Osaka in Olympic spotlight, but biracial Japanese face struggles


Issued on: 24/07/2021 -

Japanese-Haitian tennis star Naomi Osaka lit the Olympic cauldron in the crowning moment of the opening ceremony HANNAH MCKAY POOL/AFP

Tokyo (AFP)

Emili Omuro was thrilled by Naomi Osaka's star turn at the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony, but the biracial teenager says Japan must do more to accept people of mixed heritage.

Four-time Grand Slam winner Osaka, whose mother is Japanese and father Haitian, climbed a replica Mount Fuji on Friday to light the cauldron in the ceremony's crowning moment.

And she wasn't the only athlete of dual heritage representing the host.

Japanese-Beninese NBA basketball star Rui Hachimura was one of the flagbearers leading Japan's team into the Olympic Stadium.

Osaka and Hachimura are adored in Japan, and boast lucrative sponsorship and advertising deals.

But many young people of black and Japanese heritage still struggle in an often conservative and largely homogenous society.

"There were many times when it was hard," 14-year-old Omuro, born to a Japanese mother and a black American father, told AFP of her childhood in a town north of Tokyo.#photo1

"People would whisper behind my back and make fun of me at extra-curricular clubs, or when I was walking down the street."

Looking to draw attention to the bullying and discrimination faced by some biracial Japanese, Omuro applied and was chosen to be a torchbearer in the nationwide Olympic flame relay before the Games.

She also hoped to highlight the country's increasing but often overlooked racial diversity.

"Some people say, 'for mixed people, bullying is inevitable.' And other people don't know there is discrimination, or pretend not to see it," she said.

- 'Ignorance, not hate' -

When coronavirus measures began to force sections of the relay off public roads, Omuro reconsidered taking part, worried about the pandemic.

But she ultimately decided her participation would be important.

"We need to create a society where people can feel at ease, even if they are different."

Kinota Braithwaite is painfully aware of how discrimination can affect Japanese biracial children.

The black Canadian's daughter Mio, whose mother is Japanese, suffered racist taunts in second grade in Tokyo.

"This happened to me when I was a kid growing up in Canada, and I thought that the world was a place where this wouldn't happen any more," he told AFP.

"So it really broke my heart."#photo2

This year, he published a children's book called "Mio The Beautiful" about his daughter's experience.

And he gives talks in schools to raise awareness of an issue that he says Japanese teachers are often not equipped to handle.

Braithwaite, a teacher himself, sees discrimination in Japan as largely driven by "ignorance, not hate".

Athletes like Osaka and Hachimura give his two children "role models", he said.

And the pair are huge fans -- "My son has a Rui Hachimura water bottle, he has his hair cut like Rui, he plays basketball," he laughed.

"For Japanese people, it sort of opens their eyes too, which is a good thing."

- Representation 'does matter' -

Japan remains a largely homogenous society.

An analysis of government data by Kyodo News agency found just 20,000 of 1.02 million babies born in 2014 had Japanese and non-Japanese parents.

And only recently has the image of mixed Japanese started to include those with black heritage, said Sayaka Osanami Torngren, associate professor of international migration and ethnic relations at Malmo University in Sweden.

"Historically, mixed persons have always existed (in Japan), but the image of mixed persons has always been white or Caucasian and Japanese," said Torngren.

Now, more people of black and Japanese or mixed Asian heritage are "raising their voices and addressing their experiences of discrimination or racism".#photo3

Even stars like Washington Wizards power forward Hachimura and Osaka are not immune to racist language and tone-deaf depictions.

In 2019, Osaka's sponsor Nissin Foods was accused of "whitewashing" over an animated advert depicting the 23-year-old with light skin, and a Japanese comedy duo apologised after joking she was "too sunburned" and needed "bleach".

Hachimura meanwhile revealed this year that he receives racist messages "almost every day".

"There are people who say there is no racism in Japan," wrote his brother Aren Hachimura, posting a hateful message he received online.

"But I want people to pay attention to the issue of racism."

So seeing Hachimura and Osaka represent Japan on the global stage is important, said Torngren.

"Even though it might be token, it does matter."

© 2021 AFP

Hair today, green tomorrow: UK stylists join eco-drive

Issued on: 24/07/2021 -

Stylist and salon owner Adam Reed is part of a collective in Britain urging more hairdressers to recyle unwanted hair DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS AFP


London (AFP)

Hairdressers across Britain are being urged to do their bit for the environment by recycling snipped-off hair to help clean up oil spills, make compost or generate energy.

At an east London salon, Fry Taylor, one of the founders of the Green Salon Collective, demonstrates spare hair being used in depolluting filters.

