csmonitor--2020-11-24--No concession, but Trump team greenlights Biden transition

The federal government recognized President-elect Joe Biden as the “ apparent winner ” of the Nov. 3 election , formally starting the transition of power after President Donald Trump spent weeks testing the boundaries of American democracy .
Mr. Trump relented after suffering yet more legal and procedural defeats in his seemingly futile effort to overturn the election with baseless claims of fraud .
Mr. Trump still refused to concede and vowed to continue to fight in court after General Services Administrator Emily Murphy gave the green light Monday for Mr. Biden to coordinate with federal agencies ahead of his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did tweet that he was directing his team to cooperate on the transition .
The fast-moving series of events seemed to let much of the air out of Mr. Trump ’ s frantic efforts to undermine the will of the people in what has amounted to a weeks-long stress test for the nation ’ s confidence in the political system and the fairness of United States elections .
Those efforts haven ’ t ended and are likely to persist well beyond his lame-duck presidency .
Ms. Murphy , explaining her decision , cited @ @ @ @ @ @ @ certifications of election results.
” She acted after Michigan on Monday certified Mr. Biden ’ s victory in the battleground state and a federal judge in Pennsylvania tossed a Trump campaign lawsuit on Saturday seeking to prevent certification in that state .
Pennsylvania certified the vote for Mr. Biden later on Tuesday .
It also came as an increasing number of Republicans were publicly acknowledging Mr. Biden ’ s victory , after weeks of tolerating Mr. Trump ’ s baseless claims of fraud .
The Republican president had grown increasingly frustrated with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In recent days , senior Trump aides including chief of staff Mark Meadows and White House counsel Pat Cipollone had also encouraged him to allow the transition to begin , telling the president he didn ’ t need to concede but could no longer justify withholding support to the Biden transition .
Mr. Meadows , late Monday , sent a memo to White House staffers saying that their work was not yet finished and that the administration would “ comply with all actions needed to ensure the smooth transfer of power , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Yohannes Abraham , executive director of the Biden transition , said the decision “ is a needed step to begin tackling the challenges facing our nation , including getting the pandemic under control , and our economy back on track.
” Ms. Murphy , a Trump appointee , had faced bipartisan criticism for failing to begin the transition process sooner , preventing Mr. Biden ’ s team from working with career agency officials on plans for his administration .
The delay denied the Democratic president-elect access to highly classified national security briefings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to begin drawing up its own plans to respond to the raging coronavirus pandemic .
Ms. Murphy insisted she acted on her own .
“ Please know that I came to my decision independently , based on the law and available facts .
I was never directly or indirectly pressured by any Executive Branch official – including those who work at the White House or GSA – with regard to the substance or timing of my decision , ” she wrote in a letter to Mr. Biden .
Mr. Trump tweeted moments after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We will keep up the good fight and I believe we will prevail !
Nevertheless , in the best interest of our Country , I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols , and have told my team to do the same.
” Max Stier , president and CEO of the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service , criticized the delay but said Mr. Biden ’ s team would be able to overcome it .
“ Unfortunately , every day lost to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the outgoing administration to help President-elect Joe Biden prepare to meet our country ’ s greatest challenges , ” he said .
“ The good news is that the president-elect and his team are the most prepared and best equipped of any incoming administration in recent memory.
” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said the GSA action “ is probably the closest thing to a concession that President Trump could issue.
” Noting that the nation “ faces multiple crises that demand an orderly transition , ” Mr. Schumer urged Democrats and Republicans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and peaceful transition that will benefit America.
” Ms. Murphy ’ s action came just 90 minutes after Michigan election officials certified Mr. Biden ’ s 154,000-vote victory in the state .
The Board of State Canvassers , which has two Republicans and two Democrats , confirmed the results on a 3-0 vote with one GOP abstention .
Mr. Trump and his allies had hoped to block the vote to allow time for an audit of ballots in Wayne County , where Mr. Trump has claimed without evidence that he was the victim @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by more than 330,000 votes .
Some Trump allies had expressed hope that state lawmakers could intervene in selecting Republican electors in states that do not certify .
That long-shot bid is no longer possible in Michigan .
“ The people of Michigan have spoken .
President-elect Biden won the State of Michigan by more than 154,000 votes , and he will be our next president on January 20th , ” Michigan Gov .
Gretchen Whitmer , a Democrat , said , adding it ’ s “ time to put this election behind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Pennsylvania State Department “ certified the results of the November 3 election in Pennsylvania for president and vice president of the United States , ” Gov .
Tom Wolf , a Democrat , tweeted .
The results show Mr. Biden with 3.46 million votes , Mr. Trump with 3.38 million , and Libertarian Jo Jorgensen with 79,000 .
Mr. Trump was increasingly frustrated by his legal team , led by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani , whose erratic public performances drew bipartisan mockery in recent weeks .
Still , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Mr. Trump seeks to keep his supporters on his side and keep his options open for opportunities post-presidency .
In Pennsylvania on Saturday , a conservative Republican judge shot down the Trump campaign ’ s biggest legal effort in the state with a scathing ruling that questioned why he was supposed to disenfranchise 7 million voters with no evidence to back their claims and an inept legal argument at best .
But the lawyers still hope to block the state ’ s certification , quickly appealing to the 3rd U.S .
Circuit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ordered lawyers to file a brief Monday but did not agree to hear oral arguments .
The campaign , in its filings , asked for urgent consideration so it could challenge the state election results before they are certified next month .
If not , they will seek to decertify them , the filings said .
Mr. Biden won Pennsylvania by more than 80,000 votes .
Pennsylvania county election boards voted Monday , the state deadline , on whether to certify election results to the Department of State .
The boards in two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with majority Democrats in both places voting to certify .
After all counties have sent certified results to Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar , she must then tabulate , compute , and canvass votes for all races .
On Tuesday , she officially certified the results .
As required by federal law , Gov .
Tom Wolf then signed the Certificate of Ascertainment for the slate of electors for Biden as president and Kamala Harris as vice president .
In Wisconsin , a recount in the state ’ s two largest liberal counties @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election officials in Milwaukee County complaining that Trump observers were slowing down the process with frequent challenges .
Mr. Trump ’ s hope of reversing Mr. Biden ’ s victory there depends on disqualifying thousands of absentee ballots – including the in-person absentee ballot cast by one of Mr. Trump ’ s own campaign attorneys in Dane County .
This story was reported by The Associated Press .
AP writers Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg , Pa. ; Maryclaire Dale in Philadelphia ; Jonathan Lemire in New York ; Christina Cassidy in Atlanta ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mich. , contributed to this report .

