Tuesday, February 08, 2022

Why progressives should be cautious about the anti-war right

Joel Mathis, Contributing Writer
Mon, February 7, 2022,

Jane Fonda and Tucker Carlson. Illustrated | AP Images, Getty Images, iStock

For most of my life, the anti-war movement — such as it is — has been a primarily left-of-center phenomenon.

When you think of the Vietnam War, images of hippies, Jane Fonda and Eugene McCarthy probably come to mind. The "nuclear freeze" campaign of the 1980s was similarly a lefty occurrence. When President George W. Bush prepared to launch the invasion of Iraq in 2003, it was mostly liberals and leftists who took to the streets in protests — and when Americans got fed up with that misbegotten war, they elected Democrats to put an end to it. (That didn't work out quite as well as hoped.) Donald Trump may have negotiated the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, but it was Joe Biden who completed it. There have been paleoconservative exceptions to the rule, and the Democratic Party isn't exactly filled with peaceniks, but the hawks-versus-doves clash in this country has largely been a right-against-left conflict.

Now Russia appears to be on the cusp of invading Ukraine — Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, warned Sunday that war could come within days — and some of the loudest voices for U.S. restraint are coming from conservatives. It's kind of weird!

There's Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), arguing that the U.S. should make clear that Ukraine will never be allowed to join NATO. There's Tucker Carlson, delivering nightly screeds against U.S. involvement in the standoff on Fox News. And there's a vocal group of fresh-faced Trumpist politicians who are following Carlson's lead, echoing his arguments against intervention as they run for office. A generation of GOP hawks seems uncertain how to handle the moment.

That's led some observers to wonder if there might be a natural alliance between those elements on the left and right urging U.S. restraint in Eastern Europe. "If Ukraine joined NATO, the risk would increase," my colleague Jim Antle pointed out last month. "Could populists and progressives work together to stop it?"

Maybe. But there are a few reasons antiwar progressives should be cautious, at the very least, about making common cause with the Trumpist right:

The xenophobia: Carlson's opposition to aiding Ukraine is rooted — rhetorically, at least — in his longstanding inability to tell the difference between immigration and an actual military invasion. It's a chance to knock "open borders" Democrats. Why would we protect Ukraine's borders and not our own?

For Carlson, this is an explicitly racial question, cast in typically bad-faith terms. "Doesn't immigration increase diversity, the blessed source of all beauty, power, and strength? Well, sure, most of the time it does, but not in Ukraine," he said in a recent commentary. "People who look or speak differently, people from other places with, say, different religions, are not allowed in Ukraine, period. That's Nancy Pelosi's position. Ukraine is the one place Nancy Pelosi very much wants to keep racially pure." Carlson once rooted on the Iraq War by calling Iraqis "semi-literate primitive monkeys." His stance on U.S. force has evolved over the years; his racism hasn't.

The culture war weirdness: Conservative writer Rod Dreher has a longstanding history of skepticism regarding U.S. war-making: He was an early defector from the movement's near-monolithic support of the Iraq War. Since then, though, he has become shrilly obsessed with "wokeness" and LGBT issues, and has become one of the leading voices in the right's embrace of Hungary. The current standoff is no exception to that trend — Dreher believes American opposition to a Ukraine invasion stems from anger over Vladimir Putin's opposition to gay rights.

"This cold war with Russia is an extension of the culture war within American society, waged by elites against the American people," Dreher wrote in his blog at The American Conservative. That reading might be the product of Dreher's particular passions, but maybe not. Much of the right, after all, sees Putin as one of the world's leading defenders of Christendom.

The militarism: Hawley isn't really being dovish when he argues against Ukraine's entry into NATO. He just doesn't want America to divert its attention away from a possible confrontation with China. That's where the real action is. "The United States can no longer carry the heavy burden it once did in other regions of the world — including Europe," he recently wrote to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. "To the contrary, we must do less in those secondary theaters in order to prioritize denying China's hegemonic ambitions in the Indo-Pacific."

None of this is the humanist pacifism of, say, Martin Luther King Jr. or Daniel Berrigan. It's something darker, uglier, and angrier. That's unsurprising; the "America First" anti-war activism of Charles Lindbergh, for example, was inextricable from his anti-Semitism. Something similar was at play when Patrick Buchanan launched The American Conservative on the eve of the Iraq War. "For all its newfound pacifism," the writer Sam Tanenhaus noted at the time, "the 'Buchananite' worldview remains a bully's, more authoritarian than libertarian, its favorite targets minorities, the poor, and the weak." That's still true.

That doesn't mean that the anti-war left shouldn't work with whatever allies they can find. The goal of those who advocate American restraint should be to avoid a war with Russia, not to signal their own virtue. But they should tread carefully. The world that Tucker, Hawley, and the rest hope to create is very different from the one progressives want.
HIGHER RENT HIGHER INFLATION
Texas tenants hit with soaring rent increases see little relief in sight


Timia Cobb
Sun, February 6, 2022

When Rebecca Brown of Carrollton was told last year that her rent would increase by nearly $350 a month, she was left scrambling to find a more affordable place or try to negotiate the increase down.


Approaching the end of 2021, Rebecca Brown had a tough choice to make: Either renew a lease at her Carrollton apartment complex, which wanted $346 more a month in rent, or leave the area where she’d lived for five years.

When Brown reached out to her leasing office, she was told the rent increase couldn’t be negotiated. Her two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment’s rent would jump from $1,443 to $1,789. For Brown, the new price would be a struggle to afford.

“It stressed me out immediately because, I mean, that’s a huge jump,” Brown said. “That’s [about] $400. To try to come up with an extra $400 a month, that’s not that easy to do.”

Brown, a 37-year-old tax analyst, is far from alone. Across the state and country, a combination of social, economic and political forces are driving more people to look for rental housing but limiting the construction of units. That imbalance between supply and demand pushes rents upward, putting tenants in financial binds. And in Texas — where laws favor landlords, and rent control is virtually nonexistent — tenants are left to either take on additional jobs, cut other household costs or move out of the communities they prefer.

“I could have afforded the increase, but it just would’ve made the budget tighter,” Brown said. “So I was like, I have to start thinking about what my options are here.”

From March 2020 to last month, the estimated median rent of new leases has increased by double digits in several Texas cities, according to Apartment List. And it’s not just the big cities. Waco and Temple saw increases of more than 30% in that time frame.

In cities like New York and Los Angeles, rent control limits how much housing costs can increase on some units. And while such policies protect some tenants there, overall rental prices can still jump.

Texas allows rent control only if a city’s governing body determines there’s a housing emergency caused by a disaster. Even then, the decision to enact such a policy must be approved by the governor. The state’s government code lists many things that can be determined as a disaster, such as a flood, hurricane, drought and an epidemic. Texas’ landlord-friendly regulations — and lack of broader rent control — is increasingly making the state unaffordable for tenants, said Sandy Rollins, executive director of the Texas Tenants’ Union.

