Latest News Clips 2017.06.26

                  

1.      Saudi King Rewrites Succession, Replacing Heir With Son, 31

The New York Times      JUNE 21, 2017

Mohammed bin Salman last year in France. CreditStephanie De Sakutin/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Even two steps away from the Saudi throne, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the 31-year-old son of the king, had already pushed the titanic state oil company toward a public offering, loosened some social restrictions that rankled young people and waded into a costly war in Yemen with no plans for how to end it.

Now, Prince Mohammed stands to inherit a kingdom he has already shaken, after King Salman of Saudi Arabia named him crown prince on Wednesday. In doing so, the king swept aside his son’s older rival, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, 57, upending decades of royal custom and profoundly reordering the kingdom’s inner power structure.

The move further empowers a young and ambitious leader while Saudi Arabia, a close American ally, is grappling with huge challenges, including low oil prices and intensifying hostilities both with Iran and in its own circle of Sunni Arab states.

In favoring his son over Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who is respected for his security acumen, the king, who is 81, also marginalized a large cadre of older princes, many with foreign educations and decades of government experience that the younger prince lacks. If Prince Mohammed bin Salman does succeed his father, he could give Saudi Arabia what it has not seen in more than a half-century: a young king with the potential to rule for decades.

Prince Mohammed’s swift rise and growing influence had already rankled other princes who accused him of undermining Prince Mohammed bin Nayef. But such complaints are likely to remain private in a ruling family that prizes stability above all else.

“A lot of people are happy that a younger generation is coming to power, but those who are upset are the older generation,” who are not used to such dramatic change, said Joseph A. Kechichian, a senior fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, who has extensive contacts inside the family. “Even if people are uncomfortable, at the end of the day this is a monarchical decision, and people will either have to accept the new arrangement or they will essentially have to keep their mouths shut.”

The young prince, known as M.B.S., emerged from obscurity after his father ascended to the throne in January 2015. He has since accumulated vast powers, serving as defense minister, overseeing the state oil monopoly, working to overhaul the Saudi economy and building ties with foreign leaders, particularly President Trump.

His supporters praise him as working hard to fulfill a hopeful vision for the kingdom’s future, especially for its large population of young people. His critics call him power hungry and fear that his inexperience has embroiled Saudi Arabia in costly problems with no clear exits, like the war in neighboring Yemen.

2.      Qatar given 10 days to meet 13 sweeping demands by Saudi Arabia

Gulf dispute deepens as allies issue ultimatum for ending blockade that includes closing al-Jazeera and cutting back ties with Iran.

The Saudi-led alliance considers al-Jazeera to be a propaganda tool for Islamists.

The Guardian   Friday 23 June 2017

Saudi Arabia and its allies have issued a threatening 13-point ultimatum to Qatar as the price for lifting a two-week trade and diplomatic embargo of the country, in a marked escalation of the Gulf’s worst diplomatic dispute in decades.

The onerous list of demands includes stipulations that Doha close the broadcaster al-Jazeera, drastically scale back cooperation with Iran, remove Turkish troops from Qatar’s soil, end contact with groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood and submit to monthly external compliance checks. Qatar has been given 10 days to comply with the demands or face unspecified consequences.

Saudi Arabia and the other nations leading the blockade – the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt – launched an economic and diplomatic blockade on the energy-rich country a fortnight ago, initially claiming the Qatari royal family had licensed the funding of terrorism across the Middle East for decades. Since then, the allies appear to be pushing for the isolation of Iran and the suppression of dissenting media in the region.

The list of demands, relayed to Qatar via mediators from Kuwait, represents the first time Saudi Arabia has been prepared to put the bloc’s previously amorphous grievances in writing. Their sweeping nature would, if accepted, represent an effective end to Qatar’s independent foreign policy. According to one of the points, Qatar would have to “align itself with other Arabs and the Gulf, militarily, politically, socially and economically, as well as in financial matters”.

The UAE’s foreign secretary, Anwar Gargash, insisted the anti-Qatar alliance is not seeking to impose regime change. Nevertheless, it is unlikely that Qatar will see the demands as the basis for serious negotiations.

Qatar has become reliant on Turkey and Iran for food imports since the embargo was imposed on 5 June and insists with its huge wealth it can survive the embargo for an indefinite period.

Gargash blamed Qatar for the “childish” leak of its 13 demands and called it either an “attempt to undermine serious mediation or yet another sign of callous policy.

“It would be wiser that [Qatar] deal seriously with the demands and concerns of the neighbours or a divorce will take place,” he said.

Qatar faces a choice of either stability and prosperity or isolation, he said, adding: “Perhaps the solution is in parting ways.”