Zeke Miller, David Eggert, and Colleen Long

The federal government recognized President-elect Joe Biden as the “apparent winner” of the Nov. 3 election, formally starting the transition of power after President Donald Trump spent weeks testing the boundaries of American democracy. Mr. Trump relented after suffering yet more legal and procedural defeats in his seemingly futile effort to overturn the election with baseless claims of fraud.
Mr. Trump still refused to concede and vowed to continue to fight in court after General Services Administrator Emily Murphy gave the green light Monday for Mr. Biden to coordinate with federal agencies ahead of his Jan. 20 inauguration. But Mr. Trump did tweet that he was directing his team to cooperate on the transition.
The fast-moving series of events seemed to let much of the air out of Mr. Trump’s frantic efforts to undermine the will of the people in what has amounted to a weeks-long stress test for the nation’s confidence in the political system and the fairness of United States elections. Those efforts haven’t ended and are likely to persist well beyond his lame-duck presidency.
Ms. Murphy, explaining her decision, cited “recent developments involving legal challenges and certifications of election results.”
She acted after Michigan on Monday certified Mr. Biden’s victory in the battleground state and a federal judge in Pennsylvania tossed a Trump campaign lawsuit on Saturday seeking to prevent certification in that state. Pennsylvania certified the vote for Mr. Biden later on Tuesday.
It also came as an increasing number of Republicans were publicly acknowledging Mr. Biden’s victory, after weeks of tolerating Mr. Trump’s baseless claims of fraud. The Republican president had grown increasingly frustrated with the flailing tactics of his legal team.
In recent days, senior Trump aides including chief of staff Mark Meadows and White House counsel Pat Cipollone had also encouraged him to allow the transition to begin, telling the president he didn’t need to concede but could no longer justify withholding support to the Biden transition.
Mr. Meadows, late Monday, sent a memo to White House staffers saying that their work was not yet finished and that the administration would “comply with all actions needed to ensure the smooth transfer of power,” according to a person who received it.
Yohannes Abraham, executive director of the Biden transition, said the decision “is a needed step to begin tackling the challenges facing our nation, including getting the pandemic under control, and our economy back on track.”
Ms. Murphy, a Trump appointee, had faced bipartisan criticism for failing to begin the transition process sooner, preventing Mr. Biden’s team from working with career agency officials on plans for his administration. The delay denied the Democratic president-elect access to highly classified national security briefings and hindered his team’s ability to begin drawing up its own plans to respond to the raging coronavirus pandemic.
Ms. Murphy insisted she acted on her own.
“Please know that I came to my decision independently, based on the law and available facts. I was never directly or indirectly pressured by any Executive Branch official – including those who work at the White House or GSA – with regard to the substance or timing of my decision,” she wrote in a letter to Mr. Biden.
Mr. Trump tweeted moments after Ms. Murphy’s decision: “We will keep up the good fight and I believe we will prevail! Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same.”
Max Stier, president and CEO of the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service, criticized the delay but said Mr. Biden’s team would be able to overcome it.
“Unfortunately, every day lost to the delayed ascertainment was a missed opportunity for the outgoing administration to help President-elect Joe Biden prepare to meet our country’s greatest challenges,” he said. “The good news is that the president-elect and his team are the most prepared and best equipped of any incoming administration in recent memory.”
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said the GSA action “is probably the closest thing to a concession that President Trump could issue.” Noting that the nation “faces multiple crises that demand an orderly transition,” Mr. Schumer urged Democrats and Republicans to “unite together for a smooth and peaceful transition that will benefit America.”
Ms. Murphy’s action came just 90 minutes after Michigan election officials certified Mr. Biden’s 154,000-vote victory in the state. The Board of State Canvassers, which has two Republicans and two Democrats, confirmed the results on a 3-0 vote with one GOP abstention. Mr. Trump and his allies had hoped to block the vote to allow time for an audit of ballots in Wayne County, where Mr. Trump has claimed without evidence that he was the victim of fraud. Mr. Biden won there by more than 330,000 votes.
Some Trump allies had expressed hope that state lawmakers could intervene in selecting Republican electors in states that do not certify. That long-shot bid is no longer possible in Michigan.
“The people of Michigan have spoken. President-elect Biden won the State of Michigan by more than 154,000 votes, and he will be our next president on January 20th,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, said, adding it’s “time to put this election behind us.”
And then on Tuesday, the Pennsylvania State Department “certified the results of the November 3 election in Pennsylvania for president and vice president of the United States,” Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, tweeted.
The results show Mr. Biden with 3.46 million votes, Mr. Trump with 3.38 million, and Libertarian Jo Jorgensen with 79,000.
Mr. Trump was increasingly frustrated by his legal team, led by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, whose erratic public performances drew bipartisan mockery in recent weeks. Still, the legal challenges were expected to continue, as Mr. Trump seeks to keep his supporters on his side and keep his options open for opportunities post-presidency.
In Pennsylvania on Saturday, a conservative Republican judge shot down the Trump campaign’s biggest legal effort in the state with a scathing ruling that questioned why he was supposed to disenfranchise 7 million voters with no evidence to back their claims and an inept legal argument at best.
But the lawyers still hope to block the state’s certification, quickly appealing to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, which ordered lawyers to file a brief Monday but did not agree to hear oral arguments.
The campaign, in its filings, asked for urgent consideration so it could challenge the state election results before they are certified next month. If not, they will seek to decertify them, the filings said.
Mr. Biden won Pennsylvania by more than 80,000 votes.
Pennsylvania county election boards voted Monday, the state deadline, on whether to certify election results to the Department of State. The boards in two populous counties split along party lines, with majority Democrats in both places voting to certify. After all counties have sent certified results to Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, she must then tabulate, compute, and canvass votes for all races. On Tuesday, she officially certified the results. As required by federal law, Gov. Tom Wolf then signed the Certificate of Ascertainment for the slate of electors for Biden as president and Kamala Harris as vice president.
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In Wisconsin, a recount in the state’s two largest liberal counties moved into its fourth day, with election officials in Milwaukee County complaining that Trump observers were slowing down the process with frequent challenges. Mr. Trump’s hope of reversing Mr. Biden’s victory there depends on disqualifying thousands of absentee ballots – including the in-person absentee ballot cast by one of Mr. Trump’s own campaign attorneys in Dane County.
This story was reported by The Associated Press. AP writers Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pa.; Maryclaire Dale in Philadelphia; Jonathan Lemire in New York; Christina Cassidy in Atlanta; and John Flesher in Traverse City, Mich., contributed to this report.


csmonitor--2020-11-26--As language evolves, names change

As language evolves, names change

The football team in our nation ’ s capital has had , since July , a strangely literal name : the Washington Football Team .
It is not that the people of Washington lack imagination – this plain moniker is a placeholder , until the team formerly known as the Redskins can figure out what it will be called going forward .
Protests by Native American activists and pressure from sponsors forced the team and other businesses whose names are increasingly considered offensive , such as Squaw Valley Ski Resort in North Lake Tahoe , California , to reckon with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ football team ’ s leadership had resisted changing its name for decades , arguing that “ Redskins ” in fact honored Native people .
Its owner , Dan Snyder , defended the name in 2013 : “ It is a symbol of everything we stand for : strength , courage , pride , and respect – the same values we know guide Native Americans and which are embedded throughout their rich history.
” A pro-Redskins website ( now defunct ) cited the work of linguist Ives Goddard , who studies Native American languages @ @ @ @ @ @ @ French account of the Taensa from present-day Louisiana records that “ they call themselves in their language Red Men.
” A century later , Native people in the area were referring to themselves as peaux rouges ( “ red skins ” ) .
Thus , Dr. Goddard asserts , the term ’ s origin is “ entirely benign.
” But etymology is not destiny .
The connotations of words change over time .
Some words that were once inoffensive – that were indeed the default terms for what they represent – are now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that redskin is on the same trajectory .
Merriam-Webster and the Oxford English Dictionary both call it offensive .
The ski resort announced that it would change its name about a month after the Washington Football Team ’ s step .
Squaw has also become a derogatory term today .
Originally , however , the word squa simply meant “ woman ” in Wôpanâak .
Colonists quickly applied the word to all Native women regardless of how they referred to themselves in their own language or how far away they were from Eastern @ @ @ @ @ @ @ team and of the ski resort understand that many people have strong attachments to the old names , having grown up watching the games or skiing at the resort .
But , as the resort ’ s president , Ron Cohen , acknowledges , “ We recognize that our love of this place and our cherished memories do not justify continuing to use such a divisive and hurtful word.
” The resort has assembled a team to come up with a new name in 2021 .
For the Washington Football Team , though @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the pugnacious , the powerful , the Washington Politicians ?

The football team in our nation’s capital has had, since July, a strangely literal name: the Washington Football Team. It is not that the people of Washington lack imagination – this plain moniker is a placeholder, until the team formerly known as the Redskins can figure out what it will be called going forward. Protests by Native American activists and pressure from sponsors forced the team and other businesses whose names are increasingly considered offensive, such as Squaw Valley Ski Resort in North Lake Tahoe, California, to reckon with their legacy and their future.
The football team’s leadership had resisted changing its name for decades, arguing that “Redskins” in fact honored Native people. Its owner, Dan Snyder, defended the name in 2013: “It is a symbol of everything we stand for: strength, courage, pride, and respect – the same values we know guide Native Americans and which are embedded throughout their rich history.”
A pro-Redskins website (now defunct) cited the work of linguist Ives Goddard, who studies Native American languages. Dr. Goddard argues that a 1725 French account of the Taensa from present-day Louisiana records that “they call themselves in their language Red Men.” A century later, Native people in the area were referring to themselves as peaux rouges (“red skins”). Thus, Dr. Goddard asserts, the term’s origin is “entirely benign.”
But etymology is not destiny. The connotations of words change over time. Some words that were once inoffensive – that were indeed the default terms for what they represent – are now obscenities. Dictionaries today seem to agree that redskin is on the same trajectory. Merriam-Webster and the Oxford English Dictionary both call it offensive.
The ski resort announced that it would change its name about a month after the Washington Football Team’s step. Squaw has also become a derogatory term today. Originally, however, the word squa simply meant “woman” in Wôpanâak. Colonists quickly applied the word to all Native women regardless of how they referred to themselves in their own language or how far away they were from Eastern Massachusetts.
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The management of the football team and of the ski resort understand that many people have strong attachments to the old names, having grown up watching the games or skiing at the resort. But, as the resort’s president, Ron Cohen, acknowledges, “We recognize that our love of this place and our cherished memories do not justify continuing to use such a divisive and hurtful word.”
The resort has assembled a team to come up with a new name in 2021. For the Washington Football Team, though, it’s easy – how about the pugnacious, the powerful, the Washington Politicians?


