Talking Points
- US President Joe Biden signed a huge $1.9tr stimulus deal
- He also proposed July 4 as the date to return to normality
- US Sec of State pushed for an accelerated Afghanistan withdrawal
- An additional murder charge was brought against Derek Chauvin
- Two broad hacks targeted Microsoft and a surveillance company
- Convictions annulled, Brazil's Lula plotted a comeback
- The EU voted to make the bloc an LGBT 'freedom zone'
- Japan marked a decade since the Fukushima disaster
- The military killed a dozen more protesters in Myanmar
- The Korean 'comfort women' debate was reopened
Dive deeper
This week: that interview. The royals who rebelled, the family that closed ranks, and the most important socio-political question of the last few years: how do we construct and defend identity?
Royal rumble
We promise that this isn't just royal gossip, which any enlightened individual would consider a touch woo-woo and antiquated . Nor is it mindless applause for Oprah Winfrey's highly-engaging interviewing chops. Indeed, it's not even really about tense conversations that happen at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle or behind any other battlements. By now you'll know the intimate details: the reasons why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, flew the royal coop. There were accusations of pettiness, bitterness, but the one that really stuck was alleged racism. Harry described "colonial undertones" emanating from the palace. Undertones reified into overtones by a member (as of yet unnamed) of the royal family who questioned the pigmentation of their expected child.
Racism in one of the offshoots of House Saxe-Coburg and Gotha? Quelle surprise! This blue-blooded lineage has produced the likes of Nazi-friendly Edward VIII and actual génocidaire Leopold II of Belgium. Prince Philip is still alive (just)! The response from the palace was typically guarded , "The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. Whilst some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately". The qualifying clause that opens the second line is doing a great deal of work in that announcement. Prince William erred further on the side of denial, "we're very much not a racist family". Let they whose family have never had an empire upon which the sun never sets cast the first stone.
Rather wisely, the political class is tip-toeing around it .
The ripples were felt across the Atlantic. Whether fired by a strong-sense of parochialism (perhaps: only we can be racist to our brown people) or bitter memories the War of 1812, t he response from Americans was cacophonous. The question was posed: how do you cancel a monarchy? (America's school curriculum obviously elides any 20th century Russian history). A better question is: h ow do you change an institution that draws its strength from immutability. The royal family is fawned over because it is the only part of England that never changes. It endures boom and bust, Blitz and Blair. Most importantly, it endures the changing demographics of the United Kingdom.
Cancelling culture
The Crown is white – exclusively and blindingly so – because the England of yore was largely white. The monarchy represents contiguous identity for the English; introducing Black and Brown people into the royal family is quite literally breaching the last bastion of Englishness. This is, for many, an unacceptable dilution of identity. The politics of that identity are promulgated every day in the media: over Black Lives Matter, the Windrush scandal, and racist policing. But most of all it is the lens of Brexit: who is and isn't one of us.
After years of trying Piers Morgan finally discovered an expression contemptible enough to get him ejected from Good Morning Britain . Morgan's comments ("I don't believe a word she says, Meghan Markle. I wouldn't believe it if she read me a weather report...", "[they are] grasping, scheming, selfish Kardashian-wannabes") drew 41,000 complaints to the broadcast regulator. Do not celebrate his departure: this is the-bar-is-on-the-floor accountability. The real test for Britain's media is whether he'll get another high-profile, multi-million dollar position. Our money is on the affirmative.
But h is departure prompted 200,000 aggrieved fans – for whom Morgan's rambunctious style and retrograde opinions strike a chord – to sign a petition demanding his reinstatement. And here is the problem: it has already been subsumed by the culture war. In a poll this week 64% of conservative voters expressed sympathy for Queen Elizabeth, while around a third of Labour voters supported Harry and Meghan. Just like that: an issue of respect has been bifurcated into 'left' and 'right'. It ought not be understated: media organisations play the lead roles in keeping the culture war churning along. Until there is a movement for greater equality (and sophistication) within those newsrooms, it is not going to filter down into the culture war that the rest of us consume.