In a sign that the UK does not regard the demands as reasonable, foreign secretary Boris Johnson said on Friday: “Gulf unity can only be restored when all countries involved are willing to discuss terms that are measured and realistic. 

“The UK calls upon the Gulf states to find a way of de-escalating the situation and lifting the current embargo and restrictions which are having an impact on the everyday lives of people in the region.”

US policy towards Qatar so far has been marked by confusion. President Donald Trump has appeared to take credit for the Saudi embargo and described Qatar as a haven for terrorism. By contrast, the State Department under Rex Tillerson has twice upbraided Saudi Arabia’s approach to Qatar and questioned its true motives in sparking the diplomatic crisis.

3.      You Don’t Want to Buy Groceries From a Robot

The New York Times  JUNE 23, 2017

The next time you check out at Whole Foods, you might meet my friend Esther at the register. In a few years, you might meet a robot. Or no one at all.

Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods is expected to revolutionize the grocery business, accelerating a trend toward increasing automation and the elimination of cashiers and other human workers. The Amazon Go store in Seattle, devoid of sales clerks and checkout lines, offers a glimpse of what this “just walk out” grocery shopping experience might look like.

I’m not looking forward to it. While interactions with cashiers may seem insignificant, or at times even a nuisance, they also foster sociability between strangers.

I first met Esther 10 years ago when she worked as a cashier at a mom-and-pop bakery in Manhattan, where I’d come to study how adults over 65 used neighborhood spaces to develop social connections that helped them avoid social isolation and live independently.

Esther provided care along with pastries to the older people who congregated at the bakery. She knew exactly how her patrons took their coffees and brought orders to the table for people struggling with canes and walkers. She shared her homemade soup with an octogenarian who came each evening, patiently listened to customers’ long-winded stories, and admired pictures of grandchildren.

A computer could have done many of Esther’s tasks, perhaps more efficiently. But for anyone who’s ever experienced an alarmed electronic voice at self-checkout blaring that you have an “unauthorized item in the bagging area” when you just don’t see the point of bagging Tic Tacs, technology also has its shortcomings. Besides, while a robot might be able to learn that you take your coffee black with two sugars, how special does that make you feel?

Ephemeral contact with cashiers and other service workers can be especially important to people at risk of isolation, such as older people who live alone, those with chronic illnesses and the unemployed.

My sister, who suffers from schizophrenia, values her interactions with employees at the CVS where she picks up her medications. “It makes me happy,” she said about the cashier’s friendly hello. She mentioned a pharmacist who rings up her monthly refills: “She always asks how I am, says, ‘Oh, I haven’t seen you in a while, where have you been?’ It really helped when I got out of the hospital.”

Six years ago, she spent three months in Bellevue Hospital because of a psychotic break, and at first didn’t want to take medication or attend treatment sessions, worried that the people around her had weapons. Despite that initial resistance, she has faithfully taken the drugs that control her delusions and has not returned to the hospital since. Her exchanges with the pharmacy staff served as informal check-ins that gave her a little extra help adhering to an unfamiliar medication regimen.

Services like Walgreens’ express pharmacy kiosks, which allow customers to reduce the interaction required to refill a prescription in person, mean encounters like these may already be dwindling.

Fleeting retail interactions can also help people during major life transitions. I learned this when I ended a 13-year relationship and moved to San Francisco, a city where I knew almost no one. I worked from home and could have gone days without speaking to another human being. But I discovered how quickly I could become a regular at the coffee shops, eateries and bars I frequented. Service workers often filled in important connective social tissue before I worked up enough nerve to chat with other customers. A few friendly words with the servers and bartenders made me feel less alone. Eventually some became friends.

At the same time, San Francisco was a pioneer in automation. At Eatsa, a quinoa bowl joint, you don’t have to interact with any other humans. You just order on your phone, and a “personalized cubby” spits out your food. Robots make coffee at Cafe X, and self-driving food delivery robots roam the streets of the Mission District.

We seem to have fewer and fewer opportunities to interact with people, especially those outside of our usual social circles, of different races, classes or nationalities. In our polarized political climate, we cannot afford to squander them. That’s one reason I choose to ride the bus to work as a college professor, side-by-side with Walmart employees and other retail workers at the mall where the bus route terminates. Most people who can afford a car would rather drive to the mall, reducing the chances of serendipitous conversation with strangers. Will they soon be able to avoid them in the mall, too?

What’s good for business is not always good for people. We need to consider the trade-offs of increasing automation and use our dollars to push for the kind of shopping experience we want and the kind of communities we want to live in. Next time you’re at the store and have the opportunity to bypass the register, spare a few moments to chat with the cashier instead. You can always shop on Amazon at home.