csmonitor--2020-11-27--Points of Progress: Norway updates hate speech laws, and more

The National Museum of the American Indian has unveiled the first national memorial to Native American veterans .
The National Native American Veterans Memorial took 25 years to become a reality , but the steel ring and stone drum sculpture now sits on the National Mall in Washington , D.C. , honoring the service of Native Americans in every branch of the military .
It was designed by Harvey Pratt , a Vietnam War veteran and member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes .
Many Native veterans plan to sanctify the site with memories and prayers once it becomes safe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We wish for this to be a sacred place , not just for Native Americans , but for all Americans , ” said Kevin Gover , the director of the museum and citizen of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma .
( NPR ) The Miami Marlins hired Kim Ng as general manager , making her the first female GM in Major League Baseball .
Ms. Ng previously served as the league ’ s senior vice president of baseball operations , after stints as assistant GM for the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long career with MLB , beginning as a Chicago White Sox intern three decades ago .
Ms. Ng is believed to be the first woman to lead a team in any of North America ’ s four major sports leagues , and is the first Asian American GM in MLB history .
“ I have spent countless hours advocating for young girls , advocating for young women and really trying to help them advance their careers , ” said Ms. Ng .
“ That ’ s something that is so important to me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ You can ’ t be it , if you can ’ t see it.
’ ... Now you can see it.
” ( ESPN ) The digital revolution – sped up by the pandemic – is opening doors for Arab women in the workforce .
Women are well positioned to meet the surging demand for digital skills in the Middle East , experts say .
In some conservative communities , women are only comfortable turning to other women for certain tech jobs , such as repairing a phone or computer that contains @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % of women who cited work-life balance as a main barrier to keeping a job , remote working tempers a major obstacle for entering and staying in the workforce .
The Middle East and North Africa have some of the lowest rates of women in the workforce in the world , with women making up a quarter of the labor market .
Although the pandemic is expected to leave 700,000 Middle Eastern women out of work this year , a recent McKinsey study shows the so-called fourth industrial revolution will ultimately double job @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ This is a tremendous opportunity , ” said Jasmine di Florio , senior vice president at Education for Employment , a job training program that has since moved online .
“ These are areas where you can reskill someone relatively quickly.
” ( Thomson Reuters Foundation ) Norway ’ s government recently outlawed hate speech against transgender and bisexual people by expanding a decades-old penal code that protects gay and lesbian people .
Parliament approved amendments addressing discrimination based on “ gender , gender identity , or expression ” and changing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ orientation.
” Norway is considered one of the most LGBTQ-friendly countries in Europe , but advocacy groups say reported homophobic crimes have risen .
Under the updated penal code , people found guilty of hate speech against transgender or bisexual people can face fines or up to three years in jail .
“ I ’ m very relieved actually , because [ the lack of legal protection ] has been an eyesore for trans people for many , many years , ” said Birna Rorslett , vice president of the Association of Transgender @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Foundation ) The British government ’ s Blue Belt Program is establishing the world ’ s fourth-largest marine sanctuary around the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha .
The project will cover 265,437 square miles in the South Atlantic Ocean , protecting 90 % of the waters surrounding the remote island chain from extractive activity such as fishing and mining .
Conservationists say the unique ecosystem is a critical nursery for blue sharks , but faces several threats , including illegal fishing and invasive species .
This is also a step forward for ocean @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Less than 3 % of the world ’ s ocean area is fully protected , compared with 13 % of land mass .
A recent study found that extending protected ocean zones by even 5 % could lead to at least a 20 % improvement in future fishing catches .
( Axios , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , National Geographic ) Bangladesh has launched an all-female police team to tackle the rise in online abuse against women .
Data shows that internet use in Bangladesh has doubled in the past @ @ @ @ @ @ @ revenge porn , social media hacking , and blackmail – disproportionately targets women , and police hope the new unit will make victims more comfortable coming forward .
“ We have different teams working with cybercrime in the police , ” said Benazir Ahmed , inspector general of police .
“ But many [ women ] don ’ t want to approach these areas .
That ’ s why we have created an all-woman team.
” Authorities are responding to nationwide protests against increases of all types of sexual violence in the country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Banu says that the unit is a good first step , and if managed well , could create real change in the handling of cybercrime .
( Thomson Reuters Foundation )

1. United States
The National Museum of the American Indian has unveiled the first national memorial to Native American veterans. The National Native American Veterans Memorial took 25 years to become a reality, but the steel ring and stone drum sculpture now sits on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., honoring the service of Native Americans in every branch of the military. It was designed by Harvey Pratt, a Vietnam War veteran and member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes. Many Native veterans plan to sanctify the site with memories and prayers once it becomes safe to travel to the capital. “We wish for this to be a sacred place, not just for Native Americans, but for all Americans,” said Kevin Gover, the director of the museum and citizen of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma. (NPR)
2. United States
Why We Wrote This This is more than feel-good news – it's where the world is making concrete progress. A roundup of positive stories to inspire you.
The Miami Marlins hired Kim Ng as general manager, making her the first female GM in Major League Baseball. Ms. Ng previously served as the league’s senior vice president of baseball operations, after stints as assistant GM for the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees. She’s had a long career with MLB, beginning as a Chicago White Sox intern three decades ago. Ms. Ng is believed to be the first woman to lead a team in any of North America’s four major sports leagues, and is the first Asian American GM in MLB history.
Joseph Guzy/Miami Marlins/USA Today Sports/Reuters View caption Hide caption Miami Marlins general manager Kim Ng stands at Marlins Park on Nov. 16, 2020, in Miami. She is the first woman and Asian American to hold the title.
“I have spent countless hours advocating for young girls, advocating for young women and really trying to help them advance their careers,” said Ms. Ng. “That’s something that is so important to me. ... There is an adage: ‘You can’t be it, if you can’t see it.’ ... Now you can see it.” (ESPN)
3. Middle East
The digital revolution – sped up by the pandemic – is opening doors for Arab women in the workforce. Women are well positioned to meet the surging demand for digital skills in the Middle East, experts say. In some conservative communities, women are only comfortable turning to other women for certain tech jobs, such as repairing a phone or computer that contains personal photographs. And for the 44% of women who cited work-life balance as a main barrier to keeping a job, remote working tempers a major obstacle for entering and staying in the workforce.
Nusaibah Almuaalemi/Reuters View caption Hide caption Martial arts instructor Seham Amer checks her computer at home in Sanaa, Yemen, Sept. 3, 2020. The Middle East and North Africa have the lowest rate of working women in the world, but opportunities are increasing.
The Middle East and North Africa have some of the lowest rates of women in the workforce in the world, with women making up a quarter of the labor market. Although the pandemic is expected to leave 700,000 Middle Eastern women out of work this year, a recent McKinsey study shows the so-called fourth industrial revolution will ultimately double job opportunities for women over the next decade. “This is a tremendous opportunity,” said Jasmine di Florio, senior vice president at Education for Employment, a job training program that has since moved online. “These are areas where you can reskill someone relatively quickly.” (Thomson Reuters Foundation)
4. Norway
Norway’s government recently outlawed hate speech against transgender and bisexual people by expanding a decades-old penal code that protects gay and lesbian people. Parliament approved amendments addressing discrimination based on “gender, gender identity, or expression” and changing “homosexual orientation” to “sexual orientation.” Norway is considered one of the most LGBTQ-friendly countries in Europe, but advocacy groups say reported homophobic crimes have risen. Under the updated penal code, people found guilty of hate speech against transgender or bisexual people can face fines or up to three years in jail. “I’m very relieved actually, because [the lack of legal protection] has been an eyesore for trans people for many, many years,” said Birna Rorslett, vice president of the Association of Transgender People in Norway. (Thomson Reuters Foundation)
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empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
5. Tristan da Cunha
The British government’s Blue Belt Program is establishing the world’s fourth-largest marine sanctuary around the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha. The project will cover 265,437 square miles in the South Atlantic Ocean, protecting 90% of the waters surrounding the remote island chain from extractive activity such as fishing and mining. Conservationists say the unique ecosystem is a critical nursery for blue sharks, but faces several threats, including illegal fishing and invasive species.
Sue Scott/Pew Charitable Trust/AP View caption Hide caption Tristan da Cunha, a four-island archipelago in the South Atlantic with 245 permanent residents, has created a marine protection zone three times the size of the United Kingdom.
This is also a step forward for ocean conservation more generally, experts say. Less than 3% of the world’s ocean area is fully protected, compared with 13% of land mass. A recent study found that extending protected ocean zones by even 5% could lead to at least a 20% improvement in future fishing catches. (Axios, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, National Geographic)
6. Bangladesh
Bangladesh has launched an all-female police team to tackle the rise in online abuse against women. Data shows that internet use in Bangladesh has doubled in the past five years. Online harassment – including revenge porn, social media hacking, and blackmail – disproportionately targets women, and police hope the new unit will make victims more comfortable coming forward. “We have different teams working with cybercrime in the police,” said Benazir Ahmed, inspector general of police. “But many [women] don’t want to approach these areas. That’s why we have created an all-woman team.” Authorities are responding to nationwide protests against increases of all types of sexual violence in the country. Women’s rights activist Maleka Banu says that the unit is a good first step, and if managed well, could create real change in the handling of cybercrime. (Thomson Reuters Foundation)


