Yesterday, Russia began its military offensive against the Ukraine. Vladimir Putin said in a public address that “his goal was to “demilitarize” but not occupy the country.” The Ukraine began conscripting soldiers a few days ago.

As for where the first blasts were heard, reporters and others have mentioned this places: (Maps are also provided).

Russia launched cruise and ballistic missiles at airfields and military headquarters near Kyiv, the country’s capital city, according to Ukrainian officials. In the south, Russian troops landed in Odessa, according to Ukrainian officials.

In eastern Ukraine, Russian missiles hit targets in Kharkiv and Dnipro, according to Ukrainian officials, and loud booms were reported in Kramatorsk. Ukraine’s state emergency services said that attacks had been launched against 10 Ukrainian regions, primarily in the east and south of the country. Several planes were hit at airports, the statement said.

Russia’s military as compared to the Ukraine’s is like a David v. Goliath scenari.. The Ukraine has around 209,000 troops on active service compared to Russia's 900,000; and Ukraine's reserve forces number 900,000, while Russia has 2 million.

The Ukraine has closed the Sea of Azov.

Here is a free link to the Wall. St. Journal news coverage. I really like their news coverage on just about everthing (as opposed to their opinion pieces which I just gloss over).

It's a beautiful Sunday afternoon here. The Olympics are ongoing, and most of the country will be watching the Superbowl.

And then there's Donald Trump. Nixon had his plumbers, he had a plunger.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Sarah Palin may love Sarah Palin, but she sure doesn't seem to care about anyone else. Saturday night she ate indoors at Elios. Monday she tested positive. Tuesday night she ate outdoors at Campagnola( my go-to Manhattan restaurant during the mid-90's through the mid-2000's, when I traveled to New York a lot.) Wednesday she went back to Elios and ate outdoors.

New York City Hall spokesman Jonah Allon said in a statement that, “By repeatedly flouting CDC guidelines, Ms. Palin has shown a complete disregard for the health and safety of small business workers and her fellow patrons. The city offers multiple resources to support isolation for those who test positive for COVID-19, and we encourage Ms. Palin to join the 98 percent of New Yorkers who report they have followed guidance on isolation and have helped New York City stop the spread.”

New York and CDC guidance suggest 5 days of isolation after being diagnosed with Covid. [More...]

Michael Avenatti, already convicted and sentenced in the Nike fraud case, has been on bond due to COVID for a long time. His second fraud trial in California ended in a mistrial.

Now he's on trial in federal court in the Southern District of New York, charged with stealing money from his client, Stormy Daniels, and shortly before trial he announced he'd represent himself.

Yesterday he cross-examined Stormy Daniels. It was as bizarre as you'd expect. One topic was her ability to speak to the dead, which she claims she can do. He asked her about a house she lived in during 2019 in New Orleans: [More]...

Sarah Palin, the former Governor of Alaska who agreed to be used by John McCain as a Hail Mary pass in his failed bid for the presidency, is on the loose. In New York, no less, where she is a party to a defamation lawsuit against the New York Times. Trial is set to start Feb. 3.

On Saturday night, the UnVaxxed Palin had the gall to eat dinner inside Elios, a well-known New York restaurant on the Upper East Side. You have to show proof of vaccination to eat indoors in Manhattan. But no one at Elios asked her for it. (Restaurateur Elio died in 2016.)

And guess what happens? On Monday she tests positive for COVID. So all the other people who were dining at Elios and the employees are now in jeopardy.

Is she just stupid, or does she really think rules don't apply to her? Some people may just be seriously misinformed about the vaccine and the virus(like Eric Clapton, but with Palin, it just seems like she thinks she can do what she pleases. I hope NYC fines her (and Elios for not asking her to show her ID).

A whole week and I've had nothing to write about. I was hoping to read Ghislaine Maxwell's Motion for New Trial based on the chatty juror who disclosed he told the whole jury about his own childhood abuse experiences, after which some changed their position from leaning towards "not guilty" to guilty on the sex trafficking of a minor count. Unfortunately, the motion and exhibits are all filed under seal.

I also don't understand why the media harps on going after the "john does" who had sex with the underage girls, but is willing to give a pass to them as women, when several of them have testified that as girls, they recruited other underage girls for Epstein. Every time their recruitee visited Epstein they got $200.00. Why isn't that p*mping? Especially for the ones who recruited minors after their 18th birthday. I don't doubt the ones who both serviced Epstein and recruited for him worked hard for the money, but why do they get a complete pass, from the media and the prosecutors? [More...]

The New York Times: What Omicron Looks Like in One New York Hospital

Ms. Williams was one of only two nurses working on the Covid-19 ward, with its 36 patients. A few were on ventilators.... One was curled in a fetal position and moaning for water; another was asking to eat. Patients were crammed into every corner, their gurneys arranged, Ms. Williams thought, like blocks in a game of Tetris.

....[T]the patients keep arriving, and in droves: More than 15,000 people with Covid-19 have been hospitalized in the city in the past four weeks, the most since the initial surge. About half of all patients in the city’s hospitals now have Covid-19. And there are simply not enough nurses to care for them all.

[More...]

Ronnie Spector has died after a brief bout with cancer at age 78.

Ronnie Spector’s influence was felt far and wide. Brian Wilson became obsessed with “Be My Baby” and Billy Joel wrote “Say Goodbye to Hollywood” in Spector’s honor. Amy Winehouse frequently cited Spector as an idol.

Martin Scorsese used “Be My Baby” to open his 1973 film “Mean Streets” and the song appears in the title sequence of “Dirty Dancing” and the closing credits of “Baby Mama.” It also appeared on TV in “Moonlighting” and “The Wonder Years.”

When the Ronettes were inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones remembered opening for the trio in England in the mid-1960s. “They could sing all their way right through a wall of sound,” Richards said. “They didn’t need anything. They touched my heart right there and then and they touch it still.”

[More...]

CNN is featuring a concert with James Taylor and Carole King. It's not only a great performance but for an hour I tuned out everything else going on in the world. If you can, catch the re-run. [More....]

New Year's Eve seems very somber tonight.

In Boulder, the fire has been devastating. Here's a few second video from the West Metro Fire department. Updates are available at the Boulder Office of Emergency Management.

In Europe, the Wall St. Journal has a report on how Antwerp, Belgium has become the "Miami of the 1980s" with respect to money coming in from cocaine. It's a "cash tsunami". (free link). The Mayor says,"Every layer of society is infected.”

[More...]

Ghislaine Maxwell has been found guilty on five of the six counts against her. The only count that she was found not guilty of was enticing the accuser who testified using the name “Jane”.

I am really surprised by this verdict. The impeachment evidence was overwhelming in my view.

I will explain why when I get to a computer later tonight. (I am typing this on my iPhone in the grocery store parking lot. Please excuse any typos).

Listen to the Science:

At the global level, we expect 3 billion or more omicron infections in the next two to three months, which will translate into a tripling of global reported cases. Because the infection-detection rate is going to be lower, that will translate into a global surge in hospitalizations, but fortunately smaller than the previous delta surge and previous winter surge in the Northern hemisphere. And even smaller will be the global impact in terms of mortality, but global deaths will go up somewhat in the next few months.

Omicron is in all 50 states. Cases could reach one million a day before the end of the year. Hospitals are breaking records. You can't find a testing kit on the shelves of retail stores. Apparently, Americans don't care.

Nearly 2 million people passed through TSA checkpoints on Tuesday, roughly the same number on the same day in 2019, according to the agency's daily count.

What can you do? Get boosted, wear an N95 (or at least a K95) mask. Stay home. Make sure any guests have been tested.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.