Face The Facade
February 3, 2021
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“Today, as yesterday, a nation is judged by its attitude towards refugees.” — Elie Wiesel
“I urge you to celebrate the extraordinary courage and contributions of refugees past and present.” — Kofi Annan
Facing Facts: A Facade Of Democracy
(Thet Aung via Getty Images)
“We don’t feel sorry that she [Aung San Suu Kyi] is overthrown from power now.” So said Rohingya community leader Mohammad Yunus Arman, as he stood in the sprawling Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar district in Bangladesh. Kutupalong is the world’s largest refugee camp, home to thousands of Rohingya living in deplorable conditions after fleeing from the murderous Myanmar military in 2017 — on the head of state’s watch. “She remained silent about it. She didn’t even utter the word ‘Rohingya.’ Once, we used to pray for her success and used to treat her like our queen. But after 2017, we realized her real character,” Arman said.
While condemning Monday’s military takeover of a democratically-elected government, at the same time Sayed Ullah, another Rohingya community leader at Thaingkhali camp, spoke about the dashed hopes that a civilian government would have changed the way the military historically ruled the predominantly Buddhist South Asian nation. “[Suu Kyi’s government] did nothing for us. They didn’t protest the genocide” of Rohingya, he said.
Both leaders were anticipating a safe return to their homeland, pursuant to a four-year-old bilateral agreement between Myanmar and Bangladesh; the repeatedly-stalled repatriation process was supposed to start later this year. However, tired of the foot-dragging, and ignoring complaints from human rights groups, Bangladesh began relocating Rohingya refugees in late 2020 from neighboring Myanmar to the remote island of Bhasan Char in the Bay of Bengal.
So far around 4,000 refugees have been sent to the island, which surfaced 20 years ago and hadn’t previously been inhabited. The island was regularly submerged by monsoon rains, but today has flood protection embankments, houses, hospitals, and mosques built at a cost of over $112 million by the Bangladesh navy. Bhasan Char’s facilities are designed to accommodate 100,000 people, just a fraction of the million-plus Rohingya refugees currently living in crowded, squalid camps in Cox’s Bazar.
Now that Myanmar’s civilian administration has been ousted, there are fears the new military government might not keep its agreement to repatriate more Rohingya. International relations experts agree, saying the coup removed the “facade of democracy” in the country, and the probability of bringing the refugees back has further diminished. (Al Jazeera)
Let’s Hope There’s No B.1.1.8
- Public Health England (PHE) reported Monday that a fast-spreading coronavirus variant first observed in Britain in December could be harder to control with vaccines. The variant, known as B.1.1.7, appears to have an improved ability to infect people, which would account for its rapid spread.
- PHE estimated the variant’s rate of infection is 25% to 40% higher than that of other forms of coronavirus, and creates increased risk of death. B.1.1.7 has now found its way to 72 other countries, including the US, which confirmed its first case on December 29th.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had conducted little of the genomic sequencing necessary to track the spread of new variants, but since the appearance of the first US case, the CDC has recorded 467 samples of the variant in 32 states. On Tuesday, New York City said its officials had identified 13 cases of the variant and were ramping up testing capacity to detect more. (NYT, $)
Pharma Fail: Japan Still Waiting On Vaccine
- In 2016, a team of Japanese Health Ministry advisers issued a warning: Japan’s vaccine industry was seriously uncompetitive, public awareness about vaccine safety was low, and the country faced serious risks if a pandemic broke out. That nation’s report — like others issued by scientists around the world warning about a lack of pandemic preparedness — was shelved.
- Today, Japan is the only nation in the Group of Seven economic powers still waiting to start vaccinations. Although often ranked the third-largest pharmaceutical market, after the US and China, Japan lags far behind in developing its own coronavirus vaccines, and is struggling to source vaccines from abroad. Even so, it’s not the only wealthy country to have its lack of pandemic preparedness exposed by the global crisis.
- Australia and South Korea are also still waiting to start vaccine programs. Scientists warn Covid-19 has just been a wake-up call; there will be future pandemics, and now is definitely the time to reexamine public health priorities, global cooperation, and readiness. (WaPo, $)
Additional World News
- The gangster, the general, and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh (Al Jazeera)
- Aleksei Navalny, Russian Opposition Leader, Appears in Court (NYT, $)
- Bangladesh bought mass spying equipment from Israeli company (Al Jazeera). Spying: the thing all democracies criticize until they want to do it themselves.
