Dear friends,
The tragic bombing yesterday at the airport in Kabul was a painful reminder that two decades of US military operations in Afghanistan have contributed to the metastasis of terrorist groups.
The crowds, planes and infrastructure at the airport provide an obvious venue for the kind of mass-casualty attack that IS has become known for. Winter said the situation was also a “perfect meeting of diverse targets” in Afghanistan: the US military, Afghans who have helped the western effort and are therefore seen as collaborators, and the Taliban, which ISKP sees as “apostates”.
Although Amnesty International is calling for an extension of US airlifts past the August 31 deadline, it isn’t clear to me that it makes sense for the US to try to extend the deadline. Somehow, in spite of the bombing, the US was able to resume evacuations and 12,500 people have been flown out of Kabul in the last 24 hours.
This will be that sort of day — when we reflect on where we are and pause to consider how best to avoid making things worse.
Here in NYC, where more than 75 residents died of COVID in the past week (roughly the same number of people killed in the attack on Kabul airport), schools will reopen in 2-1/2 weeks. There’s been considerable anxiety about what that will look like. There are no plans for a remote-learning option and the city jettisoned the rules the old rules for school closures:
[L]ast year, two unrelated virus cases caused whole schools to shut down. That policy, which public health experts called overly conservative, resulted in frequent two-week closures that disrupted stability for children, working caregivers and teachers. City officials later changed their policy to close buildings only when there are positive cases in four separate classrooms, but still to close individual classrooms with at least one infected person.
Yesterday, the mayor announced the new protocols, which involve less testing. The weekly testing will involve a random sample of unvaccinated students, since all adults working in schools must be vaccinated. Masking is required and schools will plan for and work to maintain 3 feet of distance between students; additionally, classrooms will be outfitted with two air purifiers.
Buildings will close for 10 days if there is evidence of widespread transmission as determined by the city’s disease detectives.
Elementary school students learning at home during quarantine will receive live online instruction from their teachers, but quarantined older students will work on their assignments on their own at home. The city is still finalizing details with unions on who will teach remote classes.
The city is planning to expand an existing program that allows medically vulnerable children to get a few hours of in-person, at-home instruction a week or online learning. More students will qualify for that program this year compared to previous years, and the city expects several thousand students to participate.
The mayor noted that they could always increase testing if school or community conditions warranted it.
There remain a lot of questions about how this will actually work. I’m not recommending any action at this time.
Yesterday, I wrote about the crisis at Rikers Island. Staffing shortages at the Department of Corrections (DOC) are one reason why people incarcerated in city jails are not receiving medical care.
Thousands of scheduled medical appointments haven’t happened each month at Rikers because there’s no one to escort the patient to the appointment.
There were 2,300 times in July that corrections officers missed work without calling in. And that does not include officers on sick leave. This results in double- and triple-shifts for those who do show up to work.
It seems that there are occasions when officers have forged signatures to document that someone has refused medical treatment, according to a social worker with the Bronx Defenders.
There are other serious management issues as well. Although officers get unlimited sick days, failing to show up for work without calling in does not result in termination; the penalties in place are not adequate to address the problem.
Corrections officers protested conditions at Rikers last week, and were joined by health care personnel. The situation in the facility is clearly untenable.
“It costs almost half a million dollars a year to incarcerate one individual according to DOC’s budget,” said Victoria Phillips, an organizer with the Urban Justice Center’s Mental Health Project who has worked for over 15 years in various health divisions on Rikers Island.
“Yet in that budget, you can’t even take someone to a medical appointment?”
Let the mayor know that it’s unacceptable to keep people locked up without medical care during a pandemic. Here is a sample message.
Last night, the Supreme Court blocked the CDC eviction moratorium. Their ruling states that the CDC exceeded its authority and that any moratorium must be extended by an act of Congress.
A survey concluded earlier this month by the Census Bureau found that of the nearly 8 million tenants behind on rent,
3.6 million tenants said they were “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to face eviction in the next two months.
In response to the Court’s ruling, Jen Psaki said
“In light of the Supreme Court ruling and the continued risk of Covid-19 transmission, President Biden is once again calling on all entities that can prevent evictions -- from cities and states to local courts, landlords, Cabinet agencies -- to urgently act to prevent evictions.”
Call your Senators at 202-509-9128, your Congressional representative and your state senator and assembly rep and your city council rep to ask that they take action to prevent mass evictions. Here’s a ready-made message.
The terrorist attacks on 9/11, which were the catalyst for the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, also marked the beginning of the relentless 24-hour news cycle. Take action today AND make a deliberate effort to take a news break this weekend.
with love,
L