“It just leads to homelessness,” she said. “It leads to people having been priced out of the market.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Texas Tenants’ Union encouraged the city of Dallas to implement rent control, but the effort gained little traction, Rollins said.

“We thought people needed protection at this time and we certainly still think people need protection to be able to stay housed and because landlords are using the opportunity of low supply to jack rents,” Rollins said.
Supply and demand

Ian Mattingly, president of the Apartment Association of Greater Dallas, understands why some people think that rent control could help tenants feeling squeezed by higher prices.

But, he said, limiting how much landlords or property owners can make in rent could actually lead to fewer new units being built. That, in turn, could worsen the mismatch between what’s available and what people in his region are looking for.

“Just like any economic problem, the problem of pricing in housing is really related to supply and demand,” Mattingly said. “And the reason that the cost of housing — not just rental housing, but single-family housing — has gone up so much in North Texas over the past several years has really been because we are not producing enough supply to meet the demand.”

Since 2016, Texas has seen a 43% increase in the median cost of buying a home, according to research gathered from The Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University. In 2016, the median sales price was $210,000. Only five years later, the median price sat at $300,000.

The increase in sales prices has made it harder for people to buy a home, increasing the number of people looking to rent. Luis Bernardí Torres Ruiz, a research economist for the Real Estate Research Center said that’s only worsened during the pandemic.

“If you look at home price growth, historically, for single-family homes, they're at a really high historical level, an unprecedented level and unsustainable level,” Torres Ruiz said.

Meanwhile, the state’s continued population growth only increases demand for places to live. Texas gained the most residents of any state between 2010 and 2020, according to the latest census. It is home to three of the country’s 10 largest cities and four of the fastest-growing. That’s made it difficult for builders to keep up.

“The issue is, right now, because we had a big increase in people moving,” Torres Ruiz said. “In 2021, I think it was a record year on net people moving into our state and it's difficult. It's gonna be difficult for them to catch up.”
When politics poses challenges

Texas cities’ zoning regulations can limit what kinds of developments can be built in particular areas. And such restrictions can make it more difficult for developers to meet housing demand, particularly in constructing multifamily properties that can provide hundreds of rental units with one project. In larger cities, like Austin, residential zoning that favors single-family homes over multifamily projects has made affordable housing harder to find for many people looking to rent.

But loosening zoning requirements can be a fraught local political issue — and not just in major cities. Fights over zoning have also recently played out in suburbs, many of which have morphed from sleepy bedroom communities to magnets for an enviable number of major employers.

“There are cities, like Plano and Frisco, that have had real political struggles related to housing affordability because you want to preserve what municipal advocates have called their suburban character,” Mattingly said. “But the truth of the matter is, Plano and Irving, these cities have more national and regional headquarters than in many cities, but they don't have the housing stock that supports that.”

In addition to changing cities’ zoning ordinances, Mattingly said increasing the housing bonds administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs could help increase supply. Housing bonds can be allocated at the state or local level to finance affordable housing. The bonds can fund the construction of rental properties or help first-time homebuyers with moderate to low incomes pay their mortgage.

In 2021, Texas set a cap of $3.2 billion to help finance housing projects or programs within the state. Over $1 billion was reserved for single-family home mortgages and credit certificates, while $1.8 billion was set aside for multifamily projects.

In early January, Austin Mayor Steve Adler announced his plan for a $300 million to $500 million affordable housing bond for the city, which has struggled for years to provide enough affordable housing for existing and new residents. A housing bond of this magnitude aims to permit more housing to accommodate the growing number of residents and prevent longtime citizens from being priced out. Adler hopes to put the proposition before voters in November.

Still, Rollins sees rent control as a way to combat the financial pressure tenants face from so many social and political forces.

“Rent control doesn't stop somebody from making a profit, it just limits how much the rent can increase,” Rollins said. “So, places that have rent control boards, the landlords go before those boards and say ‘these are what my costs are and this is what I want to increase to’ and they ticket approval for the rent increase. It’s not like they’re told they can’t make money. They’re still making money. It’s just the gouging aspect of it is reduced.”

Rollins concedes that rent control likely wouldn’t solve the supply-and-demand imbalance if only some cities adopted it.

“I think that it would need to be widespread in order to mitigate any of the ... harmful impacts that there could be if one city has it and another city doesn't. Then landlords might build in the other city rather than the city that enacted a rent control law,” Rollins said.
Buying time

Brown agrees that Texas should have some form of rent control outside of disasters. Brown failed at finding a cheaper apartment in Carrollton. However, she discovered that many nearby apartments offered more amenities than her current complex — at the same price her new rent was going to be.

The way Brown saw it, she had three options.

“So option one: Pay the rent, look at other ways to cut my budget, maybe even get a part-time job to try to make up the difference,” Brown said. “Option two: Try to find a different place that has better amenities. And then, like I said, at least then I’m actually, you know, getting something out of paying the extra money a month. Or option three: Leave the area completely.”

Brown decided she’d try and negotiate with her current complex.

She sent an email giving examples of the prices — and amenities — at other apartments in the area and pleading her case as to why she believed the new rent price should be lowered. She also argued why she was a tenant worth having, noting she always paid her rent on time and never had any lease violations. She also said her son enjoys his school, making her dread the prospect of having to move even more.

Her apartment management lowered the rent for a new lease from $1,789 to $1,520 — only a $77 increase over her previous rent payment.

“I just kind of basically sold myself,” Brown said. “Whether they were going to say yes or no, at this point I had kind of made my mind up, you know. If they were gonna say, ‘no,’ then it’s like OK, I know my options, now I can see that I can probably get more for my money’s worth.”

That solved her immediate problem. But with the forces that push rent up still persisting, Brown worries about when her lease ends, scared that she won’t be able to find a reasonable price next year.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2022/02/04/texas-rent-prices/.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

More: Texas now has more jobs than it did before the pandemic hit

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Texas tenants hit with soaring rent increases; little relief in sight
New COVID-19 sick pay for California workers approved by lawmakers

Taryn Luna
Mon, February 7, 2022, 

Delivery vans leave an Amazon warehouse facility in Hawthorne.
 (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

California lawmakers passed legislation on Monday to provide most workers with up to two weeks of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave, a move policymakers hope will slow the spread of the coronavirus across the state.

"We all are quite aware of the surge of COVID-19 cases, and this act will help ensure that those employees that are sick can take the paid sick leave that they need so all of us are protected," said Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley).

For months, labor unions lobbied legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom to renew the state's sick leave mandate that expired in September. The new policy includes many of the same provisions of the 2021 law with some new rules negotiated by the business community to prevent abuse of the system.