At a deeper level, until Englishness is reconciled with the multiracial reality of its own history (there were African nobles living in Londinium two millennia ago) any change to the monarchy will be seen as a challenge to their identity.
Worldlywise
Vaccine watch
Yesterday marked the first anniversary of the World Health Organisation labelling the novel coronavirus COVID-19 a pandemic (the world falling apart). Of course, the virus was already rampaging through China and Italy by March 2020, but this marked the moment that global equity markets hit the panic button.
Global case numbers were falling steadily from a mid-January peak, but have plateaued in the last two weeks as some countries slip. The accelerated-transmission and significantly higher death-rate associated with the UK variant (B.1.1.7) is a cause for concern everywhere. A third wave is swelling in France and Germany – in Italy it has already arrived. Then there are countries like Brazil, which is faced with a ruinous year. An epidemiologist from the state-run Fiocruz Institute delivered dismal news, "[the] fight against COVID-19 was lost in 2020". President Jair Bolsonaro continued his odious pantomime of bravado, encouraging his countryfolk to stop "whining" about the virus – all while his hospital system collapses. Without a shadow of a doubt: tens of thousands more Brazilians die under the anti-governance of the current government.
Now, to the vaccines. Maryland-based Novavax revealed pristine stage three trial results : its vaccine is 100% protective against severe cases of the original coronavirus strain. However, it's effectiveness dropped off sharply when used against the South African variant – a sign of limited utility in a world of fast-evolving newer strains. On the other hand, Pfizer's two-shot vaccine has been shown in real-world conditions to be 94% effective against asymptomatic infections . Results from Israel show the Pfizer shots have tamped down the spread even though B.1.1.7 accounted for the majority of new cases. This follows an earlier confirmation that it works against the Brazilian strain.
Johnson & Johnson's one-shot treatment has been approved in Europe . This vaccine which hitches a ride in on a genetically-modified adenovirus to reprogram DNA (rather than the single-strand RNA technology favoured by Pfizer and Moderna) and is thus hardier. It's overall efficacy rate in the high 60s rises to 85% when dealing with severe cases – but its the storability that makes this shot a game-changer. Meanwhile, poor old AstraZeneca has been placed back on ice in a handful of Nordic countries over fears that it increases the likelihood of blood-clots .
International Women's Dilemma
In case you were under a rock this week, it was International Women's Day (IWD) on Monday. In years gone by we've observed the orthodoxy: celebrating the achievement of individuals who are striving to draw attention to women's issues, especially those in overtly patriarchal societies. Success stories; no doubt helped along by this beneficent institution or that corporate partner. This is the fodder of 'girl boss' round-tables, gushing company luncheons, and any number of dewy-eyed keynote speeches.
This year the day held an entirely different tenor. In Australia, such stories were told, but they sat in garish contrast to the rage felt by many, many people. Unrefined and largely unaddressed, Australians are infuriated by the rolling series of rape scandals in Canberra. In one of the most advanced liberal democracies on the planet women are unsafe. This is not a localised phenomenon.
To wit: the World Health Organisation revealed findings that one in three women worldwide have been physically or sexually assaulted. Overlay that statistic, if you will, to the people in your life. As the report acknowledged, "violence against women is endemic in every country and culture". Those women struggling to end period poverty in Nepal or grasp equitable property rights in sub-Saharan Africa are worthy of celebration, but not before a wholesale castigation of the global failure to fight violence against women. Indeed, on the day UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres lamented, "a roll-back in hard-won advances in women's rights".
IWD is a revolutionary idea that has been transformed into a bauble. The day itself was adopted by the feminist movement in the 1960s and achieved global recognition through the United Nations in 1977. But its not a product of the fat years of post-war America. The women working in Petrograd textile factories in 1917 weren't striking for business brunches – they marched for 'bread and peace'. Their labour action sparked the February Revolution, but a century later the world's women are still grasping for economic security and personal safety. Next year, perhaps, let's regain a little of that vigour.
