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Tehran’s Killing Machine to Get Rid of Influential Opponents

A Weekly Political News Magazine

Protest Movement in Ahwaz “Fire Under the Ashes “

A Weekly Political News Magazine

Issue 1865- August- 13/08/2021

Dame Sarah Gilbert: Vaccinologist Barbie

Issue 1865- August- 13/08/2021

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A Deepening Alliance of Convenience www.majal a.com

Editorial A Weekly Political News Magazine

On August 9, Russian and Chinese militaries held five-day military drills. The fourth consecutive joint operation which is titled «Zapad/Interaction - 2012» is meant to test the two sides’ readiness to combat terrorism and maintain regional stability in Central Asia, both countries said. In this week’s cover story, Maia Otarashvili reveals how Russia-China military cooperation evolved since Russia’s annexation of Crimea. She discusses the two countries adversarial positions with the west, which have led to deepening their ties. In spite of some spaces of competition between both countries, they have so far managed their relations and avoided conflict amid competition. Prolonged grievances of people of Arab ethnicity in Iran’s Ahwaz had come to a peak last month as they faced thirst and starvation caused mainly by the regime’s deliberate mismanagement of water resources. Thousands of Ahwazis took to streets to defend their rights in water and land, and were not even stopped by the fatal crackdown of authority. Amany M. Salem explores the case of Ahwaz region, the reasons behind the Iranian regime’s policies against the Arab race, and implications of the recent uprising through an interview with prominent expert, Yousef Azizi, the Secretary General of the Center Against Racism in Iran. Another crime committed by Iranian regime against its opponents is revealed in an article by Jiwan Soz, who uncovers the circumstances of murdering a Kurdish Iranian opponent to Tehran by unknown assassins. Senior Kurdish opposition sources spoke to Majalla about the regime’s killing machine, demanding the international community and the countries negotiating with Iran in Vienna to include the case of killing and oppressing non-Persian peoples in Iran and human rights violations in the ongoing talks. Read these articles and more on our website eng.majalla.com. As always, we welcome and value our readers’ feedback and we invite you to take the opportunity to leave your comments on our website.

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A Weekly Political News Magazine

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A Weekly Political News Magazine

“ Gaza Mon Amour”: A Different

40 Look at Contemporary Gaza

Issue 1865- August- 13/08/2021

Calls for Independent Coalition-led

28 Probe on Origins of COVID- 19

Confessions of Lebanese-American

34 Translator Who Spied for Hezbollah

44 ”Of Lovers“

54 The Book of Neurogenesis

Nadia Nadim: From the Hell of the Taliban to the Heaven of Football 5

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56 Power Play: The Inside

Story of Tesla

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First Russian Tourist Arrive in Egypt Visitors from Russia arrive in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Hurgada on August 9, 2021 on the first Russian tourist flight since the October 2015 bombing of a Russian airliner, according to the Egyptian civil aviation authority. Moscow barred direct flights to Egypt after the bombing of the passenger plane shortly after it took off from the popular Red Sea resort of Sharm elSheikh, killing all 224 people on board. Egypt reopened to foreign tourists in July last year after having closed its borders in March to stem the flow of coronavirus infections, Egypt )AFP Photos(

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Sindh police skating unit show their skills at a training in Karachi Officers of Sindh Police Skating Force show their skills during a training session in Karachi, Pakistan, 09 August 2021. The ‘Skating Force’ intially comprising of 20 members 10 men and 10 women were introduced in December .2020 to combat street crimes and provide relief to citizens )EPA Photos(

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A Deepening Alliance of Convenience Russia-China Join Forces for Military Exercises

By Maia Otarashvili Russia-China military cooperation continues to deepen. On August 9th the two sides kicked off five-day-long joint military exercises in China’s Ningxia Hui

Autonomous Region. The exercise includes over 10,000 troops as well as about 200 aircraft, more than 200 tanks and armored vehicles, and over 100 artillery guns from both sides. This includes some of the most advanced Chinese hardware: the J20- stealth

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This exercise is said to be quite unique compared to the previous ones and show as deepened level of trust and cooperation as it “features unprecedented level of cooperation and integration. since the Vostok (East) 2018, Tsentr (Center) 2019 and Kavkaz (Caucasus) 2020 exercises, which were held in different parts of Russia. This exercise is said to be quite unique compared to the previous ones and show as deepened level of trust and cooperation as it “features unprecedented level of cooperation and integration as officers from both sides are using unified commanding platforms while soldiers are mixed in the same groups in tactical operations”. In the «Caucasus2020-» strategic exercise organized by the Russian army in 2020, the Chinese participants used the Russian main battleground equipment for the first time and were mixed with the Russian army to perform joint exercises. A handout photo made available by the press service of the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) welcomes Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) during their meeting in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 15 July 2021. Sergei Lavrov and Wang Yi arrived to Tashkent to attend the two-day International Conference ‹Central and South Asia: Regional Connectivity. Challenges and Opportunities›. (EPA/RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE HANDOUT)

fighter jet, the KJ500- early-warning plane and the PCL181- self-propelled howitzer. This is the first time Russian military personnel get to operate armored assault vehicles, infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) and other main battle equipment provided by China on a large scale in the drill. According to China Military Online, the Chinese side set up a teaching group to help the Russian troops master the equipment as quickly as possible, made Russian-language instruction videos and manuals, “and used driving simulators, shooting simulators, and simulated radio stations to help Russian troops familiarize themselves with the operation of equipment and enter the combat state as soon as possible”. This is the fourth consecutive joint operation held by the Chinese and Russian militaries

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The two sides explained that the exercise, titled “Zapad/Interaction2021-” is meant to test the two sides’ readiness to combat terrorism and maintain regional stability in Central Asia. This, of course, comes parallel to U.S. withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and amid reports that Taliban fighters have captured at least six provincial capitals in the span of a week. In July Russia also held separate military drills in Tajikistan. Moscow is closely watching the Taliban offensive and is concerned about the security of countries in ex-Soviet Central Asia where it maintains military bases. Russia-China significantly annexation of Beijing both

military cooperation has evolved since Russia’s Crimea. As Moscow and found themselves in an

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increasingly adversarial position with the west, they began to deepen their ties. On the surface it appears that Moscow and Beijing are in complete alignment, especially militarily. They have even managed to work together in spaces where their strategic interests compete or even clash. But Central Asia is one of those peculiar places that perfectly explain just how complex and uneven the relationship really is. Although China has a 2,000 year-long past of conflict

At the moment Russia and China find more reasons to cooperate than to aggressively compete as they face Western sanctions regimes, trade tariffs, pressures in the Black Sea, the South China Sea, and seek to prioritize de-dollarization.

and hegemony over Central Asia, since the fall of the USSR Beijing has used multilateral institutions, like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to reengage with the region but include Russia in the process. The Central Asian states too, have felt more comfortable including Russia in their dealings with China. But overtime SCO ended up significantly undercutting Russia’s economic dominance in Central Asia. As FPRI’s Niva Yao explains, “multilateral bodies, such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which includes China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and the Central Asian states, have become spaces for competition between China and Russia. The Belt and Road Initiative has led to intensified Chinese engagement with Central Asia, which has alarmed leaders in Moscow, who see their sphere of control shrinking. Through the SCO, China is writing the rules of the game that will define future development in areas such as logistics and technology.” As Yao sees it, “The Belt and Road Initiative is strengthening China’s international rule-

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In this Aug. 13, 2007, file photo, a convoy of Chinese APCs roll by during a rehearsal for a massive joint military exercise by the two former Cold War rivals, the first on Russia›s territory in the Chelyabinsk region in Russia›s Ural Mountains. Chinese and Russian military forces are engaged in joint exercises through Friday, Aug. 13, 2021, in northwestern China as ties grow between the two autocratic states amid uncertainty over instability in Afghanistan. (AP Photo, File)

Foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states in posing for a picture during a meeting of Foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, 14 July 2021. (EPA/RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE HANDOUT)

making ability in many parts of Central Asia’s economy. While Vladimir Putin is still able to negotiate over Central Asian trade logistics through the SCO, Russian technology companies are already losing to their Chinese competitors. Central Asian governments appear to have little concern about reliance on Chinese tech. By combining technology products, Chinese companies have crafted a system in the domestic Chinese market that is much larger in scale, capacity, and applicability than Russian technology systems. Consequently, when it comes to technology exports, Russia has nothing comparable to offer.” Yet, so far, the two sides have managed to play nice and avoid conflict amid competition. This is largely because Moscow and Beijing realize they must work together to push back against American dominance. At the moment Russia and China find more reasons to cooperate than to aggressively compete as they both face Western sanctions regimes, trade tariffs, pressures in the Black Sea, the South China Sea, and continue to cooperate in their efforts to prioritize de-dollarization. The fact that “Zapad/Interaction2021-” is the

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The two sides explained that the exercise, titled “Zapad/ Interaction2021-” is meant to test the two sides’ readiness to combat terrorism and maintain regional stability in Central Asia. fourth consecutive joint military operation between Russia and China, and each new drill comes with greater demonstration of trust and cooperation, should be seen as a major warning for the United States – Russia-China ties are only deepening with time and it’s an alliance that’s here to stay. Maia Otarashvili is a Research Fellow and Deputy Director of the Eurasia Program. Maia also serves as the Deputy Director of Research at FPRI. Her research interests include geopolitics and security of the Black Sea-Caucasus region, Russian foreign policy, and the post-Soviet “frozen” conflicts.

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Protest Movement in Ahwaz “Fire Under the Ashes” Iranian Arabs Fight Racism and Displacement Plans by Mullahs

By Amany M. Salem

lands, water scarcity and dire economic and social consequences. Since last month, angry and frustrated Ahwazi Arabs Ahwaz (aka Ahvaz) is the capital city of Khuzestan of Iran have been protesting deliberate water short- region, located in the southwest of the country, borage, deteriorating living conditions, and oppression dering Iraq and the Arabian Gulf. It was previously known as Arabistan, before it was annexed by force by Iranian authorities. It was not the first time Iran’s Arabs have taken to to the central government of Iran in 1925. the streets desperate to end their grievances - but this People of Arab ethnicity who form 4% of Iran’s time Ahwazis strongly rejected the regime’s system- population, make up 74% of the people of Khuzestan atic water shortage and racism which led to drained province which is home to some 80 percent of Iran’s

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oil fields and 60 percent of the country’s natural-gas reserves. In addition, Khuzestan was well-known for its fertile lands and rivers, which most of its residents depend on for agriculture. Nevertheless, people of the resourceful region say their resources are depleting, as a result of the governmental campaigns to plunder them, even their lands and marshes have been left to drain due to the dams built by the regime to transfer the regions river waters towards Persian regions in central Iran. This water shortage was recently exacerbated due to climate change. Yousef Azizi, Secretary General of the Center Against Racism in Iran, spoke to Majalla about the Ahwazi Arabs’ struggle to stand up against Iranian regime’s policies and oppression. “People went out against water shortage and forced displacement. The Protests reflected a strong national patriotic spirit and holding on to the land. It was like a rosary extending throughout all cities of Arabistan aka Ahwaz,” he said, describing the recent protest movement which he saw as unprecedented in the region’s history. Part of the protests that erupted last July in Khuzestan, Iran.

NATIONALIST AND DEMOGRAPHIC PURPOSES The Iranian regime pursues policies of draining the lands and oppressing Ahwazis for two main reasons: it is a nationalist racist approach that dates back to Reza Shah Pahlavi’s era and has been resumed by the mullahs since the Islamic revolution; it aims to

Yousef Azizi, Secretary General of the Center Against Racism in Iran, during his interview with Majalla via Zoom

By draining the lands and oppressing Ahwazis, the regime pursues a nationalist racist approach that dates back to Reza Shah Pahlavi’s era and has been resumed by the mullahs since the Islamic revolution. transform the demography of the region in favor of a Persian majority to be able to plunder its resources without any opposition by its original residents. “Arabs in Khuzestan represent a ‘stumbling block’ to the Iranian regime, as they have been demanding their rights of self-determination and autonomous rule throughout past years,” Azizi explained. Since the deposition of Sheikh Kazaal, the last Arab ruler in 1925, uprisings have erupted, and massacres took place against Ahwazi Arabs over the past 90 years even during the republic era. “Anti-Arab racism has been present under Iranian rulers, whether they were religious or secular. They planned to change the direction of river streams towards deserts in central Iran to supply agricultural and industrial projects in Isfahan, Kerman, Yaz and Semnan,” Azizi confirmed. During the Shah’s rule, there was similar social discrimination and poverty, that was why Iranian Arabs joined all other peoples who rebelled against the Shah. However, the new Islamic rulers didn’t fulfill their promises to Ahwazis that they would end their grievances and fix the injustice they were subject to. “The anti-Arab rhetoric continued from the royal era to the republic rule,” Azizi added. “The regime’s plans expanded further than those in the Shah’s era, and the same hatred and racism remained against Arabs. No difference between Shah or clerics.”

SPONTANEOUS MOVEMENT Azizi stressed that “The Uprising of the Thirsty” which

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extended over two weeks is a spontaneous movement which the people began in their capital of Ahwaz, then spread to al-Khafajiyah (Susangerd), Fallehiyeh (Shadegan), Muhammarah (Khorramshahr), Abadan, Shushtar and many other cities and villages. Azizi pointed out, “The demands raised were provincial and national: to release the political prisoners, open the dams to irrigate the drained lands, and to solve the water crisis.” Replying to a question about the calls for independ-

The regime also aims to transform the demography of the region in favor of a Persian majority to be able to plunder its resources without any opposition by its original residents.

ence, Azizi deemed these calls “premature” saying, “Slogans raised in Ahwaz did not include calls for independence. They would be damaging for our cause, and we have gained support of Iranian and Persian populations. Thus, these premature slogans were not raised by our people.” However, he stated that slogans against the “Guardian Jurist” and “People want to bring down the regime” were chanted in the protests. “More people now chant against the Guardian Jurist, because they know that he is the ‘snakehead’ who supervises all actions that damage the region,” he explained. “Chanting against the regime is a call to all Iranian populations, including Persians, that we share the same case against the Guardian Jurist and the oppressive regime which is based on racism, and economic and social inequality.”

SUPPORT FOR AHWAZ One of the most prominent aspects in the recent protests was that it drew major domestic and International support. Various races and national groups inside the country

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Gotvand Dam in Khuzestan, Iran. (Wikipedia)

A map showing the location of Khuzestan (historically known as Arabistan) northwest of Iran. (Wikipedia)

have been subject to similar political, social, economic and cultural discrimination and injustice, which motivated other Iranian races such as Bakhtiaris, Kurds and Azerbaijanis, to express their support for Ahwazis against the oppressive regime. “In spite of the authority’s attempts at separating Arabs from their neighbors, the neighboring Bakhtiari people chanted for unity with Arabs. The chanted in Persian, ‘Bakhtiaris and Arabs are united’,” Azizi told Majalla. “Also the Kurds in Kermanshah city of Saqqez, took to streets but were violently crushed.” Moreover, the Iranian Azerbaijanis, in northwest of Iran, expressed their solidarity as they took to streets and chanted: “Azerbaijan and Ahwaz are united”. Azizi expressed his people’s gratitude “for the notable slogans and support offered by the Azeris who are located in the northwest, more than 1000km away from Ahwaz.” He added that “Iranian Azerbaijanis (Turks) form a large portion of the population and enjoy influence, as their numbers are almost equal to Persians. But they suffer the same racial discrimination by the rulers, so they sympathized with us, and we have been coordinating with them for decades.”