The Legislature passed the proposal in conjunction with several other bills that provide companies with relief from unrelated tax limits the state placed on businesses in the early stages of the pandemic, and give Newsom an additional $1.9 billion in state budget funds to address testing, vaccinations, hospital surges and other COVID-19 emergency needs.

“As the Omicron surge intensified, workers screamed from the rooftops about the desperate need to reinstate COVID paid sick leave," California Labor Federation Executive Secretary-Treasurer Art Pulaski said in a statement. "The governor and Legislature heard frontline workers loud and clear, and we appreciate them acting with urgency to get this done. Once again, California shows it’s a national leader on worker protections and COVID mitigation."

The sick leave policy allows all workers at businesses of 26 or more employees to take paid time off to recover from COVID-19, care for a sick family member, attend a vaccination appointment, recover from immunization or take care of a child who cannot attend school because of virus-related closures or quarantines.

Business interests negotiated to allow companies to require employees to submit proof of a positive test to qualify for more time off after their first 40 hours are exhausted. In addition, the new policy limits workers to three days, or 24 work hours, to attend a vaccine appointment or recover from vaccine-related side effects, another request of business interests.

"California employers continue to do their part to keep employees and the public safe during this pandemic," Jennifer Barrera, president and CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement. "The COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave is another example of this, where employers will take on an additional burden to provide leave, but do so in order to protect the broader public."

Assemblymember Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield) voted against the sick leave legislation, saying it would hurt small businesses. Federal tax credits that offset California's last sick leave mandate expired last year, and Fong questioned why California would not provide a new tax credit or exemption for employers.

"This policy that is being rushed through the Legislature needs a tremendous amount more debate and discussion," he said. "This proposal is going to layer additional costs and burdens on top of an already difficult business environment."

As part of the agreement between the governor and legislative leaders to extend sick leave, the legislation was tied to several other proposals in Newsom's 2022-2023 budget plan last month that restore tax credits the state suspended and capped two years ago when officials feared the pandemic would damage the state's economy.

In 2020, the state suspended net operating loss deductions for corporate and individual taxpayers with business income of $1 million or more in tax years 2020, 2021 and 2022. One of the bills passed Monday would end the suspension of the tax credit one year early.

The legislation also removes a $5-million cap on most other business tax credits that were previously limited through the end of 2022. The bill allows businesses to receive a refund for any amounts in excess of the cap that could not be used in 2020 and 2021, or use the unused credits to offset taxes for the next five years.

The bills passed Monday also create tax conformity in California with federal Restaurant Revitalization Fund and Shuttered Venue Operators grants that supported restaurants, bars and other businesses during the pandemic.

As part of the deal, lawmakers approved an additional $1.9 billion for California's COVID-19 emergency fund. The funding includes $1.6 billion to the Department of Public Health for contact tracing, hospital surge, state response, statewide testing, vaccine distribution and administration, and information technology. Legislators approved an additional $205.5 million for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to provide care for COVID-19, minimize exposure to the virus and boost testing in state prisons.

With Newsom's signature expected this week, the sick leave legislation will be retroactive to Jan. 1 and expire on Sept. 30.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A Latina scientist co-created a new Covid vaccine. 

She's nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.


Albinson Linares, Noticias Telemundo
Mon, February 7, 2022, 

LONG READ

María Elena Bottazzi doesn't forget where she comes from. Her face softens as she, in the midst of complex scientific terms, speaks of Honduras as if she had left Tegucigalpa, its capital, yesterday.

“It never crossed my mind to look for a job at a multinational" company, she said with a broad smile in a video interview with Noticias Telemundo. "I am Central American and doing nonprofit projects is my way of giving back a little of what Honduras has given me.”

Together with Dr. Peter Hotez, Bottazzi, 56, a microbiologist, led the team from the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development that created the Corbevax vaccine for Covid-19, a patent-free drug that last month already received emergency authorization for use in India.

“Peter and I aspire to benefit people, which is why we created a vaccine for the poorest communities in the world. The team that we have built shares the same interest in promoting public health and, obviously, learning at the same time,” she said.

Corbevax is based on recombinant protein, a traditional technology that has been used for decades in well-established drugs such as hepatitis B and pertussis vaccines. This vaccine uses a careful amount of virus proteins in order to activate the body’s immune response, but without making patients sick.

To gain approval in India, two Phase III clinical trials were conducted at 33 research centers with more than 3,000 participants, ages 18 to 80. The tests determined that Corbevax was safe and well tolerated. The company said the vaccine was more than 90 percent effective against the original strain of Covid and more than 80 percent effective against the delta variant.

“It’s a much cheaper process than the messenger RNA technology that Pfizer or Moderna used. We chose the most scalable, reproducible and stable method with a yeast cell that ferments and coded it to produce these proteins," Bottazzi said. "That means you don’t have any animal derivatives, everything is synthetic. In addition, anyone can replicate it and collaborate with us."

María Elena Bottazzi

'I was in shock'

Last week, Bottazzi received a call from Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Texas, which she said turned out to be one of the great surprises of her life. Fletcher informed her that she had nominated Bottazzi and Hotez for the Nobel Peace Prize.

“The truth is that I was shocked, speechless. But we are very excited and grateful, because the simple fact that they have thought of us means that we are already winners," the scientist said, speaking with emotion.

Strategies to immunize the world’s population against Covid are moving slowly: About 59 percent of the world’s population has received at least one dose of a vaccine, according to Our World in Data, an Oxford University initiative that analyzes government reports globally.

However, the most worrying figure is that less than 9 percent of residents in low-income countries have received a dose.

The inequality in the distribution of vaccines has caused great indignation among activist groups, political movements and high-ranking officials of the World Health Organization.

While science has given us hope in the form of vaccines, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in December, "there is no doubt that the inequality in their distribution has caused many deaths."
The quest for health equity

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Bottazzi and her team decided to use the knowledge they had cultivated during decades of research to develop a drug that would be “free for everyone,” as she often says.

“Everyone talks about equity, but nobody does anything. That is why we created Corbevax, although we are a small team and it took us longer than the large laboratories," she said. "But we knew that it would not be enough with the projects of the multinationals, if we take into account the first and second doses, plus booster and pediatric doses, we are still missing 9,000 million doses,” she added.

For several years, Bottazzi and her team focused on creating vaccines against largely neglected diseases such as schistosomiasis (intestinal parasites) and Chagas' disease.

More than a decade ago, they began to investigate coronaviruses, when no one imagined the emergence of the pandemic that has disrupted health systems across the world. The team began developing vaccines for coronaviruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, and Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, until the funds they raised ran out.

“Our goal has always been to develop and manufacture cheap, durable vaccines to contribute to global health,” Bottazzi said.

