Omicron chaos and geriatric rulers
Omicron chaos in Austria, geriatric rulers and their war games, Sundance premier of Navalny documentary. Plus what to read, watch.
Omicron chaos
This morning I knew only one kid would be heading into school, as the other two are already on the stupidly named “Distance Learning” which is Austrian code-speak for online school. So my husband volunteered to drive her (we live a good 45 minute drive from school), and off they went. At 7:58am the email arrived announcing that class too had been ordered into Distance Learning “effective immediately” generously adding the children would have until the second period to get their books, go home, and be online. Meanwhile, we called the children, who had all arrived to the classroom and no one had told yet what was happening. So I call my husband, who is at this point already halfway home, tell him to turn around and go back, and he will now be late to logging in from home and no way in hell my daughter will get online for the start of the second hour.
I have three kids now at home (plus a husband on “work from home” week) all with different start and end dates to their online schooling. None of this makes any sense. From a Omicron perspective, I understand the decision to “shut” a class after there are two cases within three days. From an organisational perspective, and given nearly all the tests and exams are over for this semester, I cannot understand why schools haven’t simply moved online for the next two weeks and that’s it. Politicians are once again pretending schools are open while the reality is: THE SCHOOLS ARE OPEN, THE CHILDREN ARE NOT INSIDE THEM.
I’m at the end of my rope with everything covid in Austria at this point. Yes, I am grateful that we got access to vaccines and have an abundance of testing. I am incredibly frustrated with 2G and endless checks and the bureaucracy of it all, which, I must warn, will not disappear as easily as it was introduced. Yesterday I was grilled so much simply buying a cup of coffee to consume in a Starbucks I had to work very hard to control my temper and not explode. First show QR code. Good. Now show photo ID. I say I have a credit card. She looks at that. Demands something else. I show the one photo ID I have with me but it has my maiden name. She stares at all three documents together for about ten minutes, then moves onto my daughter. I have crossed international borders with less difficulty than I had yesterday buying a hot cocoa and a cinnamon bun before her swim practice.
I was ok with all the checks when we really believed vaccines made us safe from transmission and infection. We now have Omicron and that assumption has flown out the window. Knowing that I have 3 of 3 shots tells you nothing about my current infection status. This concept of excluding the unvaccinated from daily life with non-stop checks in shops and restaurants isn’t driving them to get vaccinated any faster. They are entrenched, they are angry, and they are going to hold out. Now it’s war for them. And for the rest of us? A whole lot to mini-inspectors born overnight and the feeling that customer service died forever.
This tabloid article this morning hints there may be easing on the 2G rules. I say: get rid of it, all of it. Just like Denmark. All of our little 2G, 3G, 2G+ 1G-, etc, doesn’t make the covid situation here any better. They do infuriate a large chunk of the population and risk pushing marginalised people to even more dangerous extremes. There will be lasting political consequences of this encroachment into our daily lives.
Geriatric rulers
We have now a dangerous situation in which an almost-70 year old autocrat is flexing his muscles with the only flex he has — his military, because his economy is in the dumps, and it won’t really get better until he gives up power, which he isn’t going to do as long as he is alive. So here we are. War games between two nuclear powers, with Ukraine stuck in the middle.
On the other side of the Atlantic, we have a 78 year-old president who was pretty popular but now after more than one year in office, his numbers are not doing great, his domestic program is not doing great, he is not doing great. At times it feels like the U.S. needs this conflict over Ukraine in some warped way to make Biden look like he is doing something as if maybe there was a poll that said independents might look favourably upon him if he was tough on Russia.
Europe is most threatened by Putin’s potential actions vis a vis Ukraine, and yet it is only the U.S. who is turning up the temperature. I found this particularly telling, the idea that the White House is frustrated with Ukraine’s president when the entire operation is supposedly to be helping the country maintain its own sovereignty! Strange, isn’t it? Someone calls you in crisis and asks for help because you are bigger and stronger and far more influential, and then you complain about their erratic behaviour? I find it strange. I find it telling. I think Biden needs this fight in the way that two old men want to look tough rather than old. They both fail.
Meanwhile, in DC, Pelosi said she will run again. Reader, she is 81 years old. This is total insanity. She and wealthy Democrats like her have taken the entire party hostage and will kill it before the GOP even gets the chance. If someone asks you ten years from now why was there suddenly a young communist movement amongst twenty-something Americans, people like Pelosi are the answer. Progressives must be furious.
Pelosi’s house is proposing a new bill in support of Ukraine, but I don’t think it will get GOP support as long as Russian government bonds are on the table. They were always an instrument international funds traded heavily in. I still can’t get over an entire delegation of Senators going to Ukraine while they can’t even pass something as basic as the child tax credit payments to families in 2022.
So do I believe them or Biden when they say they will secure us gas from Qatar when Russia cuts us off? Of course not.
So here we are. War games. Threats. Europe worried about staying warm this winter. Germany and Austria will block any serious measures against Putin, of that I’m fairly certain at this point.
Later this week, Putin will speak with Italian business leaders. After the FT ran its story, some CEOs pulled out. I imagine if Italy isn’t fruitful, Austria will be a next stop.
Macron is due to speak with Putin on Friday, but let’s not forget former French prime minister Fillon sits on the boards of Sibur and Zarubezhneft.
Austria’s foreign minster Schallenberg was interviewed on the nightly news program yesterday evening, and was asked what he thought about one of his predecessors dancing with Putin at her wedding. His response?
All of this has me thinking about something else, namely — covid and system Kurz have destroyed the collective reputation of Austria’s politicians. A unique blend of incompetence and corruption has been exposed. How vulnerable does that make Austria on the world stage, particularly as Putin seeks friends in Europe who will side with him against the U.S.?
That’s what I’ll be watching closely.
Navalny at Sundance
Yesterday, a documentary about Navalny premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to great critical acclaim. Yesterday, the Russian government declared Navalny and some of his allies a member of a terrorist organization and an extremist. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
A great interview with the film’s Canadian director:
Afaik the film isn’t available yet to stream in Europe.
Recommended reading / viewing
So much great content to recommend, I think a list is easier. In no order but all articles and pieces I found really helpful in trying to better understand everything that is happening right now.
Moscow Times on what Russian business is thinking right now and why they can’t influence Putin’s foreign policy
Wall Street Journal with on the ground reporting from Ukraine about what ordinary people really feel and think right now:
This excellent video report from Moscow by Vice News
Finally, Buzzfeed embedded with Ukrainian soldiers on the front line trenches in east Ukraine:
Cannot believe it’s only Wednesday. Let’s hoping the wi-fi sustains FIVE of us now working and schooling from home. Thank you for reading!
I came across one of your Tweets and now your articles. It’s so interesting to see your perspective on all the things we see here in the U.S. Your COVID experiences are welcome when we see so many behaving badly if they’re asked to wear a mask. I am nervous about this Russia situation. It’s scary and takes a huge toll on so many countries. Thank you so much for your perspective.