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Similar political, social, economic and cultural discrimination motivated other Iranian races such as Bakhtiaris, Kurds and Azerbaijanis, to express their support for Ahwazis against the oppressive regime. Internationally, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet expressed support for the uprising, and denounced the Iranian measures of building dams and draining the rivers. The US Department of State also condemned the measures along with other countries and western media. In this regard, Azizi stressed that it is important for “independent Ahwazi activists and political groups to

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benefit from this international and domestic support in upgrading their political struggle against Iranian oppressive rulers to gain their historic and legitimate rights in Ahwaz.”

KHAMENEI’S REPONSE It is not surprising that the initial response by the regime was violent crackdown against the

“Independent Ahwazi activists and political groups should benefit from this international and domestic support in upgrading their political struggle against Iranian oppressive rulers to gain their historic and legitimate rights in Ahwaz.”

protestors demanding their rights to the region’s water. Video footage of riot forces firing tear gas and live ammunition to crush the mostly peaceful protests went viral on social media. At least eight people were killed in seven different cities, while “scores of people, including children, have been injured, including by birdshot, and several are hospitalized in critical condition due to gunshot wounds,” according to Amnesty International. “Consistent accounts from the ground, indicate security forces used deadly automatic weapons, shotguns with inherently indiscriminate ammunition, and tear gas to disperse protesters,” the organization stated on its website. However, Khamenei broke his silence after days of protests. He showed understanding of the people’s grievances. Apparently, he felt the risk of the protests culminating into a widespread revolution, especially after the crackdown failed in dispersing the people and preventing them from chanting against the regime and its figures. The Supreme Leader promised to open the dams and dispatched the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, General Hosein Salami, to the troubled region. “General Hossein Salami was dispatched by

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Families take refuge in a temporary camp after leaving their flooded homes in Khuzestan province, near Hamidiyeh, Iran, on Thursday, April 2019 ,18. Inefficient dams have caused disturbances resulting in damage to agricultural fields in the southwestern province. (Ali Mohammadi/ Bloomberg via Getty)

Demonstrators are protesting against the Iranian oppressive regime. (Photo: Getty)

Khamenei to oppress the uprising of Ahwaz. Salami applied undeclared martial laws and met with security and military officials while removing the province governor. Upon his orders, the brave city of Khafajiyah was besieged by concrete barriers, to separate it from Ahwaz amid internet shutdown and widespread detentions,” Azizi noted. This proves that Khamenei didn’t listen to the Ahwazis’ grievances, but he was rather seeking temporary solutions which Azizi said would not provide full water access to Khuzestan’s desperate cities and villages. “The structural problem was not solved. Dams are opened and water tanks are sent to temporarily end the thirst, but water has not reached many remote areas. The solutions provided are just ‘painkillers’ to pretend they solved the crisis. In fact, the problem is still there,” Azizi insisted. “The grievances of discrimination and racism also remain unsolved, in addition to lingering water scarcity, poverty, and unemployment.” “The marshes are still drained so Chinese oil companies, and IRGC contractors and companies such as Khatam al-Anbiya Construction and other Quds force companies, can steal the region’s resources,” he added.

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“The solutions provided are just ‘painkillers’ to pretend they solved the crisis. The grievances of discrimination and racism remain unsolved, in addition to lingering water scarcity, poverty, and unemployment.” UPRISING HAS NOT ENDED Arguably the protest movement which seems to be quiet now has not ended. “In contrary to the regime’s expectation, the uprising is like ‘fire under ashes’ that may erupt again anytime,” warned Azizi. “Ahwazis now understand the regime’s plots and evil plans that threaten their existence, so they resist and sacrifice in order to foil these plans,” he remarked.

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Tehran’s Killing Machine to Get Rid of Influential Opponents “Hotel Owner Contributed to Kurdish Official’s Assassination in Erbil” – KDPI Figure to Majalla By Jiwan Soz – Erbil A prominent member in the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), which is the oldest Kurdish party in the country, denounced the assassination of a party leader in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, under suspicious circumstances. The senior official was found dead inside a hotel in the city on August 7, amid direct accusations against the Iranian regime for being behind the murder. “KDPI senior official Moussa Babakhani, who had been a party member for 20 years, was found dead in an Erbil hotel, two days after his disappearance on August 5,” Khalid Hassanpur, a KDPI leadership member and coordinator with other Iranian opposition parties, told Majalla. In a phone interview with Majalla, Hassanpur said that “Babakhani was with his companions before heading to the hotel. That was the last time he was seen. He went to the hotel with the hotel’s owner and in his car too.” “The information that we have indicates that the hotel owner whom we trusted, was working with the Iranian intelligence,” he added. The Kurdish official also revealed, “Babakhani

left the city of Koy Sanjaq, which is near Erbil on Thursday, August 5, to the capital of the province. There he contacted a person from the Iranian city of Ilam, who Babakhani knew well and trusted. Afterwards, Babakhani disappeared

Khalid Hassanpur, a KDPI leading figure and the coordinator between the party and other Iranian opposition groups. (Supplied)

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Three Iranian opposition blocs demanded the international community and the countries negotiating with Iran in Vienna to include the case of killing and oppressing non-Persian peoples in Iran and human rights violations in the ongoing talks.

Moussa Babakhani, the KDPI Senior Official who was assassinated in Erbil. (Photo: Babakhani’s twitter account)

for two days before we found him slain.” “Despite the fact that the hotel’s surveillance cameras showed him entering the property, he was not recorded as leaving. Thus the hotel’s owner and employees should be responsible for or are involved in the assassination.” The KDPI official said that “Babakhani was shot twice in the head on August 5 inside a hotel room, then the door was closed and he was left there until we found him on August 7.” He stressed that “the hotel owner plotted the assassination and is the main culprit” and “Tehran is behind the whole operation.” Meantime, Hassanpur said that “Our party doesn’t have any accurate information about the assassin, but those whom Babakhani trusted were part of the Iranian intelligence which killed hundreds of opponents the same way, as it targets influential figures. That is the Iranian target behind killing Babakhani.”