When Covid began to spread around the world, researchers already knew of the technological advances that could help generate a drug to combat the novel coronavirus. But due to scarce public and private funding (among its private donors, a brand of vodka stands out; it brought the team a million dollars), it took them longer to manufacture the vaccine.

“We are looking for this concept of making transparent alliances, without patents, with partners who have the same outlook as we do, even if that is difficult and takes us a little longer," Bottazzi said. "Then Biological E, a large vaccine manufacturer in India, became interested, which promoted the development and we managed to get the emergency authorization in India. Now we are in talks with other countries such as Indonesia and Bangladesh."

As with many scientific feats, the creation of Corbevax is the product of past research that, at the time, didn't receive the attention and support it needed to further refine the processes and methods which were crucial to ultimately driving the drug forward.

Bottazzi warns that after the pandemic emergency is over, "we must continue investing in science, we have to be prepared for the emergence of other diseases."

Below, she answered several questions about the new vaccine she helped create.

What advantages does Corbevax offer, compared to other vaccines on the market?


The first thing is that its development is free, any government or company can contact us and we will give them the starter kit to start manufacturing. Our doses cost between $2 and $3, compared to the others. In recent trials, it’s over 80 percent effective with variants like beta and delta, and we’re looking into how it reacts with omicron.

Another important element is that these recombinant vaccines are very stable when produced, one can store them in normal refrigeration systems for a long time, unlike other drugs that expire quickly. We, for example, have had other vaccines stored for more than five years and they work perfectly.


Could this project boost the establishment of manufacturing operations in poor countries in Latin America and Africa?

Of course, that is our main interest. Many regions would benefit from learning about this vaccine development ecosystem to move away from technology dependency. Our Latin American countries, for example, always have to wait for someone to solve their problems, but this is an opportunity to begin to have regional self-sufficiency.

Right now, everyone wants to produce vaccines, but we have to see which are the best models, and what lessons are needed. The intention is to create a balanced ecosystem that not only gives priority to what the multinationals develop, but that also benefits, from an economic and scientific point of view, small local producers in developing countries who are in the process of developing [medicines or vaccines].

What would the process be like for this vaccine to be available in the United States, Europe and Latin America?


We have received thousands of emails from people interested in trying it because it is a more conventional technology and they trust the time we invested in its development. But, in the case of the United States and Europe, it will depend on getting allies who are interested in starting the process.

Another option is for the U.S. government to support us by buying doses from Biological E and donating them to countries that need them so much. And, although we are in talks with various Latin American countries, we are also working to obtain global approval that the World Health Organization can give, so that nations could receive our vaccine through the COVAX mechanism or the PAHO (Pan American Health Organization)
Revolving Fund


La científica María Elena Bottazzi en uno de los laboratorios
 del Centro de Desarrollo de Vacunas del Hospital Infantil de Texas. 
(Hospital Infantil de Texas)

What is your team’s next project?

Right now, we are working on a concept of a universal vaccine because we are concerned that, while we are vaccinated, the virus will continue to mutate. Omicron will end, but new variants will come. We do not know what other coronaviruses could emerge in the coming years; we have already seen that every five or 10 years, one appears. That’s why we have to keep investigating.

Do you have any message for Latin American girls who dream of becoming scientists?


My message is that it can be done, no matter what negative people say. Obviously it requires a lot of discipline and studies, first at school and then at university. I believe that having the opportunity to enter a university is essential in our countries.

I studied in Honduras, so it’s a lie that one always has to be educated in high-income countries. Our education, if you do your part and dedicate yourself, can achieve the excellence of the highest educational systems and we can learn what is needed.

Have you felt any type of discrimination during your work as a scientist?

I think it is essential to get rid of that impostor syndrome mentality. One always has that idea that since you are a woman and you come from studying in Latin American countries or spaces, you cannot compete to seek opportunities outside the country, but you can.

It is necessary to create an ecosystem of mentors, of people who recommend you and suggest options. That opens doors and opportunities, not only for studies, but also for work.

On many occasions, scientists are often criticized for not knowing how to convey the importance of their projects. What are your thoughts on this?


I studied to be a scientist, I am a microbiologist, but isolated microbiology is not enough. One has to be able to converse, participate and collaborate with many disciplines such as economics, engineering, mathematics and, of course, health sciences, because everything is needed.

It is not that you have to be a specialist in everything, but you must have that capacity, that intellectual flexibility to be able to have a conversation with different disciplines. I think that is something fundamental. One can focus scientifically on one aspect, but being able to explain it in an accessible language for the population that knows nothing about science is something very important.

After so many years of work and study, what does it mean to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize?


It means that with dedication and passion, and always maintaining our convictions, much can be achieved. We can help solve many global problems that we have around the world, especially inequity in health systems.

An earlier version of this article was first published on Noticias Telemundo.
Beijing’s fake Olympic snow requires at least 74 swimming pools of water but that may undercount — China vows reuse

Feb. 8, 2022
By Rachel Koning Beals

Beijing, where winters are dry, is the first Winter Olympics host to rely 100% on man-made snow; climate change won’t make host selection any easier


A snow machine is seen at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Center in Yanqing, China, during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. 
AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Dangerous wind gusts have come and gone, but the most reliable weather forecast for the Beijing Winter Olympics? 100% chance of fake snow.

Artificial snow isn’t new to the Winter Olympics, in part as climate change shrinks the number of countries that receive enough natural accumulation to hold the events. But Beijing, where winters are usually dry, is the first host to rely almost entirely on man-made powder.

The water-intensive artificial landscape is pitting the International Olympic Committee and its Chinese hosts against ski enthusiasts and environmentalists — including political heavyweights surveilling China’s climate-change record. One group says too much water is used in an at-risk area. Officials, meanwhile, claim only clean energy powers the water up the mountain to the snow machines and the chemical-free snow can be used for irrigation later.

It’s clear that finding snowy destinations to host the Games and addressing sustainability innovation such as using renewable energy require careful handling by the IOC, especially if it wants the Games to gain the following of ever-younger generations.

Read:  NBC’s Mike Tirico tackles ‘sportswashing’ and China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims

The selection committee even noted the lack of natural snow as it was evaluating Beijing before granting the city its bid. The “Beijing – Zhangjiakou area is becoming increasingly arid” because of climate change and other factors, the IOC said in 2015 when mulling its options. That report also said that Beijing’s bid “underestimated the amount of water” needed for snowmaking.

Don’t miss:  2022 Beijing Winter Olympics by the numbers: 2,900 athletes, 109 events and a reported $4 billion budget

China, an economic powerhouse, is the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter. In teaming up with India, it successfully steered the rest of the world from implementing harsher restrictions on polluting coal at a recent U.N. climate conference. China consumes half the world’s coal and its output rose nearly 5% to a record 4.07 billion tons last year as the government ordered more production to ease power shortages.

