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February 28, 2022
Welcome back, Roca Riders. Today is the final day of February (a month you may be eager to leave behind) and an interesting day in pop culture history. Besides being the day that "Yeah!" became the #1 hit in 2004, 2/28 is when the final episode of M*A*S*H aired in 1983 — 77% of all TV owners tuned in.
More important (perhaps) than M*A*S*H's finale is that our own Max Frost is alive and well in eastern Poland. Make sure to follow him on Instagram as he speaks to everyday people (refugees, protestors, volunteers) about the situation.
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War Rages in Ukraine
Overview
- Russian troops face opposition as they try to seize Ukraine's largest cities
- Thousands of Ukrainian civilians have volunteered to fight as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has remained in Kyiv, rallying his people. On Sunday, he called on Ukrainians and “friends of Ukraine” abroad to join the fight
- Ukrainians have been living in metro stations and basements as Russian bombings continue and cities experience intense street-by-street fighting
- The US says about half of the 150,000 Russian troops deployed on Ukraine's borders are now in its territory
DIG DEEPER
The UN says 400,000+ Ukrainians have already fled the country, while Ukraine's government says 200+ civilians have been killed. Exact casualty numbers are not yet verifiable.
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Germany Changes Course
Overview
- Germany, Europe's most-populous country, is taking a more anti-Russian stance as the war intensifies
- After years of refusing to do so, Germany said it will send weapons to Ukraine, calling the Russian invasion a threat to “our entire post-war order”
- Germany also changed its stance and joined the US, UK, and others in approving a ban on Russia from SWIFT, the international bank messaging system. The ban may devastate Russia's banks and economy
- Then Sunday, Germany said it would dramatically increase its defense spending to over 2% of GDP after years of NATO calling on it to do so
DIG DEEPER
This comes after Germany halted construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would deliver the country gas directly from Russia. Germany has long been accused of being "soft on Russia," which critics say is largely because of its reliance on Russian energy.
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Russia/Ukraine War Wildcard
Overview
- FIFA announced Russia’s team may continue its World Cup bid, but placed restrictions on fans, flags, and more. Poland, Sweden, and the Czech Republic — Russia’s 3 potential upcoming opponents in the qualifiers — say they refuse to play against Russia
- President Putin put Russia's nuclear forces on “high alert,” citing “aggressive statements” by NATO regarding the alliance's support of Ukraine
- The EU said it will send Ukraine $507M in arms, the first time the bloc has ever collectively sent arms to another country. This morning, Switzerland broke its historical neutral status to announce sanctions on Russian assets
- Russia and Ukraine planned their first talks of the war
DIG DEEPER
We don't want to over-cover the Russia-Ukraine situation, but the stories keep coming.
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Uber May Show Drivers' Pay
Overview
- Uber is considering a change to allow drivers to see the cost and location of a trip before they accept it
- Uber is trying to resolve a driver shortage that began in March 2020. Drivers have long complained that they cannot see where a trip is going or how much it costs before they agree to take it
- Uber has previously said allowing drivers to see trips would disincentivize them from taking shorter ones or would allow them to discriminate
- Amid workers' rights battles, Uber has been testing the feature in California since 2020. It is now expanding it to other US states
DIG DEEPER
Lyft has given some drivers the ability to see trip details since at least 2018.
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 What do you think?
Today's Poll:
Would you want NATO to admit Ukraine?
Yes
No
Today's Question:
What question would you want Max Frost to ask Ukrainian refugees?
Reply to this email with your answers!
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See yesterday's results below the Wrap!
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 Popcorn
Culture & Sports
- February madness! 7 of the top 10 teams (including the top 6) lost on the same day for the first time in men's college basketball history
- Comedian John Mulaney joined the exclusive "Five Timers Club" with his 5th Saturday Night Live hosting gig. Mulaney was once an SNL writer
- The hero the box office deserves: Hollywood is counting on a huge debut from The Batman. The Warner Bros movie opens this weekend
Business
- California became the first state to hit the "1M electric vehicles sold" threshold. The state is targeting 5 million EVs sold by 2030
- BP pulls out: British gas giant BP is exiting its nearly 20% stake in Russian oil company Rosneft, one of Russia's largest companies
- Bitcoin bonanza: Ukraine's government has raked in over $10M in crypto donations. Pro-Ukraine NGOs have also received crypto
Wildcard
- Drama is brewing in a small Italian town on the Slovenian border after a judge ruled to silence the church bells. The issue has split the town
- Rapper Rick Ross decided to cut down 10 large oak trees in his backyard after an outside contractor quoted him $10k for the job
- Now... nightclub swindler? “Tinder Swindler” Simon Leviev is cashing out on his new notoriety by charging $20k for nightclub appearances
- Top boxer and 2-time Olympic gold medalist Vasiliy Lomachenko has joined a territorial defense battalion in his home country Ukraine
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― Roca Wrap
A Newsletter Exclusive
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Warsaw, Poland
On my flight from New York City to Warsaw Friday night, the lady next to me sobbed for hours. She appeared to be in her mid 20s. For much of the flight, she spoke in either Polish or Ukrainian (I couldn’t tell) to the woman next to her; I noticed that the snacks she was eating had Ukrainian labeling.
On the way off the plane, I asked the woman who had sat next to her if the lady was okay. “She is Ukrainian,” the woman told me, “and her children and sister are in Ukraine. She is coming to meet them. They are walking from Lviv to the Polish border.” That’s a 40-mile trek in freezing temperatures. “She’s just 26. This is a real war. People are really suffering.”