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He added that various Kurdish Iranian parties as well as other opposition parties in Iran are under pressure, but KDPI is always targeted by Tehran particularly in recent years. “The regime demolished the party’s headquarters in Koy Sanjaq and assassinated members of our party’s central committee along with other members in Kurdistan region through Iranian intelligence,” he stated. Babakhani was a member of the KDPI central committee, and he was a veteran fighter in the party’s troops known as “Peshmerga”. He was born in the Kurdish Iranian city of Kermanshah in 1981. He rose through the KDPI ranks until he became a central committee member during the party’s 17th conference. He also worked in the party’s regulations committee and media outlets. Signs of torture were apparent on Babakhani’s body, as reported by another Kurdish source to Majalla. “Torture suggests that the killers tried to extract confessions from Babakhani before murdering him in a cowardly manner,” the source said. Many Iranian opposition coalitions, that comprise Kurdish, Arab, Azeris, and Persian parties, have denounced the assassination of Babakhani in Erbil. They also called on Kurdistan’s authorities to do all possible efforts to reveal who is behind the murder, especially that it took place inside the autonomous Kurdish region which is separate from Baghdad’s central government. In a joint statement, “Congress of Nationali-

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ties for a Federal Iran”, along with other two opposition blocs, denounced the murder of Babakhani and demanded the international community and the countries negotiating with Iran in Vienna to include the case of killing and oppressing non-Persian peoples in Iran and human rights violations in the ongoing talks of the nuclear issue. The opposition blocs accused the new Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi of playing an active role

The opposition groups accused the new Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi of playing an active role in killing political prisoners in his country. They considered the Iranian peoples’ lives threatened by the regime as a result.

in killing political prisoners in his country. They considered the Iranian peoples’ lives threatened by the regime as a result. At the beginning of this year, Behrouz Rahimi, another Kurdish opponent to the regime who was a member of Kurdistan Free Life Party, was killed in Sulaymaniyah city in Iraqi Kurdistan by unknown assassins. Reports by rights organizations reveal that Iranian intelligence has detained about 400 people who are members of anti-government Kurdish political parties abroad. Iranian intelligence has previously killed its opponents abroad or abducted and brought them home as it did with Habib Chaab (also known as Habib Asyud), the former head of The Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz. He was enticed to travel from Sweden of which he is a citizen, to Turkey. Then, he appeared to be captured by Iranian intelligence from Turkey to Iran. In addition, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) have been frequently targeting KDP camps inside Iraq. In September 2018, 15 KDPI members were killed and 30 more were injured, including the party’s Secretary General, in a missile attack launched by IRGC against KDPI premises, 60 km away from Erbil.

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An Iranian Kurdish Peshmerga member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) inspects damage at the party headquarters in Koy Sanjaq, 100 kilometers east of the capital of the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region Erbil, on September 12, 2018, after it was hit days earlier by an Iranian rocket attack. (SAFIN HAMED/ AFP via Getty Images)

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Calls for Independent Coalition-led Probe on Origins of COVID - 19

Transparency and Scientific Probe Needed to Break Current Deadlock

By Thomas J. Bollyky, Yanzhong Huang More than a year and a half into a global pandemic that has caused at least four million deaths, the world is still debating two competing hypotheses about the origins of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The first hypothesis—and until recently the dominant one—is that the virus jumped from animals to humans in a natural “spillover” event. Animal-to-human transmission has happened re-

peatedly throughout history. And although no animal has been identified as the culprit in this pandemic, there is evidence that species sold in Wuhan’s wet markets could have caught the novel coronavirus from a bat and then spread it to humans. The second hypothesis, which was initially dismissed as a conspiracy theory but has gained traction in the wake of recent news reports, is that the novel coronavirus escaped via an accidental lab leak. The earliest reported cases of COVID-19 occurred in Wuhan, which is home

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This photo taken on August 4, 2021 shows a laboratory technician wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) working on samples to be tested for the Covid-19 coronavirus at the Fire Eye laboratory in Wuhan, in China’s central Hubei province. (Photo by STR / AFP)

to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, China’s highest-security lab for biohazards and an institute renowned for coronavirus research. Wuhan is also a bustling metropolis of more than ten million people—not a natural habitat for the bat colonies where coronaviruses are typically found. Both hypotheses are plausible, but neither can be proved—in part because China has so far refused to allow a rigorous, independent World Health Organization (WHO) investigation on Chinese soil. Investigative reporting, analysis by researchers, and editorials from prominent scientists have helped to revive the lab leak hypothesis, but they are unlikely to produce a definitive answer about the origins of the virus—or to convince those who are not predisposed to accept their conclusions. A 90-day intelligence assessment that U.S. President Joe Biden ordered in May, the results of which are expected later this month, could shed more light on this question. But it is similarly unlikely to end the impasse over the source of the outbreak, since it will be seen by other nations and by multilateral institutions through the lens of the U.S.-Chinese rivalry. Few outside the United States will accept its conclusions without independent corroboration. In the absence of a definitive answer, speculation and fingerpointing about the origins of COVID-19 are hindering international cooperation to end this pandemic and impeding investments in global disease surveillance and response capabilities that will be needed to prevent, detect, and fight the next one. Instead of continuing to push for a WHO investigation that is unlikely to materialize, the United States and its allies should call for an independent scientific investigation led by a coalition of national academies of science. Such a coalition, which would include the Chinese Academy of Sciences alongside the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the academies of science of other nations, will not end the rivalry between Beijing and Washington. But it could be a more cooperative venue for investigating the virus’s origins, allowing U.S. and Chinese policymakers and scientists to begin to rebuild the technical cooperation needed to prevent future outbreaks—for instance, by building momentum for stronger global lab safety rules or by making possible tougher restrictions on wildlife trade and wet markets.

INVESTIGATIVE IMPASSE International efforts to investigate the origins of the pandemic have reached an impasse. Biden and the other leaders of G-7 nations have called for “a timely, transparent, expert-led, and science-based” investigation by the WHO, and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO’s director general, has committed to carrying one out. But China has steadfastly refused these calls for an in-country inquiry. Last month, Beijing rejected a plan by the WHO to audit laboratories in China, suggesting that investigators should instead look for the origins of the virus in the United States. “If the U.S. is truly transparent and accountable, it should keep an open mind like China, immediately inviting international ex-

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In the absence of a definitive answer, speculation and finger-pointing about the origins of COVID- 19 are hindering international cooperation to end this pandemic and impeding investments in global disease surveillance. perts to Fort Detrick and other places in the U.S. to conduct detailed investigation,” said Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In recent weeks, China’s state media have doubled down on allegations and accusations that the United States is the source of the pandemic. Unless China permits a full investigation, scientists (and governments) around the world may never agree on the virus’s origins. It is possible that journalists and experts could shed more light on the lab leak hypothesis—for instance, if a respected reporter were to publish leaked records from the Wuhan Institute of Virology that showed it had been working with a previously undisclosed coronavirus that resembled SARS-CoV-2. But even then, China would denounce the records as fake and refuse to permit further investigation inside China, likely arguing that the WHO already dismissed the possibility of a lab leak in January 2021. Some scientists and governments might conclude that the leaked lab records were authentic, but others would maintain that there is no way to know for sure, leaving the matter unsettled. The same uncertainty would dog any evidence gleaned from a U.S. intelligence assessment or from the results of the investigation Biden ordered into the origins of the virus. In two weeks, the 90 days that Biden gave the U.S. intelligence community to review the evidence on the origins of the pandemic will have elapsed. It is possible he will extend the investigation (and leaks from within the probe suggest that U.S. investigators may need more time to comb through previously undisclosed geneticsequencing data that might have come from the lab in Wuhan). Yet regardless of the timeline, China and other countries will dismiss the investigation’s findings as flawed or politicized, likely citing the intelligence failures that occurred in the lead-up to the Iraq war as good reason to question the reliability of intelligence inquiries where geopolitical interests favor a particular conclusion. One commentary in the state-run People’s Daily has already accused the United States of “intelligencizing” the origins probe, arguing that scientists, not intelligence officials, should lead any investigation into the source of the pandemic. Neither a bombshell news report nor an intelligence assessment is likely to overcome China’s refusal to allow a genuine WHO investigation, and the organization’s constitution and regula-

olitics

tions do not grant it the authority to force China to submit to one. China’s compliance with the International Health Regulations, the international treaty that governs information sharing during a pandemic, has already been shown to be “at best flawed,” according to an independent task force sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations that one of us co-authored. And even if a media report or a U.S. intelligence assessment could persuade other nations that a lab leak occurred, the avenues for punishing China would be limited. A lab accident by itself would not be a violation of international law, and neither the International Health Regulations nor customary international law would require compensation to be paid to countries negatively affected by the accident or subsequent cover-up. The

China and other countries will dismiss the investigation’s findings as flawed or politicized, likely citing the intelligence failures that occurred in the leadup to the Iraq war as good reason to question the reliability of intelligence inquiries.

