Day: June 7, 2022

Golfers Put Aside ‘Reprehensible’ Saudi Moves to Join Series 

The stars of the new Saudi-funded golf league tried to fend off concerns on Tuesday about human rights abuses and signing up to accept hundreds of millions of dollars, despite the risk of being banned from long-standing events. 

After announcing he quit the PGA Tour to join the LIV Golf series, Dustin Johnson evaded questioning about the source of the $25 million prize fund for each event flowing from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. The first LIV Golf Invitational is taking place outside London from Thursday. 

Another former major winner — Graeme McDowell — was left at a news conference trying to publicly reconcile causing fractures in golf by signing for the rebel series that appears to be part of Saudi Arabia’s attempt to reshape its image as a backer of lavish sports events rather than one associated with human rights abuses. 

The Northern Irish golfer, who won the U.S. Open and Ryder Cup in 2010, did bring up the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul as a legitimate area of concern of joining a series he accepts is “incredibly polarizing” for the sport. 

“Take the Khashoggi situation,” he said. “We all agree that’s reprehensible. Nobody is going to argue that fact.” 

U.S. intelligence services said they believe the killing of the U.S.-based Saudi journalist came at the orders of the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who heads the Public Investment Fund. The prince denies wrongdoing. 

The fund is providing the hundreds of millions of dollars in sign-on fees and prize money that is enticing players away from the established tours and jeopardizing their participation in the majors and Ryder Cup. 

Human rights groups describe Saudi Arabia’s efforts as “sportswashing” its image. 

McDowell tried to avoid discussing the specifics of the country he is effectively working for. 

“I really feel like golf is a force of good in the world — I just try to be a great role model to kids,” he said. “We are not politicians. I know you guys hate that expression, but we are really not, unfortunately. We are professional golfers. 

“If Saudi Arabia wanted to use the game of golf as a way for them to get to where they want to be and they have the resources to accelerate that experience, I think we are proud to help them on that journey using the game of golf and the abilities that we have to help grow the sport and take them to where they want to be.” 

How, though, McDowell was asked, is that journey helping women who are oppressed in Saudi Arabia, the LGBTQ individuals whose rights to live freely are criminalized, the migrant workers whose rights are violated, the victims of the Saudi-led bombing of Yemen, or the 81 men who were executed by the kingdom in March? 

“I wish I had the ability to be able to have that conversation with you,” McDowell said. “As golfers, if we tried to cure geopolitical situations in every country in the world that we play golf in, we wouldn’t play a lot of golf. It’s a really hard question to answer. 

“We’re just here to focus on the golf and kind of what it does globally for the role models that these guys are.” 

McDowell did most of the talking on Saudi rights issues, with two-time major winner Johnson responding earlier, “I would pretty much say the exact same thing. I’d agree with what Graeme said.” 

The series is being overseen by Greg Norman with 54-hole tournaments and a shotgun start that sees every group start at the same time on different holes. The winner gets $4 million, while last place gets $120,000. 

The golfers are taking more heat than some other athletes who have competed in Saudi Arabia. While sports, including golf, soccer and Formula One, have chosen to take events to Saudi Arabia without the stars having a say, LIV is a case of the players opting out of existing structures to go all-in on the kingdom’s project. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are among the players to reject an approach from LIV. 

“An opportunity like this comes along,” the 42-year-old McDowell said, “where you can play the last three or four years of your career, in a very financially lucrative environment. It would be crazy to walk away from that as a businessman.” 

Ari Fleischer, a former White House press secretary in George W. Bush’s presidency, was the tournament organizer’s host of the two news conferences involving players Tuesday. He posed questions to the golfers before the media had the opportunity. 

Fleischer was asked about a tweet he posted in 2011 that talked about Saudi Arabia and implied that the king was willing to “spend hundreds of billions so he won’t be overthrown.” He said that comment was made “a long, long time ago.” 

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Figure Skating Minimum Age Rises to 17 Before 2026 Olympics

No 15-year-old figure skaters will be allowed to compete at the 2026 Olympics following the controversy surrounding Russian national champion Kamila Valieva at this year’s Beijing Games.

