Notes and Essays -- John Brown

Many units, which say the official conscription system is dysfunctional and unwieldy, have started their own recruitment campaigns to fill ranks depleted in the war with Russia. [jb: Due to technical difficulties, which, allow me to say, I suspect not my own, that for some  reason not all the images and the links in the original version of this article could be reproduced in this posting.] An advertisement for the 67th Separate Mechanized Brigade, a part of Ukraine’s armed forces, in Kyiv.  By Constant Méheut and Daria Mitiuk, Photographs by Brendan Hoffman, The New York Times , Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine, March 30, 2024, 5:02 a.m. ET Skyscraper-sized billboards show assault troops in battle gear emerging from a ball of flames. On street posters, soldiers urge passers-by to enlist, proclaiming that “victory is in your hands.” Take a seat on a high-speed train and chances are high that a television will be advertising jobs for drone operators. Slick recruiting campaigns brimm...

The bachelorette party is getting a spa makeover, with many brides-to-be now opting for more tranquil settings. Iliriana Balaj, center, hosted a five-day wellness party in Tulum, Mexico, in August 2022, about a month before her wedding. Credit... via Iliriana Balaj By Ivy Manners, The New York Times , March 30, 2024, 5:02 a.m. ET Instead of a raucous weekend of late-night dancing and drinking at clubs or bars, Margaret Wilson chose a healthier setting for her bachelorette party last year. Ms. Wilson, her sister and four close friends spent four days in February 2023 at a wellness spa in Sedona, Ariz., where they hiked through Boynton Canyon, meditated, enjoyed a healing sound bath and lounged around the pool. “I had been through a lot of life changes the year leading up to my wedding, and I was looking for a low-stress, meaningful experience with my dearest friends,” said Ms. Wilson, 32, a dermatology physician assistant in Milwaukee. “This trip was meant to enrich my relationship with...

March 30, 2024,  7:00 a.m. ET Credit... Illustration by Sam Whitney/The New York Times By  Maureen Dowd , The New York Times,   Opinion Columnist, reporting from Washington, see also, for another perspective on who is, after all, former-President Trump ... On this holy weekend, one man is taking the Resurrection personally.  Donald Trump is presenting himself as the Man on the Cross, tortured for our sins. “I consider it a great badge of courage,” he tells crowds. “I am being indicted for you.” Instead of Christ-like redemption, he promises Lucifer-like retribution if resurrected.  In January, he put up a video on Truth Social about how he is a messenger from God, “a shepherd to mankind.” Trump is, as the nuns who taught me used to say, “a bold, brazen piece.” He is a miserable human who cheated on his wives, cheats at golf, cheats at politics, incites violence, targets judges and their families and   looked on , pleased, as thugs threatened to hang his ac...