General Giulio Douhet: Theory Of Air Power – Analysis

 

November 25, 2023 

By Hafiza Syeda Azkia Batool

Introduction

General Giulio Douhet’s advocacy for targeting civilians with a combination of high explosives, incendiary bombs, and chemical weapons calls into doubt his role as a prominent proponent of air power. To fully comprehend his beliefs and the context in which he worked, however, one must first consider the broader historical themes of nationalism and industrialization that dominated the nineteenth century, as well as the early twentieth century development of aviation technology.

World War I significantly influenced Douhet’s thinking, as he saw aviation as a solution to trench warfare and the challenges of industrialized warfare. We have evaluated his book’s second edition, “The Command of the Air,” released in 1927, to be the most developed expression of his views. In the U.S., proponents of air power resonated with Douhet’s ideas, impacting aircraft design and shaping the strategic bombing campaign during World War II.

Giulio Douhet, despite having limited experience in flying, is a standout figure in the realm of military theory for his insightful predictions about the transformative impact of airpower on modern warfare. He foresaw that the development of airplanes would make gaining “command of the air” the primary objective in any military campaign, with air superiority being the ultimate determinant of victory. 

However, what makes Douhet’s contributions particularly noteworthy is his understanding that the advent of airpower would fundamentally change the nature of war. Douhet saw that airplanes eliminated the geographical boundaries in warfare, making surface targets easily accessible for attack. Moreover, Douhet anticipated that the distinction between soldiers and civilians would blur as a result of airpower. This foresight led him to predict the beginning of total war, where the civilian population otself became a viable target.

Douhet believed that targeting civilian population through bombing could exert pressure on citizens to compel their leaders to end the war, and achieve peace. Initially met with resistance, Douhet faced a court-martial and a year of imprisonment for going against his superiors. However, he was later exonerated and went on to publish his masterpiece, “The Command of the Air,” in 1921. He released a second edition in 1927, which was even more forceful in its conclusions. Douhet’s work was eventually translated into multiple languages and became a major influence on the doctrine of Europe’s air forces, contributing to growing public concern about the prospect of aerial bombing as the specter of a new world war loomed.

Background

The desire to use aerial craft for warfare existed long before the development of powered flight. The Montgolfier brothers’ demonstration of balloon free flight in the late eighteenth century ignited speculation about its military potential. In 1794, the French government established an army balloon unit for reconnaissance purposes, the balloons first went into action during the battles of Charleroi and Fleurus later that year. Throughout the nineteenth century, various military establishments experimented with lighter-than-air ships, even attempting bombing cities. When the Wright brothers achieved powered flight in 1903, the anticipation of military aviation was already widespread. Within a decade, powered flight played a crucial role in military operations during the conflict between Italy and Turkey. The ability of airplanes and dirigibles to overcome physical barriers and provide tactical advantages stirred public imagination and controversy, prompting military leaders to consider their role in future conflicts.

Giulio Douhet, an Italian soldier and writer born in Caserta in 1869, was a prominent figure in the realm of airpower thinking during his time and beyond. His exploration of aircraft’s impact began in 1909 while serving in the Italian Army’s Artillery unit. Douhet later commanded one of the first army air units and directed the army’s Aviation Section. By 1915, as Italy entered World War I, Douhet had already developed key elements of his airpower theories.

 However, his proposal for an independent bomber force of 500 aircraft to attack Austrian cities was rejected, and he was court-martialed and imprisoned for a year after criticizing Italian military leaders in memoranda to the cabinet. In 1918, Douhet was recalled to service to head the Italian Central Aeronautical Bureau, and he was finally exonerated in 1920. He was promoted to the rank of general officer in 1921, and the same year he published “Command of the Air.” After briefly serving as the head of aviation in Mussolini’s government in 1922, Giulio Douhet dedicated much of the remainder of his life to writing and advocating for his ideas on airpower.

Giulio Douhet grew up during an era of unification, witnessing the efforts of leaders like Wilhelm Couser in German Unification and Garibaldi, a revolutionary hero who played a crucial role in the unification of Italy. Born in 1869, just a few years before Italy was unified, Douhet came of age during a time of Italian nationalism. This period fueled his determination to understand how Italy could establish itself as a leading European power. Recognizing Italy’s challenges—lack of natural resources compared to Germany, an industrial base inferior to Britain, and a manpower deficit compared to Russia—Douhet aimed to elevate Italy to a prominent position. To address these imbalances, he turned to technology, viewing it as a means to overcome these obstacles and ensure that Italy wouldn’t be relegated to a second-rate nation.

Major Assumptions

Giulio Douhet’s military theories were built upon several major assumptions that formed the core of his ideas on airpower and warfare. Central to his beliefs was the conviction that airpower stood as the preeminent factor in determining the outcomes of conflicts. Douhet introduced the concept of strategic bombing, intricately tied to the notion of total war, wherein the targeting of civilian populations and logistical centers behind enemy lines became a transformative element. Douhet’s conviction in the offensive capabilities of aircraft was resolute; he argued that no other domain of warfare could match the offensive prowess of airborne attacks. He asserted that there was no effective defense against air assaults, providing airpower with a distinct strategic advantage. Douhet further contended that strategic bombing held the power to break civilian morale and dismantle the enemy’s logistical capacity, thereby reshaping the dynamics of warfare. Envisaging a defensive posture for ground troops due to military mechanization, Douhet underscored the dominance of bombers over other aircraft types. These assumptions, articulated in his seminal work “The Command of The Air,” underscored Douhet’s belief in the transformative and superior nature of airpower, positioning airplanes as unparalleled offensive weapons capable of redefining the very essence of warfare.

