2023
February
17
Friday

Monitor Daily Podcast

February 17, 2023
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Amelia Newcomb
Senior editor

A full year has passed since Fahad Shah, editor of The Kashmir Walla newspaper and an internationally respected reporter with whom we have worked, was arrested on Feb. 4, 2022, in Kashmir for publishing “anti-national content.” 

The Kashmir Walla, which Mr. Shah founded, elevates the voices of everyday people and stands fast against unjust laws with honest reporting. But Mr. Shah has paid a heavy price for that work. He has been granted bail repeatedly, only to be immediately rearrested. He continues to be held in a jail in Jammu, far from family and friends, under the anti-terror Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. He is facing life imprisonment if convicted.

Mr. Shah’s case is a sharp reminder of the need to strengthen free voices as efforts to shut them down intensify daily around the globe. His release is particularly important to the cause of free press in Kashmir.

We, the undersigned, call on authorities to release Mr. Shah immediately and to respect his standing as an independent journalist.

Mark Sappenfield, Editor, The Christian Science Monitor

Ravi Agrawal, Editor-in-Chief, Foreign Policy

Erica Berenstein, Executive Producer of News and Documentary, Insider

Dave Besseling, Longreads Editor, South China Morning Post

D. D. Guttenplan, Editor, The Nation

Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, Editor, Foreign Affairs

Boyoung Lim, Senior Editor, Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting

Katharine Viner, Editor-in-Chief, The Guardian


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

Ohad Zwigenberg/AP
Pro-democracy demonstrators protest plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system, outside the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem, Feb. 13, 2023. The banner reads, "Not going backwards."

The demonstrations in Israel against proposed legislation curtailing the powers of the judiciary are intensifying, spurring warnings of a national emergency and disbelief among protesters that democratic values are under threat.

A deeper look

Ross D. Franklin/AP/File
Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake waves to supporters prior to former President Donald Trump speaking at a Save America Rally, July 22, 2022, in Prescott, Arizona. Ms. Lake, who was seen as a rising MAGA star, has refused to concede defeat, vowing to take her case to Arizona’s Supreme Court.

One of the clearest messages from the 2022 elections was voters’ rejection of politicians who echoed former President Trump’s claims of fraud. But could Kari Lake’s charismatic brand of election denialism shape not only the future of Trumpism but the 2024 race?

Alan Freed/Reuters
Members of the community gather to discuss their safety and other environmental concerns at a town hall meeting following a train derailment that spilled toxic chemicals, in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 15, 2023.

After a train accident caused hazardous chemicals to spill and burn in their community, residents of East Palestine, Ohio, await answers on their long-term safety.

Podcast

‘Buoyed by their resilience’: Reporting on life during wartime

Every geopolitical clash that leads to conflict delivers chaos to people on the ground – to civilians who just seek normalcy. For our reporter, it’s their perseverance that brings inspiration and hope. 

War Stories

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Teddy Wolff/File
Vera Gurpinar (clockwise from left), Ben Turner, and Mohammad Amiri perform in a scene from “The Jungle,” at the 2018 U.S. premiere of the show at St. Ann's Warehouse in New York. The production starts a new U.S. run at St. Ann's Warehouse on Feb. 18, 2023.

What role do the arts play in debates about immigration? With “The Jungle,” a pair of playwrights immerse people in the migrant camp experience, aiming to prompt more discussion and understanding. 


The Monitor's View

Reuters
East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway addresses reporters before a town hall meeting to discuss their environmental concerns following a train derailment that spilled toxic chemicals Feb. 3.

When a massive toxic spill happens, like the one from a train derailment in Ohio on Feb. 3, the first casualty is often faith in government officials responsible for public safety. In the community of East Palestine where the tragedy occurred, the town mayor displayed a certain humility about his ability to deal with the disaster.

“I need help,” Trent Conaway told residents in a town hall meeting Wednesday. “I’m not ready for this. But I’m not leaving. I’m not going anywhere.”

His honesty and accountability might serve as a salve for anger over the spill, especially after the mixed or evasive responses from federal and state officials as well as the railroad company, Norfolk Southern, about both the dangers and the cleanup needed.

Speaking in East Palestine yesterday, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan acknowledged that the derailment “has understandably shaken this community to its core. ... We know that there is a lack of trust.” The railroad company, meanwhile, has set up emergency funds totaling more than $2 million to help residents and business owners recover.

The train that derailed was 150 cars long with a three-person crew. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said roughly 50 cars jumped the tracks, 11 of them filled with various toxic chemicals. The wreckage left emergency responders and local officials with an untenable choice: wait for the chemical reactions triggered by the disaster to result in an explosion or burn off the substances in a controlled release. They chose the latter.

Such disasters raise questions faster than explanations can be determined or solutions put in motion. How far did the spilled chemicals spread, and how long will it take for them to break down, if at all? Did the Biden administration subordinate safety concerns in its efforts last year to avert a strike by rail workers – whose union raised such concerns?

It may take weeks for the NTSB to determine what caused the derailment. (Another Norfolk Southern train carrying chemicals skipped its tracks yesterday near Detroit.) Results from more thorough tests of soil and water are at least days away. New regulatory reforms will require long political battles.

Better understood is how environmental and infrastructure crises erode public trust. A 2014 decision in Flint, Michigan, to switch the city’s water source – the new water had contaminates that leached lead from the pipes – has left residents even today with suspicions about both the water quality and officials. “The pain from the Flint water crisis is with me every day,” Dayne Walling, who as Flint’s mayor pressed the button that switched the water sources, said years later.

Human-caused catastrophes are like pin drops, marking places such as Chernobyl and Flint as cautionary tales. In time, East Palestine may be known for something else – how trust can be rebuilt if enough officials own up to what they know and what can be done for public safety.


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.

There’s value in holding to our unbreakable connection to God.


A message of love

Amr Nabil/AP
Runners participate in the 6.2-mile (10-kilometer) Saqqara Pyramid Race on Feb. 17, 2023. The course takes competitors past the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, Egypt, which was built in the 27th century B.C. and was ancient Egypt's first colossal stone structure.
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Jacob Turcotte. )

A look ahead

Thanks for joining us today. The Monitor will not publish on Monday, Feb. 20, Presidents Day in the United States. We look forward to seeing you back here on Feb. 21!

More issues

2023
February
17
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