Greenpeace estimates that Beijing’s temperatures could rise as much as 2.4 degrees Celsius on average as the planet warms. A warmer climate has already shortened the region’s winters by more than 10 days compared with the 1970s.

Read: Fyre Fest, or the Beijing Olympics? Some athletes say they’re starved for food and information at the 2022 Winter Games

A ski hill from scratch

The Beijing Olympics mark the culmination of a six-year effort to turn Zhangjiakou into an upscale winter vacation spot in the hopes of lifting an agricultural region out of poverty, before and after the Games take place. A high-speed train takes only 50 minutes from Beijing to these resorts. According to the government-run State Sport Administration, China has already achieved its goal of having 300 million people participate in snow and ice sports in the newly created destination.

‘Already over the past five to ten years, we have been skiing only on man-made snow.’— Bernhard Russi

China, working with premier artificial snow supplier Italy-based TechnoAlpin in a $22 million deal, built miles-long networks of pipeline to connect two reservoirs to snowmaking machines for the downhill Olympic events on Xiaohaituo Mountain. Ribbons of white stand in stark contrast to the browns of the surrounding mountains near the Gobi Desert. Snowmakers have also been deployed farther north in Zhangjiakou, which is hosting freestyle skiing, ski jumping and biathlon.

Bernhard Russi, chairman of the International Skiing Federation (FIS)’s Alpine Committee, said over the weekend that the use of artificial snow shouldn’t surprise anyone.

“This is not new. Already over the past five to 10 years, we have been skiing only on man-made snow,” he said. “Sometimes it is a mixture together with natural snow, but in order to have a perfect course for Alpine racing, you need man-made snow to get the right quality.”

Once the water is piped up the mountain, the snow-making system comprises 272 fan guns and another 82 stick “lances” to produce “technical snow” for the skiing and snowboarding venues.

Those fan guns resemble small jet engines with nozzles spraying either atomized water or ice crystals. The guns, which can be aimed remotely using Bluetooth, blast the mixture dozens of meters into the air to cover downhill slopes, the Associated Press reported.

Snow lances, meanwhile, are up to 10 meters tall and don’t have fans, instead using gravity to carry the mixture to the ground, making it more like natural snowfall.
Differing water measurements

China has reportedly estimated that snowmaking at the Winter Games will use 49 million gallons of water — the equivalent of 74 Olympic-sized swimming pools — but some experts think that number vastly underestimates the amount needed.

Carmen de Jong, a geographer at the University of Strasbourg, voiced her concerns on the Living on Earth podcast. “For half a year, during the snow sports season, the water stays away from the natural ecosystem,” she said.

De Jong and others think China could need as much as 2 million cubic meters of water — enough to fill 800 Olympic-sized swimming pools — to create enough fake snow to cover ski runs and access roads during the Games.

Zhao Weidong, a spokesperson for the Beijing Winter Olympics has said that almost 10% of water consumed in Chongli, a district of Zhangjiakou, will be used to make snow.

Well before snowmaking began, over half of Zhangjiakou, is “highly water stressed,” according to China Water Risk, a Hong Kong-based environmental group, and the local water resource per capita is less than one fifth of China’s national average.

Almost 10% of water consumed in Chongli, a district of Zhangjiakou, will be used to make snow.— Zhao Weidong

At the weekend press briefing, Wei Qinghua, mountain operation manager of the Zhangjiakou Guyangshu cluster for the Beijing Games, said the hosts had sustainability in mind when they planned the events.

“In the entire Zhangjaikou venue cluster, water used for snow making mainly comes from rainfall and surface runoff, and the water can be recycled,” he said. “For water from melted snow, we have a reservoir and two lakes which can store it so that it can then be used for agriculture, irrigation, tourism and landscaping.”

The snow-making equipment at Beijing 2022 has used 100% renewable energy since the beginning of snow production, the officials said. Snow farming is also used, which involves preserving and storing snow ahead of the busy season, a standard practice at global ski resorts.

The IOC also said that no chemicals were used to make the Olympic snow; chemical runoff has historically been a primary concern for environmentalists eyeing this process.

No doubt, the climate change story around these Games isn’t cut and dried, and revealing nuanced situations is key to understanding climate change, as this social media poster stressed. At issue: bid selection in the first place; water overuse; and best-case scenarios for underdeveloped land.

 


Athletes comment

Some athletes have voiced their concerns about competing on fake snow, saying it brings new risks.

Estonian Olympic biathlete Johanna Taliharm told The Associated Press last month that artificial snow is “faster and more dangerous” because its greater moisture content tends to ice up.

Team USA cross-country coach Chris Grover said landing in it “can feel like falling on concrete.”

U.S. standout downhiller Mikaela Shiffrin called the slopes a mostly complimentary “grippy” and “aggressive,” Yahoo Sports reported.

Related: ‘A huge disappointment’: Olympic champ Mikaela Shiffrin falls in giant slalom

The IOC said artificial snow is used regularly at World Cup ski competitions and denied that it makes courses more dangerous: “To the contrary, it creates a more consistent surface from the top to bottom, or start to finish, of a course.”

Snow content aside, dangerous wind chills hit some athletes over the weekend. Temperatures lingered in the single digits but tracked at double-digits below zero when the wind was factored in.
What about the next Winter Games, and the next?

About 80% of the snow at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia, was manufactured. When South Korea hosted in Pyeongchang four years later, that share rose to 90%.

Milan has been tagged for 2026, and all eyes will no doubt be on its environmental efforts.

A 2018 study, featuring researchers from Canada, Austria and China, found that if global emissions of greenhouse gases are not dramatically reduced, only eight of the 21 cities that have previously hosted the Winter Olympics will be cold enough to reliably host the Games by the end of this century.

Average temperature have risen from 0.4°C at Games held in the 1920-50s, to 3.1°C in Games during the 1960-90s, to 7.8°C in Games held so far this century.

Read: Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai says sexual assault allegation was ‘enormous misunderstanding’

Manufactured settings for these Olympics will become more common if climate change is unchecked, according to a report from London’s Loughbough University.

The impact will be felt “starting with lower-altitude slopes and raising pressure and costs on higher-[altitude] resorts,” the report said.

And generating fake snow has a high environmental cost, the authors say. “Even if powered by renewables, a huge amount of energy is needed, which is both costly and can be a significant drain on water resources.”
EXPLAINER: How China got blue skies in time for Olympics

 Cyclists ride past a traditional Chinese gateway during a day murky from fog and pollution in Beijing, on Oct. 26, 2007, top, and the same location on Feb. 5, 2022. Beijing’s air still has a long way to go, but is measurably better than past years. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)More

CANDICE CHOI
Mon, February 7, 2022

BEIJING (AP) — The blue skies greeting Olympic athletes here this month are a stark change from just a decade ago when the city’s choking air pollution was dubbed an “Airpocalypse” and blamed for scaring off tourists.