Explanation

In “The Command of The Air,” Douhet emphasizes the paramount significance of air power in modern warfare. According to Douhet, a nation’s ability to secure itself hinges on its ability to control the air, which he defined as being able to prevent the enemy from flying while retaining the ability to fly oneself. Douhet and his contemporaries used this concept to argue for the creation of an independent air force. Douhet believed that the command of the air was necessary for conducting and protecting a nation from aerial attacks, and that without it, national security could not be ensured. He believed that airpower held the key to victory, and that a nation’s offensive should be carried out through the air rather than through ground forces. Douhet’s ideas about the importance of the air domain have been debated by airpower theorists, who question whether airpower alone can achieve victory over other domains of warfare.

In his book “The Command of The Air,” Douhet initially proposed a balanced allocation of “aerial means used by the army and navy.” However, he later changed hisassumption, believing that auxiliary aviation was “worthless, superfluous and harmful.” This idea created inter-service rivalry between armies, navies, and independent air forces worldwide. Douhet’s assumptions about total war and strategic bombing are heavily debated. He stated that the choice of bombing targets would depend on material, moral, and psychological circumstances, making it impossible to lay down hard and fast rules. However, many theorists believe that Douhet believed in targeting a nation’s industrial capacity and the enemy’s air force as the primary targets of bombing missions, followed by strategic targets such as railroads, ports, and population centers. Douhet summarized his concept of total war as inflicting heavier damage upon the enemy while being resigned to the damage they may inflict upon us.

Furthermore, Douhet argued that ground forces should be assigned defensive responsibilities due to the destructive stalemate of the First World War. He observed that advancements in firearms and defense systems favored the defensive, making victory in ground warfare difficult. However, Douhet acknowledged the importance of offensive action in achieving victory and criticized the failure of combatants in the First World War to strike a decisive blow. He believed that airplanes were the key offensive weapon and that they were not utilized effectively in the First World War. Douhet’s goal was to change war strategies to avoid a repeat of the disastrous outcome of the First World War.

Douhet’s final assumption in “The Command of The Air” is that bombers are superior to fighter aircraft. He believed that strategic bombardment was the most effective way to attack the enemy, and he did not value the interdiction efforts of defending fighter aircraft. According to Douhet, the “battle plane,” which can deliver a large payload of destructive bombs and gas munitions, was the only type of plane necessary for an Independent Air Force to conduct aerial warfare. Douhet also believed that nothing on the ground could interfere with a plane in flight. His battle plane concept was controversial and led to his court-martial, but it was still influential. The fear that “the bomber will always get through” became a reality before World War II, as acknowledged by British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin in 1932.

Thus, he held the belief that the primary objective of air forces was to gain control of the air, which meant rendering the enemy unable to fly while maintaining the ability to do so oneself. To accomplish this, Douhet advocated for attacking the enemy air force while it was on the ground. In his view, aircraft were only useful as offensive instruments, and defeating the enemy could be achieved by bombing cities and factories, thereby shattering the civilian will to resist. Douhet argued that the nature of airplanes – their speed and maneuverability – and the vastness of airspace would make it impossible for the defense to stop a determined bombing campaign. However, for air forces to be able to conduct such operations, and because they had little use as auxiliaries to armies or navies, they needed to be independent of ground and naval forces. Douhet’s conclusion was that there should be no air defense, and that the only effective way to defend one’s own territory against an air offensive was to quickly destroy the enemy’s air power, even at the risk of suffering similar losses.

Concept of Strategic Bombing and WWII

During World War II, Nazi Germany conducted an intense bombing comaping against the United Kingdom known as the Blitz. This compaign lasted for a period of eight month during which Luftwaffe dropped bombs on London and other strategic cities across Britain. Despite heavy civilian casualties resulting  from the Blitz, the British people refrained from retaliating or urging their government to pursue peace negotiations with Germany. This can be explained by a range of factors, including resilience of British morale and the effectiveness of the government’s propaganda campaign. Moreover, it is plausible that the German bombings may have actually strengthened the British resolve and willingness to fight, rather than undermining it. So, given the historical context of the Blitz, it is pertinent to examine the applicability of Giulio Douhet’s assumption of strategic bombing, which posits that the bombing of enemy cities and industrial centers would result in a swift victory

Criticism

Giulio Douhet’s “air power theory” argued that airpower alone could win wars. However, his theory has been criticized on several fronts. Firstly, his theory overemphasized on strategic bombing. Douhet believed that bombing enemy cities and industrial centers would lead to a quick victory. However, this strategy proved less effective than expected, as civilian populations proved resilient and could continue to support their war effort even after suffering significant damage. Moreover, the use of strategic bombing in World War II, particularly the bombing of civilian populations in Germany and Japan, resulted in significant ethical and moral concerns. Secondly, Douhet’s theory underestimated the importance of ground forces. He saw airpower as the decisive factor in warfare, while underestimating the importance of ground forces. In practice, successful military campaigns have required a combination of air, ground, and naval forces. Thirdly, Douhet wrote during a time when the technology of aviation was in its infancy, and some of his assumptions, such as the ability of bombers to penetrate enemy air defenses, proved overly optimistic. In reality, air defenses have evolved to become increasingly sophisticated and effective. Lastly, Douhet’s theory failed to consider political and economic factors that often determine the outcome of a conflict. He focused primarily on the military aspects of war, while neglecting the political and economic factors. For example, a country’s ability to sustain a war effort over time can depend on factors such as access to resources and political stability. In conclusion, while Giulio Douhet’s “air power theory” had some valuable insights, it also had significant limitations. The theory’s overemphasis on strategic bombing, underestimation of the importance of ground forces, technological limitations, and failure to consider political and economic factors have been criticized. Nevertheless, Douhet’s theory remains an important contribution to military thinking and continues to influence strategic thinking in the modern era.

