On November 11, Dr. Vishakha Desai, an Asia scholar and author of the memoir World As Family, spoke to the Poly Community about her memoir and engaged in a dialogue on identity and global community. Dr. Desai spoke about her experience as an AFS student in America (from India) and the challenges to her identity. She mentioned that the “global family is dysfunctional right now and that there is an urgency to apply the idea of family to the world.” Desai also stated that close-minded people only think of their blood relatives as their family and those of a “magnanimous mind and a capricious spirit know how to treat the world as a family.” The book itself was well written and contained different anecdotes from her personal experience with local and global communities. I read chapter 6, Vietnam: War or Country, which was about her AFS experience and assimilation to a Santa Barbara High School. During this time, the topic of the Vietnam War is very controversial. At a republic-leaning school, Desai’s public protest of the Vietnam War is shunned upon. The AFS contacts her, letting her know that she can’t keep up this public protest because of the current climate. Desai offers a solution by promising to keep the protesting to light discussions among peers instead of in public. She relates the issues of the Vietnam War to her home country India, leading her to develop a deeper realization of how nationalism can evolve from a global context. Overall, I really enjoyed hearing her perspective on the flexibility of identity in relation to local and global communities. She explains that it is beneficial to lead a life full of different communities without losing your local identity.
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Recently, the G20 summit kicked off on October 30, 2021, where leaders of 19 countries and the European Union met in Rome to address global issues. The G20 summit was founded in 1999 and has assembled at least once every year involving high-rank officials from their respective countries. The goal of this meeting is to foster global economic cooperation and diplomatic activity. Besides the United States, the rest of the countries are Australia, Argentina, Britain, Brazil, China, France, Canada, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Russia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, South Africa, and Turkey.
The two-day gathering will hopefully produce a joint statement from the countries where they touch on global issues and how they can best address these issues going forward. Some of the issues being discussed during the summit include access to vaccines, climate change, economic relief to developing countries, and more. President Biden, who was present at the summit, met with the leaders of France, Britain, and Germany to discuss ways to better address the pandemic and the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran. In 2015, Iran and six nations (including the United States) reached an accord to limit Iran’s nuclear power in exchange for lifting oil and financial sanctions. The deal, under President Obama, was a huge diplomatic achievement as it created a new relationship between the two countries. However, in 2018, President Trump pulled out of the accord, causing Iran to violate certain elements of the pact. At the 2021 summit, Biden and several leaders hope to get the 2015 nuclear accord back on track. A big topic at the summit was the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to science analytics company Airfinity, G20 countries are receiving 15 times more doses per capita than countries in Africa. Including the United States, several G20 countries offered to donate vaccine doses to the area. Several notable absences at the summit include Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping who decided not to attend due to the risk of Covid infection. On the second day of the G20 summit, the leaders came up with an agreement on climate change committing each present nation to stop financing coal by the start of 2022 and to help contain global warming. The summit is a great step in the right direction to solving global issues but more direct action is needed. Time will tell if the agreement and the meeting overall will yield results on issues such as climate change and the Covid-19 vaccine. https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/g20-rome-sunday-session/index.html https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/15/world/middleeast/iran-nuclear-deal-is-reached-after-long-negotiations.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/08/business/oecd-global-minimum-tax.html https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/01/g20-what-did-world-leaders-agree-at-the-summit-in-rome Khin-Sandi Lwin, who formerly worked with Unicef, visited Polytechnic virtually and gave an amazing talk where she explored her work with refugees, the current situation in Myanmar, and her campaign to end female infanticide. Khin-Sandi left Myanmar at age after the 1962 military coup. She spent time in different countries, honing her global work and developing different skills. After working with UNICEF and the United Nations, Khin-Sandi led female leadership programs in Myanmar. After successful programs abroad, Khin-Sandi started educating men on the female dynamics in the workplace and how men should better use their power. Later, she gave a TedTalk where she explained her leadership programs to men and how her work with women have impacted the rest of their lives. Something that stood out to me during the presentation was the impact of Gen Z during the Myanmar crisis. Even when many voices were being silenced by the government, many young people in Myanmar voiced their concern with the militant government by attending rallies and protesting. It was interesting to hear the story of a young female beauty pageant winner who joined the army in order to fight back against the military faction who started the coup. It was intriguing to hear Khin-Sandi's thoughts on the Rohingya people have been unfairly treated throughout history. The minority group has been expelled from Myanmar