csmonitor--2020-11-27--Iranian scientist killed, adding a challenge for Biden

An Iranian scientist long suspected by the West of masterminding a secret nuclear bomb program was killed in an ambush near Tehran Friday that could provoke confrontation between Iran and its foes in the last weeks of Donald Trump ’ s presidency .
The death of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh , who Iranian state media said died in hospital after armed assassins gunned him down in his car , will also complicate any effort by U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to revive the detente of Barack Obama ’ s presidency .
Iran pointed the finger at Israel , with the implication that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ departing Mr. Trump .
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted of “ serious indications of Israeli role ” and called on Western countries to “ end their shameful double standards & condemn this act of state terror.
” The military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to “ strike as thunder at the killers of this oppressed martyr.
” “ In the last days of the political life of their ... ally [ Mr. Trump ] , the Zionists seek to intensify pressure on Iran and create a full-blown war @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was silence from foreign capitals .
Israel declined to comment .
In the United States , the White House , Pentagon , State Department , and CIA all declined to comment .
Mr. Biden ’ s transition team also declined to comment .
Mr. Fakhrizadeh has been described by Western and Israeli intelligence services for years as the leader of a covert atomic bomb program halted in 2003 , which Israel and the United States accuse Tehran of trying to restore in secret .
Iran has long denied seeking to weaponize nuclear energy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ terrorists blew up another car ” before firing on a vehicle carrying Mr. Fakhrizadeh and his bodyguards in an ambush outside the capital .
Regardless of who was responsible for the attack , it is certain to escalate tension between Iran and the United States in the final weeks of Mr. Trump ’ s presidency .
President Trump , who lost his reelection bid to Mr. Biden Nov. 3 and leaves office Jan. 20 , pulled the United States from a deal reached under Mr. Obama , his predecessor , by which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for curbs on its nuclear program .
President-elect Biden has said he will aim to restore that agreement , although many analysts say this would not happen overnight , with both sides likely to demand more reassurances .
A U.S. official confirmed this month that Mr. Trump had asked military aides for a plan for a possible strike on Iran .
The president decided against it at the time because of the risk it could provoke a wider Middle East conflict .
Last January , Mr. Trump ordered a drone strike in Baghdad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s most powerful military commander .
Iran retaliated by firing missiles at a U.S. base in Iraq , the closest the two foes have come to war in decades .
Mr. Fakhrizadeh is thought to have headed what the U.N. nuclear watchdog and U.S. intelligence services believe was a coordinated nuclear weapons program in Iran , shelved in 2003 .
He was the only Iranian scientist named in the International Atomic Energy Agency ’ s 2015 “ final assessment ” of open questions about Iran ‘ s nuclear program .
The IAEA ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in support of a possible military dimension to ( Iran ‘ s ) nuclear program.
” The scientist was a central figure in a presentation by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2018 accusing Iran of continuing to seek nuclear weapons .
“ Remember that name , Fakhrizadeh , ” Mr. Netanyahu said at the time .
During the final months of Mr. Trump ’ s presidency , Israel has been making peace with Gulf Arab states that share its hostility toward Iran .
This week , the Israeli leader traveled to Saudi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an Israeli official said , in what would be the first publicly confirmed visit by an Israeli leader .
Israeli media said they were joined by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo .
On Friday , before the news of the attack on the Iranian scientist emerged , an Israeli official said Israel was discussing with Gulf Arab states how to tackle Iran .
“ The story is not Trump , nor even Israel .
The story is Iran – the growing dread that a new U.S. administration will go back to the nuclear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Gulf countries , ” Tzachi Hanegbi , who sits in Mr. Netanyahu ’ s security cabinet , told Tel Aviv radio station 102 FM .
“ We will know how to handle the issue of the Iranian threat , even if through our own means .
”

An Iranian scientist long suspected by the West of masterminding a secret nuclear bomb program was killed in an ambush near Tehran Friday that could provoke confrontation between Iran and its foes in the last weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency.
The death of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who Iranian state media said died in hospital after armed assassins gunned him down in his car, will also complicate any effort by U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to revive the detente of Barack Obama’s presidency.
Iran pointed the finger at Israel, with the implication that the killing would have the blessing of the departing Mr. Trump.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted of “serious indications of Israeli role” and called on Western countries to “end their shameful double standards & condemn this act of state terror.”
The military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to “strike as thunder at the killers of this oppressed martyr.”
“In the last days of the political life of their ... ally [Mr. Trump], the Zionists seek to intensify pressure on Iran and create a full-blown war,” Hossein Dehghan tweeted.
There was silence from foreign capitals. Israel declined to comment. In the United States, the White House, Pentagon, State Department, and CIA all declined to comment. Mr. Biden’s transition team also declined to comment.
Mr. Fakhrizadeh has been described by Western and Israeli intelligence services for years as the leader of a covert atomic bomb program halted in 2003, which Israel and the United States accuse Tehran of trying to restore in secret. Iran has long denied seeking to weaponize nuclear energy.
The semi-official news agency Tasnim said “terrorists blew up another car” before firing on a vehicle carrying Mr. Fakhrizadeh and his bodyguards in an ambush outside the capital.
The nuclear deal
Regardless of who was responsible for the attack, it is certain to escalate tension between Iran and the United States in the final weeks of Mr. Trump’s presidency.
President Trump, who lost his reelection bid to Mr. Biden Nov. 3 and leaves office Jan. 20, pulled the United States from a deal reached under Mr. Obama, his predecessor, by which sanctions on Iran were lifted in return for curbs on its nuclear program.
President-elect Biden has said he will aim to restore that agreement, although many analysts say this would not happen overnight, with both sides likely to demand more reassurances.
A U.S. official confirmed this month that Mr. Trump had asked military aides for a plan for a possible strike on Iran. The president decided against it at the time because of the risk it could provoke a wider Middle East conflict.
Last January, Mr. Trump ordered a drone strike in Baghdad that killed Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s most powerful military commander. Iran retaliated by firing missiles at a U.S. base in Iraq, the closest the two foes have come to war in decades.
Mr. Fakhrizadeh is thought to have headed what the U.N. nuclear watchdog and U.S. intelligence services believe was a coordinated nuclear weapons program in Iran, shelved in 2003.
He was the only Iranian scientist named in the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 2015 “final assessment” of open questions about Iran‘s nuclear program. The IAEA’s report said he oversaw activities “in support of a possible military dimension to (Iran‘s) nuclear program.”
‘Remember that name’
The scientist was a central figure in a presentation by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2018 accusing Iran of continuing to seek nuclear weapons.
“Remember that name, Fakhrizadeh,” Mr. Netanyahu said at the time.
During the final months of Mr. Trump’s presidency, Israel has been making peace with Gulf Arab states that share its hostility toward Iran.
This week, the Israeli leader traveled to Saudi Arabia and met its crown prince, an Israeli official said, in what would be the first publicly confirmed visit by an Israeli leader. Israeli media said they were joined by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
On Friday, before the news of the attack on the Iranian scientist emerged, an Israeli official said Israel was discussing with Gulf Arab states how to tackle Iran.
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“The story is not Trump, nor even Israel. The story is Iran – the growing dread that a new U.S. administration will go back to the nuclear deal which threatens the very existence of the Gulf countries,” Tzachi Hanegbi, who sits in Mr. Netanyahu’s security cabinet, told Tel Aviv radio station 102 FM.
“We will know how to handle the issue of the Iranian threat, even if through our own means.”


csmonitor--2020-11-28--Readers write: Fire management, a little wordplay, and more