He shows how a cotton net stuffed with hair, swept across the surface of a tank of water contaminated with motor oil, instantly cleans up the pollutant.

"The hair just naturally will absorb the oil and hold on to the oil, that's the important factor," Taylor, a former hairdresser, told AFP.

A kilo of hair can absorb up to eight litres (two gallons) of oil, according to experts.

The idea of using hair filters originated in the United States and has already been tested in real disasters, such as when a Japanese tanker sank off the coast of Mauritius a year ago.

Britain was lagging behind in recycling unwanted hair when the collective formed last summer, according to Taylor.

"There are, in other countries around the world, recycling systems for hairdressing salons," he said.

"In the UK and Ireland, they just don't have the infrastructure.

"We're not going to wait another five or 10 years for governments and councils to have these systems in place, let's just do it ourselves," he added.

- Green tax -

The waste produced by the hairdressing industry in the UK each year could fill 50 football stadiums, the collective said.

Most rubbish, including aluminium foil, coloured tubes and 99 percent of cut hair, is sent to a landfill site, it added.

Another big problem is chemical waste such as dyes and bleaches.

"There are currently approximately 30,000 salons and another 100,000 freelancers" who are pouring hydrogen peroxide and ammonia into water systems, Taylor said.

The collective is encouraging salons to save these products in a small bin, which it then collects and sends to a facility to produce electricity.#photo2

Hair stylist Adam Reed, who owns a salon in London's trendy Spitalfields neighbourhood, is a recent convert to the recycling mission and proudly explains his system to customers.

Saying he was "blown away" by what the Green Salon Collective had taught him, the internationally-renowned hairdresser added he "didn't quite realise the enormity of it" beforehand.

"It made me realise that sustainability in salons is something that had been missing and it's really easy to bring into the salon," he said.

"We have our bins, all labelled, so it's easy to navigate."#photo3

Hair, protective equipment, metals, papers and plastics each have their own bin.

The salon, which pays a £120-fee ($192, 140 euros) to be a member of the collective, also recycles leftover dye product.

Reed charges clients a "green tax" of one or two pounds, and has so far received a "very positive response".

- 'Super food' -

Composting is another green use of hair, whose rich nitrogen content makes it an ideal fertiliser supplement.

Collective member Ryan Crawford, owner of a salon in the town of Milton Keynes, northwest of London, has experimented with hair on his vegetables in the garden.

On a sunny July day, he showed AFP two young cabbage shoots: one, surrounded by hair, is intact; the other, planted without hair, is skeletal and gnawed.

"It's like a protective barrier around the base of the new seedlings," he said.

"It's definitely worked keeping things like slugs or snails off," he added, saying that putting hair directly into the soil also helps retain moisture and acts as "a super-food for the earth," replenishing nitrogen levels.#photo4

Over the last year, around 600 salons in the UK and Ireland have joined the collective, which has amassed around 500 kilos of hair.

It has been used to clean up waterways, an oil spill in Northern Ireland in May and for composting.

The collective has also gathered 3.5 tonnes of metal, which is being recycled.

It now hopes to export the model on a large scale across Europe.

© 2021 AFP

TIT FOR TAT
China imposes sanctions on US citizens, rights groups under new law


Issued on: 24/07/2021 

Former US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross at the State Department in Washington in September 2020. Ross is among seven US citizens and entities targeted by Chinese sanctions. © Erin Scott, REUTERS


China said on Friday that it has imposed counter-sanctions on U.S. individuals including former U.S. commerce secretary Wilbur Ross in response to recent U.S. sanctions on Chinese officials in Hong Kong.

The sanctions are the first imposed by China under its new anti-foreign sanction law, passed in June, and come days before U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman is due to visit China amid deeply strained ties.

China also imposed unspecified "reciprocal counter-sanctions" on current and former representatives of a range of organisations, including the Congressional-Executive Commission on China and the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

Other institutions named included the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, the International Republican Institute, Human Rights Watch (HRW), and the Washington-based Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC).

"The U.S. side concocted the so-called Hong Kong business advisory, baselessly smeared Hong Kong's commercial environment, and illegally sanctioned Chinese officials in Hong Kong," China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"These actions seriously violated international law and the basic principles of international relations, and seriously interfered in China's internal affairs," the ministry said.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told a regular news briefing that the United States was "undeterred" by China's move, which came after Washington last week issued its business advisory for Hong Kong and imposed sanctions on more Chinese officials over Beijing's crackdown on democracy in the former British colony.

"These actions are the latest examples of how Beijing punishes private citizens, companies and civil society organizations as a way to send political signals," Psaki said, adding that they illustrated the very risks about which the U.S. government had warned.