countless time and have dealt with horrific disasters. Khin-Sandi touched upon the issue while explaining Suu Kyi's controversial thoughts on the topic. I hope to explore this topic in future global endeavors so I can better understand how they have been treated and how to best remedy the situation. Overall, I really enjoyed the GIP event because Khin-Sandi enlightened the audience with her inspiring work in empowering females and spreading the word on the Myanmar crisis. She stressed the importance of a global mindset and writing skills for young students. She encourages young students to spread the word about the Myanmar crisis on social media sinHer story is very powerful and motivates me to make a difference in the world while local or abroad. Squid Game, A Korean drama TV show, has become a viral sensation for Netflix. The show revolves around children’s games played by adults in debt for a chance at a large sum of money. The catch is that those who play risk the chance of being eliminated - which in this case means death. Squid Game was created by Hwang Dong-Hyuk who finished working on the script in 2009. Around that time, many production companies turned down his script because they felt it was too grotesque and unrealistic. Nonetheless, Netflix took a chance on this TV show. Already, it has broken numerous Netflix records and is on track to become their greatest hit in terms of hours watched and the number of subscribers who tuned in to the show. Minyoung Kim, the Vice president of Netflix’s creative activities in the Asia-Pacific Region, stated, “We’ve never seen anything grow as fast and aggressive as Squid Game.” “It’s still trending up.” Between 2015-2020, Netflix placed a huge bet on South Korean content by investing roughly $700 million. In 2021, they plan to spend around $500 million. This investment into Asian content/entertainment is a huge step for Asian representation in the entertainment industry. Already, we have seen several Asian movies that have reached global/US recognition such as Parasite, Train to Busan, Crazy Rich Asians, and Shang-Chi. Squid Game has become the first show in South Korea to hit Netflix’s top spot both in the United States and globally. I highly recommend this show and everyone I talked to would agree as well. The show is well-paced, and you are certain to get attached to the characters. Get ready for plot twists, heart-breaking moments, and a surprise ending. Also, watching the show with the original Korean voice acting with English subtitles is the best way to watch it in order to capture the genuine feelings of the actors instead of the cringe, English dubbed version. I’m excited for more Asian TV shows or movies to hit Netflix or the theater in the future. https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/02/entertainment/squid-game-netflix-series/index.html https://www.wsj.com/articles/netflixs-squid-game-is-the-dystopian-hit-no-one-wanteduntil-everyone-did-11633183200 https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-54847403 After a military investigation, the United States admitted that a drone strike in Kabul killed 10 innocent people in August. Days before the military withdrawal, the United States military conducted a drone strike after the terror attack at the Kabul airport, in an attempt to smoke out ISIS-K militants. The US intelligence had tracked an aid worker’s car, believing that it was the same one they had seen at an ISIS-K compound. However, it turned out to be the wrong vehicle and they instead killed 10 civilians. The top general of the US Central Command Frank Mckenzie stated, “We didn’t take the strike because we thought we were wrong - we took the strike because we thought we had a good target”. The aid worker as well as nine members of his family (7 children) were killed in the strike that occurred on August 29. The United States used a surveillance drone to survey the car, and they found a group of men loading explosives into the car but it turned out to be containers of water. General Mckenzie added that the strike was a “tragic mistake” and offered an apology. US officials stated that the explosion set off a secondary blast which was evidence that it was carrying explosives. However, the investigation later stated that the most likely cause was the propane tank left in the driveway. Most of the victims had worked for international organizations or held visas allowing them entry into the United States. The investigation found no connection between the aid worker and ISIS-K. After the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Kabul and the airport crisis, this drone strike certainly won’t help Biden’s approval ratings. FiveThirteyEight created a graph that calculated all of the polls of the President’s approval rating taking into account quality, recency, sample size, and partisan lean and found that 48.9% of people disapprove of Joe Biden. The United States needs to take more accountability by investigating everyone involved in the incident and should prosecute those involved in a fair trial. A drone strike like this shouldn’t be happening, and the United States must learn from their past mistakes. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58604655 https://www.npr.org/2021/09/21/1039393832/a-u-s-strike-recently-killed-afghan-civilians-but-its-far-from-the-first-time https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/17/politics/kabul-drone-strike-us-military-intl-hnk/index.html https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/biden-approval-rating/ In February 2021, the United States signed an agreement with the Taliban that would potentially end 20 years of fighting in Afghanistan. Under the agreement, President Trump would begin the withdrawal of American troops and in return, the Taliban would cut its ties with al-Qaida. Fast forward to 2021 and Biden has continued the process of withdrawing American troops by the end of August. Some people in congress worried whether this move would catapult Afghanistan into a world of chaos and violence while those in favor of this move stated that it would be better to see an end to this long war.
