Letters

 My perceptions of the Russian invasion of Ukraine are not likely to be any better informed than the next person who, like myself, has no specific knowledge of the country, history, or diplomacy other than what I read about in popular periodicals. Given that everybody is feasting on the same information, divergent opinion is unlikely. There are, however, a few aspects of the current crisis that seem worthy of commenting here.  What is different about this conflict is how, in the internet age, we are so quickly updated, and so immediately involved in the actual events. So much news is registered that it can be an unpleasant form of virtual too much reality.   I don't recall ever feeling so close any conflict.  And we can check in, whenever we please, to new instances of scarred landscapes, blown-up hospitals, killer drones in action, and burning tanks. While we can read of the Crimean War or Boer War, the day-to-day immersion into the Russian invasion is new.  I am not sure this is