A new age limit for figure skaters at senior international events was passed Tuesday by the International Skating Union in a 110-16 vote that will raise the minimum age to 17 before the next Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

“This is a very important decision,” ISU president Jan Dijkema said. “I would say a very historic decision.”

The limit will be phased in with 15-year-olds continuing to be allowed to compete next season, a minimum age of 16 in the 2023-24 season, rising to 17 the season after, which is the last before the Olympics.

The ISU said the new rule was “for the sake of protecting the physical and mental health, and emotional well-being of the skaters.”

It should disrupt the career of top Russian junior Sofia Akateva, who is 14. Her birthday in July falls days after the July 1 deadline to classify skaters’ ages for the upcoming season, though for the 2026 Olympics she will be 18 and able to compete.

The change was coming even before figure skating at the Beijing Olympics was dominated by the emotional stress put on the 15-year-old Valieva. She was the favorite to take individual gold, after helping the Russians win the team title, before her positive doping test from December was belatedly revealed during the Olympics.

The teenager was allowed to train under intense scrutiny as a Court of Arbitration for Sport hearing was prepared that allowed her to compete pending the full investigation in Russia. That is still ongoing.

However, her main routine was filled with errors and she dropped to fourth place. She was then criticized rink-side by her coach, Eteri Tutberidze.

The ISU drafted an age-limit proposal saying “burnout, disordered eating, and long-term consequences of injury” were a risk to young teenage skaters who are pushed to perform more quadruple jumps.

The decision was criticized in Russia, where skaters are currently banned by the ISU from international competitions because of the country’s military invasion of Ukraine.

“I think it was done to more or less even out the competition, so that our Russian female skaters couldn’t have the opportunity to win world championship, European, Olympic medals,” Dmitri Soloviev, a team event gold medalist for Russia at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, told broadcaster Match TV.

“But in my opinion Eteri Tutberidze will find a way to get our athletes into ideal condition at the age of 17 or 18,” Soloviev said, “so that they can show their best results at international competitions at that age in particular.”

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LogOn: Robot Software Makes Machinery ‘Smart’

Robots have long been used in manufacturing and other applications that need precise, fast and repeatable tasks. But making smart robots takes software. From Boulder, Colorado, Shelley Schlender reports.

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Biden Drops Tariffs on Southeast Asian Solar Panels for 2 years 

The Biden administration announced Monday that it would waive tariffs on solar panels imported to the United States from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam for 24 months, reducing uncertainty for the U.S. solar energy companies that had been spooked by a Commerce Department investigation launched in March. 

The announcement came as part of a package of measures to accelerate clean energy product development in the U.S. In addition to the waiver, President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to upgrade the electrical grid and speed up investment in the domestic manufacturing of solar panels, building insulation, heat pumps and clean energy fuels. 

“The stakes could not be higher,” a document released by the White House said. “Failing to take these actions would deny consumers access to cost-cutting clean energy options, add risks to our power grid, and stall domestic clean energy construction projects that are critical to tackling the climate crisis.” 

Solar development roadblock 

In March, the Commerce Department announced it was investigating a complaint filed by a small solar panel manufacturer in California against competitors in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. 

The company, Auxin Solar, charged that manufacturers in those countries were using Chinese-made components to assemble solar panels for sale in the U.S.  

In 2011, the U.S. charged China with “dumping” solar panels in the U.S. market, a term for selling them at below cost. The Chinese imports were suffocating U.S. manufacturers, who could not profitably compete against the artificially low prices. As a result, the U.S. imposed tariffs of as much as 250% on Chinese-made solar panels. 

Auxin Solar’s complaint was that many of the solar panels coming from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam were really Chinese products with a misleading country of origin certification.   

When the Commerce Department investigation was announced, U.S. solar projects were immediately thrown into disarray, with many halting altogether. The fear that tariffs might suddenly more than triple the cost of solar panels changed the potential costs of new projects. In addition, the fear that the government might impose retroactive tariffs made U.S. importers even more reluctant to bring them into the country.    