Case Studies

Now, we will analyze the accuracy of Giulio Dauhet’s predictions in light of the experiences of modern conflict, and identify the areas where his predictions were validated and where they were refuted.

The Six-Day War

The Six-Day War, which took place in June 1967, was a conflict between Israel and the Arab states of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) launched a preemptive strike on Egypt, citing expected aggression. In a single day, the Israeli air force decimated nearly the entire Egyptian air force, thereby securing air supremacy. Israel went on to use its air power to devastating effect against Egyptian and Syrian land forces, using tactical air strikes and combined arms air-land warfare. The Six-Day War serves as a prime example of the decisive role that air power can play in modern warfare. The Israeli pre-emptive strike on Egypt’s air force was a critical component of the IDF’s strategy. By achieving air supremacy, Israel was able to control the skies and launch devastating attacks on enemy forces on the ground. The use of air power also allowed the IDF to conduct rapid troop movements and exploit gaps in the enemy’s defense. The Six-Day War was a wake-up call for the Arab states involved in the conflict, prompting them to reform and restructure their military forces. The success of the Israeli air force highlighted the importance of modernizing military structures and investing in advanced weaponry, particularly air power.

Vietnam War:

During the Vietnam War, the United States (US) military possessed a significant advantage in air power, as evidenced by their command of the air over the region. The US Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps collectively controlled the skies and had the capability to deliver precise, laser-guided bombs with a high success rate. In fact, out of the 21,000 laser-guided bombs dropped during the conflict, approximately 17,000 hit their intended targets, resulting in an impressive 80-percent success rate for this innovative weapon. Furthermore, the US military had a substantial volume of aerial firepower present in Vietnam, with virtually every spot in South Vietnam accessible within a short fifteen-minute flight by aircraft. Multiple jet bases were also available for deployment and provided the US military with a strategic advantage in the region. Despite their clear military superiority, the US did not ultimately achieve victory in the Vietnam War.  The failure to win the war can be attributed, in part, to the erosion of public support for the conflict in the US. As the war dragged on and the death toll rose, the American public grew increasingly disillusioned with the conflict, leading to protests and calls for the withdrawal of US troops. The loss of public support eventually forced the US to withdraw from the region, contributing to the ultimate failure to achieve victory in the Vietnam War.

Conclusion

After conducting research on the modern conflict, it has been determined that Giulio Douhet’s principles and objectives for strategic bombing were utilized during World War II, thus proving his theory to be valid. However, his belief in the overwhelming psychological impact on targeted populations was overestimated, and he did not anticipate the diverse range of uses for airpower in contemporary warfare. Douhet correctly predicted the evolving nature of warfare and the importance of airpower in achieving victory. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of airpower is dependent on the prevailing conditions and circumstances, and dominance in the skies does not always equate to success. As mentioned above, while the US military had a clear advantage in air power during the Vietnam War, this was not enough to secure a victory. The erosion of public support for the conflict ultimately proved to be a significant factor in the failure to achieve victory in the region.

File photo of Israeli Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-15I Ra'am. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Kevin Gruenwald, USAF.

Hafiza Syeda Azkia Batool is a student of International Relations at National Defense University (NDU).

Robert Reich: What’s The Real Frankenstein Monster Of AI? – OpEd

November 25, 2023 
By Robert Reich

The chaotic news this week about OpenAI offers a foothold onto this larger question.

Artificial Intelligence has huge potential social benefits, such as devising new life-saving drugs or finding new ways to teach children.

But it also has even larger potential social costs. If we’re not careful, AI could be a Frankenstein monster: It might eliminate nearly all jobs. It could lead to autonomous warfare.

Even such a mundane goal as making as many paper clips as possible could push an all-powerful AI to end all life on Earth in pursuit of more clips.

So, how would you build an enterprise designed to gain as many of the benefits of AI as possible while avoiding these Frankenstein monster horrors?

You might start with a nonprofit board stacked with ethicists and specialists in the potential downsides of AI.

That nonprofit would need vast amounts of expensive computing power to test its models, so the nonprofit board would need to oversee a for-profit commercial arm that attracted investors.

How to prevent investors from taking over the enterprise?

You’d have to limit how much profit could flow to the investors (through a so-called “capped profit” structure) and you wouldn’t put investors on the board.

But how would you prevent greed from corrupting the enterprise, as board members and employees are lured by the prospect of making billions?

Well, you can’t. Which is the flaw in the whole idea of private enterprise developing AI.

The nonprofit I described was the governing structure that Open AI began with in 2015, when it was formed as a research-oriented nonprofit to build safe AI technology.

But ever since OpenAI’s ChatGPT looked to be on its way to achieving the holy grail of tech — an at-scale consumer platform that would generate billions of dollars in profits — its nonprofit safety mission has been endangered by big money.

Now, big money is on the way to devouring safety.

In 2019, OpenAI shifted to a capped profit structure so it could attract investors to pay for computing power and AI talent.

OpenAI’s biggest outside investor is Microsoft, which obviously wants to make as much as possible for its executives and shareholders regardless of safety. Since 2019, Microsoft has invested $13 billion in OpenAI, with the expectation of making a huge return on that investment.

But OpenAI’s capped profit structure and nonprofit board limited how much Microsoft could make. What to do?

Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, apparently tried to have it both ways — giving Microsoft some of what it wanted without abandoning the humanitarian goals and safeguards of the nonprofit.

It didn’t work. Last week, OpenAI’s nonprofit board pushed Altman out, presumably over fears that he was bending too far toward Microsoft’s goal of making money, while giving inadequate attention to the threats posed by AI.