The best of times
A needed balm
Palestinian burn victims without access to medical specialists are now receiving vital treatment thanks homegrown ingenuity and 3D-printed masks . A program was developed after dozens of people were injured by an explosion at Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp last year. Scans of the victims’ faces were sent to experts around the globe before the masks were printed locally. The masks work by applying pressure to the burns, thus accelerating the healing and preventing scars. As a result of the program, people in areas with scarce medical help can still receive treatment.
Fruit trafficking
A field of vegetables and fruit in one of Rio de Janeiro’s poorest areas is reducing levels of poverty, crime, and food insecurity. For decades, residents of Manguinhos lived in cycle of violence caused by drug trafficking. Out of this, a community garden emerged. Its volunteers distribute two tons of fresh produce to locals every month. The food security has cascaded down, stabilising incomes and livelihoods. Today the Manguinhos vegetable garden is Latin America’s largest community garden , helping at least 800 families survive the pandemic.
The worst of times
An uninhabitable equator
If global temperatures rise 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, humans will no longer be able to live in tropical areas . The rise in heat will mean those residing in areas 20° in latitude north or south of the equator will experience a terrible burden: their skin won't be able to cool itself naturally. Currently, 40% of the world’s population lives in these areas - though that number is predicted to rise. And so, we’re faced with an imperative: ameliorate climate change or relocate at least 40% of our species.
Dying of consumption
The ways in which we produce and consume food are accelerating climate change. One study released this week revealed that 34% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions were generated by food systems. That works out to be two tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per person annually. Additionally, the food we don’t eat is also harming the planet. Another study revealed that in 2019, 931m tons of food was wasted , contributing to 10% of global emissions.
Weekend Reading
The image
The quote
“There were red flags everywhere. If I were a professional investor, it would literally take me five minutes to decide that this was uninvestable.”
– A comment from a forensic accountant picking through the ruins of Lex Greensill's financial empire. The Australian-born Greensill's mission to make "finance fairer" took him to great, soaring heights. His fall has been swift: a multi-billion dollar valuation evaporated in a few short weeks. Erstwhile billionaire Lex Greensill – if that's not normative determinism at work we'll eat our hats.
The numbers
99kph
- The Italian challenger Luna Rossa is right in the hunt at this year's America's Cup. The 5-tonne AC75-class yacht rises above the waves on hydrofoils and absolutely goes (53.4 knots for the nautically-minded).
10%
- German sportswear giant Adidas is forecasting 10% growth in sales annually through to 2025. It's push into manufacturing with recycled materials is tapped as a key driver component of this. With one third of all the plastics ever produced in circulation right now, we'll need to hear a lot more of this.
The headline
"The World Isn't Building Back Better After the Pandemic" – Bloomberg . Ah! Well, nevertheless... there's always another pandemic on the horizon to learn from.
The special mention
One candidate was lengths ahead this week: Ari Ben-Menashe – the new public relations agent for Myanmar's military. After a career in Israeli military intelligence and a side hustle in arms-dealing, Ben-Menashe founded a PR firm that counted Robert Mugabe and Sudan's military junta as clients. It takes a very particular type of human to work on K Street. No doubt we'll be hearing nothing but the unvarnished truth as he defends the junta.
A few choice long-reads
- The millennia-long legacy of India's caste system is felt in every walk of life on the sub-continent. Now it's being imported to Silicon Valley. Bloomberg Businessweek on barriers tech can't overcome.
- You know it. I know it. Even they know it: American democracy is broken. The Economist proposes a few ideas about how to actually fix it.
- Alexei Navalny achieved a surprising feat: he made Vladimir Putin lose his patience with the opposition. Financial Times dives into this new, third act of a Russian strongman.
Tom Wharton @trwinwriting