Capitalizing on the United States withdrawing troops, the Taliban seized two provinces in Afghanistan as they approached Kabul. 3,000 American soldiers arrived to help evacuate the U.S. Embassy. The Taliban captured Herat and Kandahar, Afghanistan’s second and third largest cities. They then commanded 19 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. The Afghan President Ashraf Ghani stated that he would not let the achievements of the United States work in Afghanistan in the past 20 years go to waste. Later, the Taliban captured Kabul while Ghani fled the country. A US Official stated earlier this week that CIA Director William J. Burns held a secret meeting in Kabul with the Taliban leader, Abdul Ghani Baradar. If confirmed, this would be the highest-level contact between the United States and the Taliban since the Kabul incident. The Washington Post stated that the meeting might have involved a deadline for when the US military should conclude its airlift. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/burns-afghanistan-baradar-biden/2021/08/24/c96bee5c-04ba-11ec-ba15-9c4f59a60478_story.html https://www.npr.org/2021/08/24/1030723295/in-an-unexpected-move-the-cia-director-met-with-taliban-leader-in-kabul https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cia-taliban-meeting-director-william-burns-kabul-evacuations/ https://www.cfr.org/timeline/us-war-afghanistan In one of the biggest sports stories this year, it was stated that Lionel Messi was set to leave Barcelona. In the world of soccer or football, Lionel Messi is arguably considered the GOAT. He has spent his entire career at Barcelona (21 years) and was hoping to retire there. With Messi’s contract set to expire at the end of the 2021 season, many assumed that he would stay. If he could have it his way, Messi would have stayed. That was his intention when he went to renew and sign a new contract. However, details emerged stating that Barcelona couldn’t afford to renew Messi’s contract even after he proposed a 50% wage deduction. Even if Messi offered to play for free, Barcelona still would not be able to renew Messi’s contract due to their deep financial trouble stemming from the coronavirus and mismanagement. However, it would not be possible for any player to take any less than a 50% wage deduction as it goes against La Liga (The Spanish soccer league) rules. So why is Barcelona unable to afford Messi? Part of the reason is that they have a huge wage bill or the salary of the players. Barcelona’s annual salary would have accounted for 110% of their income and only 95% with Messi off the team. La Liga’s regulations are set at a maximum of 70%. Not to mention, Barcelona is more than $1 billion in debt and will lose $350 million in 2020. The financial troubles led Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu to resign. It is clear to see that the Spanish giants have fallen. As for Messi, he will be joining Paris Saint Germain. Widely considered the best team in the French league, Ligue 1, and even in the whole world. Messi will be playing in Paris with the likes of other superstars such as Neymar, Mbappe, and more. While it's the end of an era for Messi at Barcelona, he will have a chance to play with some of the best players in the world in his quest for more European glory. https://www.sportscasting.com/barcelona-drops-lionel-messi-bombshell-goat-out-because-club-cant-afford-84-million-salary-with-470-million-loss-last-season/ https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/lionel-messi-barcelona-wages-la-liga-salary-cap-play-free-why-1141150 https://www.thescore.com/fran/news/2190876 https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/14/football/psg-no-excuses-after-lionel-messi-signing-spt-cmd-intl/index.html From schools shutting down to overfilled hospitals, the pandemic has affected the world in numerous ways. Now, it seems that Nike is facing a shortage of sneakers as the Covid-19 pandemic worsens in Vietnam. Nike’s suppliers in Vietnam were forced to halt production as Coronavirus swept through the country. Their two suppliers: Chang Shin Vietnam Co. and Pou Chen Corp were forced to halt manufacturing. Since April, Vietnam has recorded over 83,000 infections and 335 deaths.
