The Daily Valet. - 2/28/22, Monday

✔️ The Real Backlash Begins

February 28, 2022

Monday, February 28th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Are you planning on taking a spring break?

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s edition is presented by

Today’s Big Story

Russian Backlash Grows

Kyiv remains in crosshairs and Belarus prepares to join invasion as Ukraine agrees to talk with Russian officials

As Russian forces bore down on Ukraine’s capital, the two countries agreed Sunday to sit down for talks “without preconditions,” but Ukraine’s president made it clear that he expected little to come of it.

Meanwhile, Belarus is preparing to send soldiers into Ukraine in support of the Russian invasion in a deployment that could begin as soon as today, the Washington Post reports.

But the backlash continues to grow both around the world and in Russia. While there have been many large protests around Russia that have led to mass arrests, people are now performing “solo protests”—where a lone demonstrator stands with a picket. These are technically one of the only legal forms of public protest in Russia.

Meanwhile, a coalition of NATO-aligned countries has committed to new measures meant to cut off Russia from the global financial system. In a joint letter, signed by the U.S., U.K., Canada, and European allies, lays out new measures to isolate Russia’s central bank, and announces a new trans-Atlantic task force to freeze the foreign assets of sanctioned individuals.

In a dramatic escalation (that was heavily debated), the order also blocks select Russian banks from using SWIFT—the international payment system employed by banks to send money around the world. Its services are used to process some 42 million exchanges in more than 200 countries every single day. Because of this, some hotels in Moscow were asking guests to pre-pay out of fears credit cards will soon not be able to be processed.

It’s extremely rare for countries to be removed from the system. Prior to this move, Iran was the only country to have been previously removed from SWIFT. According to the New York Times, the value of Russia’s currency plunged early on Monday, falling by more than 30% against the dollar—this will likely to exacerbate inflation in Russia and has heightened fears of bank runs. However, the U.S. and Europe are still reluctant to target the Russian energy sector (its biggest moneymaker) because that would drive oil and gas prices even higher after months of rising costs for consumers.

↦ Dig Deeper: States want to boycott Russian vodka. Here’s why that won’t work.

What’s in a Language?

French Olympic planners plot to end the invasion of the English language

I know the Olympics just wrapped up, and we're two years away from the next Summer Games in Paris, but this is really interesting. The 2024 Olympics continues a tradition of an evolving roster of sports, with surfing, breakdancing and sport climbing added to the lineup. With them, come a slew of terms that are foreign to the French language.

So the French government has created a college of experts devoted to promoting the national language, in conjunction with several Olympic federations. The organization will meet over the next couple of years to identify and define new sports terms. (What's the Parisian way to say, “shred that wave, brah”? )

It might sound trivial but words matter—in any language or culture, it seems. Especially when 90% of languages are expected to become extinct in a century. Sure, it has something to do with the globalization of Western media, but it also stems from past colonization, which saw settlers wipe out linguistic traditions like “vocal smallpox”.

To preserve native language, the United Nations recently kicked off the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, dedicated to the preservation, revitalization and support of indigenous languages worldwide. Here in the States, we launched a similar plan late last year. In the meantime, I'll be chipping away at my Japanese with Rosetta Stone.

↦ The Future? Meta has announced plans to build an AI-powered “universal speech translator”.

Partner

Is it too late to get into Bitcoin? Maybe. Maybe not. But it isn't the crypto play you should be watching right now.

Mosquitoes Are Getting Smarter

So ... what if we kill them all?

Mosquitoes may be smarter than we think, and (even scarier) they're getting smarter. That could make getting rid of them and the diseases they carry even more difficult, according to new research.

According to ABC News, the findings suggest that mosquitoes that have been exposed to non-lethal doses of pesticides quickly learn to avoid them. As a result, they seek out safer food sources and resting sites, allowing them to survive and reproduce.

This is a big deal because mosquitos are believed to be responsible for half of all human deaths over the last 50,000 years. Were you as shocked as I was by that stat? Which is why LifeScience raises this question: “Given that mosquitoes are so deadly, should we just kill all of them?”

Of course, it's not quite that simple. Of the more than 3,500 mosquito species on Earth, only around 100 will potentially bite and spread disease to humans. Unfortunately, we haven't yet figured out how to eliminate only the bad bugs and leave the ones that don't get us sick. In the meantime, new research now suggests simple clove oil could help eradicate mosquito larvae in areas prone to suffer from deadly bites.

↦ Dig Deeper: Mosquitoes have a favorite color, and the reason for it is pretty creepy.

America’s Most Desired Spring Break Locales

Spolier alert: Cancún is on the list

It's been a long, strange winter, right? If you're anything like me, you're ready for a quick vacation—a spring break. It doesn't matter how old you are or how far removed from school, a long weekend away from your responsibility sounds pretty good, doesn't it?

According to a study conducted by Upgraded Points based on data pulled from Google Trends, spring break is alive and well in the usual places. When looking for the perfect place for a spring getaway, Americans are most interested in Cancún, Montego Bay, Saint Thomas, Puerto Vallarta and North Carolina's Outer Banks.

Interestingly, where someone wants to go apparently correlates with where they're coming from, according to InsideHook. Of course, not everyone is gravitating toward old standbys. More off-the-beaten path destinations (those that boast less crowds) are certainly of interest this year.

Arguably the most surprising finding, however, is how many people aren't searching for Miami—since it's such a spring break haven. Then again, last year's rowdy celebrations led to hundreds of arrests, dozens of gun seizures and the implementation of an emergency curfew. Which might explain why the city is limiting alcohol sales during the next few weeks.

↦ FYI: High gas prices may actually keep more people home for spring break this year.

In Other News

↦ The First Jan. 6 Trial Starts Today. Here’s What You Need to Know.

↦ Apple Is Reportedly Working on a Device With a 20-Inch Folding Display

↦ SAG Awards: ‘CODA,’ ‘Squid Game,’ ‘Succession’ Score Major Wins

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

SNL’s “prayer for Ukraine”

This luxe tiny home

A Jordan golf shoe?!

Partner

Make Smart Crypto Moves

The Motley Fool’s top crypto play isn’t a token

Most people, by now, have probably heard of Bitcoin and Ethereum (which have been chugging along for years). And if you're wondering if it's too late to get into Bitcoin or even Dogecoin, the analysts at The Motley Fool say you're thinking about it the wrong way.

The way many crypto tokens can hit new heights is by attracting more and more attention, bringing in more and more buyers. And let's face it ... as interest grows, newer waves of buyers tend to be less interested in jumping through hoops to buy a small slice of a single Bitcoin.

If you want to do well with crypto investments, you should be positioned to make money regardless of which direction any particular token is moving on any particular day. And The Motley Fool Stock Advisor has found one company that's positioned to do just that. But you'll likely want to get in on it before everyone else finds out about it.

↦ Futher Reading: Learn more about this company, and its upside as a long-term investment, in our exclusive report from The Motley Fool

What We’re Eyeing

We'll see your cargo pants and raise you a cargo shirt jacket. Dubbleware is a brand that's been making excellent workwear for more than a century. Their nylon overshirt ($257) is an ideal cool-weather layering piece—its waxed canvas body and contrast elbow patches add heavy doses of both durability and style that are perfect for workdays and weekends alike. And the contrasting flap pockets are placed perfectly to be used comfortably without interfering with movement.

↦ Want more 5 stylish items to buy this week