Thank you for the article “ Setting ‘ good fires ’ to reduce the West ’ s wildfire risk ” in the Nov. 9 Monitor Weekly .
But no thanks for missing important contrasts between the choices of forest managers in Florida and California .
The need for more preventive prescribed fire was a core part of curriculum when I was in forestry school 50 years ago in Minnesota , so the story isn ’ t news from that perspective .
But climate and terrain are so different between Florida and the West that it makes comparisons almost meaningless .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ is common there .
Virtually no point in Florida is more than 200 feet from water ( straight down into the earth , if nothing else ) .
At my home near Sacramento in California , the total rainfall between May 19 and Oct. 12 – more than 140 days – was 1 millimeter .
That ’ s a typical dry year .
The fuel gets a lot drier here than it ever does in Florida , so fire burns a lot hotter .
You can prescribe gentle fires in Florida where the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can also be sure that enough rain will blow in from the Atlantic or the Gulf to put them out in a few days .
In California , periods of strong wind make the fuel even drier .
I ’ ve seen a grass fire run a mile in under 10 minutes on flat ground before a strong wind – far faster than firefighters can defend .
The only thing that stopped that one was a four-lane freeway .
And then there are mountains .
Fire runs up a mountain like it runs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t any concrete firebreaks on top of mountains .
Combine dry fuel , high wind , steep slope , and an ignition source and you have conditions that never occur in Florida .
Incidentally , 57 % of California forestland belongs to the federal government ( which underfunds preventive fire ) , while 3 % belongs to the state and 40 % is privately held .
Fold in the joy of owning a home in the forest .
That puts an uncomfortably large human population in the fire danger zone and forces @ @ @ @ @ @ @ else .
In sum , your story missed some important points .
It ’ s not all about wise and unwise land managers .
I always enjoy Melissa Mohr ’ s “ In a Word ” column .
I have found that usage is not consistent when it comes to adding suffixes like -esque and -ian to the names of well-known people and places .
The adjectival form of Dickens and Chaplin are Dickensian and Chaplinesque , if I can trust my American Heritage Dictionary .
Rubens , ending with an “ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it should be Rubensian , if usage goes by logic .
Boston is peopled by Bostonians , but across the Charles live , well , the Cantabrigians , right ?
Regarding Peter Rainer ’ s column “ Home theater : Movies that live up to the books that inspired them ” in the Aug. 31 Monitor Weekly : In order to take a “ deep dive into the psychology of its characters , ” as Mr. Rainer wrote , a play must employ speech , cadence and tone , pose and gesture , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ The Member of the Wedding ” had an easier path to its successful translation from page to screen than some of the other filmed literary works cited by Mr. Rainer .
I watched “ Who ’ s Afraid of Virginia Woolf ?
” again recently and found myself amazed at the number of things its actors did with body and voice to suggest their thoughts and inner monologues .
May I add this film to the list of those recommended ?

Fire management
Thank you for the article “Setting ‘good fires’ to reduce the West’s wildfire risk” in the Nov. 9 Monitor Weekly. But no thanks for missing important contrasts between the choices of forest managers in Florida and California.
The need for more preventive prescribed fire was a core part of curriculum when I was in forestry school 50 years ago in Minnesota, so the story isn’t news from that perspective. But climate and terrain are so different between Florida and the West that it makes comparisons almost meaningless.
Florida has no mountains, and rain is common there. Virtually no point in Florida is more than 200 feet from water (straight down into the earth, if nothing else). At my home near Sacramento in California, the total rainfall between May 19 and Oct. 12 – more than 140 days – was 1 millimeter. That’s a typical dry year.
The fuel gets a lot drier here than it ever does in Florida, so fire burns a lot hotter. You can prescribe gentle fires in Florida where the fuel is somewhat moist, and you can also be sure that enough rain will blow in from the Atlantic or the Gulf to put them out in a few days. In California, periods of strong wind make the fuel even drier. I’ve seen a grass fire run a mile in under 10 minutes on flat ground before a strong wind – far faster than firefighters can defend. The only thing that stopped that one was a four-lane freeway.
And then there are mountains. Fire runs up a mountain like it runs before the wind, and there aren’t any concrete firebreaks on top of mountains. Combine dry fuel, high wind, steep slope, and an ignition source and you have conditions that never occur in Florida.
Incidentally, 57% of California forestland belongs to the federal government (which underfunds preventive fire), while 3% belongs to the state and 40% is privately held. Fold in the joy of owning a home in the forest. That puts an uncomfortably large human population in the fire danger zone and forces firefighters to prioritize life safety above all else.
In sum, your story missed some important points. It’s not all about wise and unwise land managers.
Jim Eychaner
Carmichael, California
A little wordplay
I always enjoy Melissa Mohr’s “In a Word” column. I have found that usage is not consistent when it comes to adding suffixes like -esque and -ian to the names of well-known people and places. The adjectival form of Dickens and Chaplin are Dickensian and Chaplinesque, if I can trust my American Heritage Dictionary. Rubens, ending with an “s,” oddly turns into Rubenesque when it should be Rubensian, if usage goes by logic. Boston is peopled by Bostonians, but across the Charles live, well, the Cantabrigians, right?
Peter Dreyer
Edgartown, Massachusetts
Books into films
Regarding Peter Rainer’s column “Home theater: Movies that live up to the books that inspired them” in the Aug. 31 Monitor Weekly: In order to take a “deep dive into the psychology of its characters,” as Mr. Rainer wrote, a play must employ speech, cadence and tone, pose and gesture, and even occasionally the aside. Thus “The Member of the Wedding” had an easier path to its successful translation from page to screen than some of the other filmed literary works cited by Mr. Rainer.
I watched “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” again recently and found myself amazed at the number of things its actors did with body and voice to suggest their thoughts and inner monologues. May I add this film to the list of those recommended?
Michael Orend
Woodland Hills, California