Ross could not be immediately reached for comment.

It was the second time this year that China has imposed sanctions on officials who served under former President Donald Trump, who adopted a tough line on Beijing and confronted it over trade, business practices, human rights and other issues.

Around the time Biden was sworn in as president in January, China announced sanctions against outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and 27 other top Trump officials.

​The Biden administration called that move "unproductive and cynical."

Biden has sought to rally allies and partners to help counter what the White House says are China's increasingly coercive economic and foreign policies.

But U.S. officials say Sherman's trip over the weekend to China, where she is due to meet Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, is an effort to ensure that competition between the two powers does not spill over into conflict.

Some of the groups hit by Beijing largely dismissed any negative impact of the sanctions. The HKDC said on Twitter that being targeted by China's ruling Communist Party was the "best validation" of its fight for Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement.


Human Rights Watch's China director Sophie Richardson, who was sanctioned by China by name on Friday, called the move "hollow."

"These are diplomatic tantrums that are designed to distract attention away from Beijing's complicity in crimes against humanity," she said, referring to China's alleged human rights abuses in its western region of Xinjiang. China has dismissed the accusations.

(REUTERS)

First Nations advocate earns prestigious national designation

A 19th century First Nations advocate is being recognized by the federal government more than 150 years after she died.

Nahnebahwequay, who was a member of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation located near Brantford, Ont., advocated against colonial policies that forced Indigenous people from their lands.

Nahnebahwequay, who was also known as Nahnee, even travelled to England in 1860 to plead her case over a land dispute to Queen Victoria, concerns that fell on deaf ears.

Though few Canadians are aware of Nahnebahwequay’s accomplishments, that is about to change soon.

That’s because on Wednesday, July 21, Jonathan Wilkinson, the minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced that Nahnebahwequay has been designated as a person of national historic significance.

“Nahnebahwequay was a lifelong champion of Indigenous land rights at a time when Indigenous peoples were forcibly removed and dispossessed from their lands,” Wilkinson said. “Her many accomplishments are all the more remarkable given that she was an Indigenous woman who challenged colonial land policies as well as conceptions of women during her era.”

Nahnebahwequay was born in 1824 and died in 1865.

“Nahnebahwequay means 'Upright Woman' in the Ojibwe language,” Wilkinson said. “On behalf of the Government of Canada, it is my honour to commemorate the national historic significance of this Mississauga advocate who so embodied her name and dignified her cause.”

Her designation comes via the National Program of Historical Commemoration.

Darin Wybenga, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation’s traditional knowledge and land use coordinator, nominated Nahnebahwequay for the prestigious accolade on behalf of his First Nation.

“It’s a very simple process,” Wybenga said of the nomination application he sent in. “You just write a letter to the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada and they do the research for you. You just give them a name and they will do the research.”

Wybenga, a former teacher who retired five years ago and then started working for his First Nation, said he is a bit surprised Nahnebahwequay was not honoured previously.

“As far as I know, she was never nominated before,” he said. “If you Google her name there is a lot of information available about her. I guess people just didn’t see fit to nominate her before.”

Wybenga said he mailed off his nomination application before the COVID-19 pandemic started. But it was only a couple of weeks ago that he received a letter indicating that the federal government would indeed be giving Nahnebahwequay a national designation.

“I was elated,” Wybenga said. “And I thought this is just great.”

Wybenga explained why he felt it was necessary to nominate her.

“I was impressed by the dignity and the resolve of Nahnee as she worked to resolve her grievances and that of her people,” he said. “Largely unknown or forgotten by the people of our First Nation, she emerges from our past as an exemplary person. She teaches lessons about perseverance, resilience, and integrity as she confronts the government of the day; she challenges stereotypes regarding women and First Nations that people held in the past and that are existent to this day.”

The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada was created in 1919. The board advises the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, who is also responsible for Parks Canada, regarding the designation of people, places and events of national historic significance.

Since the board’s inception slightly over a century ago, more than 2,200 designations have been made across the country.

Wybenga said a plaque will be created to recognize Nahnebahwequay’s achievement.

“We want to discuss with the board where it will go,” Wybenga said, adding he’d be in favour of the plaque being placed somewhere along the Credit River. “We want to get a place that is fitting.”

Wybenga believes deciding the ideal location for the spot and planning a ceremony to unveil it could take some time.

“I think it’s going to take at least a year,” he said. “That will give us a little bit of time to decide how to celebrate this.”

Wybenga also said he believes Nahnebahwequay certainly deserves the honour being bestowed upon her.

“In the history of our First Nation, she is the most prominent Indigenous female to come down to us from the past,” he said. “It is not until the late 20th century and the early 21st century that female leaders surface prominently in the governance of our First Nation.”

