From Heroes in Iran to...Russian Villains in Ukraine

Some news from home and around the world

In my last post, I experimented with sharing my thoughts on a range of issues in the form of tweets I had posted. I asked readers if this was useful. Most said yes, a couple said no, and a few said that it would be useful to have a bit more explanation or annotation. Several said that the links were most useful.

So in that spirit, see if this is more helpful.

First, Iran. The uprising in Iran after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, arrested by morality police for supposedly not covering herself properly, is a reminder of just how many young Iranians are sickened by a corrupt, autocratic and hypocritical government. This photo by Newsha Tavakolian, an eminent Iranian photographer who is herself an Iranian woman, says a lot. I encourage you to follow Tavakolian on Instagram, where this photo is from.

Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof

I love this photo of an Iranian woman by the @MagnumPhotos photographer @newshatavakolian, herself an Iranian woman. #mahsaamini Iranian women hold up half the sky!

instagram.com更新浏览器 | Facebook

Karim Sadjadpour @ksadjadpour

I spoke w/ @elonmusk about Starlink in Iran, he gave me permission to share this: “Starlink is now activated in Iran. It requires the use of terminals in-country, which I suspect the [Iranian] government will not support, but if anyone can get terminals into Iran, they will work"

Yashar Ali 🐘 یاشار @yashar

Niloufar Hamedi was one of the first journalists in Iran to cover the murder to Mahsa Zhina Amini and now she’s paying dearly for it. #MahsaAmini #ZhinaAmini

IranWire @IranWireEnglish

An Iranian journalist newspaper who covered the death of #MahsaAmini is being held in solitary confinement and interrogated in Evin Prison without being informed of the charges against her. #IranProtests2022 https://t.co/HV3kNFRybc #truth #IranRevolution #Iranianwomen

The courage of these Iranian women, pulling off their head scarves and walking toward police — only to be clubbed to the ground — is as inspiring as the police are brutal.

Masih Alinejad 🏳️ @AlinejadMasih

This brave woman took off her hijab and fearlessly walking toward security forces to protest against the brutal death of #MahsaAmini I invite feminists & freedom fighters around the world, to join us supporting Iranian women and people’s uprising against regime. #مهسا_امینی

Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof

Iran's regime purports to be religious and values driven, but in fact it's full of corrupt, aging hypocrites--such as this cop enforcing "morality" by groping a brave protester. In my visits to Iran, young people complained bitterly about routine, institutionalized hypocrisy.

Sima Sabet | سیما ثابت @Sima_Sabet

This video is getting viral for the obvious brutality of security forces to the women protesters, but what is now people are asking is that Is the f… security guy touching her breast? What do u see? outrage is massive #MahsaAmini #Mahsa_Amini https://t.co/5UHFvAQSOM

Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof

Even in Iran's religious city of Qum, the power base of the ayatollahs, women are tearing off their hijabs and crowds are denouncing the Supreme Leader as the nation's shame. Such courage! These protesters are an inspiration for the world.

nytimes.comIran Protests Surge to Dozens of CitiesIranians fed up with oppressive rules and a battered economy have faced bullets, tear gas and arrests to demand an end to the Islamic Republic’s rule.

The other big international story is obviously Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. First, new evidence of the atrocities, then of the desperation of young Russian men to avoid military service.

Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof

Incredible reporting by a @nytimes team compiling and translating thousands of intercepts of phone calls by Russian soldiers confessing to atrocities in Ukraine: nytimes.com/interactive/20… "Mom, this war is the stupidest decision our government ever made." nytimes.com/interactive/20…

Yousur Al-Hlou @YousurAlhlou

"We were given an order to kill everyone we see." Russian soldiers made calls from the battlefield near Bucha to relatives back home. The Ukrainian government was listening. @MashaFroliak and I received thousands of those candid and damning intercepts. https://t.co/7sxAWIn3wa

Mikhail Khodorkovsky (English) @mbk_center

Russia🇷🇺 is most likely the first and only country in the world where people flee not because someone invaded their country, but because they invaded another country.

Andrew Roth @Andrew__Roth

Video of a Russian man opening fire and killing the military commandant in a draft centre in the city of Úst-Ilimsk in Irkutsk region. The military commandant was the head of the local draft committee. He has died, according to reports.

Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof

Caution: Disturbing video. I can't verify this, but it appears to reflect the Russian desperation to avoid military service in Ukraine -- and an understanding of the grim risks Russian soldiers face there.

Saint Javelin @saintjavelin

WARNING: This is painful to watch A Russian man purposefully breaks his friends leg in order to avoid mobilization Kyiv in 72 hours with morale this high! https://t.co/lJX4cBmyiC

Here’s a good discussion of whether we may be drifting toward nuclear crisis:

Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof

This is an excellent discussion by Joe @Cirincione, who knows his nukes, about how Putin might make good on his nuclear threat, and what the Western response might be:

washingtonpost.comOpinion | Putin says nuclear threat is no bluff. We should take him at his word.What are Russia’s options? And what would the right U.S. response be?

Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof

Russia acknowledges its human trafficking of children from Ukraine. This is a crime against humanity.

The Moscow Times @MoscowTimes

Russia's children's rights commissioner on Wednesday said that Ukrainian children taken to Russia from Mariupol initially showed negative attitudes toward Russia, but now don't wish to return home. Kyiv has called the forced relocations of Ukrainian children a war crime. https://t.co/3KAzIEgqVy

Then, beyond Iran and Ukraine, some stories and links that caught my eye:

Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof

.@katiecouric has done heroic work in her journalism over the years in encouraging cancer screenings. This has surely saved many lives, and now--after an unfortunate diagnosis--she's at it again. Thanks, Katie, for your thought leadership and for using your story to save lives.

Katie Couric @katiecouric

Every two minutes, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States. On June 21st, I became one of them. As we approach #BreastCancerAwarenessMonth, I’m sharing my story as an important reminder to get screened. https://t.co/PH5NSUponN

Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof

The best metric for where a society will be in 25 years is how well its children are educated. The US does poorly by that standard, and Oregon does particularly poorly. One of the evidence-based responses is tutoring in reading and math, especially in early grades.

andy saultz @andysaultz

I wrote about Oregon’s public educational system and the policies that can help build a more equitable future for our state. We need a sense of urgency from state leadership and evidenced based policymaking to address racial and socioeconomic disparities. https://t.co/P86lMXz5LC

Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof

Wildfire smoke in the West is unraveling decades of improvements in air quality -- and it is likely to get worse. We need an evidence-based rethink of forest management policy.

news.stanford.eduWildfire smoke is unraveling decades of air quality gains | Stanford NewsStanford researchers have developed an AI model for predicting dangerous particle pollution to help track the American West’s rapidly worsening wildfire smoke. The detailed results show millions of Americans are routinely exposed to pollution at levels rarely seen just a decade ago.

Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof

Oregon is the easiest state in America to vote in, largely because of vote by mail. Other states should consider copying our model. That means you, New Hampshire, Mississippi and Arkansas.

Ben Morris @BenjaminMorris

Best voting system in America. https://t.co/KBEFIJSnPp

And for a finale, a bear visiting us on Kristof Farms to steal our apples (I took the photo with a trail camera):

Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof

We had a visitor drop in this week to eat our cider apples. But he says he's not a Russian bear. I think he's recommending our @KristofFarms hard cider. Hint, hint.