csmonitor--2020-11-30--In California, rethinking who ‘owns’ wildfire

“ We ’ re all affected by wildfires , so let ’ s try to help ourselves and each other , ” says Norm Brown , a former California fire-response official who now promotes controlled burns .
“ It ’ s about cooperation.
” In California , the state and the U.S. Forest Service have agreed to treat 1 million acres of wildlands a year by 2025 through prescribed burning or other means of thinning .
But fire agency spending remains heavily skewed toward suppression .
But the challenge is formidable .
Climate change has increased the danger posed by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suppression by fire agencies has created the conditions for 4.2 million acres in the state to burn this year , more than twice the state ’ s prior modern-era high .
With her help , private landowners and others are learning how to use prescribed fires to thin the accumulated vegetation in woodlands .
Even before this year ’ s record wildfires in California , Lenya Quinn-Davidson was pushing for a new approach to addressing fire risks .
A fire area adviser with the University of California system , she has traversed the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that controlled fires can help curb uncontrolled ones .
Wildfire has illuminated Norm Brown ’ s life .
In 1983 , he joined California ’ s primary firefighting agency , known as Cal Fire , and during the next three decades , he worked thousands of fires , protecting lives , homes , and land .
He retired as a deputy chief in 2017 , and since then he has stayed close to the flames – by choice and by chance .
As a member of the Mendocino County Prescribed Burn Association , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ retired firefighters , he oversees controlled burns on private property to reduce the excess vegetation that feeds fires .
As a resident of Willits , a small town northwest of Sacramento , Mr. Brown watched this summer and fall as the largest wildfire in state history ravaged nearby Mendocino National Forest , burning more than 1 million acres .
A blitz of dry-lightning strikes in August sparked that blaze and hundreds of others in Northern California .
The fires forced tens of thousands of residents from their homes , and when more infernos @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the entire West appeared aflame .
The smoky skies crystallized the limits of the aggressive wildfire suppression policy that prevails among federal and state firefighting agencies , including the U.S. Forest Service and Cal Fire .
The century-old strategy of dousing most fires as quickly as possible – born of good intentions to save people and property – has wrought forests , grasslands , and shrublands teeming with overgrowth primed to burn as the climate turns warmer and drier .
For Mr. Brown , who devoted his career to snuffing out wildfires @ @ @ @ @ @ @ offered nature ’ s strongest warning yet for the West to reconsider its approach to tending natural lands .
“ We ’ ve had a lack of land management , and that ’ s not a problem that ’ s going to fix itself , ” he says .
“ So we ’ re going to have to work together to figure out the answers.
” The breadth of destruction has amplified calls from fire and forestry experts for greater balance between suppression and stewardship to revive ecosystems and lower wildfire risk .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to collaborate with private land managers and prescribed burn associations , and will demand comparable effort by communities and individuals to adapt to the realities of living with fire .
The West has endured three decades of deepening hardship as ailing forests , climate change , and unrestrained development force a reckoning with wildfires gaining in scale and intensity .
Five of the six largest wildfires in California ’ s history have occurred this year , and the 4.2 million acres burned – more than double the state ’ s modern-day record set @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and destroyed 10,500 homes and buildings .
Malcolm North , a research ecologist with the Forest Service in Northern California , suggests that healing the land will depend on collective resolve .
“ There ’ s a partisan divide that has crept into the wildfire discussion .
One side says it ’ s all due to forest management , the other side says it ’ s all due to climate change .
The truth is it ’ s a combination of both , ” he says .
“ The time for pointing fingers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ embraced suppression as its guiding principle after the “ Big Blowup ” of 1910 , when a firestorm scorched 3 million acres and several towns across the Northwest , and state agencies later adopted the ethos .
Forestry scientists assert that the massive fires in recent months provide the latest evidence of a lopsided emphasis on suppression that has caused the Forest Service to fall behind on restoring 80 million acres under its care .
Naturally occurring wildfires sustain woodlands and grasslands by thinning dense tree stands and accumulated vegetation , enabling new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , more fire-resistant trees to thrive .
The ongoing disruption of that cycle has harmed biodiversity and contributed to California witnessing , since 2003 , 14 of its 15 largest wildfires on record .
“ People see a big fire and say , ‘ It ’ s an act of God.
’ That ’ s not the case , ” says Mr. North , who teaches forest ecology at the University of California , Davis .
“ What we ’ re seeing is the result of a century of land management decisions that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Researchers ascribe the bias toward suppression within fire response agencies to an entrenched culture that frames wildfire as a war that can be “ won ” with more personnel , equipment , aircraft , and technology .
Cal Fire ’ s funding for suppression hit $ 890 million in fiscal year 2018-19 , a nearly tenfold increase from eight years earlier .
The Forest Service ’ s firefighting budget more than quadrupled during that span , reaching $ 2.6 billion .
Rising temperatures and falling moisture levels have stretched the West ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2000 , and drought and a bark beetle epidemic have killed 150 million trees in California .
As the sprawling “ fire-industrial complex ” struggles to subdue infernos that burn hotter and faster , funding lags for land management programs that could ease reliance on suppression over time .
The Forest Service allocated $ 435 million for prescribed burns on national lands in 2018 , or one-sixth the amount for suppression .
Cal Fire spends $ 80 million on fire prevention and forest health programs , less than 10 % of its firefighting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decidedly modest results .
The federal government – owner of more than half of California ’ s 33 million acres of forest land – applies controlled fire on 50,000 to 60,000 acres a year statewide .
Cal Fire ’ s prescribed burn crews treat 20,000 to 50,000 acres on public and private lands .
The figures contrast with the findings of one study that estimated the state needs to treat 20 million acres through controlled burning and vegetation thinning to reduce its wildfire threat .
Mr. Brown , the former Cal Fire deputy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to preserve public safety depletes resources .
At the same time , unless federal and state agencies focus more on land stewardship , he foresees a future as combustible as the recent past .
“ If we put money toward year-round crews to do the difficult work of fuels treatment , that would make a big difference , ” he says .
“ We have to get more balance with our fire management.
” The need for more fire A sense of urgency about redressing the disparity has taken root among public officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ devastation – and decades of warnings from wildfire experts .
Three U.S. senators have proposed $ 600 million in funding for prescribed burning initiatives to aid wildfire prevention in the West .
Another Senate bill would authorize three large-scale land management projects to restore fire-adapted forests .
In California , the state and the Forest Service have agreed to treat 1 million acres of wildlands a year by 2025 through prescribed burning , mechanical thinning , and limited logging .
A national strategy to reform wildland fire management established under President Barack Obama @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public agencies and private land managers , including environmental groups , ranchers , timber interests , and Native American tribes .
The initiative identifies wildfire and prescribed fire as essential to the resilience of forests , grasslands , and watersheds .
Land managers have blended natural and controlled fire to foster healthy ecosystems in Kings Canyon , Sequoia , and Yosemite national parks in California .
Fire ecologists first performed prescribed burns in the parks a half-century ago after noticing that extinguishing wildfires upset habitat and wildlife equilibrium , and they soon returned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The “ let-burn ” tactic is far more fraught when a blaze sparks closer to communities , and likewise , fire officials remain wary of conducting controlled burns near populated areas .
Their concerns trace to complaints about smoke from residents and potential liability , even as prescribed fires seldom escape containment .
Yet in the view of Stephen Pyne , the author of more than a dozen books on wildfire , the West ’ s explosive infernos illustrate the need for more fire on the landscape – let-burn and prescribed alike .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ million acres incinerated across the region since August .
“ We have to take advantage of wildfire the best we can and use prescribed fire when and where it makes sense , ” says Mr. Pyne , a professor emeritus of environmental history at Arizona State University .
“ There will be fire and smoke either way .
The choice is what kind of fire and smoke we want.
” The path forward for California could entail reviving cultural fire practices that existed widely in the pre-1800s , when at least 4.4 million @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Euro-American settlers .
By comparison , as a result of unrelenting suppression , wildfires burned only 250,000 acres a year from 1950 to 1999 .
Flames flickered on precolonial lands from lightning strikes and intentional fires set by Native Americans .
Tribes applied low-grade fire to remove grasses and scrub to grow plants for food , making baskets , and luring game , and to clear wildfire fuels around their villages .
Lightning ignited a blaze in September that swept through the Karuk Tribe ’ s ancestral territory near California ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ acres , feasting on a forest choked with grasses and brush and trees , and leaving behind ashes and anguish amid the rubble of 200 homes .
The disaster bore the sadness of centuries for Bill Tripp , a deputy director in the tribe ’ s Department of Natural Resources .
He has absorbed repeated rejections from federal and state officials to expand cultural burns on the tribe ’ s land to a scale that could reduce wildfire danger .
He looks upon the charred forest as a tragic argument in favor of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ honoring their heritage and renewing the land .
“ We want to do prescribed fire because our communities have had too much uncontrolled fire , ” he says .
“ That ’ s what the entire West has to do right now.
” The national wildland fire strategy devised in 2014 details the importance of educating community members about the benefits of putting fire on the landscape .
Lenya Quinn-Davidson has committed to that cause as director of the Northern California Prescribed Fire Council .
Two years ago , she co-founded the West @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Humboldt County , along the forested North Coast .
A fire area adviser with the University of California system , she has traversed the state since then to help another dozen associations to organize .
The groups attract landowners and renters , ranchers and programmers , college students , and retirees .
The volunteers receive training from fire ecologists and retired firefighters , learn state and county regulations for lighting fires on private property , and take part in instructional burns .
Ms. Quinn-Davidson , who refers to her work as “ almost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ democratic approach to wildfire prevention and land management .
“ For so long in the western U.S. , fire has been locked in a black box , ” she says , drawing a distinction with the Southeast , where public acceptance and use of controlled fire run far higher .
“ There ’ s been a belief that only certain people – the federal and state agencies – are qualified to do this.
” Cal Fire provides protection across 31 million acres of privately owned wildlands .
As a practical matter , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on that much land , and Ms. Quinn-Davidson contends that enlisting trained community members as custodians of fire would lighten the agency ’ s workload .
Unlike Cal Fire ’ s burn crews that make sporadic visits to an area , residents can monitor the land season by season , setting small-scale fires when conditions allow .
The Humboldt County association has treated more than 1,000 acres , completing burns of three to 350 acres that have targeted brush , grasses , and shrubs , along with dead and downed trees , thinning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ willingness of Cal Fire or air district officials to issue burn permits varies by county .
Mr. Brown , who recalls his own skepticism when he belonged to the agency , has gained new perspective since helping launch a prescribed burn association in the county where he lives .
“ I understand that hesitation by Cal Fire – you ’ re responsible if anything goes wrong , ” he says .
“ But the associations are a way to build that relationship between the fire department and the community.
” Wildfire experts speculate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forming stand-alone forestry departments would improve land stewardship .
The prospects for institutional change of that kind appear small , and Ms. Quinn-Davidson regards the growth of prescribed burn associations and training programs as a more realistic and sustainable remedy .
“ It ’ s hard for any agency to be a steward of such huge pieces of ground , ” she says , “ and there ’ s a huge amount of unrealized potential at the local level.
” The historic bushfires that ignited in Australia in September last year burned 59 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
A national inquiry into the catastrophe analyzed the profound effects of climate change and mismanaged forests on fire risk , and emphasized that people need to learn to coexist with wildfire .
Investigators outlined preventive actions familiar to Max Moritz , a wildfire expert with the University of California , Santa Barbara .
His research has explored living with fire , a concept that reflects a sense of individual and communal responsibility for wildfire preparedness .
“ Fire isn ’ t going away , ” he says .
“ We have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then take the right steps in our communities.
” Wildfires in California have killed 150 people and burned more than 36,000 homes and buildings since 2017 .
The state ’ s elastic land-use planning standards magnify the threat by spawning unchecked growth in the wildland-urban interface , broadly defined as areas where development meets natural lands .
Studies show that about three-fourths of the homes razed by wildfire statewide fall within those zones , where 11 million people live .
The housing density in fire-prone areas feeds the spread of flames as wind-blown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has attempted to break that chain reaction by requiring the use of fire-resistant building materials for new homes since 2008 .
Another regulation mandates that homeowners clear dead vegetation within 30 feet of houses to deprive fires of fuel .
The policies adhere to national guidelines for creating fire-adapted communities grounded in mutual awareness among residents and local officials about reducing wildfire danger .
But a dual lack of compliance and enforcement has diminished the impact of the laws .
Mr. Pyne , the environmental historian , considers this year ’ s wildfires @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a message of shared accountability .
“ Cal Fire could tell people , ‘ Even if we had twice as many water tankers and trucks and firefighters , we couldn ’ t protect you , ’ ” he says .
The cold splash of truth would remind residents of their role in public safety .
“ It ’ s about getting out of the mindset that wildfire prevention is someone else ’ s job.
” A coalition of environmental groups has asked Gov .
Gavin Newsom to allocate $ 500 million in next @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resilience and recovery initiatives .
The funding would boost prescribed burning programs and fire prevention efforts to aid homeowners and communities .
A project that could serve as an example for other fire-prone communities has begun to take shape in Paradise , a town of 27,000 people in the Sierra Nevada foothills .
Two years after the deadliest fire in state history killed 85 people in and around the town , local officials are acquiring vacant land on its outskirts to form a wildfire buffer zone , seeking to avert future disasters .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ burn association , Mr. Brown has found people eager for an education in wildfire .
Their interest encourages him .
He knows better than most that , for all their powers of suppression , fire crews can fight only so many flames .
The infernos of 2020 have shown with harrowing force that everyone in California must recognize the obligations of living with fire .
“ We ’ re all affected by wildfires , so let ’ s try to help ourselves and each other , ” he says .
“ It ’ @ @ @ @ @