United Nations is similarly incapable of imposing sanctions, since China is a permanent member of the Security Council and would block any punitive resolutions. The U.S. Congress could waive China’s protections under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976, which would currently bar domestic lawsuits over an accident cover-up, but such suits would still need to overcome difficult questions about causation. Many nations faced similar challenges in this pandemic and did not suffer the United States’ poor health outcomes. Credible evidence that China covered up a lab accident that eventually seeded the pandemic would have intense reputational, diplomatic, and political implications for Beijing and could advance U.S. geopolitical interests. But if such evidence emerges from an adversarial process, it will not make Americans any safer from future pandemics. The lab safety rules and global system for outbreak detection needed to prevent and respond to inevitable outbreaks down the road depend on more cooperation between the United States and China, not less.

A BETTER WAY In order to break the current impasse, the United States should attempt to rally like-minded countries to exhaust the other options for a credible, cooperative approach to answering the origins question. Instead of a WHO-led investigation, which is hopelessly stalled, the Biden administration should call for an independent probe by a coalition of credible scientific institutions, such as the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Royal Society in the United Kingdom, among others, with WHO acting as an observer. Although China has stonewalled the WHO investigation, it has responded positively to mounting international pressure—for

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A worker in a protective suit is seen at the closed seafood market in Wuhan, Hubei province, China January 2020 ,10. (REUTERS/Stringer)

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a news conference in Geneva Switzerland July 2020 ,3. (By Fabrice Coffrini/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo)

instance, by not objecting to the resolution establishing the origins probe at the World Health Assembly in May 2020. But to increase the likelihood that China will cooperate with an independent investigation, the Biden administration should consider responding directly to Beijing’s absurd accusations that the pandemic may have originated in a U.S. military lab. So far, it has left these charges unanswered, presumably because it views them as disinformation. But Beijing has framed Washington’s silence as evidence of a guilty conscience, helping to justify its own refusal to accept a full international investigation. Biden could call China’s bluff and allow international inspectors, including Chinese scientists, into the United States. President George H. W. Bush made a similar deal when he offered Soviet inspectors access to U.S. biological facilities in 1990 in exchange for a joint U.S.-British inspection of the Soviet Union’s Biopreparat facilities. The joint delegation faced denials, evasion, and obstruction, but it was still able to determine that the Soviet biological weapons program was offensive in nature, contrary to Soviet assertions. Washington even gained from the Russian inspection of its own biological facilities: Ken Alibek, a key member of the Soviet bioweapons program, confirmed during his delegation’s visit that he did not believe the United States had an offensive bioweapons program, even though the Kremlin’s propaganda claimed otherwise. Alibek’s defection a year later helped Washington gain even greater insight into the former Soviet bioweapons program. The Biden administration could seek to negotiate a deal with Beijing for similar reciprocal visits. If China agrees, such visits would not only give the United States greater insight into the activities of the Wuhan Institute of Virology but potentially create an opening for a credible Chinese whistleblower to shed more light on the origins of the virus. If China refuses, the attempt

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International efforts to investigate the origins of the pandemic have reached an impasse. Biden and the other leaders of G-7 nations have called for “a timely, transparent, expert-led, and science-based” investigation by the WHO. would at least put the lie to Beijing’s propaganda campaign at home and abroad. An independent coalition-led investigation, coupled with the possibility of reciprocal U.S and Chinese inspections, will not end the rivalry between Beijing and Washington. But it might help break the current deadlock over the question of the pandemic’s origins—which in turn would help U.S. and Chinese scientists and policymakers put the answer to good use. Beijing and Washington will need to cooperate to end this pandemic and to fight the next one, by putting in place stronger global rules on lab safety and tougher restrictions on wildlife trade and wet markets. Only that will make Americans and the world safer. This article was originally published on ForeignAffairs.com.

conomy

Saudi Banks Thriving Earnings Continue an Upward Trend in the First Half of 2021 By Motasem Al Felou – Jeddah At the end of July, Saudi banks posted their results in the second quarter for the current year (April through June 2021). The Q 2 earnings are 10 times the ones achieved in the same period last year, reaching a total of SR 11,061 (USD 2.95 bn). In the second quarter of 2020, all Saudi banks reported profits despite the COVID19- pandemic, except for one bank with its total earnings reaching only SR 962 m (USD 265.53 m). However, the Q2 profits are less by %7.81 compared to Q1. If we compare the performance of the first half of 2021 to the same period in 2020,

the results show the profits have grown by %111 from SR 10,921 bn (USD 2,913 bn) to SR 23,059 bn (USD 6,149 bn). This significant improvement goes back to a number of factors that helped the Saudi banking sector bounce back and generate profits. Let›s dive into the reasons why Saudi banks have shown better performance in the first half and have increased expectations for the second half of 2021.

INCREASING BORROWING POWER Since the beginning of 2021, the borrowing

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power of local banks and foreign banks working in the Kingdom has been boosted due to the growth of the national economy for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic, which has put banks in a better position regarding their ability to provide loans to individuals and private and public sector. «The total amount of loans have hit a new record by the end of June 2021 when their value reached SR 2022.2 bn (USD 539.25 bn). The national economy is recovering fast, and banks have solidified their financial positions to increase their borrowing power,» financial analyst Mohammed Ibraheem told Majalla.

Saudi Stock Market index has jumped by 30% from the beginning of 2021 until the beginning of August. (Photo: Reuters)

«Business activities are on the rise. The government has succeeded in controlling the spread of the pandemic without closing the economy. Banks have been providing credit facilities for borrowers, whether they are individuals, public sector, or private businesses, to accelerate the execution of their plans at lower interest rates. That is the reason behind the spike in lending, which has participated in increasing the profits,» he added.

“A big part of the banks› profits comes from what is called ‹operating income,› which includes fees coming from banking services, net financing and investment income. Many stock traders use banks› special trading platforms to carry out their transactions.” has jumped by %30 from the beginning of 2021 until the beginning of August. With this rate of growth, hundreds of billions were invested in Saudi stocks using banks› platforms, and the banks made huge profits. With the revival of business activities, money transfer fees, internally and externally, grew higher in volume and number, in addition to other financial administration fees.

OPERATING INCOME, STOCK MARKET FUTURE OUTLOOK «A big part of the banks› profits comes from what is called ‹operating income,› which includes fees coming from banking services, net financing and investment income. For example, many stock traders use banks› special trading platforms to carry out their transactions. Banks themselves have special funds for trading in stocks. The improvement of the performance of the Saudi stocks has had a great impact on the positive results of the banks. Customers are taking more interest in stocks, either by subscribing to stock investment funds or using the banks› platforms,» explained Mr. Ibraheem about the several sources of the profits. The Saudi Stock Market (Tadawul) index

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Whether banks are expected to continue the upward trend or not, Mr. Ibraheem believes that if oil prices remain higher than USD 70 per barrel, the cash flow will help banks be more resilient and robust as the government deposits the petrodollars in the local banks. «The Saudi economy is expected to do better and grow in the second half of 2021. This means that more investments and spending will put banks in a better financial position, allowing them to further generate profits. The recovery of the Saudi economy helps the government decrease the budget deficit, while banks continue lending and business activities thrive and prosper,» concluded the expert.

eport

Confessions of Lebanese-American Translator Who Spied for Hezbollah A Romantic Plot Lured Her into Sending Classified Information to the Terrorist Group By Mohammad Ali Salih – Washington Mariam Taha Thompson, a 62-year-old Lebanese-American who was a contract Arabic

translator with the American forces in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, was sentenced last month to 23 years in jail for spying for Lebanese Hezbollah.