- Prestigious Istanbul University Fights Erdogan’s Reach (NYT, $)
- Economics’ failure over destruction of nature presents ‘extreme risks’ (Guardian)
- Ethiopia: UN says 20,000 refugees missing in Tigray (Al Jazeera)
Myanmar
- Opinion | The Story Behind the Myanmar Coup (NYT, $)
- How a Deadly Power Game Undid Myanmar’s Democratic Hopes (NYT, $)
- What is happening in Myanmar? The coup, explained. (Vox)
- Coup prompts outcry from Myanmar as Biden threatens sanctions (Reuters)
Covid-19
- Opinion | To Understand This Era, You Need to Think in Systems (NYT, $). We may be under-hyping vaccine accomplishments as much as we initially under-panicked about Covid risk.
- Study: Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine appears safe, effective (WaPo, $). With Sputnik, Russia shot for the moon.
- The Coronavirus Brazil Variant Shows the World’s Vulnerability (Atlantic)
- Why countries with ‘loose’, rule-breaking cultures have been hit harder by Covid (Guardian)
- One Case, Total Lockdown: Australia’s Lessons for a Pandemic World (NYT, $). Fun fact: ‘One Case’ is also what Australians call the hit Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa track.
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We Shall Fight In The Bathrooms, We Shall Fight In The Boardroom
- Jeff Bezos steps down as CEO later this year, while the company he founded 27 years ago fights the biggest labor battle in its history on US soil. Amazon is being so aggressive that workers in the company’s Bessemer, Alabama warehouse complain they hardly have time for bathroom breaks. When they do go, the anti-union messaging follows them right in.
- A flier posted on the inside of a bathroom stall door reads: “Where will your dues go?” One pro-union worker said: “They got right in your face when you’re using the stall.” Another said: “I feel like I’m getting harassed.” With its mandatory anti-union meetings, a barrage of leaflets, and five daily text messages, management is telling workers they don’t need any union coming between them and the company.
- Bessemer workers already have a slew of benefits — starting pay of $15.30 an hour, health-care, vision and dental, and a retirement plan — way more than comparable jobs provide.
- The clock is ticking. The National Labor Relations Board mails ballots to 5,805 workers at the Bessemer facility next Monday; they’ll have seven weeks to decide if they want the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union to represent them. A ‘yes’ vote would make this the first Amazon warehouse in America to unionize, and a union victory could spark a wave of organizing campaigns among the 400,000 operations staff at hundreds of other Amazon warehouses and delivery sites dotting the nation. (CNN; WaPo, $)
Racial Disparity In Vaccine Rollout? Who Could’ve Known?
- The US currently has racial and ethnic data for only about half of the coronavirus vaccine doses given. But an analysis of available data shows that just 5% have gone to Black Americans and only 11% to Latinos.
- That suggests disadvantaged and underserved communities are being bypassed, including in states that haven’t yet publicly broken out data by race and ethnicity. Apparently, even in blue states and localities praised for championing racial equity during earlier phases of the pandemic, Black and Latino Americans are falling behind in the nationwide race to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
- Addressing these disparities while ramping up vaccine supply will be a crucial early test for President Biden’s administration. (Politico)
Additional USA News
- Virginia may be first in south to abolish death penalty and abandon ‘legalized lynching’ (Guardian)
- The retail trading frenzy dies down as silver and shares of AMC and GameStop drop. (NYT, $). Are we absolutely sure the brick-and-mortar videogame store in 2021 in a lockdown wasn’t worth $25 billion?
- Biden Signs Immigration Actions. Activists Want More (NPR)
- Biden Administration Asks Supreme Court To Delay Considering 2 Key Trump Policies (NPR)
- The freshman class starts to mix and mingle (Politico)
- Dave Portnoy and Barstool are the future of the conservative movement (The Week). State delegates at RNC 2024 will be required to shotgun a beer before casting their vote.
- Registered Republicans Ditch Party After Capitol Riot (NPR)
- Trump pollster’s campaign autopsy paints damning picture of defeat (Politico). A “landslide,” some are calling it.