Where did Altman go after being fired? To Microsoft, of course.

And what of OpenAI’s more than 700 employees — its precious talent pool?

Even if we assume they’re concerned about safety, they own stock in the company and will make a boatload of money if OpenAI prioritizes growth over safety. It’s estimated that OpenAI could be worth between $80 billion to $90 billion in a tender offer — making it one of the world’s most valuable tech start-ups of all time.

So it came as no surprise that almost all of OpenAIs employees signed a letter earlier this week, telling the board they would follow Altman to Microsoft if the board didn’t reinstate Altman as CEO.

Everyone involved — including Altman, OpenAI’s employees, and even Microsoft — will make much more money if OpenAI survives and they can sell their shares in the tender offer.

Presto! On Tuesday, OpenAI’s board reinstated Altman as chief executive and agreed to overhaul itself — jettisoning board members who had opposed him and adding two who seem happy to do Microsoft’s bidding (Bret Taylor, an early Facebook officer and former co-chief executive of Salesforce, and Larry Summers, the former Treasury secretary).

Said Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s chief executive, “we are encouraged by the changes to OpenAI board,” calling it a “first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance.”

Effective governance? For making gobs of money.

The business press — for which “success” is automatically defined as making as much money as possible — is delighted.

It had repeatedly described the nonprofit board as a “convoluted” governance structure that prevented Altman from moving “even faster,” and predicted that if OpenAI fell apart over the contest between growth and safety, “people will blame the board for … destroying billions of dollars in shareholder value.”

Which all goes to show that the real Frankenstein monster of AI is human greed.

Private enterprise, motivated by the lure of ever-greater profits, cannot be relied on to police itself against the horrors of an unfettered AI.

This past week’s frantic battle over OpenAI shows that not even a nonprofit board with a capped profit structure for investors can match the power of Big Tech and Wall Street.

Money triumphs in the end.

The question for the future is whether the government — also susceptible to the corruption of big money — can do a better job weighing the potential benefits of AI against its potential horrors, and regulate the monster.

As we approach our ten-week Friday discussion of the common good and capitalism, it’s an important question to ponder.

This article was published at Robert Reich’s Substack

Robert B. Reich is Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley and Senior Fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies, and writes at robertreich.substack.com. Reich served as Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration, for which Time Magazine named him one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the twentieth century. He has written fifteen books, including the best sellers "Aftershock", "The Work of Nations," and"Beyond Outrage," and, his most recent, "The Common Good," which is available in bookstores now. He is also a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine, chairman of Common Cause, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and co-creator of the award-winning documentary, "Inequality For All." He's co-creator of the Netflix original documentary "Saving Capitalism," which is streaming now.

 

Rise Of China And Its Effects On US Hegemony – OpEd

 November 25, 2023 

By Sughra Jan Muhammad

Following the implementation of economic reforms in the late 1970s, China’s growth raised and it became a major player in the world economy.

China’s economy has been growing for some time now. Due to investments in globalization, industrialization, and infrastructure, it has become the world’s second-largest economy.Over 800 million people have been pulled out of poverty and GDP growth has averaged over 9% annually since China started to open up and reform its economy in 1978. During the same time period, there have also been major improvements in access to other services, including health and education.

Commercial associate of the US. China ranks third in terms of US export markets, is the country’s largest import source, and is the country with which the US trades the most goods. Additionally, China holds the most shares in US Treasury securities among all foreign investors, which supports the country’s debt and reduces interest rates.

Through a number of high-profile initiatives, such as “Made in China 2025,” a plan announced in 2015 to upgrade and modernize China’s manufacturing in 10 key sectors through extensive government assistance in order to make China a major global player in these sectors, the Chinese government has made innovation a top priority in its economic planning. These actions have, however, heightened worries that China plans to employ industrial strategies to reduce its reliance on foreign technology (including by barring foreign companies from operating in China) and eventually take control of the world’s markets.

China’s innovation and intellectual property policies were the subject of a Section 301 inquiry by the Trump Administration in 2017 because it was believed to be unfavorable to American economic interests. Subsequently, it increased tariffs by 25% on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods, while China boosted taxes on $110 billion worth of US imports, ranging from 5% to 25%. In 2019, these measures lead to a significant decline in bilateral commerce. President Trump declared on May 10, 2019, that he would consider increasing tariffs on almost all of the Chinese imports that were still in stock. A prolonged trade dispute between the United States and China that could be threatening to the economy of China.

Congress is very interested in China’s expanding economic strength on the world stage along with the trade and economic policies it upholds, since they have a big impact on the US. Despite being a sizable and expanding market for American businesses, China’s ongoing shift to a free-market economy has led to the adoption of economic policies that are considered unfavorable to American interests, such as industrial regulations and the illegal use of intellectual property.

It is essential to take into account China’s rise within the larger framework of international relations, which has been shaped by both the collapse of the West and China’s rising. And the world is heading for a trade conflict.

During its rise, China has produced several remarkable inventions. In fields like technology, e-commerce, and renewable energy, they have been raising the standard. Businesses like Tencent, Alibaba, and Huawei have had a big impact on the tech sector. In addition to making significant investments in green technologies, China is now the global leader in solar energy production. Seeing their developments and the global effect they’re creating is exciting.

Sughra Jan Muhammad graduated from the University of Balochistan, Quetta, in the Department of International Relations.

World's largest iceberg — 3 times the size of New York City — "on the move" for the first time in 37 years


BY STEPHEN SMITH
NOVEMBER 24, 2023 / CBS NEWS

The world's biggest iceberg — which is roughly three times the size of New York City — is "on the move" after being stuck to the ocean floor for 37 years, scientists confirmed Friday.