“We’re all affected by wildfires, so let’s try to help ourselves and each other,” says Norm Brown, a former California fire-response official who now promotes controlled burns. “It’s about cooperation.”
In California, the state and the U.S. Forest Service have agreed to treat 1 million acres of wildlands a year by 2025 through prescribed burning or other means of thinning. But fire agency spending remains heavily skewed toward suppression.
But the challenge is formidable. Climate change has increased the danger posed by wildfires, even as a century of suppression by fire agencies has created the conditions for 4.2 million acres in the state to burn this year, more than twice the state’s prior modern-era high.
A record-breaking season of fire across the West has shown the limits of the century-old strategy of suppression. Many agree the need now is for better land management – built around values of collaboration and shared responsibility.
With her help, private landowners and others are learning how to use prescribed fires to thin the accumulated vegetation in woodlands.
Even before this year’s record wildfires in California, Lenya Quinn-Davidson was pushing for a new approach to addressing fire risks. A fire area adviser with the University of California system, she has traversed the state since 2018 to promote the idea that controlled fires can help curb uncontrolled ones.
Wildfire has illuminated Norm Brown’s life. In 1983, he joined California’s primary firefighting agency, known as Cal Fire, and during the next three decades, he worked thousands of fires, protecting lives, homes, and land. He retired as a deputy chief in 2017, and since then he has stayed close to the flames – by choice and by chance.
As a member of the Mendocino County Prescribed Burn Association, a volunteer coalition of community members and retired firefighters, he oversees controlled burns on private property to reduce the excess vegetation that feeds fires. As a resident of Willits, a small town northwest of Sacramento, Mr. Brown watched this summer and fall as the largest wildfire in state history ravaged nearby Mendocino National Forest, burning more than 1 million acres.
A blitz of dry-lightning strikes in August sparked that blaze and hundreds of others in Northern California. The fires forced tens of thousands of residents from their homes, and when more infernos ignited in Oregon and Washington in September, the entire West appeared aflame.
Why We Wrote This A record-breaking season of fire across the West has shown the limits of the century-old strategy of suppression. Many agree the need now is for better land management – built around values of collaboration and shared responsibility.
The smoky skies crystallized the limits of the aggressive wildfire suppression policy that prevails among federal and state firefighting agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service and Cal Fire. The century-old strategy of dousing most fires as quickly as possible – born of good intentions to save people and property – has wrought forests, grasslands, and shrublands teeming with overgrowth primed to burn as the climate turns warmer and drier.
For Mr. Brown, who devoted his career to snuffing out wildfires, the dystopian spectacle of 2020 has offered nature’s strongest warning yet for the West to reconsider its approach to tending natural lands. “We’ve had a lack of land management, and that’s not a problem that’s going to fix itself,” he says. “So we’re going to have to work together to figure out the answers.”
The breadth of destruction has amplified calls from fire and forestry experts for greater balance between suppression and stewardship to revive ecosystems and lower wildfire risk. The shift will require fire response agencies to collaborate with private land managers and prescribed burn associations, and will demand comparable effort by communities and individuals to adapt to the realities of living with fire.
The West has endured three decades of deepening hardship as ailing forests, climate change, and unrestrained development force a reckoning with wildfires gaining in scale and intensity. Five of the six largest wildfires in California’s history have occurred this year, and the 4.2 million acres burned – more than double the state’s modern-day record set in 2018 – have claimed 31 lives and destroyed 10,500 homes and buildings.
Malcolm North, a research ecologist with the Forest Service in Northern California, suggests that healing the land will depend on collective resolve.
“There’s a partisan divide that has crept into the wildfire discussion. One side says it’s all due to forest management, the other side says it’s all due to climate change. The truth is it’s a combination of both,” he says. “The time for pointing fingers is long past.”
A lopsided emphasis
The Forest Service embraced suppression as its guiding principle after the “Big Blowup” of 1910, when a firestorm scorched 3 million acres and several towns across the Northwest, and state agencies later adopted the ethos. Forestry scientists assert that the massive fires in recent months provide the latest evidence of a lopsided emphasis on suppression that has caused the Forest Service to fall behind on restoring 80 million acres under its care.
Naturally occurring wildfires sustain woodlands and grasslands by thinning dense tree stands and accumulated vegetation, enabling new grasses and plants to sprout and older, more fire-resistant trees to thrive. The ongoing disruption of that cycle has harmed biodiversity and contributed to California witnessing, since 2003, 14 of its 15 largest wildfires on record.
Courtesy of Norm Brown View caption Hide caption Norm Brown, a former deputy fire chief with Cal Fire, California's primary firefighting agency, is shown on a prescribed burn in 2016. "We have had a lack of land management, and that's not a problem that's going to fix itself," he says.
“People see a big fire and say, ‘It’s an act of God.’ That’s not the case,” says Mr. North, who teaches forest ecology at the University of California, Davis. “What we’re seeing is the result of a century of land management decisions that created all that fuel to burn.”
Researchers ascribe the bias toward suppression within fire response agencies to an entrenched culture that frames wildfire as a war that can be “won” with more personnel, equipment, aircraft, and technology. Cal Fire’s funding for suppression hit $890 million in fiscal year 2018-19, a nearly tenfold increase from eight years earlier. The Forest Service’s firefighting budget more than quadrupled during that span, reaching $2.6 billion.
Rising temperatures and falling moisture levels have stretched the West’s annual fire season by 75 days since 2000, and drought and a bark beetle epidemic have killed 150 million trees in California. As the sprawling “fire-industrial complex” struggles to subdue infernos that burn hotter and faster, funding lags for land management programs that could ease reliance on suppression over time.
The Forest Service allocated $435 million for prescribed burns on national lands in 2018, or one-sixth the amount for suppression. Cal Fire spends $80 million on fire prevention and forest health programs, less than 10% of its firefighting costs.
The comparatively modest funding delivers decidedly modest results. The federal government – owner of more than half of California’s 33 million acres of forest land – applies controlled fire on 50,000 to 60,000 acres a year statewide. Cal Fire’s prescribed burn crews treat 20,000 to 50,000 acres on public and private lands.
The figures contrast with the findings of one study that estimated the state needs to treat 20 million acres through controlled burning and vegetation thinning to reduce its wildfire threat.
Mr. Brown, the former Cal Fire deputy fire chief, explains that the duty to preserve public safety depletes resources. At the same time, unless federal and state agencies focus more on land stewardship, he foresees a future as combustible as the recent past.
“If we put money toward year-round crews to do the difficult work of fuels treatment, that would make a big difference,” he says. “We have to get more balance with our fire management.”
The need for more fire
A sense of urgency about redressing the disparity has taken root among public officials in recent months after years of mounting devastation – and decades of warnings from wildfire experts.
Three U.S. senators have proposed $600 million in funding for prescribed burning initiatives to aid wildfire prevention in the West. Another Senate bill would authorize three large-scale land management projects to restore fire-adapted forests.
In California, the state and the Forest Service have agreed to treat 1 million acres of wildlands a year by 2025 through prescribed burning, mechanical thinning, and limited logging.
Brian Melley/AP/File View caption Hide caption Canyon walls are shrouded with smoke from a prescribed burn in Kings Canyon National Park in California on June 11, 2019. Naturally occurring and prescribed wildfires can sustain woodlands by thinning accumulated vegetation and enabling older, more fire-resistant trees to thrive.
A national strategy to reform wildland fire management established under President Barack Obama in 2014 nurtures similar federal-state alliances between public agencies and private land managers, including environmental groups, ranchers, timber interests, and Native American tribes. The initiative identifies wildfire and prescribed fire as essential to the resilience of forests, grasslands, and watersheds.