He’s also hoping her accolade inspires others.

“Hopefully, the example of Nahnee and her commitment to justice will inspire others, from within our First Nation and elsewhere, to work on behalf of Indigenous rights.” Wybenga said.

Windspeaker.com

By Sam Laskaris, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com, Windspeaker.com

The Trump Admin Feuded With Local Leaders Over Pandemic Response. Now The Biden Admin Is Trying To Turn Back A Page In History

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 12: President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris meet with governors and mayors, including Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), Governor Asa Hutchinson (R-AR), Governor Michelle Lujan Grish

By Ana Maria Dimand and Benjamin M. Brunjes
|
July 24, 2021 9:00 a.m.

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis.

As the U.S. recovers from the pandemic, the Biden administration is working to rebuild relationships across levels of government, from the top to the bottom, that were strained during the presidency of Donald Trump.

In November 2020, Biden offered urban leaders a seat at the table in coronavirus recovery efforts, promising to avoid partisanship. Addressing the National League of Cities in March 2021, Harris praised urban leadership on COVID-19 – cities like Seattle and New York were among the first to respond to the pandemic, developing testing protocols, tracking new infections and supplying equipment for hospitals – and highlighted the administration’s plans to help pay for improvements to local infrastructure.

The COVID-19 crisis highlighted the importance of government leaders working together.

The U.S. government system, called federalism, shares power among the national, state and local governments. This system allows local control over most day-to-day government decisions. Local control means that policies can be tailored to the needs and limitations of each community.

But with the onset of COVID-19 in early 2020, tensions in this shared system boiled over. Instead of collaborating, the federal government rebuffed state and local governments desperate for critical information and lifesaving supplies.

States and cities competed over medical equipment, testing capacity and supplies and other needs. Densely populated cities, many feuding with the federal government, were hardest hit.

Federalism seemed to fail, slowing the response and leading to deaths.

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser called successfully in 2016 for raising the district’s minimum wage to $15, stepping in where the federal government had failed to act. 

Change in approach

In contrast to the previous administration, the Biden administration is treating local governments as key partners in a variety of areas, including public health.

It has taken steps to give local policymakers more control over the allocation and distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations, while setting national policies to hasten the availability of vaccines.

Reasserting closer relationships between the federal government and state and local partners may signal a shift toward more collaboration in general.

The federal government can use its power and position to drive change at the local level. A more collaborative relationship can help the federal government understand communities’ needs, leading to new policies and priorities. Close partnership may also increase awareness of federal resources that are available, helping state and local governments identify programs to better support their residents.

But as our research shows, federal dominance can also be counterproductive.
How federalism does – and doesn’t – work

Federal and state governments are responsible for national or regional priorities, such as defense, diplomacy and the raising and redistribution of tax revenues.

But local governments deliver the most-used public services, including schools, transportation, parks and public health. As a result, local governments are perhaps the most important in people’s daily lives.

Local governments both make and implement policy. In areas where the federal and state governments are silent or inactive, local governments often innovate to address community needs. That freedom to innovate helps local governments generate policies that can work their way up and across the federal system.

For example, despite backlash from state and national leaders, various cities – like Austin, Los Angeles, Virginia Beach and Washington, D.C. – have led the way on social and environmental policies, adopting and advocating for higher minimum wages, fracking limitations, sanctuaries for Second Amendment rights and reducing law enforcement violence.

Scholars have noted changes in the dynamics of these relationships throughout history. During some eras, the federal government has more power over policymaking. At other times, state and local governments exert greater influence.

For example, President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society welfare programs – Medicare, Medicaid and food stamps – increased the federal government’s influence on state and local governments. New federal requirements mandated spending on social programs, often requiring matching funds from state and local governments. And new state and local agencies had to be established to implement federal priorities.

Federal dollars shared with local governments to fight poverty came with strings attached. Examples include requirements to meet environmental standards and adopt nondiscrimination policies.

With the advent of welfare reform in the mid-1990s, the federal government relaxed some of these requirements. As a result, state and local governments were given more flexibility over policy and spending decisions.

Our recent research indicates the balance of power in the federal system affects government performance and the safety of Americans. During the COVID-19 response, the federal government failed to partner with state and local governments. As a result, there were problems finding and delivering crucial supplies like masks and ventilators, leading to needless deaths.

President Lyndon Johnson, shown here, expanded the authority of the federal government with his Great Society programs.    AP Photo

Critical work

Historically, presidents have taken a range of approaches to managing the federal system.