Recent satellite images show the iceberg, called A23a, is now moving past the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and headed toward the Southern Ocean, according to the British Antarctic Survey.

The iceberg, which spans almost 4,000 square kilometers (or 1,500 square miles) in area, split from the Antarctic coastline in 1986, but then became grounded in the Weddell Sea, the BBC reported.

The British Antarctic Survey on Friday posted a time-lapse of satellite imagery, showing the iceberg's movement.

"Here's its journey out of the Weddell Sea after being grounded on the sea floor after calving in August 1986," the survey wrote.



Before its calving in 1986, the colossal iceberg hosted a Soviet research station. It's unclear why the iceberg is suddenly on the move again after 37 years.

"I asked a couple of colleagues about this, wondering if there was any possible change in shelf water temperatures that might have provoked it, but the consensus is the time had just come," Dr. Andrew Fleming, a remote sensing expert from the British Antarctic Survey, told the BBC. "It was grounded since 1986 but eventually it was going to decrease (in size) sufficiently to lose grip and start moving."

A23a will likely be ejected into what's called the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which will put it on a path that has become known as "iceberg alley," the BBC reports. That is the same current of water that famed explorer Ernest Shackleton used in 1916 to make his storied escape from Antarctica after losing his ship, the Endurance. The legendary shipwreck was discovered off the coast of Antarctica just last year.

A satellite imagery of the world's largest iceberg, named A23a, seen in Antarctica, November 15, 2023. 

 COURTESY OF EUROPEAN UNION/COPERNICUS SENTINEL-3/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS

A23a's movement comes about 10 months after a massive piece of Antarctica's Brunt Ice Shelf — a chunk about the size of two New York Cities — broke free. The Brunt Ice Shelf lies across the Weddell Sea from the site of the Larsen C ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula. Last year, the Larsen C ice shelf — which was roughly the size of New York City and was long considered to be stable — collapsed into the sea.

'Adopt an axolotl' campaign launches in Mexico to save iconic species from pollution and trout

Academics in Mexico City are asking for donations to protect axolotls, an iconic fish-like type of salamander

Over its six year term the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will have given 35% less money to the country's environment department than its predecessor, according to an analysis of Mexico's 2024 budget.

ByDANIEL SHAILER Associated Press

November 24, 2023, 

FILE - A canal in Xochimilco Lake, the original natural habitat of the endangered Axolotl, in Mexico City, Oct. 8, 2008. Ecologists from Mexico's National Autonomous University relaunched a fundraising campaign Friday.

The Associated Press

MEXICO CITY -- Ecologists from Mexico's National Autonomous university on Friday relaunched a fundraising campaign to bolster conservation efforts for axolotls, an iconic, endangered fish-like type of salamander.

The campaign, called "Adoptaxolotl,” asks people for as little as 600 pesos (about $35) to virtually adopt one of the tiny “water monsters.” Virtual adoption comes with live updates on your axolotl’s health. For less, donors can buy one of the creatures a virtual dinner.

In their main habitat the population density of Mexican axolotls (ah-ho-LOH'-tulz) has plummeted 99.5% in under two decades, according to scientists behind the fundraiser.

Last year’s Adoptaxolotl campaign raised just over 450,000 pesos ($26,300) towards an experimental captive breeding program and efforts to restore habitat in the ancient Aztec canals of Xochimilco, a southern borough of Mexico City.

Still, there are not enough resources for thorough research, said Alejandro Calzada, an ecologist surveying less well-known species of axolotls for the government's environment department.

“We lack big monitoring of all the streams in Mexico City,” let alone the whole country, said Calzada, who leads a team of nine researchers. “For this large area it is not enough.”

Despite the creature’s recent rise to popularity, almost all 18 species of axolotl in Mexico remain critically endangered, threatened by encroaching water pollution, a deadly amphibian fungus and non-native rainbow trout.

While scientists could once find 6,000 axolotls on average per square kilometer in Mexico, there are now only 36, according to the National Autonomous university’s latest census. A more recent international study found less than a thousand Mexican axolotls left in the wild.

Luis Zambrano González, one of the university's scientists announcing the fundraiser, told The Associated Press he hopes to begin a new census (the first since 2014) in March.

“There is no more time for Xochimilco,” said Zambrano. “The invasion" of pollution "is very strong: soccer fields, floating dens. It is very sad.”

Without data on the number and distribution of different axolotl species in Mexico, it is hard to know how long the creatures have left, and where to prioritize what resources are available.

“What I know is that we have to work urgently,” said Calzada.

Axolotls have grown into a cultural icon in Mexico for their unique, admittedly slimy, appearance and uncanny ability to regrow limbs. In labs around the world, scientists think this healing power could hold the secret to tissue repair and even cancer recovery.

In the past, government conservation programs have largely focused on the most popular species: the Mexican axolotl, found in Xochimilco. But other species can be found across the country, from tiny streams in the valley of Mexico to the northern Sonora desert.

Mexico City's expanding urbanization has damaged the water quality of the canals, while in lakes around the capital rainbow trout which escape from farms can displace axolotls and eat their food.

Calzada said his team is increasingly finding axolotls dead from chrytid fungus, a skin-eating disease causing catastrophic amphibian die offs from Europe to Australia.

While academics rely on donations and Calzada's team turns to a corps of volunteers, the Mexican government recently approved an 11% funding cut for its environment department.

Over its six year term the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will have given 35% less money to the country's environment department than its predecessor, according to an analysis of Mexico's 2024 budget.

ABOUT

Shrouded in mystery, and defying typical biological laws like metamorphosis, the axolotl (pronounced AX-oh-lot-ul), a type of salamander, keeps its webbed feet firmly placed in infancy throughout its life.