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At her trial and during the investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), she confessed and asked for mercy, writing a long letter to the judge who presided over her trial. The following is Taha’s confession excerpted from FBI notes as well as the letter she sent to the judge. Next is a statement by Channing Philips, a US government attorney who was one of the prosecution team against Taha:

MARIAM TAHA’S CONFESSIONS “I was born in Beirut, Lebanon, immigrated to the U.S. in 1990, and became a citizen in 1993. Starting in 2006, I worked as a contract Arabic linguist with the U.S. military, and was entrusted with a top-secret government security clearance. I had been employed by Worldwide Language Services of Fayetteville, North Carolina, a company that described itself as ‘a leading international organization that has provided elite operational combat interpreters and translators to support U.S., allied and coalition forces for two decades.’ File Photo of Mariam Taha Thompson.

“I believed that if I did not pass on to him the classified information that he had asked for, my relationship with him would come to an end, and he would not marry me.” – Mariam Taha assist coalition leaders in their engagements with key Iraqi leaders. And in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, then the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, wrote in a glowing 2010 letter of endorsement for me that I had put on my LinkedIn page on the Internet. He wrote that I ‘provided essential information to the theatre-level command which affected policy and operations throughout the country’. He recommended me for a job as a leader of a U.S. military human terrain team, or as a cultural adviser.

In 2017, I started communicating with (identified in the prosecutor’s document as an uniI am at the mercy of your honor, and would, dentified co-conspirator Lebanese who lived politely, request that you take into considera- overseas). tion other aspects of my life, my love of this country and my patriotism as an American Over time, I developed a romantic interest in citizen. him, and learned, among other things, that I had a lengthy career with the U.S. military he had met Hassan Nasrallah, the secretaryin Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. general of Lebanese Hezbollah, who gave him a ring that he was keeping. In the US, I owned, for years, a business in Rochester, Minnesota, called Mary’s Clean- I don’t know if he was a Shi’ite. If, he would ing Service. I was active in local business net- be a member of Amal or Hezbollah. working groups, and sold cookies at booths during celebration in downtown Rochester. I don’t know about Hezbollah or Amal. I hate Hezbollah and Amal. They are the I had received letters of appreciation from same. They are ruling Lebanon …They are top American military generals, as well as religious organizations … I looked at them the Medal of Hero in the War against Ter- as terrorist organizations. rorism. During more than three years in Iraq, I par- Hezbollah, in particular, is bad; they kill ticipated in hundreds of combat patrols to people, they are like octopus, and can reach

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eport

anyone. They rule Lebanon now.

foreign government.

I believed that if I did not pass on to him the classified information that he had asked for, my relationship with him would come to an end, and he would not marry me.

As part of the guilty plea, she admitted that she believed that the classified national defense information that she was passing to a Lebanese national would be provided to Lebanese Hezbollah, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

I fully accept the responsibility for my actions. I am not proud of what I have done, and I am filled with sadness and regret for what happened. I was getting old, and needed someone to hold me when I cried, or to warm me with love and care. I needed love and when I found this person, he promised me a good life with great love. He made me dream about the smiling future. But I did not know that it was all lies and that he was just taking advantage of me to reach his goals.

In 2019, while Thompson was assigned to a Special Operations Task Force facility in Iraq, the United States launched a series of airstrikes in Iraq targeting Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed foreign terrorist organization. These air strikes culminated in the 2020 strike that resulted in the death of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Qasem Suleimani, as well as the founder of Kata’ib Hezbollah, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Following Suleimani’s death, (Taha’s friend) began asking Thompson for information about the people who had helped the United States to target Suleimani.

When I discovered his lies, I stopped, but it was too late …” CHANNING PHILIPS: “A LESSON TO OTHERS” “Mariam Taha Thompson delivering clas- Thompson began accessing dozens of files sified national defense information to aid a concerning human intelligence sources, including true names, personal identification data, background information and photographs of the human assets, as well as operational cables detailing information the assets provided to the U.S. government.

She used several techniques to pass this information on to (her friend) who told her that his contacts were pleased with the information. And that the Lebanese Hezbollah military commander wanted to meet her when she came to Lebanon. She used her access to classified national defense information to provide (her friend) with the identities of at least eight clandes-

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A supporter of Iranbacked Iraqi Shiite armed groups popular mobilization forces carries the pictures of slain Abu Mahdi alMuhandis and General Qassem Soleimani during a symbolic funeral of Iran-backed Iraqi Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces who were killed in a US airstrike near the Iraqi border with Syria, in central Baghdad, Iraq, 29 June 2021. (EPA/ AHMED JALIL)

tine human assets; at least 10 U.S. targets; and multiple tactics, techniques and procedures. Thompson intended and had reason to believe that this classified national defense information would be used to the injury of the United States and to the advantage of Lebanese Hezbollah. Thompson’s sentence reflects the seriousness of her violation of the trust of the American people, of the human sources she jeopardized and of the troops who worked at her side as friends and colleagues. That she passed our nation’s sensitive secrets to someone whom she knew had ties to Lebanese Hezbollah made her betrayal all the more serious. Thompson’s sentence should stand as a clear warning to all clearance holders that violations of their oath to this country will not be taken

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“Thompson’s sentence should stand as a clear warning to all clearance holders that violations of their oath to this country will not be taken lightly, especially when they put lives at risk.” – the US Attorney said. lightly, especially when they put lives at risk. Thompson was entrusted with highly sensitive information, and she chose to betray her country by providing classified defense information to a foreign terrorist organization.”

A Weekly Political News Magazine

Issue 1865- August- 13/08/2021

Dame Sarah Gilbert: Vaccinologist Barbie www.majalla.com

“Gaza Mon Amour”: A Different Look at Contemporary Gaza Love is Present in Gaza Despite War and Siege! By Salma Adham

circumstances.

Speaking about Palestine or Gaza strip in specific always comes with mentioning the war and the people’s lives between rockets and strikes, the prison they are living in and the city which is punished by a suffocating siege by the Israeli occupation authorities abroad, and by the Hamas authorities inside. This suffering made people remember the strip which overlooks the sea, which is limited to only three miles for sailing and fishing, with suffering, devastation and occupation, but despite all this, there is life! There are people who aspire to lead a normal life, to work, to listen to music and to love!

The film was written and directed by the Twins Tarzan and Arab Nasser and it is their second feature film which is a joint Palestinian-French-German-Portuguese production starring Salim Daou, Hiam Abbas, Maysa Abdel-Hadi, Georges Iskandar and Manal Awad. The Gaza film was nominated to represent Palestine at the 93rd Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Film category. It premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and participated in several international festivals, including the Chicago International Film Festival, Stockholm Film Festival, Thessaloniki Film Festival and Zagreb Film Festival.

“Gaza Mon Amour” draws a picture for us representing Palestinian society with its difficulties and sufferings, but also with its feelings, passion and human side to announce that the truest thing that we should always owe to is love, and how does it make our life tolerable, in any age and under any

Recently, the film won the Critics’ Prize at the Freiburg Film Festival in Switzerland. It also won Best Actress and Best Film at the Arab Film Center Critics’ Awards and several international awards including the Best

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Issa (Salim Daou) and Siham (Hiam Abbas) waiting for transport in a scene from “Gaza Mon Amour”. (Supplied)

Actor Award for its hero Salim Daou from the Malmö Arab Film Festival in Sweden, the Asian Film Support Association (Netpac) award from the Toronto International Film Festival and the Best Arab Film award from the Cairo International Film Festival. It continued to gain awards by winning The Best Actor Award in Antalya Film Festival, and two awards for Best Film and Best Screenplay from the Valladolid International Film Festival. The storyline takes place in Gaza which is under the control of Hamas where Issa (Salim Daou) who works as a fisherman, falls in love with his neighbor in the market, Siham (Hiam Abbas), who works as a seamstress in a women’s clothing store. Before he proposes to her, he finds during a hunting trip a statue of the god Apollo which gets him into trouble with the authority after he hides it in his house. But in the end, he decided to propose to her and get married.

