After protracted efforts, Russians managed to breach an ammonia factory in Sumy. An ammonia spill began about 30 minutes ago.

This novel isn’t getting great reviews because people who read Laura Lippman aren’t looking for real literature and people who are looking for literature don’t seek out books by Lippman.

Lippman is the author of solid, if somewhat pedestrian, murder mysteries. I read all of them and remember not a word. She also wrote a bunch of stand-alone mysteries. Those I do remember but only because they were quite outstandingly bad. Dream Girl is by far the best Lippman has ever written. It’s real literature.

Curiously, the whole novel is Lippman’s unending, #MeTootery pout about not being considered a serious author. Of course, she attributes that to her sex. The real reason, though, is that she’s a shallow, unserious reader, which makes her a worse author than she could be. Her whole career, Lippman hid behind the conventions of a mystery genre. Now she’s hiding behind the conventions of “in the era of #MeToo” genre.

In spite of the awkward, tedious #MeTooting, it’s a good novel. I won’t forget it like I forgot Lippman’s mysteries.

Completely true. If you don’t remember, Antonio was recently hounded out of a job by leftist bullies.

It’s become impossible to talk to the MAGA friends because it’s like being at a faculty meeting with the most out there leftist activists. “Yes, but it’s the fault of the US. The US caused it. The US invaded XYZ, so how can we blame anybody else for anything? But the NATO, but the ‘color revolutions,’ but slavery.” I moved to the Right to avoid all this, and now it has caught up with me.

Now for some good news:

Plus, that airport near Kherson (or the little that’s left of it) remains. Russian equipment and personnel must be on their way to it for the seventh time as we speak.

A terrible night. Here is one of the many atrocities committed by the Russians against civilians:

In their intercepted phone calls home, Russian soldiers say openly that they are unsuccessful at capturing Ukrainian cities and the commandment gave them orders to kill and torture civilians. They giggle when they talk about it. “Try to steal some really nice stuff to send home,” their relatives say excitedly.

This is a country of 144 million people where crushing sick elderly people with tanks is considered a respectable, healthy pastime.