A temporary reprieve 

The administration’s announcement on Monday includes language making it clear that the tariff waiver is meant to be a temporary “bridge” that will allow the solar power industry to continue to use imported panels of questionable origin until domestic production can be brought up to speed. 

The White House said that President Biden is “reinforcing his commitment to safeguarding the integrity and independence of all ongoing trade investigations by career officials at the Department of Commerce and recognizing the vital role these processes play in strengthening our economy.” 

That language did not satisfy some in the industry who are trying to compete with low-cost imports. 

‘Deeply disappointed’ 

In a statement emailed to VOA, Auxin Solar CEO Mamun Rashid criticized the Biden administration for “interfering” with the Commerce Department’s investigation.   

“By taking this unprecedented — and potentially illegal — action, he has opened the door wide for Chinese-funded special interests to defeat the fair application of U.S. trade law,” Rashid said. “Since filing this case, Auxin has been well under way to scaling up. If the President will follow through on his stated intent to support the U.S. domestic industry — including grants to scale and produce upstream inputs like cells and wafers — Auxin is ready, willing, and able to meet that challenge.” 

Arizona-based First Solar, one of the largest manufacturers of solar panels in the U.S., was sharply critical of the administration’s decision. 

“First Solar is deeply disappointed in today’s announcement, which only benefits China’s state-subsidized solar industry,” Samantha Sloan, the company’s vice president of global policy, said in a statement. 

“Today’s proclamation directly undermines American solar manufacturing by giving unfettered access to China’s state-subsidized solar companies for the next two years. This sends the message that companies can circumvent American laws and that the US government will let them get away with it as long as they’re backed by deep-pocketed political pressure campaigns.”    

Sloan also criticized the decision to use the Defense Production Act to increase domestic solar manufacturing, calling it “an ineffective use of taxpayer dollars.” 

Trade groups pleased 

Companies in the business of installing solar power projects greeted the administration’s decision warmly, however. 

“President Biden’s proclamation today to use the full power of executive authority to jumpstart the domestic solar industry is a bold act of leadership,” Heather Zichal, CEO of the American Clean Power Association, an industry trade group, said in a statement.    

“The President’s announcement will rejuvenate the construction and domestic manufacturing of solar power by restoring predictability and business certainty that the Department of Commerce’s flawed inquiry has disrupted,” Zichal said.  

In another statement, Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, another trade group, said, “While the Department of Commerce investigation will continue as required by statute, and we remain confident that a review of the facts will result in a negative determination, the president’s action is a much-needed reprieve from this industry-crushing probe.”  

“Today’s actions protect existing solar jobs, will lead to increased employment in the solar industry and foster a robust solar manufacturing base here at home,” Hopper said. “During the two-year tariff suspension window, the U.S. solar industry can return to rapid deployment while the Defense Production Act helps grow American solar manufacturing

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Poland, With Near-total Abortion Ban, to Record Pregnancies 

The government of Poland, where a near-total abortion ban is in place, faced accusations Monday of creating a “pregnancy register” as the country expands the amount of medical data being digitally saved on patients. 

Women’s rights advocates and opposition politicians fear women face unprecedented surveillance given the conservative views of a ruling party that has already tightened what was one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws. 

They fear the new data could be used by police and prosecutors against women whose pregnancies end, even in cases of miscarriage, or that women could be tracked by the state if they order abortion pills or travel abroad for an abortion. 

“A pregnancy registry in a country with an almost complete ban on abortion is terrifying,” said Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, a left-wing lawmaker. 

The matter gained attention Monday after Health Minister Adam Niedzielski signed an ordinance Friday expanding the amount of information to be saved in a central database on patients, including information on allergies, blood type and pregnancies. 

The health ministry spokesman, Wojciech Andrusiewicz, sought to allay concerns, saying only medical professionals will have access to the data, and that the changes are being made at the recommendation of the European Union. 