- Meatpacking Companies, OSHA Face Investigation Over Coronavirus In Plants (NPR)
- Those Most Likely to Get Covid Are Last in Line for Vaccines (Wired)
- An Extremely Detailed Map of the 2020 Election Results: Trump vs. Biden (NYT, $)
- McConnell says Marjorie Taylor Greene’s ‘loony lies’ are ‘a cancer’ on GOP (Guardian)
- Anyone Can Manipulate the Market. Here’s How to Fix That. (NYT, $). Maybe anyone can, but it seems like only certain people do…
- ‘One Property at a Time’: A City Tries to Revive Without Gentrifying (NYT, $)
- 10 Republican lawmakers counteroffer Biden’s stimulus bill (Vox)
- ‘He invited us’: Accused Capitol rioters blame Trump in novel legal defense (Reuters). Parents everywhere are asking: if your friends asked you to jump off a bridge, would you?
- U.S. Cuts $231 Million Deal To Provide 15-Minute COVID-19 At-Home Tests (NPR)
- I represent children in Flint, Michigan. Here’s what I’m asking Biden to do (Guardian)
- The Climate Change Lawsuits Against Big Oil, Explained (Appeal)
- Will Democrats keep their promise to decriminalize marijuana? (Verge). If they don’t, voters may flock to the Green Party.
- The U.S. Spent $2.2 Million on a Cybersecurity System That Wasn’t Implemented — and Might Have Stopped a Major Hack (ProPublica)
- Opinion | The GOP once knew what to do about problems like Marjorie Taylor Greene (WaPo, $)
- Text Messages Show Top Trump Campaign Fundraiser’s Key Role Planning the Rally That Preceded the Siege (ProPublica)
- Opinion | At long last, a president declares that the era of small government is over (WaPo, $)
Pandemic Creates A Lot Of Down Dogs
- Yet another tragic outcome of Covid-19 — that probably wouldn’t come to mind for most people — is the effect it’s had on over 10,000 working guide dogs in the US. The daily job for these highly-trained animals is to assist their blind and visually impaired guardians by navigating the cacophony of people, smells, sights, and sounds in the world around them.
- It’s intense and important work, and when the pandemic hit, these dogs couldn’t just open a laptop and begin working from home. In the 10 months of lockdowns and activities being put on hold, many guide dogs have become miserable, anxious, and depressed, often reverting to pre-training behaviors.
- The non-profit Mira Foundation is the only organization in the US that provides guide dogs to people ages 11-16. Mira says the hundreds of teams it works with are all experiencing a need for their dogs’ retraining or early retirement. Because Mira and other non-profits like it are often underfunded and volunteer-run, the added limitations of the pandemic have made it nearly impossible for them to safely train new service animals and retrain those already in service. (Guardian)
- Molly Burke is a YouTuber who documented adventures she and her guide dog, Gallop, have had. For the past six years, Burke and Gallop had traveled the world, navigating airplanes, galas, stages, hotel rooms, and time zone changes. But 10 months into the pandemic, Gallop seemed to give up. The Labernese began stealing food, pulling on walks, and exhibiting other behavior from his pre-working life as a pet.
- At first, his descent was slow and Burke assumed he might recover when the pandemic ended. But by mid-October, she knew that might not happen. “I realized he’s continuing to slip, and the world is continuing to stay shut.” In a December video that’s been viewed almost a million times, Burke says of Gallop: “He just wanted to get out and work so bad and obviously you can’t explain to a guide dog what a pandemic is.” (Guardian)
Additional Reads
- As More Deaf People Are Seen on TV, Others Want to Be Heard (NYT, $)
- One day, your home could be made with mushrooms (Verge). Would you prefer portabella or porcini?
- As Robots Fill the Workplace, They Must Learn to Get Along (Wired)
- The Next Cyberattack Is Already Under Way (New Yorker)
- What to Know About Covid-19 and the Super Bowl (NYT, $). Can’t wait for Super Bowl Sunday this Weeknd!
- To Get on This SpaceX Flight, You Don’t Have to Be Rich, Just Lucky (NYT, $)
- Facebook and Apple are fighting over privacy: what that means to you (Vox)
- How Poverty Makes Workers Less Productive (NPR)
- NYU researchers find no evidence of anti-conservative bias on social media (Verge)
- ‘Halfway Home’ Makes Case That The Formerly Incarcerated Are Never Truly Free (NPR)
- The Lion, the Polygamist, and the Biofuel Scam (Wired)
- Here’s a Way to Learn if Facial Recognition Systems Used Your Photos (NYT, $)
- Superstar Cities Are in Trouble (Atlantic). Soon, being called ‘Middle America’ might be a compliment!