Today's Liberal News

Russia’s War in Ukraine Could Spark Nuclear Catastrophe; Calls for Global Disarmament Grow

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that if a Third World War were to take place, it would be a nuclear war. His comments come just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert and after Russian nuclear submarines set sail for tests in waters near Norway. Meanwhile, voters in Belarus have approved a referendum opening the door for Russia to station nuclear weapons in Belarusian territory, and Russia has called on the U.S.

Daily Kos readers, activists raise $850,000 (and counting!) to aid humanitarian crisis in Ukraine

More than 1 million Ukrainians have fled their war-torn country as of this writing, with many more displaced within the country’s borders. They are living without access to clean water, electricity, food, and other essential items. Some are seeking refuge from the Russian shelling in makeshift bomb shelters, like train stations.

In the past week, Daily Kos readers and activists have raised more than $850,000 for four charities helping the people of Ukraine.

Social justice advocates react to the State of the Union address

This story was originally published at Prism.

President Joe Biden delivered his first State of the Union address on March 1 to bipartisan support and applause, but advocates across some of the country’s most pressing issues, including immigration, reproductive rights, and police reform, were left disappointed. Prism spoke to advocates of some of the key issues Biden addressed during his speech and asked for their reactions.

‘Glades is a dangerous place for immigrants’: EPA is urged to probe chemical misuse at ICE facility

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is being asked to investigate the illegal misuse of a toxic chemical at a Florida immigration detention facility that already has a history of human rights abuses. More than two dozen groups are urging the agency to probe Florida’s Glades County Detention Center (GCDC), expressing worry the facility is miusing the chemicals at up to 50 times the permitted concentration.

How Far Should the World Go to Support Ukraine?

This is an edition of Up for Debate, a newsletter by Conor Friedersdorf. On Wednesdays, he rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Every Friday, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.Earlier this week I asked for your thoughts about the war in Ukraine. Every single correspondent was sympathetic to Ukraine, not Russia.

A Small-Scale Sci-Fi Film That Asks the Genre’s Biggest Question

After Yang begins with a dance. The opening credits of Kogonada’s new science-fiction film are an invigorating introduction: a montage of the movie’s entire cast executing a synchronized musical number in groups of four, as part of a virtual competition. The dance moves are rigid, though still delivered with flashes of improvisation, and the entire joyous sequence is the kind more movies could stand to indulge.

Democrats Are Still Delusional About Trump

Six years into the Trump era in American politics, many of his critics still believe they can find a silver bullet to end it. On Wednesday, the House committee on January 6 filed a brief in a federal court in California that, depending on your interpretation, was either an attempt to compel documents from a reluctant witness or an omen of Donald Trump’s imminent imprisonment.

Now We’re Just Throwing Trash at the Moon

The moon is a wonderland of craters—thousands of them, carved by asteroids hitting the surface over billions of years. Space rocks are still at it, and every year the bombardment scoops out dozens of craters big enough for moon-orbiting spacecraft to notice. Today, because of human beings and their little space things, Earth’s celestial companion got one more dent.This morning, a piece of space junk smacked right into the far side of the moon.

When the Setting Is the Story

The way a place looks, sounds, feels, and smells is a crucial part of how we experience and remember it. So it can be a challenge to make somewhere feel real with words alone. To bring the South to life in her most recent book, Imani Perry turned to travelogues, a genre with long roots in the region. The books she revisited “are artistic and philosophical explorations” as well as geographic ones, she writes. And in her memoir, The Yellow House, Sarah M.

Russian Environmentalist Speaks Out on Putin’s Attack on Antiwar Protesters & Independent Media

As the Russian military escalates its invasion in Ukraine, Russian police are cracking down on antiwar protesters at home, arresting more than 8,000 over the past eight days. Meanwhile, Russia’s lower house of parliament has passed a new law to criminalize the distribution of what the state considers to be “false news” about military operations, and remaining independent news outlets in the country are shutting down under pressure from the authorities.

Russia’s Unprecedented Shelling of Ukrainian Nuclear Plant Raises Fears of Another Chernobyl

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of “nuclear terror” after Russian forces shelled and subsequently set on fire the largest nuclear power plant in Europe on Friday morning. The fire at the Zaporizhzhia plant burned for hours but reportedly did not spread to any of the plant’s six reactors before the Russians ultimately seized the site. Ukraine heavily relies on nuclear power, with 15 active nuclear power reactors across the country.