***
When I decided Thursday to go to Poland, I DM’d Tomasz, a friend of mine who lived in Warsaw, asking if he was around. Within 3 minutes, he had offered to host me and pick me up from the airport, which he did on Saturday.
Tomasz is concerned that the war will spread west, and he isn’t alone. Fears of a war led to runs on Polish ATMs and fuel stations last week. Tomasz told me his family is making a “Plan B” for the “worst-case scenario.”
Many here are decrying those attitudes as panic-provoking paranoia, but Tomasz sees various reasons Putin would launch an attack on Poland, which would trigger US military involvement because it is in NATO.
The part of Ukraine that is most hostile to Russia is western Ukraine, near the Polish border. That’s also the part of the border where most people and goods pass between the countries. If NATO is shipping weapons to the Ukrainians through the border and Ukrainians are passing across it, Putin may see that as an act of aggression that necessitates a response.
There is also a fear that failure to win a quick war in Ukraine prompts a backlash in Russia that puts Putin into a corner, and he lashes out with an assault on NATO. These situations don’t appear likely, but they no longer appear impossible.
Another Warsaw resident I spoke to told me that his bags are packed and he has extra fuel in his car. “Everyone in my circle thinks I’m crazy,” he told me, but “it’s like that movie Don’t Look Up [about an asteroid hurtling toward Earth and people’s inability to react]. We don’t want to see what’s happening.” A week ago, Ukraine was at peace, he pointed out; now refugees are streaming into Warsaw. “The war could just shift west, and then Berlin becomes the next Warsaw.”
***
Saturday night, I went to a protest outside the Russian embassy in Warsaw. Hundreds of people were waving Ukrainian, EU, and Polish flags. They chanted in Ukrainian, Polish, and Russian.
“Glory to Ukraine,” someone would shout, “GLORY TO THE HEROES!” the crowd would respond.
Or people would jump up and down: “IF YOU DON’T JUMP, YOU’RE A RUSSIAN!”
Another popular chant quoted the supposed exchange between Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island and a Russian warship: “Russian warship,” someone would shout, “GO FUCK YOURSELF!” the crowd would respond.
One man took the mic and shouted in Ukrainian: “GLORY TO THE DEFENDERS OF KYIV, TO THE DEFENDERS OF KHARKIV, TO THE DEFENDERS OF MARIUPOL, TO THE DEFENDERS OF ODESSA! GLORY TO UKRAINE!” The crowd went crazy.
The protesters were planning to march to the US and German embassy to protest a perceived lack of support for Ukraine. One common placard called for NATO to “close the skies,” by closing their airspace to Russian planes, and ideally by shooting down Russian bombers over Ukraine. “NATO will you sit and watch?” read another. “NATO, we need you to act more decisively!” said another.
Nearby, I talked to a couple draped in a Ukrainian flag. They were from Kyiv. I asked if their families were still there.
“Yes, they live in Kyiv. But now they live in basements.” They were emotional, struggling to talk. “We will cry, we will bleed, but we will not give up our land.”
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If you have thoughts, let us know at Max@RocaNews.com!
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 Games
Last one! In what year were these the top 5 Google searches? "Jonas Brothers" and "Obama" were also popular searches this year.
- Sarah Palin
- Beijing 20__
- Facebook login
- Tuenti
- Heath Ledger
Find out the answer at the bottom of Roca Clubhouse.
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 Roca Clubhouse
Yesterday's Poll:
Do you believe the US should forcefully intervene in Ukraine?
Yes: 32.9%
No: 67.1%
Yesterday's Question:
Just 20 Questions!
General Feedback:
Thank you to all of you for your safety wishes for Max Frost!
Adam: "Yo. Super pumped about the news letter. I’ve been following the IG account since the beginning and love the content."
Liz: "This is great. I love these emails. Thank you Max! -a Canadian living in America"
Nours: "Just want to thank you for the amazing service you provide, I’m sick of seeing news pages on social media spreading false information or posting information with an agenda or bias, you guys keep it real and factual and I love the random interesting stories you post too. Hello from the UK !"
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20 Questions: 1-5
Every Friday, we ask the Roca Riders 20 questions and feature a few of our favorite answers. Last week's theme was "Pick your Favorite" in each category.
1. Messaging apps
"WhatsApp"
"Snapchat"
"Hinge"
2. DJs
"Calvin Harris"
"Steve Aoki"
"DJ Khaled"
3. Bottled water brands
"Aquafina"
"Smartwater"
"Tap"
4. "Never have I ever" prompts
"Gotten away with murder"
"Been in a threesome"
"Put pineapple on pizza"
5. Cream cheese flavors
"Yuck"
"Classic... easy"
"Strawberry"
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― Final Thoughts
Greetings from Poland, Roca riders. The number of thanks, well-wishes, and eastern European contacts you all provided us after Friday's newsletter and IG post was astounding. Thank you all so much. I'm honored to be bringing you the news from here.
-Max Frost
And beyond all of that, we hope you had great weekends. It's a crazy time in the world but we hope our news boils down what's happening so you can continue to lead happy and informed lives, regardless. Let's ride into a great week!
-Max and Max
Today's Instagram Wrap is an on-the-ground report from Frost about the Polish volunteer effort to support Ukraine.
Thanks for reading! See you again tomorrow!
As always, send thoughts and feedback to Max@Rocanews.com |
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