The film draws a picture representing Palestinian society with its difficulties, but also with its human side to announce that the truest thing that we should always owe to is love. But what does the statue of Apollo refer to here? Apollo is the god of the sun according to the Greeks, and Issa found him drowning off the shore of Gaza which represents the painful reality of this city, or maybe finding it represents the light of the dream for those people who live in this difficult reality and imagine that one day things get better. The statue also appeared with an erect penis

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in a symbolic reference to Issa, the Palestinian man who is 60 years old and lives alone dreaming of Siham, the widow who lives with her divorced daughter and thinks about his virility all the time. The film is not only about Issa and Siham but also refers to the political crisis in Gaza. We see Al-Aqsa posters and ringing slogans on the walls, the attempts by Hamas officials to sell the statue to an international museum, and Hamas forces celebrate with a small rocket with enthusiastic songs and supporters.

The storyline takes place in Gaza which is under the control of Hamas where Issa who works as a fisherman, falls in love with his neighbor in the market, Siham, a seamstress in a women’s clothing store.

The locations of the film reflect the reality of the Gaza society whether in the police station, the cost of Gaza, Issa’s house or Siham’s house, the market and the streets of the strip. This atmosphere is represented well in the cadres and lighting of the film. Every scene tells something even if indirectly, starting from the first scene of the soldiers preparing food while watching a war movie on TV to the last intimate scene between Issa and Siham in the boat amid the scattered roses and the shots of the occupation army warning them because they have exceeded the permissible limit for sailing. The cold colors in most of the scenes reflect the unwarm mood of life on the strip where some of its residents think of leaving searching for freedom and bright life. The lighting was vague to represent the real life of the residents who suffer from permanent power outages. What also gives the film a different taste is the usage of the music by making a unique mix between classical Arabic music and international classical music in scenes. Concerning the acting, most of the characters were placed well in their roles, espe-

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Issa (Salim Daou) and Siham (Hiam Abbas) in the market in a scene from “Gaza Mon Amour”. (Supplied)

Siham (Hiam Abbas) sitting and thinking in her house in a scene from “Gaza Mon Amour”. (Supplied)

cially the hero of the movie, Salim Daou who plays its first character in cinema. When watching you can feel that Issa is a really lonely fisherman who is living randomly and making clashes with the security authorities, but at the same time, despite the toughness he is known for, he becomes nice with a shy, lovely heart when seeing Siham. Gaza Mon Amour highlighted a side we are not familiar with in the world of Gaza, the

The message here is clear, people are capable of life and love amidst destruction, strictness, occupation, siege, and corruption because we are as we are, humans with lots of feelings. city which witnesses a lot of conflicts and death. I think it succeeded in breaking the stereotype of Gaza city. The name of the film, for me, is so related to its idea. Is there love without loving the place where we belong? Is the love of ourselves and others separate from the love of our country? Gaza, perhaps one day, will be a city without war or siege and get rid of all sadness and cries, and love will finds its way to all its streets and districts. The message here is clear, people are capable of life and love amidst destruction, strictness, occupation, siege, and corruption because we are as we are, humans with lots of feelings.

Issa (Salim Daou) when finding the statue of Apollo in the sea of Gaza. (Supplied)

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“Of Lovers” Timeless Themes of Love Presented in the Context of Philosophy and Music By Amira Noshokaty On the premises of one of the most enchanting Mamluk Palaces, songs of Star of the Orient Om Kulthoum, intertwined with

pearls of wisdom from Al Imam Ibn Hazm Al Andalusi (7 November 994 – 15 August 1064) and filled the air. “Of Lovers,” is the name of a play directed by

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prominent Egyptian director Hani Affifi. For eight consecutive years, this performance has been held annually at the courtyard and balcony of the Mamluki Palace. Representing two main themes with great audience appeal might be the secret of the success that leads audiences to flock every year to attend the same play over and over again. The scenes of a play that wittily weaves the lyrics, music and wisdom of Ibn Hazm are carefully scattered around the court of the palace. A feast for the eyes indeed when you are slowly surveying the open area of the palace that reveals bits and pieces of the love stories and all their themes. The opening scene starts with the music of a famous Om Kulthoum song, sharing the same name of the play. The name of the play is taken from a classic song of Om Kulthoum which is featured in one of her early films entitled Sallama, 1945. The song that is called “Of Lovers, They asked me,” (music by Zakaria Ahmed, Egyptian Sheikh of composers, and lyrics by vernacular poetry pillar Beiram Al-Tounsi) is a witty portrayal of lovers and their love stories. A scene from the play “Of Lovers” performed at Prince Taz Palace in Cairo, Egypt. (Photo by Seif Ashraf/Courtesy of Director Hani Affifi)

“We picked the name as if we are asking Ibn Hazm to share his insights on the love stories,” explained Egyptian director Hani Affifi. Invoking Ibn Hazem is highly symbolic, as the director revealed in his opening speech, explaining that Love is an authentic theme in our Arabic heritage and that an Islamic philosopher and thinker has written a whole book on it with all its variations. The book on love titled Touq Al- Hamama (the Neck of the Dove) has many meanings in Arabic. It is referred to as a symbol of eternity and stability, and it is also said that the reference to the dove is affiliated with the fact that the dove was a messenger of love letters between lovers back in the day. There is more symbolism because love messages used to be written with ink while using the tip of the dove’s feathers as a pen. In 30 chapters, Ibn Hazm classified love in all its forms and

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Both the book and Om Kulthoum’s songs are very generous, they have numerous ideas that explore many love story themes. We looked for love at first sight, jealousy, obedience of lover to his beloved, the melancholy of love, we found these themes in both the book and in Om Kulthoum and hence the harmony. provided examples of the love stories which were current in his era. “I have kept the performance intact for eight years, with no changes at all to 90 percent of it. I personally love Om Kulthoum, and I read the book Tawq al Hamama a long time ago. It was very attractive to me because it has such a variety of subject matter with which to work. It could be easily transformed into a dramatic performance. In heritage books, they use poetry as a form of artistic emphasis of their wording, so I toyed with the idea and added lyrics and music from Om Kulthoum songs. It will be a nice double transition, for it will be relevant to modern day audiences, admirers of Om Kulthoum as well as a connection to younger audience who are being introduced to the topic,” Afifi explained. Though depicting a bygone era as reflected in costumes, settings, music and background, the play has a very vivid modern flair. Playing on the universal theme of love, the director wittily stitched scenes from modern day love to convey the fact that love is an intangible human heritage that is passed on from one generation to the other. The director illustrated how women reveal their love,

how men are unable to comprehend such facts most of the time, and how love is truly blind. These realities are the subjects of mini scenes that reveal various love situations to which everyone can relate. “Both the book and Om Kulthoum’s songs are very generous, they have numerous ideas that explore many love story themes. We looked for love at first sight, jealousy, obedience of lover to his beloved, the melancholy

Invoking Ibn Hazem is highly symbolic, as the director revealed in his opening speech, explaining that Love is an authentic theme in our Arabic heritage and that an Islamic philosopher and thinker has written a whole book on it with all its variations.

of love, we found these themes in both the book and in Om Kulthoum and hence the harmony. The play is set in the open air courtyard of the palace and this made the scenography quite phenomenal. There is a reason why the director stuck to the palace for eight years. The magnificence of the palace and its architecture were splendidly revealed in the limelight as the play unfolded. Using the balcony, the stairs and even the courtyard as the players scattered around to perform their stories was also a great use of the place. “We exerted a big effort in condensing to one sentence the dialogue of an entire scene,” he added. The subliminal experience of discussing the timeless issue of love and lovers within the context of Ibn Hazm and Om Kulthoum, along with all the fine thoughts and ideas they represent, was quite a journey. The director elaborated on love themes via a twist of modern dancing. It blended well with the main theme despite being modern, for after all, one of the merits of love is the fact that it is ethereal and hence it can be manifested in many forms.