Beijing’s air still has a long way to go, but is measurably better than past years when smog often made it difficult to see nearby buildings and people wore masks to protect themselves from pollution, not COVID-19. The city's notorious pollution also made news in 2016, when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted a photo of himself jogging in the haze through Tiananmen Square with a smile on his face. Some mused on social media that he was trying to ingratiate himself with Chinese authorities.

Yet at this month's Beijing Games, the air is clear enough for athletes to see the mountains surrounding the city.


A look at what’s behind the transformation.



WHAT CHANGED?

After pollution hit record levels in 2013 and became a source of international attention and widespread public discontent, China launched an ambitious plan to improve its air quality and said it would fight pollution “with an iron fist," according to a recent report from the Energy Policy Institute at Chicago. That was also around the time the country bid on this month's Winter Games.

The ensuing efforts were similar to the measures China had previously taken to ensure clear skies for the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, but on a larger scale, the report notes. Tougher emissions standards were imposed on coal-fired plants and the number of cars on the road was curbed to cut vehicle emissions. Local officials were given environmental targets, and coal-fired boilers in homes were replaced with gas or electric heaters.

The government’s reporting of air quality data also improved.

Jia Pei, a 30-year-old Beijing resident who enjoys exercising outside, said the improved air quality puts him in a better mood.

“In the past when there was smog, I would feel that I was inhaling dust into my mouth," he said.




IS BEIJING’S AIR CLEAN NOW?


Despite the progress, Beijing's annual average air pollution last year was still more than six times the limit laid out by the World Health Organization's guidelines.

And the concentration of coal-burning industries that still surrounds the city means it remains susceptible to bad air days, said Lauri Myllyvirta at the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air in Helsinki, Finland.

When those happen can depend on factors like car traffic or how much wind there is to blow away smog.

Still, Chinese officials hail the country's achievements. Last year, they say there were 288 days of good air quality days in Beijing, compared to 176 days in 2013.



HOW IS HEALTH AFFECTED?

The effects of air pollution can be visceral and include irritated eyes and difficulty breathing.

“You could hear people coughing all over because of it,” said Myllyvirta, who was living in Beijing until 2019.

Children, older adults and people with health conditions including asthma are more likely to feel the effects. The very fine particles that make up air pollution can get deep into people’s lungs and have been linked to health problems including irregular heartbeats and decreased lung function.

Poorer people might also be more vulnerable if they can't afford air purifiers or need to work outdoors, said Guojun He, a researcher at the University of Hong Kong and co-author of the report from the Energy Policy Institute at Chicago.



WHAT’S NEXT?


China has committed to being carbon neutral by 2060. And though the country still relies heavily on coal for electricity, He said it has made significant progress in curbing emissions and is rapidly developing clean energy from sources like wind and solar.

“When it’s possible, I think in general, the transition is going to be happening and it’s actually happening right now,” He said.

In the meantime, he noted the government can also take short-term measures when it wants, such as temporarily shutting down factories. That can help ensure clearer skies for big political or social events, like the Olympics.

___

Associated Press researcher Chen Si contributed to this report.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content. New York-based AP journalist Candice Choi is on assignment at the Beijing Olympics. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/candicechoi
Raised in the U.S., skiing for China, Eileen Gu is Beijing 2022’s most fascinating athlete


LONG READ

ZHANGJIAKOU, China — Eileen Gu is one of the finest freeskiers in the world, graceful and daring and utterly fearless. Off the skis, she possesses model-level poise, speaks two languages fluently, plays deft piano, is preparing to attend Stanford this fall, and exhibits the kind of compassion and empathy that allows her millions of social media followers to feel they truly know her.

In an Olympics short on Phelps/Biles-style American athletic royalty, she would be at the forefront of Team USA … if she weren’t already skiing for China.

Gu — who competes as Gu Ailing in China — captured gold in freeskiing big air Tuesday morning, Beijing time, in the first of three events she’s slated to run during these Games. Next week, she’ll compete in slopestyle (a combination of rails and jumps) and halfpipe, and she’s the odds-on favorite to win both of those as well.

One look at her exuberance, her joy, her absolute confidence in the air above Beijing, and it’s easy to see why the entire nation of China has fallen in love with her. Gu’s face adorns billboards, commercials and products all over China, and Olympic gold will only magnify her already massive reach.

But why China and not the United States for Gu? That’s a complex story, and one that will have significant political ramifications going forward, no matter how much Gu wants to stay out of the fray.

Why she chose China

Eileen Gu was born in San Francisco in September 2003, the child of an American father and a Chinese mother. Raised by her mother and maternal grandmother, Gu maintained a deep connection to China even as she grew up American. She attended a private high school where she competed in track, and steadily began making a name for herself on the international skiing scene. (One often-told anecdote from Gu’s past: her mother encouraged her to try freeskiing rather than racing because she thought it would be safer. Not so.)

Her skiing accolades piled up. She was the first woman to land a double cork 1440 — two flips, three rotations — in competition. She won seven golds in international competitions, such as the X-Games and World Championships. And then she made the most momentous decision of her life.

On June 7, 2019, Gu declared her intention to ski for China in an Instagram post. “I am proud of my heritage, and equally proud of my American upbringings,” she said, and then laid out her intentions.

“The opportunity to help inspire millions of young people where my mom was born, during the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help to promote the sport I love,” Gu wrote. “Through skiing, I hope to unite people, promote common understanding, create communication, and forge friendships between nations. If I can help to inspire one young girl to break a boundary, my wishes will have come true.”

Social media greeted her decision with suspicion and scorn; critics lobbed the usual accusations of greed, naïveté and lack of proper patriotism in Gu’s direction, and likely will even moreso now that she’s carrying through on her Olympic dream. Given China’s stated intention to become a winter sports powerhouse, many critics believe Gu is being used as a glittering, gold-medal-winning pawn in the ongoing geopolitcal chess match between China and the United States.

Gu isn’t the only American athlete competing for China; figure skaters Beverly Zhu and Ashley Lin, as well as several hockey players, are among China’s contingent at the Olympics. But Gu is by far the most notable, most famous, and most likely to bring home hardware.

“It is possible that this decision will work well for Ms. Gu,” said John Soares, an adjunct assistant professor of history at the University of Notre Dame with experience in Olympic history. “She might become a hero in both the USA and China. It is possible, too, she could end up being denounced in both countries.”

Gu has not addressed the question of whether she renounced her U.S. citizenship, although the IOC requires athletes to hold passports in the name of countries they represent. Article 3 of China’s Nationality Law notes that China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national. Late last month, the Wall Street Journal inquired about a story on Red Bull’s website that indicated Gu had given up her American passport, and shortly afterward, the story was altered to remove any mention of Gu’s passport. (The original passage is still visible on a cached version of the page from December 15, 2021.)