Johnson’s Great Society programs expanded the authority of the federal government. Federal agencies gained the power to create and manage the details of the effort to eradicate poverty, hunger and discrimination.

President Richard Nixon’s “new federalism” sent money in so-called “block grants” to state and local governments to carry out different federal initiatives. This allowed local governments some power over policy design and implementation.

President Ronald Reagan’s “pragmatic federalism” emphasized privatization – using private-sector organizations to deliver services – and decentralization. Reagan used markets to deliver government services through competitive contracts and grants.

In more recent years, scholars have accused Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama of returning to the more coercive federalism of Johnson’s Great Society. To encourage state and local governments to adopt federal priorities, federal funds under these presidents again included strings, increasing tensions between these levels of government.

[Understand what’s going on in Washington. Sign up for The Conversation’s Politics Weekly.]

Under President Trump, these tensions reached an apex. Cities clashed with the federal government over immigration policy, law enforcement violence and health care – and, ultimately, over how to handle the pandemic.
Biden’s approach

Much of Biden’s proposed sweeping infrastructure plan addresses problems of rural and urban areas, such as caregiving, clean energy and health care. Other parts confront regional issues, such as transportation, where states play an important role.

With the understanding that coordination among all levels of government helps address problems more effectively, one step Biden might take is to revive the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. This commission operated from 1959 to 1996, offering presidents and federal agencies guidance on issues that spanned the federal system’s layers. The commission helped address abuses of power in the federal system and strengthened partnerships between governments.

As scholars, we know that policy issues are rarely independent. Global climate change affects local transportation policies, while health care issues are often closely linked to education and agriculture.

Local governments are important players in the federal system. Over the next year, they will be critical in continued efforts to vaccinate the American public and prepare for disasters like hurricanes and wildfires.

Given the complexity of modern policy problems, renewed consideration of how all levels of government can approach such big issues could help solve them.


Ana Maria Dimand is an assistant professor of Public Policy and Administration at Boise State University.

Benjamin M. Brunjes is an assistant professor of Public Policy at the University of Washington.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

“Our anger has reached a boiling point”
Protests against the Tokyo Olympics erupt across Japan as COVID-19 cases continue to surge

Emily Ochiai

WSWS
10 hours ago

The Olympic Games began yesterday as COVID-19 continued to surge in Japan and in particular the host city Tokyo, one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Japan’s seven-day average for new cases surpassed 3,500 on Thursday. The bulk of new cases were in Tokyo which had nearly 2,000 confirmed cases just one day before the opening of the Olympic Games. Currently, 2,544 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Tokyo alone.

Experts warn that the daily number of cases in Tokyo might exceed 3,000, but the government of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has repeatedly declared that it will not cancel the Games. A government official, whose identity has been kept anonymous by the media, was quoted as saying, that “[the number of projected daily cases] is just fine. There is no reason to cancel the Olympics” referring to a previously calculated projected daily infection number of over 2,400.

Though the ruling class of Japan has no intention of hiding its indifference to human life, the working class of Japan has been fighting back. Demonstrations erupted all over Japan this week. Hundreds, particularly youth, have been protesting in Tokyo in the weeks leading up to the Games that began yesterday.

During the opening ceremonies on the evening of July 23rd, around 700 people marched from Harajuku station and gathered outside of Tokyo’s National Stadium in opposition. The demonstrators demanded immediate shutdown of the event and an effective “lockdown” of all non-essential activities in order to prevent a super spreader event.

Confronted with excessive police force, at least two protesters were arrested as crowds denounced the immense health dangers that are being buried to prop up the geo-political position of the Japanese government and to stoke nationalism.

A nurse at Tokyo Metropolitan Hospital stressed the real dangers of the situation and its implications, stating, “Tokyo saw more than 1,300 cases today. What this means is that in the following week, we will have at least 30 people in the ICU.” He continued “we don’t have a cure for COVID-19 and the vaccines are not perfect. So clearly, preventing infection must be the first priority. What is needed urgently in order to save lives is to stop the Olympics.” A banner held up by multiple people read “OLYMPICS KILL THE POOR,” an expression of how the decade-long Olympics preparation has affected the working class. Thousands were displaced and billions have been siphoned from public funds to cover the enormous costs of construction.

Anti-Olympic protestors demonstrate near the National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan where the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics took place, Friday, July 23, 2021 [Credit: AP Photo/Kantaro Komiya]

Over the past week numerous marches have taken place. Hundreds marched near the Olympics Village Plaza in Chuo City Tokyo last weekend. The demonstrators demanded, “Limiting the spread of COVID-19 must be the priority, not the Olympics.” Banners were held up stating, “Protect lives! We Oppose the forced hosting of the Olympics.”