The effort, he said, is meant to improve the medical treatment of patients, including if they seek treatment elsewhere in the 27-member EU. In the case of pregnant women, he said this will help doctors immediately know which women should not get X-rays or certain medicines. 

“Nobody is creating a pregnancy register in Poland,” he told the TVN24 all-news station. 

But Marta Lempart, the leader of a women’s rights group, Women’s Strike, said she does not trust the government to keep information on women’s pregnancies from the police and prosecutors. She told The Associated Press that police in Poland are already questioning women on how their pregnancies end, tipped off by disgruntled partners. 

“Being pregnant means that police can come to you any time and prosecutors can come to you to ask you questions about your pregnancy,” Lempart said. 

The new system means many Polish women will now avoid the state medical system during their pregnancies, with wealthier women seeking private treatment or traveling abroad, even for prenatal care. 

Meanwhile, poorer women in Poland will face an increased risk of medical problems or even death by avoiding prenatal care, Lempart fears. 

Lempart also worries that information gained by police could be shared with state media to harm people’s reputations. 

She already knows how that can happen. In 2020, Lempart tested positive for COVID-19, and the information was reported by state television even before she got her results. 

Poland — a predominantly Catholic country — bans abortion in almost all cases, with exceptions only when a woman’s life or health is endangered or if the pregnancy results from rape or incest. 

For years, abortion was allowed in the case of fetuses with congenital defects. That exception was struck down by the constitutional court in 2020. 

In practice, Polish women seeking to terminate their pregnancies order abortions pills or travel to Germany, the Czech Republic and other countries where the procedure is allowed. While self-administering abortion pills is legal, helping someone else is not. 

Activist Justyna Wydrzyńska is facing up to three years in prison for helping a victim of domestic violence access abortion pills. Amnesty International says it is the first such case in Europe. 

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On Broadway, More Visibility, But Also an Unseen Threat 

At a lunch for Tony Award nominees last month, veteran theater producer Ron Simons looked around and smiled. It seemed appropriate that the gathering was held at The Rainbow Room. 

“I can guarantee you I have not seen this many people of color represented across all categories of the Tony Awards,” he recalled. “It was a diverse room. I was so uplifted and impressed by that.” 

For the first full season since the death of George Floyd reignited a conversation about race and representation in America, Broadway responded with one of its most diverse Tony slates yet. 

Multiple Black artists were nominated in every single performance category, including three of five featured actors in a musical, four of six featured actresses in a play, two of seven leading actors in a play and three of five leading actresses in a play. There are 16 Black performance nods out of 33 slots — a very healthy 48%. 

By comparison, at the 2016 Tonys — the breakout season that included the diverse “Hamilton,” “Eclipsed” and “The Color Purple” revival — 14 of the 40 acting nominees for plays and musicals or 35% were actors of color. 

“Let’s hope that the diversity that we saw in the season continues to be the norm for Broadway, that this isn’t just an anomaly or a blip in reaction to what we’ve been through, but just a reset,” said Lynn Nottage, the first writer to be nominated for both a play (“Clyde’s”) and musical (“MJ”) in a single season. 

The new crop of nominees also boasts more women and people of color in design categories, such as first-time nominees Palmer Hefferan for sound design of a play (“The Skin of Our Teeth”), Yi Zhao for lighting design of a play (“The Skin of Our Teeth”) and Sarafina Bush for costume design of a play (“for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf”). 

Other firsts this season included L Morgan Lee of “A Strange Loop” becoming the first out trans performer to be nominated for a Tony. Adam Rigg, scenic designer of “The Skin of Our Teeth,” became the first out agender (does not identify with a particular gender) designer nominated, and Toby Marlow, “Six” co-creator is the first out nonbinary composer-lyricist nominated. 

Eleven performers — including Jaquel Spivey from “A Strange Loop,” Myles Frost in “MJ” and Kara Young from “Clyde’s” — received a nod for their Broadway debut performances and 10 designers received nominations for their Broadway debuts, as did creators such as “A Strange Loop” playwright Michael R. Jackson and “Paradise Square” co-book writer Christina Anderson. 