Unlike other salamanders, axolotls are neotenic, meaning they keep juvenile characteristics into adulthood. The axolotl remains aquatic (like larvae) their entire life. Though it develops functional lungs, it uses its fancy, feathery gills to breathe underwater. Like youngsters, they retain external gills, a tail, and a body fin, and lack moveable eyelids.

Erosion of Press Freedom in Japan: the Shadow of the Asian Democracy


Posted On : November 24, 2023

Published By : Alixia Brule


A recent surge in national criticism has emerged towards Japanese media corporations due to their shortcomings in reporting on the sexual abuse perpetrated by the founder of the prominent talent agency “Johnny & Associates”. In 2019, Johnny Kitagawa, who used his celebrity status to molest aspiring male pop stars over decades, died in impunity at the age of 87. Notably, the Shukan Bunshun news magazine brought his abuses to light as far back as 1999, but the publisher faced a lawsuit from “Johnny & Associates”. Despite Kitagawa’s behavior being an open secret in the music industry, other mainstream media outlets refrained from covering the issue, fearing repercussions from the respected corporation.

More broadly, one could be surprised to see Japan’s robust parliamentary democracy ranked 68th out of 180 nations surveyed in the World Press Freedom Index – the lowest among the G7 countries. Domestic experts express concern over the decline in press freedom over the last decade. While not widely recognized internationally, Japanese media operate under the shadow of subtle layers of increasing repression.

Corporate pressures – The first obstacle

Japan boasts one of the most developed newspaper markets globally, with Yomiuri and Asahi Shimbun (‘newspaper’ in Japanese) achieving the world’s highest circulation at 6.8 and 4 million newspaper copies daily, respectively. Historically, print newspapers have dominated the Japanese media environment. Media outlets relied on advertisement revenues to sustain their structure, while companies depended on media exposure for sales. This arrangement allowed Japanese media to expose scandals operating within the business sector without fearing reprisals.

However, traditional media conglomerates have faced significant revenue declines due to emerging web competition. Daily newspaper circulation dropped from 47.8 million in 2012 to 30.8 million in the past year. To ensure the survival of the print format, mainstream media shifted from the ‘advertisement model’ to the ‘subscription model’, making journalists more vulnerable to pressure from influential business partners. In the case of Kinagawa’s scandal, media companies refrained from reporting on the issue due to the financial consequences if members of the talent agency refused to appear in television programs or interviews.

The Kisha Club – the Government’s armory

Access to information in Japan is strictly controlled through a specific institution that dominates the media landscape: the Kisha Kurabu. These exclusive press clubs were designed to support politicians and act as the sole conduit for media outlets to access governmental information directly. Members of mass media organizations, such as NHK, are the only journalists allowed to join political events, attend briefings, and interview officials. They must submit questions before attending press conferences. Because of these different regulations, reporters’ rotation and potential disruptors’ presence are avoided. Added to this is the fact foreign news organizations and freelancers are formally excluded from these national press clubs. The uniformity of publication and the lack of investigative journalism are hence fostered.

The Kisha clubs reward self-censorship, as politicians and bureaucrats have the power to intimidate journalists. Fear of jeopardizing may impede the publishing of unfavorable columns. Sensitive topics – such as homosexuality, nuclear energy, religion, or Japan’s role during the Second World War – continue to be avoided in editorial agendas.

National media have also traditionally refused clear and transparent political endorsement. The medium where political impartiality is the most visible is television broadcasting. The audience faces the glaring absence of political debates and the need for talk shows to be written in advance. The lack of coverage of political ideologies impedes the Japanese public from constructing their own opinions and encourages a growing political disinterest.

An ambiguous legal framework

Article 21 of the Constitution proscribes censorship and protects the freedoms of “speech and press”. On paper, Japan safeguards the free press. Still, several policies enacted in the last decade present negative implications for the public’s ‘right to know’. In 2013, the administration of Shinzo Abe passed a ‘state secrecy’ act. This policy gives a range of officials the authority to limit access to public information when they deem it concerning national security. Journalists face up to five years in prison for reporting classified information passed on by whistleblowers. This law represents a precious political weapon: even though no sanction has been applied yet, it inevitably stifles public debate on political issues.

In South Korea: the war against ‘fake news’

In neighboring South Korea, journalists undergo similar forms of mounting repression against their investigative work. Since the election of Yoon Suk-yeol last year, authorities have repeatedly raided offices of press outlets publishing critical reports on the President. This crackdown intensified in September 2023 when the government menaced the online news outlet Newstapa. The South Korean prosecution alleges that journalists had defamed Yoon when he was a presidential candidate, defining it as an attempt to interfere in elections. Newstapa published an article exposing the president’s involvement in a corruption scandal through a money transfer when Yoon was a prosecutor in 2011.

While the governments of Kishida in Japan and Yoon in South Korea currently present similar threats to freedom in their national mediatic spheres, their use of ambiguous language to define ‘fake news’ and ‘disinformation’ raises concerns as it may allow their government to further restrict free speech on flimsy pretexts in the future.

Edited by Margaux Zani

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and they do not reflect the position of the McGill Journal of Political Studies or the Political Science Students’ Association.

Featured image by Isis Desvelada.

Huda Kattan: Beauty industry is sexist, says make-up icon

24th November 2023, 
By Amelia Butterly

BBC 100 Women

Huda Kattan is one of the people on this year's BBC 100 Women list

When Huda Kattan appears in public she's greeted by the kind of adoring fans you might usually associate with A-list Hollywood stars.

As part of the celebrations for the 10th anniversary of her cosmetics brand, Huda Beauty, she has taken over a Paris building not far from the Eiffel Tower, and turned almost everything inside hot pink.

There are make-up stations loaded with her products, neon signs and glamorous people everywhere.