On the same day 120 people also marched from Tsukiji to the headquarters of the Tokyo Olympics Committee. Protesters denounced the gutting of social services and indifference to loss of human life chanting, “Cancel it! We refuse the Olympics-induced-disaster,” “Olympics are killing us,” “Put effort in welfare programs, not the Olympics.”

A doctor who attended the demonstration told the Asahi Shimbun, “In the past week, we had 6 airport employees visiting our hospital per day. At least one person tests positive for PCR every day. It’s definitely increasing.” She continued, “It was after the marathon test tournament in Sapporo on May 5th. I was dispatched for 5 days and the conditions were terrible. But I feel that this was one of the better cases of the government employing medical institutes. Considering this, it is scary how things will turn out in such a big city like Tokyo. The best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is to cancel the Olympics Games.”

Thirty-seven organizations opposing the Olympics released a joint statement addressed to the International Olympics Committee President Thomas Bach declaring, “Our anger has reached a boiling point.”

On July 17 hundreds gathered in Sapporo in Hokkaido Prefecture, site of the Olympics marathon. Cases in Hokkaido are on the rise with two consecutive days with case number over 100. The prefecture is quickly approaching the limit for a state of emergency.

A protester declared, “People’s lives are at risk because of the pandemic. Why should we prioritize the Olympics?” Another stated, “All the money spent on the games should be used for those affected by COVID-19 and for a better healthcare system infrastructure.”

Denouncing the enormous amount of money spent on the Games—now well over $15 billion dollars, a graduate student told the Asahi Shimbun, “There are too many issues with the Olympics, even without the pandemic, such as the soaring operating costs, expulsion of residents for redevelopment, and unclear flow of money. How can they justify holding the Games while leaving all these problems unresolved?”

Further exposing the criminality of the ruling class, it was revealed that the Tokyo Government is refusing to vaccinate the estimated 8,000 Olympics and Paralympics staff and workers. The Tokyo government previously claimed that all personnel at the Games would be completely vaccinated. However, they notified the workers that they will receive their second round of shots after the Games.

The government stated this decision was made due to the possibility that “vaccine side effects during the Games have the risk of interfering with the operation.” Outraged by this irrational decision, a staff member told the media, “I was completely astounded to know that they are prioritizing the Games over vaccination. I am infuriated with the decision to force workers to operate with only one dose of vaccine. Since each staff members’ timeframe of work is different, they could have shifted the time of vaccination accordingly.”

The public outrage against the Games has become the central focus of anger against the Japanese ruling class and social inequality in Japan. In a desperate attempt to appear as though their hands were tied, the Suga government has promoted the notion that Japan was only given the option to postpone by one year, and have been forced by the IOC to host the Games to avoid losing their hosting status, emphasizing that taxpayers would suffer if the billions of dollars pumped into the grand infrastructure remained unused, having been paid for with tax dollars.

However, this has been proven to be a lie. In reality the Japanese government has actively pursued hosting the Olympics this year, despite being given the option to postpone until 2022. Yasuhiro Sakaue, sociology professor at Hitotsubashi University specializing in sports told Jiji Press, “Former Prime Minister Abe requested to postpone it by 1 year, instead of 2 years which was proposed by the IOC. The IOC emphasized that the insurance that the Japanese Government would be eligible for would not be effective if they decide to postpone it instead of cancelling. It was a conscious decision of Abe to take this risk.”

Demonstrations and protests are anticipated to continue throughout the Games which are scheduled to close on August 8. The fight to stop this public health emergency must be joined by workers internationally in a common struggle against the capitalist system and the bourgeoisie of every nation who are carrying out herd immunity policies in the wake of new and more dangerous variants of the virus.

WSWS 

Resurfaced video shows Activision Blizzard execs on panel that joked about 

over-sexualized female characters

kmclaughlin@businessinsider.com (Kelly McLaughlin) 

© Associated Press Associated Press

A video showing Activision Blizzard executives joking about over-sexualized female video game characters in "World of Warcraft" resurfaced on Twitter.

The video resurfaced amid news the company is being sued, in a lawsuit accusing it of having a "frat boy" culture where women were routinely harassed.

Activision Blizzard called the allegations "distorted, and in many cases false" in a statement.

A video showing Activision Blizzard executives joking about over-sexualized female video game characters resurfaced this week after California sued the company, accusing the gaming giant of having a "frat boy" culture where women were routinely harassed.

The video, from 2010, shows a woman asking the executives at a panel about female characters in the online game "World of Warcraft."

"I love the fact that you have a lot of very strong female characters, however, I was wondering if we could have some that don't look like they've stepped out of a Victoria's Secret catalog?" the woman asked.

