homer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

BASEBALLTadd Cavanaugh belted a walkoff home run to give Hingham (9-8) an 8-7 Patriot League win over Whitman-Hanson. … Cam Tetler fanned seven in a complete game and batted 3-for-4 at the plate, pairing with two RBI apiece from Colin Ducie and Jayson Ruehs for Plymouth South (7-8) in a 7-1 win over Quincy.Riggs Caitlin doubled twice and drove in three runs, while Devin Hunt struck out six and allowed two hits and three runs over six innings pitched as Nobles (10-8) topped Lawrence Academy 6-4 in the Independent School League.Owen Jones was a homer shy of hitting for the cycle, driving in three as Barnstable (13-5) defeated Cape and Islands League foe Dennis-Yarmouth, 8-4.Jarrell Banks cranked a pair of homers, driving in five runs on the day to pace Cambridge (8-9) during a wild 10-8 victory over Dual County League rival Concord-Carlisle.Josh Florence and Will Norris collected three hits with a triple and scored three runs each, while Nathan Kearney doubled, drove in two and scored...

Dear Abby: Childhood trauma resurfaces for new mom

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

Dear Abby: Throughout my childhood, my mother was controlling in many ways. One of them was my clothes. She dressed me in ridiculous outfits that I found humiliating. If I expressed an opinion about anything, I was treated as being “bad.” It affected my mental health, which resulted in me hating the way I look.I went through multiple eating disorders and addiction, and I had plastic surgery 15 years ago. After many years of therapy, I am now doing better emotionally. I also endured many years of heart-shattering infertility, but I am finally a mother, working hard to give my child a better life than I had.My mother continues buying clothes for my child, and receiving these “gifts” fills me with rage. My son is too young to pick out his own clothes, but I know what he likes and choose clothes accordingly. I allow him to select which items he wears, guilt free. My mother seems to buy clothes based on my son’s interests, but I resent her buying any clothes...

Callahan: Joe Mazzulla’s failure to solve Celtics’ season-long problems is haunting them against Miami

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

By now, a painful Celtics loss needs no explaining.You want to know what happened? You already do.Their offense was careless and meandering mid-game. Their opponent showed more toughness or urgency on defense, the glass or both. Down the stretch, you bet the Celtics’ decision-making looked like they had gotten into the liquor cabinet at halftime.And Friday night’s Game 2 loss to Miami, however stunning and however damning, was no exception.Now, fire away at Jayson Tatum for again failing to make a fourth-quarter field goal if you want. Or pillory Jaylen Brown for going 7-of-23 and finishing a game-worst minus-24. Or sling arrows at the shooters who couldn’t pull the Celtics into a series tie.But the blame for Friday’s loss, and the sudden danger of suffering a potential sweep in the Eastern Conference Finals, belongs with coaching.The playoffs are about problem-solving. Coaching adjustments quarter to quarter, game to game, series to series. Yet afforded an entire ...

A look inside the playbook on transgender health bills

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

Aaron and Lacey Jennen’s roots in Arkansas run deep. They’ve spent their entire lives there, attended the flagship state university, and are raising a family. So they’re heartbroken at the prospect of perhaps having to move to one of an ever-dwindling number of states where gender-affirming health care for their transgender teenage daughter, Sabrina, is not threatened.“We were like, ‘OK, if we can just get Sabrina to 18 … we can put all this horrible stuff behind us,’” Aaron Jennen said, “and unfortunately that’s not been the case, as you’ve seen a proliferation of anti-trans legislation here in Arkansas and across the country.”At least 17 states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors, though judges have temporarily blocked their enforcement in some, including Arkansas. An Associated Press analysis found that often those bills sprang not from grassroots or constituent demand, but from the pens of a handful of con...