Land managers have blended natural and controlled fire to foster healthy ecosystems in Kings Canyon, Sequoia, and Yosemite national parks in California. Fire ecologists first performed prescribed burns in the parks a half-century ago after noticing that extinguishing wildfires upset habitat and wildlife equilibrium, and they soon returned to allowing natural fires to spread.
The “let-burn” tactic is far more fraught when a blaze sparks closer to communities, and likewise, fire officials remain wary of conducting controlled burns near populated areas. Their concerns trace to complaints about smoke from residents and potential liability, even as prescribed fires seldom escape containment.
Yet in the view of Stephen Pyne, the author of more than a dozen books on wildfire, the West’s explosive infernos illustrate the need for more fire on the landscape – let-burn and prescribed alike. He weighs the possible risks against 8 million acres incinerated across the region since August.
“We have to take advantage of wildfire the best we can and use prescribed fire when and where it makes sense,” says Mr. Pyne, a professor emeritus of environmental history at Arizona State University. “There will be fire and smoke either way. The choice is what kind of fire and smoke we want.”
The path forward for California could entail reviving cultural fire practices that existed widely in the pre-1800s, when at least 4.4 million acres burned each year before the influx of Euro-American settlers. By comparison, as a result of unrelenting suppression, wildfires burned only 250,000 acres a year from 1950 to 1999.
Flames flickered on precolonial lands from lightning strikes and intentional fires set by Native Americans. Tribes applied low-grade fire to remove grasses and scrub to grow plants for food, making baskets, and luring game, and to clear wildfire fuels around their villages.
Lightning ignited a blaze in September that swept through the Karuk Tribe’s ancestral territory near California’s northern border. The fire consumed 157,000 acres, feasting on a forest choked with grasses and brush and trees, and leaving behind ashes and anguish amid the rubble of 200 homes.
The disaster bore the sadness of centuries for Bill Tripp, a deputy director in the tribe’s Department of Natural Resources. He has absorbed repeated rejections from federal and state officials to expand cultural burns on the tribe’s land to a scale that could reduce wildfire danger. He looks upon the charred forest as a tragic argument in favor of Western tribes conducting larger burns vital to honoring their heritage and renewing the land.
“We want to do prescribed fire because our communities have had too much uncontrolled fire,” he says. “That’s what the entire West has to do right now.”
Unrealized potential
The national wildland fire strategy devised in 2014 details the importance of educating community members about the benefits of putting fire on the landscape. Lenya Quinn-Davidson has committed to that cause as director of the Northern California Prescribed Fire Council.
Two years ago, she co-founded the West’s first prescribed burn association in Humboldt County, along the forested North Coast. A fire area adviser with the University of California system, she has traversed the state since then to help another dozen associations to organize.
Larry Luckham/Courtesy of University of California View caption Hide caption Lenya Quinn-Davidson co-founded a prescribed burn association two years ago in Northern California's Humboldt County, the first organization of its kind in the West. The state now has more than a dozen such associations, in which private citizens use controlled fire to revive ecosystems and lower wildfire risk.
The groups attract landowners and renters, ranchers and programmers, college students, and retirees. The volunteers receive training from fire ecologists and retired firefighters, learn state and county regulations for lighting fires on private property, and take part in instructional burns.
Ms. Quinn-Davidson, who refers to her work as “almost bordering on activism,” promotes a democratic approach to wildfire prevention and land management. “For so long in the western U.S., fire has been locked in a black box,” she says, drawing a distinction with the Southeast, where public acceptance and use of controlled fire run far higher. “There’s been a belief that only certain people – the federal and state agencies – are qualified to do this.”
Cal Fire provides protection across 31 million acres of privately owned wildlands. As a practical matter, the department lacks the manpower to treat fuels on that much land, and Ms. Quinn-Davidson contends that enlisting trained community members as custodians of fire would lighten the agency’s workload.
Unlike Cal Fire’s burn crews that make sporadic visits to an area, residents can monitor the land season by season, setting small-scale fires when conditions allow. The Humboldt County association has treated more than 1,000 acres, completing burns of three to 350 acres that have targeted brush, grasses, and shrubs, along with dead and downed trees, thinning the kindling that powers wildfires.
The willingness of Cal Fire or air district officials to issue burn permits varies by county. Mr. Brown, who recalls his own skepticism when he belonged to the agency, has gained new perspective since helping launch a prescribed burn association in the county where he lives.
“I understand that hesitation by Cal Fire – you’re responsible if anything goes wrong,” he says. “But the associations are a way to build that relationship between the fire department and the community.”
Wildfire experts speculate that splitting up fire response agencies and forming stand-alone forestry departments would improve land stewardship. The prospects for institutional change of that kind appear small, and Ms. Quinn-Davidson regards the growth of prescribed burn associations and training programs as a more realistic and sustainable remedy.
“It’s hard for any agency to be a steward of such huge pieces of ground,” she says, “and there’s a huge amount of unrealized potential at the local level.”
“It’s about cooperation”
The historic bushfires that ignited in Australia in September last year burned 59 million acres before rains arrived in March. A national inquiry into the catastrophe analyzed the profound effects of climate change and mismanaged forests on fire risk, and emphasized that people need to learn to coexist with wildfire.
Investigators outlined preventive actions familiar to Max Moritz, a wildfire expert with the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research has explored living with fire, a concept that reflects a sense of individual and communal responsibility for wildfire preparedness.
“Fire isn’t going away,” he says. “We have to accept that here in the West and then take the right steps in our communities.”
Wildfires in California have killed 150 people and burned more than 36,000 homes and buildings since 2017. The state’s elastic land-use planning standards magnify the threat by spawning unchecked growth in the wildland-urban interface, broadly defined as areas where development meets natural lands. Studies show that about three-fourths of the homes razed by wildfire statewide fall within those zones, where 11 million people live.
The housing density in fire-prone areas feeds the spread of flames as wind-blown embers flit between homes. The state has attempted to break that chain reaction by requiring the use of fire-resistant building materials for new homes since 2008. Another regulation mandates that homeowners clear dead vegetation within 30 feet of houses to deprive fires of fuel.
The policies adhere to national guidelines for creating fire-adapted communities grounded in mutual awareness among residents and local officials about reducing wildfire danger. But a dual lack of compliance and enforcement has diminished the impact of the laws. Mr. Pyne, the environmental historian, considers this year’s wildfires a chance for state officials to push a message of shared accountability.
“Cal Fire could tell people, ‘Even if we had twice as many water tankers and trucks and firefighters, we couldn’t protect you,’” he says. The cold splash of truth would remind residents of their role in public safety. “It’s about getting out of the mindset that wildfire prevention is someone else’s job.”
A coalition of environmental groups has asked Gov. Gavin Newsom to allocate $500 million in next year’s state budget for wildfire resilience and recovery initiatives. The funding would boost prescribed burning programs and fire prevention efforts to aid homeowners and communities.
A project that could serve as an example for other fire-prone communities has begun to take shape in Paradise, a town of 27,000 people in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Two years after the deadliest fire in state history killed 85 people in and around the town, local officials are acquiring vacant land on its outskirts to form a wildfire buffer zone, seeking to avert future disasters.
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Working with Mendocino County’s prescribed burn association, Mr. Brown has found people eager for an education in wildfire. Their interest encourages him. He knows better than most that, for all their powers of suppression, fire crews can fight only so many flames. The infernos of 2020 have shown with harrowing force that everyone in California must recognize the obligations of living with fire.
“We’re all affected by wildfires, so let’s try to help ourselves and each other,” he says. “It’s about cooperation.”