The panel, made up of all men, laughed and asked which catalog she would rather the characters come out of.

During the panel, J. Allen Brack - now the president of the company - makes a rocker gesture with both his hands after another panelist cracks a joke about female versions of an ox-like race in the game.

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) sued Activision Blizzard - which produces hits like Call of Duty and Overwatch - and two of its subsidiaries on Tuesday, saying women at the company had been sexually harassed, paid less than their male counterparts, and retaliated against when they complained.

The bombshell lawsuit shocked the video game industry, with some influencers already reconsidering working with the company.

Activision Blizzard called the allegations "distorted, and in many cases false," in a statement on Tuesday. In a memo leaked to Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, Allen wrote: "I disdain 'bro culture,' and have spent my career fighting against it."

People didn't rush back to work when their unemployment benefits were cut early, a new study finds, despite what some GOP governors predicted

acooban@businessinsider.com (Anna Cooban,Juliana Kaplan)

© Ralph Freso/Getty Images Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey cut federal employment benefits in the state on July 10. Ralph Freso/Getty Images

A new study found employment fell slightly in states that cut federal unemployment benefits early.

Some GOP governors have blamed unemployment benefits for sluggish jobs growth.

The study analyzed US Census Bureau survey data from between April and July.

People did not immediately return to work in some states that cut federal unemployment insurance (UI) early, a new analysis found.

In the 12 states that cut the benefit on either June 12 or 19, employment was largely flat in the weeks after, Arindrajit Dube, an economics professor at University of Massachusetts Amherst, found during an analysis of US Census Bureau data.

"Certainly there was no immediate boost to employment during the 2-3 weeks following the expiration of the pandemic UI benefits," Dube said.

Twenty-six states, mostly led by Republican governors, have said they will cut - or have already cut - the federal government's $300 weekly top-up for unemployed Americans ahead of its planned September 6 expiration. Dube's analysis focused on the impact of cutting the $300, as well as states that cut other pandemic UI programs.

Cutting UI was followed by a slight drop in the share of the population receiving benefits - but Dube found the proportion of people employed also fell slightly in these states over the same period.

Employment share rose 0.2 percentage points in states where benefits were still available, he said.

Dube told Insider that "even as there was a clear reduction in the number of people who were receiving unemployment benefits - and a clear increase in the number of people who said that they were having difficulty paying their bills - that didn't seem to translate, at least in the short run, into an uptick in overall employment rates."

Video: New data shows those on unemployment are not rushing back to work (NBC News)

Read more: Slashing unemployment benefits isn't just a terrible economic idea - it's a cruel gut punch for millions of Americans

Dube's study used the most recent Household Pulse Survey (HPS), which collected employment data on 18-to-65-year-olds for the April 14 to July 5 period. The HPS asked respondents whether they had received UI in the past seven days, and if they were currently in work.

Some governors and businesses have blamed unemployment benefits for sluggish growth in hiring, and said the money held back economic growth.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who cut all federal UI programs in the state on July 10, said in a May press release that he wanted to use "federal money to encourage people to work … instead of paying people not to work."

Dube's findings suggest that, at least in the short term, withdrawing funding has not led to a boom in employment. We need to wait longer to understand the full impact of the cuts, he said.

Dube's analysis is supported by an Indeed study in June, which said that overall job-search activity had declined in states that cut benefits early.

But the evidence is mixed: Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released in July showed that 13 of the 15 states where employment rates are closest to their pre-pandemic levels had cut the $300 federal UI payments early.

The number of initial UI claims unexpectedly rose to 419,000 in the week ending July 17, up 51,000 from the previous week, despite a general downward trend, according to figures from the Department of Labor.

And, even if it does impact people's willingness to take a job immediately, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Many people take a little longer to find an ideal match or position, Dube told Insider.

"That's actually potentially a really good thing that could help those workers, but also improve productivity levels in the economy overall."

CLASS CONCIOUSNESS WOBBLE THE JOB

Restaurant workers are quitting in the middle of their shifts, reports say. 

The sector is facing an uphill battle

 to retain workers amid the labor shortage

.
kshalvey@insider.com (Kevin Shalvey) 2 hrs 

 Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Restaurant staffers were "just walking out in the middle of their shifts," CNN Business reported.

Restaurants have struggled to attract employees amid the labor shortage.

Hostesses, "the dishwashers, the bussers ... they'll walk out," a restaurant server told CNN.


An employee at a chain restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona, told CNN Business that fellow staffers were sometimes "just walking out in the middle of their shifts" amid the US labor shortage.

"[Hostesses who] seat the tables, the dishwashers, the bussers ... they'll walk out," a server at Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen told the news network.