Fans waiting on the street scream when she arrives. Inside, the invited influencers and make-up professionals chant her name as she climbs the stairs: "Hu-da, Hu-da, Hu-da."

People queue to take a selfie with her - some even burst into tears when she hugs them.

Throughout it all, Kattan's smile never falters.


2:37Huda Kattan: Beauty industry is sexist says, make-up icon

Kattan is one of the people on this year's BBC 100 Women list, which celebrates 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world.

She has a cosmetics business worth more than $1bn, which is the biggest make-up brand on Instagram, with more than 50 million followers.

But she sharply criticises both the beauty industry and social media.

"I think the beauty industry is sexist," she says. "It objectifies women a lot of times. It really can boil women down to just their appearance."

She says that as a woman "who likes to glam", she knows how frustrating it is to be judged by her appearance.

But she accepts that judging others too quickly is a common failing - and that it is something she herself needs to work on.BBC 100 Women names 100 inspiring and influential women around the world every year - Michelle Obama and Amal Clooney are on this year's list, while Melinda French Gates was listed in 2021

Meet this year's 100 Women

When she first became a businesswoman, she found that some in the industry would not take her seriously.

"I struggled so bad," she says.

"Oftentimes we'd be in a meeting and instead of making eye contact with me they would make eye contact with my husband and completely ignore me."

"Don't talk to me, talk to her," her husband would say - but they would just continue addressing him, says Kattan.

She fumes about the slow progress of the beauty industry where inclusivity and representation is concerned.

Kattan grew up the daughter of immigrants who moved from Iraq to Tennessee and says she was always made to feel that she was unattractive.

She says it's a priority for her to sell products in deeper shades, and foundations that match a wide range of skin tones.

But while she accepts the industry as a whole may be moving in the right direction, she says it's going at "snail's pace".

"I've been in the labs with the manufacturers and I've said to them, 'I need a richer skin tone product'. And I've seen them literally put black pigment in, [but] people's skins are made of many different tones.

"I think there is still a lack of understanding. And it really comes down fundamentally to the manufacturer, even some brands."

Kattan's success is due in a large part to her presence on social media, where she shares make-up tutorials and reviews, as well as moments with her family and friends in Dubai, which is now her home.

Her curated lifestyle is a natural evolution from her early days as a beauty blogger. And to begin with, she loved social media.

"I thought it was just the best thing," she says. "You know, it democratised voices. It gave everybody the opportunity to speak up. It was supposed to be a place where people connected."

Instead, she says, it has become "a dopamine-hacking algorithm to keep people's eyes glued into a screen".


She is deeply cynical now about what it has to offer.

"Do I agree with social media now? No, I don't. Do I think it's good for the future? No, I don't. I don't any more."
'Unfair expectations'

One of the problems she points to is the pressure it places on women to be perfect.

"I think society has always been hard on women, but now, with social media, the expectations are just unfair," says Kattan.

"When I go on social media, sometimes I feel I can never be good-looking enough. I can never have achieved enough."


She accepts "absolutely, 100%" that in this respect she is part of the problem - but says she is also a victim of it.

"When you're somebody who's known for a look, you sometimes become almost a prisoner to your appearance."

People expect her nails to be done, and her hair, and her complexion to be perfect, which is "not reality" she says.

"I definitely for a long time felt that I was a prisoner to my Instagram handle. I felt, 'Here I am going out to the public, I am Huda Beauty'. Sometimes I feel like Huda Ugly


Given the huge reach of her social media platforms, anything Kattan says online attracts attention.

"As our voice became bigger, became more of a platform, I started to feel the need to speak up about certain things," she says.

"I am passionate about things that affect women, but also things affecting my community as well."

This interview took place before the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October - which saw 1,200 people killed and about 240 others taken hostage - and the subsequent strikes on Gaza.

Gaza's Hamas-run government says more than 14,500 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since Israeli air and ground strikes began. The United Nations has warned of a humanitarian crisis.

As the conflict escalated, Kattan used her social media accounts to post in support of Palestinians, attracting positive comments as well as criticism.

"I've been outspoken about some political things. I don't pretend to be a political expert," she told BBC 100 Women in July. "But if I see something and I know some of the information I definitely want to post about it."

Even before the current situation in Israel and Gaza developed, Kattan had been raising awareness about issues in the Middle East, saying political issues in the region weren't talked about enough.

"I get really upset sometimes when I see things happening. Sometimes I'm also like, 'Do I have the right information? Can I post about this? Am I only seeing one side?'. But I always want to post whatever I can."

When people message her asking questions like "How is your life so perfect?", she answers honestly that it isn't.

She says she would like the social media space "to be more vulnerable".

"I don't know where that space exists. I don't think it exists on Instagram but we have to create it," Kattan says.

She adds that she frequently has to disconnect or limit her own screen time, and doesn't allow her 12-year-old daughter on to social media at all.

"She does go on it behind my back sometimes, but I can see a difference in her anxiety levels when she's not online versus when she is."

Despite living much of her life in public, there are things that she keeps private, such as her Muslim faith.

She says she wasn't very religious as she grew up, but this changed as she became older. Now, she sees prayer as "one of the most beautiful experiences".

"I don't speak about it because I'm always afraid of the criticism - because I don't cover," she says. "People might say, 'Oh you're not allowed to do those things.'"

Huda Beauty is now 10 years old, and Kattan says she hopes she has given inspiration to some women of colour.

"I think back sometimes to that little Middle Eastern brown girl in Tennessee - there's still a lot of them out there in the world - and maybe seeing someone like me, they can feel a little bit represented."


Interview by Nouran Sallam.

Video filmed by Maher Nakhla and edited by Rebecca Thorn.