Vietnam accounts for 49% of U.S. imports to Nike and 82% of footwear shipments in the last year. Nike CFO Matthew Friend stated that he “expects supply chain delays and higher logistics costs to persist throughout much of 2022”. Another Nike spokesperson stated, “The health and safety of our teammates, as well as that of our suppliers, remains our top priority”. As a result of the production halt, Nike’s shares were down 1.3%. Demand from consumers vastly outweighs the supply with the recent production halt in Vietnam not helping. While a sneaker shortage is not beneficial to Nike and its consumers, the more important issue is the health and safety of those affected by Coronavirus. In the coming days, Vietnam would institute a 15-day lockdown in the capital city of Hanoi. This comes as a result of a record 7,295 cases in 24 hours. Vietnam has currently administered 6,959,197 doses of the COVID vaccines so far which is only enough for 3.6% of their population. To combat the recent surge in infections, Vietnam has shut down several major cities, built several field hospitals, and plans to open up more vaccination centers. https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/blog/qa-data-that-delivers-automating-the-credit-risk-workflow https://www.npr.org/2021/07/24/1020162186/vietnam-hanoi-lockdown-covid-cases-coronavirus https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/19/nike-could-run-out-of-shoes-from-vietnam-as-covid-worsens-sp-global.html https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nike-could-run-out-of-sneakers-made-in-vietnam-as-the-covid-cases-spike-there-191540146.html On June 13th, 12 people were killed and 39 were seriously injured in a gas explosion in a Chinese market. Occurring in the Hubei province city of Shiyan, the explosion sent approximately 150 people to the hospital. The explosions occurred around 6 a.m. and most of the damage occurred in the food market. Rescue workers were seen working to free people who were trapped in the fallen debris and bricks.
Many people have started to call for regular safety inspections and measures so that this type of incident does not occur again. Xi Jinping, China’s leader, stated that there were “profound” lessons to be learned from this explosion. There have been previous instances where gas explosions have occurred; among the worst is a 2015 explosion at a chemical warehouse in Tianjin that killed 173 people. The incident was likely due to illegal construction and unsafe storage of dangerous materials. A day before this June 13th explosion, 8 people died and three were injured in a chemical leak in Guiyang. Tying this global incident with a similar case back home, such as the Florida condo collapse, shows how we need to implement safety measures and not bypass certain safety regulations. It was very disheartening to hear about the Florida condo collapse and the gas explosion in the Chinese market. In the future, I am hoping we will implement some changes both locally and globally to prevent these types of accidents. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/13/world/asia/china-shiyan-gas-explosion.html https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/gas-explosion-central-china-kills-least-12 https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/gas-explosion-northern-china-kills-11-78248836 On June 11, the Euro 2020 tournament kicks off with Italy vs Turkey. The European soccer tournament that was originally scheduled for 2020 but pushed back due to Covid, is finally underway in 2021. This tournament occurs every four years and involves European countries that qualify to participate in the tournament. The competition in 2016 saw Portugal beat France 1-0 to win the championship.
There are 6 groups (A-F) and the top two teams advance to the next round as well as four third place teams with the highest point totals. From there, the 16 teams participate in a knockout stage where the winner keeps advancing until they reach the championship. This tournament spans across 11 cities in Europe with the final culminating in London, England. The winning team will receive $10 million. The favorites coming into this tournament are recent world cup winners France and a resurging England. Belgium, Portugal, Spain, and Germany are some more names among others who are participating as well. Most of the games are being broadcast on ESPN. It will be interesting to see which country wins the Euro tournament this year. |