2021
July
16
Friday

Monitor Daily Podcast

July 16, 2021
Error loading media: File could not be played
 
00:0000:0000:00
00:00
Linda Feldmann
Washington Bureau Chief

The sidewalks outside the White House are teeming with life again, a welcome sight after more than a year closed to pedestrians. Cue the protesters, a reminder that free speech is a bedrock American value – and a sign that, despite its challenges, Washington remains a beacon of hope for Americans of many proud national origins. 

This week, it was Cuban Americans, shouting “Libertad!” – liberty – and wearing “SOS Cuba” T-shirts in support of the rare protests taking place on the communist island nation.

“We want a military intervention to throw out the regime,” says Havana native Camilo Sanchez, a Cuban flag draped over his shoulders. 

On Sunday, it will be Belarusian Americans staging a rally, on nearby Freedom Plaza. The former Soviet republic’s opposition leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, will be in Washington next week for meetings, including at the White House. Her supporters view her as president-elect of Belarus, after strongman Alexander Lukashenko claimed electoral victory last summer amid allegations of widespread fraud. 

Belarusian immigrant Denis Baranov, who arrived here as a teen 20 years ago, tells me the best outcome of Ms. Tsikhanouskaya’s visit would be quick U.S. actions that “really hurt Lukashenko and his cronies” – say, stricter economic sanctions. 

Haitian Americans, too, are watching the Biden administration closely after the July 7 assassination of Haiti’s president. And even though Haitian authorities requested a U.S. military intervention to stabilize the country, Haitian Americans are wary of the idea, given the U.S.’s fraught history there. 

Each country’s situation is unique, but there’s a common thread: the deep connection many U.S. immigrants feel to their native land. 


You've read 3 of 3 free articles. Subscribe to continue.

Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

Tom Brenner/Reuters
Vice President Kamala Harris listens as President Joe Biden delivers remarks about the child tax credit relief payments that began this week. He spoke in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building's South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington, July 15, 2021.

A newly expanded child tax credit, while passed by Democrats, is an idea that also speaks to values held by many conservatives: supporting struggling families and countering a decline in birthrates.

A group of bipartisan senators have agreed to a blueprint for overhauling America’s infrastructure, from roads to broadband; now they must overcome a lack of trust between and within their parties.

Patterns

Tracing global connections

Afghanistan’s influential neighbors have never liked the U.S. presence on their borders. But the U.S. withdrawal has underscored a shared interest that now falls more heavily to them: a stable government.

Listen

Photo: Ann Hermes, photo illustration: Jacob Turcotte

Frontline worker, pandemic mom: How one nurse did it all

The pandemic dealt Yarleny Roa-Dugan her toughest challenges yet. But the nurse and mother of two refuses to let that slow her down for long. Episode 3 of our podcast “Stronger.” 

The Nurse

Error loading media: File could not be played
 
00:0000:0000:00
00:00

Books

What better refreshment does one need than a good book? Our reviewers’ choices this month range from stimulating novels and absorbing memoirs to a timely exploration of the natural world.    


The Monitor's View

Sometimes, just sometimes, climate diplomacy can lead to climate action. Last month, for example, Gabon became the first African country to be paid for protecting its forests, which cover 90% of the country. It received $17 million from Norway, part of a larger international plan to prevent tree-cutting in Central Africa and preserve the role of forests in absorbing climate-heating emissions.

Such triumphs in eco-stewardship across borders are worth noting because this year has seen an extraordinary burst in climate diplomacy, a professional field now as important as nuclear, trade, or peace diplomacy. This could mean the international talk-shops that regularly agree on voluntary climate goals might be closer to producing real results, perhaps leading to fewer heat waves, mass flooding, or super typhoons.

In recent months, the world’s major air polluters – China, the United States, and Europe – have stepped up their geopolitical competition in setting climate goals. On Wednesday, the European Union issued a very specific regulatory plan that could reduce greenhouse gases 55% by 2030 compared with 1990 levels. President Joe Biden is pushing a multitrillion-dollar infrastructure plan that is heavily focused on green energy and decarbonization. He also created the first Cabinet-level climate envoy, filled by former Secretary of State John Kerry. In March, China announced that it would begin to scale down coal use in 2026 as it scales up renewable energies. On a more cooperative level, the G-20 group of wealthy nations has collectively endorsed carbon pricing for the first time.

Much of this diplomacy is driven by the next United Nations meeting on climate planned for November. Nations want to put their best plan forward at the talks in Glasgow, Scotland. The U.S. has also returned to the table after a four-year lapse in climate diplomacy during the Trump administration. And the pandemic has served as a reminder that global cooperation is needed for global challenges.

Climate diplomats, who represent their respective national interests, increasingly use the term “climate security.” While countries may be affected differently by climate change, they all must be on board to help secure themselves from harm. Stewardship of the planet must include stewardship of other nations. That’s why Norway is paying Gabon to save trees. They both feel a bit more secure working together.


A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

Have you ever thought of praising God as a gift – not just to God, but to us?


A message of love

Valentin Bianchi/AP
A man rows a boat down a residential street after flooding in Angleur, Province of Liege, Belgium, July 16, 2021. Severe flooding in Germany and Belgium has turned streams and streets into torrents of water causing severe damage.
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Jacob Turcotte and Karen Norris. )

A look ahead

Thank you for joining us today. Please come again Monday, when we look ahead to Jeff Bezos’ historic spaceflight Tuesday – and explore whether “rules of the road” for space are needed.

More issues

2021
July
16
Friday
CSM logo

Why is Christian Science in our name?

Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The Christian Science Church, and we’ve always been transparent about that.

The Church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we’ve aimed “to injure no man, but to bless all mankind,” as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.

Here, you’ll find award-winning journalism not driven by commercial influences – a news organization that takes seriously its mission to uplift the world by seeking solutions and finding reasons for credible hope.

Explore values journalism About us