“I’m very, very excited about all the new voices we’re hearing, all the new new writers who are represented on Broadway for the first time,” said A.J. Shively, an actor nominated for “Paradise Square.” “I really hope that trend continues.” 

Perhaps nowhere is the diversity more apparent than in the oldest play currently on Broadway. “Macbeth,” directed by Sam Gold, has a Black Lady Macbeth in Ruth Negga, a woman taking on a traditional male role (Amber Gray plays Banquo), a non-binary actor (Asia Kate Dillon) and disability representation (Michael Patrick Thornton). 

“If all the world’s a stage, our stage certainly is the world. I’m really proud to be up there with all the actors,” says Thornton, who uses his wheelchair as a cunning asset to play the savvy nobleman Lennox. 

But while representation was seen across Broadway this season so was an invisible virus that didn’t care. The various mutations of COVID-19 sickened actors in waves and starved many box offices of critical funds. Skittish theater-goers who returned often had an appetite for only established, comfort shows. 

Several of the Black-led productions came up short, including “Thoughts of a Colored Man,” “Chicken and Biscuits,” and “Pass Over.” They debuted in the fall, just as Broadway was slowly restarting and audiences were most fearful. “Thoughts of a Colored Man” closed early because it didn’t have enough healthy actors, at one point enlisting the playwright himself to get onstage and play a role. 

One of the most painful blows was a revival of Ntozake Shange’s “for colored girls,” which struggled to find an audience. The cast of seven Black women included deaf actor Alexandria Wailes and, until recently, a pregnant Kenita R. Miller. It earned strong notices and a whopping seven Tony nominations. But it will close this week. 

“In past seasons, had there been a play with seven Tony nominations and this bevy of glowing reviews, the show would have gone on for quite a while,” says Simons, the lead producer. “There’s an audience for this show. That’s not the problem. The problem is getting the audience into the theater to see the show.” 

Despite a glut in inventory and not enough consumers, there were clear game-changers, like “A Strange Loop,” a musical about a gay Black playwright, that captured a leading 11 nominations, besting establishment options like a Hugh Jackman-led “The Music Man.” Broadway veterans agree that extraordinary storytelling was available for those hardy souls who bought tickets. 

“I’m really proud to be a part of one of the voices of Broadway this year,” said Anna D. Shapiro, who directed Tracy Letts’ Tony-nominated play “The Minutes,” which exposes delusions at the dark heart of American history. ” I am so impressed by the vitality and the dynamism.” 

Broadway data often suggest improvements one year, then a drop off the next. Take the 2013-14 season, which was rich with roles for African Americans, including “A Raisin in the Sun” starring Denzel Washington, Audra McDonald channeling Billie Holiday in “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill” and the dance show “After Midnight.” 

There were also African Americans in nontraditional roles, like James Monroe Iglehart as the Genie in “Aladdin,” Nikki M. James and Kyle Scatliffe in “Les Miserables,” and Norm Lewis becoming the first Black Phantom on Broadway in “The Phantom of the Opera.” 

That season, Black actors represented 21% of all roles. But the next season, the number fell to 9%. 

Camille A. Brown, who this season together with Lileana Blain-Cruz became only the second and third Black women to be nominated for best direction of a play, has weathered the ups and downs. 

“My thing is, let’s see what the next year and the year after that and the year after that look like?” she says. “I think the landscape was definitely a challenge, especially after George Floyd and the events that happened after that. But this is only the first season out after all of that stuff happened. So let’s see if it keeps going and keeps evolving and keeps progressing.” 

Simons is optimistic the gains this year will last and celebrates that, at the very least, a group of diverse actors got their Broadway credits this season. He predicts more Tony winners of color than ever before. 

“Even though the box office hurt all of our feelings, it really is a celebration because never have we seen this kind of diversity happen on Broadway,” he says. “It is a rare year and it is a rare year for both the good and the bad.” 

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