After her gold medal win Tuesday, Gu once again sidestepped the question of her citizenship, saying “I definitely feel as though I’m just as American as I am Chinese … Both continue to be supportive of me because they understand my mission is to use sport as a force for unity.”

American celebrity, Chinese icon

In the weeks leading up to the Games, Gu’s public image has focused exclusively on the joy of being an Olympic athlete, and the rosy possibilities that have arisen for her ... and, not coincidentally, for the greater nation of China.

“I’ve always said my goal is to globally spread the sport I love to kids, especially girls, and to shift sport culture toward one motivated by passion,” Gu wrote on Instagram last week. “Now, after hearing that over 300 MILLION Chinese people have started winter sports for fun, I’m blown away by how far we have come. I’m proud to have done my best to spread a positive and personal message, and to have reached audiences willing to listen to me.”

Gu counts American companies such as Red Bull, Victoria’s Secret and Oakley among her sponsors, and she’s modeled for Estee Lauder, Tiffany & Co. and Louis Vuitton. She’s a regular fixture in fashion magazines and on action-sports tours … but those environments aren’t ones where she’ll face hard questioning about the political realities of her decision to align herself with China. Her recent essay for the New York Times delves eloquently into the mechanics of overcoming fear while avoiding any mention at all of nationality.

US-born Chinese skier Eileen Gu (aka Gu Ailing) poses on the red carpet of 2019 InStyle Women of Times on December 20, 2019 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
US-born Chinese skier Eileen Gu (aka Gu Ailing) poses on the red carpet of 2019 InStyle Women of Times on December 20, 2019 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

In an environment where American athletes speak their minds on every social and political subject of the moment, Gu’s silence is notable. She has shut down all public communication outside of purely sport-related quotes, focusing entirely on what she intends to do to help promote skiing in China prior to the Games, and on how her first runs have gone while in Beijing.

Going forward, the question for Gu will be how much she’s truly able to carry through on her intention to inspire children, particularly girls. Promoting the value of winter sports is one thing, but Gu’s profoundly Western sensibilities are sharply at odds with modern Chinese rule and aims. Speaking up in America can result in a Twitter apology; speaking up in China can result in so much worse.

“Even if an athlete works hard to stay on officials’ good side, there are risks in dealing with Communist regimes,” Soares said. He pointed to Eastern Europe during the Cold War as a comparable example.

“When sports officials wanted a Czechoslovakian athlete, a world-class tennis and ice hockey player, to focus on hockey, the state bank refused to let him withdraw the money he needed to buy tennis rackets,” Soares said. “More ominously, in 1950 a number of Czechoslovakian hockey players were arrested and sentenced to hard labor in uranium mines. Their supposed crime was plotting to flee the country — even though they had passed up opportunities to defect at earlier international events.”

Going forward, going back

Whether she wants it or not, Gu is a visible symbol of the extreme tension that now exists between China and the United States. Athletes do leave Team USA to compete for other countries, but rarely at the top of their game; for most, the decision to compete for another nation based on family lineage is an easier path to the Olympics.

So the fact that Gu is now winning gold for China, not the United States, is a massive public relations win for a nation fully willing and prepared to dominate the world conversation going forward.

“It is hard to know how this situation will play out,” Soares said. “There are few precedents for this course of action.” Soares cited the case of Zola Budd, a South African runner who competed for Britain in the 1980s because South Africa, then in the era of apartheid, was banned from the Olympics. Budd’s decision drew criticism from both countries, but her situation differs from Gu’s in that she had no option to compete for her home country. Gu, on the other hand, would have led Team USA, both on the snow and in pre-Olympics coverage.

“I’m American when I’m in the U.S., and Chinese when I’m in China,” Gu has often said, most recently in the mixed zone after winning gold Tuesday. It’s an easy line, but the Chinese government may not be so glib about Gu’s two worlds. What she does and says in America, for instance, could have severe repercussions in China.

And yet, Gu continues to insist that her mission, and her focus, are purely apolitical, charitable and motivational. After her gold medal victory, she addressed the question of whether she could satisfy fans, and critics, of both nations.

“I’m not trying to keep everyone happy,” she said. “I’m an 18-year-old girl out here living my best life. I’m out here having a great time … It doesn’t matter if other people are happy or not. I’m doing my best. I’m enjoying the entire process and using my voice to create as much positive change as I can in an area that is personal and relevant to myself.”

Then Gu addressed her critics more directly. “If other people don’t believe that’s where I’m coming from, that just reflects they don’t have the empathy to empathize with a good heart, because maybe they don’t share the same morals I do. I’m not going to try to placate people who are uneducated and are probably never going to experience the kind of joy and gratitude and love that I am fortunate to experience on a daily basis.”

And finally, the coup de grace: “If people don’t believe me and people don’t like me,” she said, “that's their loss. They’re never going to the Olympics.”

Among those in the audience to watch Gu’s gold: tennis star Peng Shuai, the focus of worldwide concern last November when she alleged that she was the victim of sexual assault from a former Chinese government official … and subsequently disappeared for several weeks before recanting her charges.

“I’m really happy she was here today,” Gu said. “It’s a big honor. I’m grateful that she’s happy and healthy and out here doing her thing again.”

It’s a quote China couldn’t have scripted any better.

China's Eileen Gu celebrates after winning gold in the women's freeski big air event at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Big Air Shougang on February 8, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Wang Xianmin/CHINASPORTS/VCG via Getty Images)
China's Eileen Gu celebrates after winning gold in the women's freeski big air event at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Big Air Shougang on February 8, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Wang Xianmin/CHINASPORTS/VCG via Getty Images)
USA
Many Service Members of Color Are Turning Down Assignments Because of Concerns about Racism



Rebecca Kheel
Mon, February 7, 2022, 2:26 PM·3 min read

42% of service members of color in a new survey turned down an assignment or permanent change of station order because of concerns about racism and discrimination, even when they knew doing so could negatively affect their career because of perceptions of racism in the local community.

The survey, organized by Blue Star Families, found that more than 40% of active-duty family respondents also factored in concerns about racial discrimination or safety when listing their basing preferences.

About 33% of active-duty families and 34% of veterans in the survey also reported that concerns about racial and ethnic discrimination were a factor in conversations with family members about whether to stay in the military.

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The findings were part of the Blue Star Families' "Social Impact Research 2021: The Diverse Experiences of Military & Veteran Families of Color," which surveyed 2,731 people, including 622 active-duty spouses, 303 active-duty service members and 306 veterans.

Researchers stressed several limitations with their methodology, which sought out respondents of color rather than getting a random sample, meaning the results aren't statistically representative of all active-duty and veteran families of color and do not include a comparison group of white respondents.

But Blue Star Families argued the survey still represents an important starting point for an area of research that has been lacking.