 

Self-Determination Is A Powerful Force: Just Ask Ukraine And Georgia – Analysis

 November 25, 2023  

By Arab News

By Luke Coffey

The 10th anniversary of the start of Ukraine’s Euromaidan, when thousands of demonstrators set up a protest camp in Kyiv’s central square, was last week.

Ukraine’s economy had been struggling and the Kremlin-backed President Viktor Yanukovych knew something had to be done to create new opportunities. Meanwhile the EU’s Eastern Partnership, the platform used by Brussels to engage with Eastern Europe, was keen to deepen relations with the countries of east, especially Ukraine. This led to a proposed political association and free trade agreement between the EU and Kyiv.

Of course, the Kremlin did not like the thought of Ukraine getting closer to Brussels and started to pressure Yanukovych into not signing the agreement. When he bowed to Russia’s wishes, Ukrainians gathered inMaidan Nazalezhnosti (Independence Square) in Kyiv on Nov. 21, 2013, and the Euromaidan was born.

It is worth remembering what happened in the months and years following the Euromaidan because it led to the terrible situation today in Ukraine. Eventually, months of street demonstrations from late 2013 to early 2014 led to Yanukovych’s removal from office. He fled to Russia, where he remains. Russia responded by sending troops, wearing uniforms with no insignia, into Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula under the pretext of “protecting Russian people.” This led to Russia’s eventual annexation of Crimea. The annexation cut Ukraine’s coastline in half and cost it about 7 percent of its sovereign territory.

In addition to the exploits in Crimea, Moscow stoked sectarian divisions in eastern Ukraine. Backed, armed, and trained by Russia, de facto separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine declared the so-called Lugansk People’s Republic and the Donetsk People’s Republic. Before long, Russian officials, troops, and military hardware flooded into the region. At the time, US President Barack Obama and other European leaders urged the Ukrainians not to fight, but to wait for diplomacy to resolve the crisis. Unsurprisingly, this never happened — an important lesson for Ukrainians in February 2022, when Russia invaded again.

The fighting that began in 2014 left 13,000 dead, 30,000 wounded and 1.4 million people displaced. While these figures pale in comparison to today’s fighting in Ukraine, at the time it was shocking. Two major ceasefire agreements — one in September 2014 and another in February 2015, known as Minsk I and Minsk II — failed. In February 2022, after months of building up military forces along Ukraine’s borders, Russia invaded again. The rest is now history. Today, the largest land war in Europe since the Second World War is playing out between Ukraine and Russia.

Coincidently, the anniversary of another important event in the post-Soviet countries also took place last week — the climax of Georgia’s Rose Revolution in 2003. After fraudulent parliamentary elections, street demonstrations against President Eduard Shevardnadze grew in size throughout November that year.

Shevardnadze was the de facto leader of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic in the 1970s and early 1980s. He then became the Soviet foreign minister under Mikhail Gorbachev. In 1995, after the Soviet Union collapsed, he became the president of the newly independent Georgia until he resigned on Nov. 23, 2003, during the Rose Revolution. His departure was an important milestone in Georgia’s history: the end of Soviet-era leaders playing a role in national life and the beginning of Georgia’s path to closer relations with the EU and NATO that continues today. This is why Georgia’s civil society is so supportive of Ukraine inRussia’s war. In fact, thousands of Georgian volunteers have traveled to Ukraine to fight the Russian invasion.

The long-term strategic goal for Russia is ensuring that countries such as Ukraine and Georgia remain out of the transatlantic community and distanced from organizations such as NATO and the EU. Moscow has perfected a formula to make this happen by using military force. Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008 and the annexation of Crimea in 2014 slowed down the EU and NATO prospects of both countries because neither organization wants to admit a new member involved in a war with Russia. In the longer run, Russia would also like to see the eventual integration of Ukraine and Georgia into Moscow-backed groups such asthe Collective Security Treaty Organization or the Eurasian Economic Union, but for the time being this seems highly unlikely if not impossible. Any sympathy Ukrainians had for Russia has been evaporated bythe invasion.

The events that began in Georgia in November 2003, and in Ukraine in November 2013, are a reminder that self-determination is a powerful force. After decades of Russian and Soviet domination, countries such asUkraine and Georgia want to chart their own path. Considering that Georgia and Ukraine have a history, language, and culture distinctive from Russia’s, this should not be a surprise.

For Ukrainians and Georgians, taking to the streets in a peaceful manner showed that each country has the sovereign ability to determine their own path and to decide with whom they have relations and how and by whom they are governed. No outside actor, in this case Russia, should have a veto on membership or closer relations with organizations such as the EU or NATO.

Street protests against Russian influence in Ukraine in 2013 have transformed into today’s trench warfare against a Russian invader. Ukrainians have sacrificed much to defend their country and there is no indication that the national mood to do so is changing. This week, when marking the 10th anniversary of the events of November 2013, President Volodymyr Zelensky described it as the Ukrainian people’s “first counteroffensive” against Russia saying. “It is up to our generation to determine the direction Ukraine’s history will take,” he said.

What Ukraine will look like when it marks the 20th anniversary of the Euromaidan is anyone’s guess. For the sake of the Ukrainian people who have sacrificed so much, let us hope it is a Ukraine that is free, independent, and secure.

• Luke Coffey is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.

Undated photo of soldiers from Ukraine firing on Russian positions. Photo Credit: Mehr News Agency

Arab News is Saudi Arabia's first English-language newspaper. It was founded in 1975 by Hisham and Mohammed Ali Hafiz. Today, it is one of 29 publications produced by Saudi Research & Publishing Company (SRPC), a subsidiary of Saudi Research & Marketing Group (SRMG).