The story amounted to the latest in a series of dispatches from the frontlines of American restaurants, which have been struggling to attract employees as the world slowly returns to normalcy.

Workers have been leaving their jobs at high rates, giving job seekers all the power this summer. About 75% of independent restaurants said they were struggling to attract staff. Some have had to temporarily close because of staff shortages.

Video: Why It's So Hard to Get Restaurant Workers Back (Bloomberg)

Insider has reached out to Darden, the restaurant chain's corporate owner, for comment.

Darden's chief operating officer, Rick Cardenes, in May told investors that staff productivity had increased this year, driven partly by menu redesigns and food preparation improvements.

Staff have been handling about 20% more guests per hour across the company's restaurants, which include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, he said.

"We think that we're fairly well-staffed right now, and as the environment continues to improve, we see no reason why we are not the employer of choice in our businesses," CEO Gene Lee said.

On the same investor conference call, Lee said the improvement in productivity has been "resulting in these record-level margins" for the company's restaurants.

At the Phoenix Cheddar's restaurant, a staffer told CNN: "It's almost like we're running double the restaurant, comparatively, with half the staff."

CALIFORNIA

Tamarack Fire: Before it grew into out-of-control blaze, Forest Service decided to let it burn

By Sarah Moon and Stella Chan, CNN 

A massive wildfire raging out of control in the rugged mountains straddling the California-Nevada border, tearing through tens of thousands of acres was initially determined by US Forest Service officials to not be a threat and allowed to burn.

© Noah Berger/AP The Tamarack Fire burns in Alpine County, California, on Saturday, July 17.

The lightning-sparked Tamarack Fire, first discovered on July 4 in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, was initially confined to a single tree burning on a ridgetop "with sparse fuels and natural barriers to contain it," according to the Forest Service, which posted a video of the small smoldering fire in a Facebook post.

"The tactical management decision is not to insert fire crews due to safety concerns, however, this is not an unresponsive approach," the Forest Service said in a July 10 Facebook post along with the video. "Smoke might be visible to Pacific Crest Trail hikers but the .25 acre fire is surrounded by granite rocks, a small lake and sparse fuels."

Despite the Forest Service's statement, which assured that the fire "poses no threat to the public, infrastructure or resource values," the wildfire has since gone on to scorch 58,417 acres and at least 10 structures in California and Nevada.

As of Friday afternoon, it was only 4% contained, with more than a thousand firefighting personnel on scene.

The decision to not initially put out the fire has outraged lawmakers in California and Nevada.

In a letter to Forest Service Chief Vickie Christiansen dated Tuesday, California Rep. Tom McClintock, who represents the rugged Sierra Nevada region where the fire was sparked, demanded to know "why there was a lack of suppression action to combat the Tamarack Fire that began on July 4, 2021 until after July 10, 2021," according to a statement from his office.

"Given the number of wildfires and their increasing size coupled with severe fire danger conditions throughout the West, I recommend that you immediately reevaluate current US Forest Service direction that allows wildfires to burn and instruct all Regional Foresters that all wildfires should be suppressed as soon as possible," said McClintock in the letter.

The Forest Service defended its decision to not initially douse the fire, saying in a statement "the steep, rugged, and remote terrain presented challenges to safely suppress this wilderness fire" and added that resources were limited and had to be assigned to higher-priority fires, like the East Fork Fire.

"The initial suppression strategy stemmed from the need to prioritize resources for wildfires that posed immediate threats to communities, as well mitigating risks to our firefighter safety in comparison to the threats from the fire at that time," the Forest Service said.

Growing fire crosses state line

Instead, the Tamarack Fire was monitored by air and fire cameras, the Forest Service said, until July 16 when the still-small fire was fanned by powerful winds and low humidity, causing it to rapidly spread.

On Tuesday, the growing blaze crossed the state line and into Douglas County, Nevada.

Nevada state Assemblyman Jim Wheeler, who represents that district, tweeted his incredulity.

"Firefighters doing everything they can to stop this monster. Still can't believe the USFS and Cal Fire let it grow from ¼ acre when it was first discovered," he wrote Thursday.

Like McClintock, Wheeler wants to know why the fire was allowed to burn and is requesting an investigation by the state attorney general.

Wheeler told CNN Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford "received the letter and will look into it."

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak declared an emergency in Douglas County on Friday, freeing up more resources to fight the blaze.

"Now, more than ever we must stand united and use all our available resources to combat this growing threat in order to help our fellow Nevadans receive the aid they need," Sisolak said in a written statement.

California's Gov. Gavin Newsom also proclaimed a state of emergency in Alpine County on Friday due to the fire.