"Around the George Floyd murder and the unrest that summer, we started to recognize that one thing we hadn't been paying as much attention to as we should have is, what are the experiences of military families of color," Kathy Roth-Douquet, CEO of Blue Star Families, said last week at a virtual event launching the report. "What we came to understand is, actually no one had ever asked these questions before. ... There's sort of a culture of silence about this because it's not what we aspire to be or what we aspire to experience."

The majority of service members surveyed -- about 79% -- said being in the military has had a positive influence on their professional growth, and 70% said they feel respected by their peers and a sense of belonging in the military.

But many also reported safety concerns, racial profiling by police, racial slurs and other forms of discrimination.

57% of active-duty family respondents reported hearing military-connected peers make racist comments or jokes and about 46% said they have been the subject of slurs or jokes in their military community at least once since January 2020, according to the report.

About 41% of active-duty family respondents said they feared for their personal safety in their military community due to their ethnicity or race at least once since January 2020, with some citing displays of the Confederate flag or discussions about politics "in ways they viewed to be coded racism" as factors that made them feel unsafe.

And about 33% of Black active-duty family respondents reported being racially profiled by military law enforcement at least once since January 2020, compared with about 36% who said they were profiled by civilian law enforcement. Still, about 49% of Black active-duty family respondents reported trust in military law enforcement, compared with 30% for civilian law enforcement.

Meanwhile, about 39% of active-duty service member respondents said their race or ethnicity "significantly" or "slightly" hurt their ability to get ahead at work, including about 48% of Black respondents.

"This is just the beginning of the work ahead," the co-chairs of Blue Star Families' racial equity and inclusion committee wrote in the 189-page report. "It is our hope that findings from this report will serve as a framework for policy and program recommendations that will help improve the service experiences of military families of color, strengthening our military overall."

-- Rebecca Kheel can be reached at rebecca.kheel@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @reporterkheel.

Related: Air Force Leaders: Time to 'Wake Up' About Racial Disparities in Service
Op-Ed: 
Why Haiti can't get the new beginning it needs

Amy Wilentz
Mon, February 7, 2022,

A man films himself during a general strike launched to denounce crime and insecurity in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, in October. (Richard Pierrin / AFP/Getty Images)

It’s been 36 years to the day since Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, scion of a 29-year dictatorship, fled Haiti in the wake of popular unrest and the loss of U.S. support. The promise of democracy that his flight seemed to augur for Haitians has not been realized.

The aftermath of Duvalierism has instead been a generations-long experiment in misrule, with mostly fraud-filled elections whose results have been fiddled with by outside observers, especially the United States.

Still, every five years since Duvalier left (except for glitches, coups and postponements), Feb. 7 has been inauguration day in Haiti, when a new president takes office and Haitians try to convince themselves to have hope for a better future.

This Feb. 7 should be another such inauguration day, the scheduled end of President Jovenel Moise’s official term and the beginning of something new. But Moise was assassinated in July, and there is no new beginning for Haiti.

Moise’s killing is far from solved. Among those who’ve been implicated in the conspiracy one person stands out: the current prime minister, Ariel Henry, who was appointed by Moise but did not take office until days after the assassination, when he was elevated by the U.S. and other international actors into the prime minister’s seat. According to Haitian prosecutors and a New York Times report, Henry was in close and frequent contact with one of the chief suspects in the assassination, Joseph Felix Badio, who is now on the lam.

Henry, however, is still nominally in charge. He has said he wants to take the country to elections as soon as possible. But the Haiti he rules is no country for elections.

A series of U.S.-supported leaders have left the country rudderless, awash in corruption and crime. Fearsome gangs — allied with politicians, drug traffickers and businessmen — rule the streets, armed with imposing, military-style weapons. Kidnapping is a business, run like a business, but messier. Assassinations of journalists and opposition figures are run-of-the-mill events. Street killings go unnoticed. In parts of the capital, Port-au-Prince, gangs fight over turf while the population cowers indoors. Only a month ago Henry himself had to be rescued from a gun battle between his security guards and a bunch of gang members at an official ceremony.

The streets aren’t safe. In such conditions, voters don’t turn out. So no elections.

Instead, the battle for control of Haiti has become a struggle to win the backing of the United States and its international friends, not because they are trusted allies but because they provide the foreign aid necessary for the economy, as well as the potential for technical assistance in disarming the gangs.

Henry heads one faction vying for more permanent control and the blessing of the foreigners. To the Americans, he is appealing because he’s a known quantity. They understand what to expect of him: not much. At least he probably won’t cause new problems.

Then there’s the progressive Commission for a Haitian Solution to the Crisis. Five months before Moise was killed, this group, disgusted by Moise’s disastrous presidency, gathered representatives of large swaths of Haitian society in an attempt to establish a diverse, competent transition government, counter gang warfare, hold safe democratic elections and steer the country toward functioning self-rule.

The commission has expanded its original membership and cast a wider ideological net to increase its appeal to the United States. Its members hope that just by being there, a positive alternative to the failures of Henry and of what remains of the Moise regime, they may prevail. At the end of January, they calmly and decorously elected a proposed transition president and prime minister.

Seen through the American lens, however, the coalition may appear unpredictable and amorphous, a questionable protégé, although intermediaries have been in sporadic contact with the group.

For now, the U.S. is still with Henry, but that may not last. A sword of Damocles hangs over the de facto prime minister. What the news media calls “potentially incriminating details” about his relationship with the main suspect in the Moise assassination could turn into charges against him, in which case, the U.S. would have to look elsewhere for Haitian leadership.

One other faction could tip this terrible balance — the Haitian people. They can seem powerless and inattentive, until they rise up. Especially on Feb. 7, everyone in Haiti recalls the central role of popular unrest in the fall of Duvalier. Mass protests now over rampant crime and increasingly unlivable poverty could force the international community’s hand and open a plausible path through the morass.

Haitian-American relations have always been about the souls of both nations: about slavery and its legacy, about racial injustice and Black power. The very idea that the U.S. holds sway over Haiti and Haitians, while familiar and undeniable, infuriates many Haitians.

As Haiti passes another anniversary of Duvalier’s fall, its political crisis vividly illustrates the difficulties of moving beyond that history. It’s just not clear that the U.S. has the imagination or the political courage to reinvent its role and to establish a more egalitarian relationship there. Without such change it seems unlikely Haitians will be able to get on with the business of building their own state, a hard enough task even with a reliable partner.

So, alas for Haiti, this Feb. 7, no new president will be inaugurated. And Haitians will remain in a dangerous limbo.

Amy Wilentz is the author of "The Rainy Season: Haiti Since Duvalier" and "Farewell, Fred Voodoo: A Letter From Haiti," among other books. She teaches in the literary journalism program at UC Irvine and was a 2020 Guggenheim fellow.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.