2019
March
05
Tuesday

Monitor Daily Podcast

March 05, 2019
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The United States is slowly rebuilding its stairway to the heavens.

This week, there’s a buzz around a space capsule carrying a crash-test dummy named Ripley (after the character played by Sigourney Weaver in the movie “Aliens”). The SpaceX capsule became the first privately built and operated American spacecraft, designed for humans, to dock at the International Space Station. For eight years now, the US has paid Russia to hitch a ride to the ISS.

The SpaceX capsule still needs to safely return to Earth Friday (we’re working on a story about the revival of launching astronauts from US soil). If all goes to plan, Ripley will give up her seat to live astronauts as soon as this summer. The next destinations: the moon and Mars. 

The SpaceX achievement is praiseworthy progress. But amid protests over police injustice in Sacramento, Calif., the politics of US border security, and a power struggle in Venezuela, NASA astronaut Anne McClain gave me pause by putting a larger frame of hope around this week’s events.

"Spaceflight gives us a chance to reflect on the context of our existence. We are reminded that we are human before any of our differences, before all of the lines are drawn that divide us," she said Sunday. "These events remind us that we are more alike than different, that we can be united by a cause that is not based on fear, threat, or a common enemy, but rather on a bold endeavor…."

Now to our five selected stories, including the tension between justice and loyalty in Israel, new incentives for teachers, and why Netflix wants to make films in Africa. 


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

Dan Balilty/AP/File
A 2015 campaign poster with the image of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat among ballot papers at his party's election headquarters, in Tel Aviv, in March of that year. New elections are less than 40 days away.

What does it mean for a democracy to have a leader indicted for corruption? That’s a question being asked in Israel, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a political survivor, heads to elections.

D.C. Decoder

There has been lots of talk about impeachment since Democrats retook the House. But that comes with considerable political risks. The investigation launched Monday by the House Judiciary Committee may have a different goal in mind.

As ‘sandwich generation’ rises, corporate culture is slow to adapt

Balancing work and family is a familiar challenge. We were intrigued by a new workplace survey that emphasizes the role that employers, not just government, can play in finding solutions.

SOURCE:

"The Caring Company," a report by Joseph B. Fuller and Manjari Raman of Harvard Business School.

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Jacob Turcotte and Mark Trumbull/Staff
Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP/File
Kindergarten teacher Katy Howser looks out from her apartment balcony in Santa Clara, Calif., in December 2015. Providing and subsidizing housing for teachers is one way school districts in rural and high cost-of-living areas are addressing teacher shortages.

If you were deciding between two jobs, low-cost housing and free utilities could tip the balance. We look at how the path to better schools means finding new ways to attract and retain teachers.

Ilze Kitshoff/Netflix
Chiwetel Ejiofor and Maxwell Simba perform in 'The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind,' a Netflix-carried film directed by Mr. Ejiofor that is set in rural Malawi and acted mostly in a local language, Chichewa.

Media companies respond to people's tastes, but also shape them. We look at how a Netflix push for more African films may shake up assumptions about "global" entertainment.


The Monitor's View

Reuters
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shake hands at the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas on April 27, 2018.

These may be trying times for the Nobel committee. So many world leaders are standouts to win this year’s Peace Prize. In the midst of their particular crises, each one is trying different ways to prevent violence. Yet each can be held up as a model of peacemaking in process, worthy of a supportive award.

Perhaps the most visible example is Venezuela’s Juan Guaidó. In January, he became interim president with the support of the National Assembly and has insisted on nonviolent means in the effort to oust dictator Nicolás Maduro. Week by week, his pacifist approach has persuaded more and more members of the military to break ranks with Mr. Maduro.

“This is unprecedented in the world,” he told The Wall Street Journal. “I think the change is going to be peaceful and constitutional.”

In South Korea, President Moon Jae-in took office in 2017 and soon opened a door to a North Korea that was escalating its missile and nuclear tests. His deft diplomacy laid the groundwork for the first summit between the United States and North Korea last June. With the apparent failure of a second summit last month, he again seeks peaceful engagement. Reconciliation between the two Koreas, he says, is the “driving force” to denuclearize North Korea.

In Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed, who holds a PhD in conflict resolution, took office as prime minister last year and promptly won over foes with his trademark phrase: “Love always wins.” He has signed a peace pact with Eritrea and freed political prisoners. He has welcomed dissidents to help him reshape the country.

Dr. Abiy’s biggest challenge is reconciling 80 different ethnics groups that often fight each other or try to secede. The days of using military force to suppress dissent are over, he says. “Negative peace is possible as long as you have a strong army. We are heading to positive peace,” he told the Financial Times.

Perhaps the biggest surprise in peaceful leadership – and most critical to the world – is Imran Khan. The former cricket star became Pakistan’s prime minister last year in a country where the military traditionally controls security policy. After a Feb. 14 suicide attack arranged by a Pakistani terrorist group killed 44 Indian security forces in disputed Kashmir, India launched its first airstrike inside Pakistan since a 1971 war. The two nuclear-capable states were primed for all-out conflict.

In a goodwill gesture that suddenly changed the mood, Mr. Khan returned an Indian fighter pilot shot down inside Pakistan. He also offered talks with India and promised to seize the assets of terrorists groups operating in Pakistan. “Nobody wins in a war. Especially countries that have the sort of weapons that India and Pakistan possess should not even think of war...,” he said.

It remains unclear how much Khan will further confront a military that has often used terrorist groups for strategic purposes. He is the first prime minister not to come from the traditional political establishment. If he can bring terrorist groups to heel, it will start to heal ties with India.

Which of these leaders deserve a Nobel? Events are still moving in each country and the Peace Prize will not be known until October. For now, however, each deserves attention and support, especially for their conviction that peace is possible and natural.


A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

Each weekday, the Monitor includes one clearly labeled religious article offering spiritual insight on contemporary issues, including the news. The publication – in its various forms – is produced for anyone who cares about the progress of the human endeavor around the world and seeks news reported with compassion, intelligence, and an essentially constructive lens. For many, that caring has religious roots. For many, it does not. The Monitor has always embraced both audiences. The Monitor is owned by a church – The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston – whose founder was concerned with both the state of the world and the quality of available news.

Today’s contributor shares ideas that brought peace, harmony, and inspiration when she faced a frustrating situation as a caregiver.


A message of love

Fabian Bimmer/Reuters
A steelworker prepares a steel cylinder at the German firm Salzgitter AG in Salzgitter, Germany, March 5.
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Karen Norris. )

A look ahead

Thanks for joining us. Come back tomorrow to learn why our reporter was met with hostility in Turkey when he showed up at a tent selling cut-rate vegetables.

More issues

2019
March
05
Tuesday

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