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A scene from the play “Of Lovers” performed at Prince Taz Palace in Cairo, Egypt. (Photo by Sara Wadea/ Courtesy of Director Hani Affifi)

The courtyard and balcony of the Mamluki Prince Taz Palace in Cairo, Egypt, during the play “Of Lovers.” (Courtesy of Director Hani Affifi)

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Dame Sarah Gilbert: Vaccinologist Barbie By Majalla Illustration by Ali Mandalawi In recent years, toymaker Mattel has responded to criticism about the Barbie doll’s role in creating an unrealistic picture of womanhood. The company now designs dolls inspired by professions as diverse as a firefighter, doctor, and astronaut - and in a range of skin tones beyond its original white, blonde doll that first launched in 1959. Toymaker Mattel, which produces the famous Barbie doll, has created a doll of the scientist who designed the Oxford coronavirus vaccine, Prof Dame Sarah Gilbert. The doll designed to honor Gilbert is one of six to honor women working in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). Gilbert told the media she found it “very strange” at first, but hopes the doll will be an inspiration to the children; “I hope my doll will show children careers they may not be aware of, like a vaccinologist,” she said. “I am passionate about inspiring the next generation of girls to pursue STEM careers and I hope that children who see my Barbie will realize how important scientific careers are in helping the world around us,” she added. Gilbert chose the nonprofit organization WISE (Women in Science & Engineering), dedicated to inspiring girls to consider a career in STEM, to receive a financial donation from the toymaker. The discoverer of the AstraZeneca vaccine, Sarah Gilbert, 59, is said by one of the English

magazines that interviewed her recently that she has a very competent behavior that you should expect from someone about to achieve a breakthrough, and that she has no minute to waste. Recently, Gilbert was feted in Wimbledon where she was seated on the seat reserved for the Queen of Britain to watch the most prestigious game in the world to a scientist who dedicated her life to science, the audience standing in respect applauded for five minutes, much more than the applause received received by the game’s stars themselves. Gilbert, a recipient of a Royal Medal was honored on Queen Elizabeth’s birthday, and began work on developing a coronavirus vaccine in early 2020 when COVID-19 first appeared in China. The Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine is now the most widely used vaccine in the world, and doses have been sent to more than 170 countries. Years ago, when Gilbert was preparing for her Ph.D., she considered giving up science altogether. As a young student in the Department of Biology at the University of East Anglia, she was motivated by the diversity of ideas and experience she had in her science department. However, after applying to study for a doctorate at the University of Hull, she discovered that she did not like to focus on a narrow entry into a specific scientific field in her studies and that she was more inclined to open up to various fields of knowledge and ideas. Gilbert passed her exams at Kettering High School and was skillfully playing a woodwind instrument for the school’s orchestra. She then moved to the University of East Anglia to com-

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plete her Bachelor’s degree, after which she received a Ph.D. from the University of Hull, and despite her superiority, she refused the academic work, and instead chose to work at Leicester Biocentre for the first two years of her career, she then moved to a biotechnology company, Delta, where she gained experience manufacturing pharmaceuticals. In April 2020, her triplets decided, even though they are young, 21 years old, and all of them study biochemistry, to participate in the trial of the experimental vaccine against Covid-19. For the past ten years, she has dedicated her life to manufacturing and testing vaccines that were manufactured to induce immune T-cell responses, using antigens from Malaria and influenza. Many of these vaccines have passed clinical trials, however, that was not the ceiling of her dream, when she initially returned to academia, according to a report in The Telegraph. Her goal was to study human genetics, but during that study, she discovered “the role of a certain type of immune response in protecting against malaria.” So, Gilbert decided to make a vaccine that “works through this type of immune response,” and the passion for vaccines began. For coronaviruses, Gilbert used chimpanzee viruses (the common cold virus) along with genetic material from the high protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that would prompt the immune system to fight the virus. In early trials, the vaccine stimulated antibodies as well as T-type white blood cells, which will cause the immune system to destroy the virus that causes Covid-19.

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Nadia Nadim: From the Hell of the Taliban to the Heaven of Football UNESCO Champion for Girls and Women›s Education for Her Role in Promoting Sport and Gender Equality By Sarah Gamal Her life would appeal to any good Hollywood screenwriter. Some may doubt the authenticity of such a life, but it is nonetheless true, as she tells it in her biography; “My Story.” «I›m glad I›m still here despite everything that had happened to me,» Nadia said in one of her statements, with a smile on her face. Nadia Nadim, a -33year-old Afghan refugee, soccer star, medical student, and former small grocery store owner, has overcome obstacles that many would see as insurmountable. She fled Afghanistan, which is still witnessing a conflict, after her father was assassinated, and traveled to several countries until she took refuge in Denmark. Today, she is a football player in Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), France, and an ambassador for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Nadia Nadim was born in Herat, western Afghanistan on January 1988 ,2, to a father who was a general in the Afghan army. «He didn›t know how to separate the two roles,” she says. Sometimes he acted like a general with his kids, and obviously it was really hard for her. He hit his kids and their mother, but that is what made her the strong woman she is today. No doubt that his behavior provided one of the reasons that taught her not to give up. In a way, her relationship with him is the epitome of her life with all its positive and negative intertwining. The second of her five siblings, at eight years old Nadia lost her father when he was assassinated in the civil war that led the Taliban movement to power in Afghanistan in 1996.

After her father’s assassination, she was haunted by the “pain of scorched corpses,” including her uncle’s corpse, the sound of rockets, and insecurity. Then, in 2000, when Nadia was 11 years old, her mother decided to flee the country with her five children in a “horrific” saga, during which she was introduced to the world of human traffickers. They drove on a minibus from Kabul to Pakistan and then headed on fake passports to Italy and from there to Denmark in a truck. «No child should have gone through this, but it›s life,» she said. At that moment I couldn›t do anything, but now I feel happy to have a second chance and get through this crisis thanks to my mental strength.” Nadim›s family landed in Denmark with all its cultural and climate shock. Today the young woman knows how much she owes to this country, which gave her “a second chance at life after the Taliban stole her first life from her.” It was there that her passion for football was born. She had already practiced quite a bit with her father but without realizing that she could make a living from this sport. Similar to the career of Brazilian Ronaldo Nazario, the Danish international made a career

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Nadia Nadim works out during a Paris SaintGermain women training session on October 2020 ,14 in Paris, France. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier - PSG/ PSG via Getty Images)

Nadia Nadim of Denmark looks on during a training prior UEFA Women›s Euro 2017 Final against Netherlands at De Grolsch Veste Stadium on August 2017 ,5 in Enschede, Netherlands. (Photo by Maja Hitij/ Getty Images)

in the world of football and beyond as a result of her strenuous efforts and talent. She had a difficult life in the small and wealthy Balkan country where she was granted refugee status and for the first time saw girls playing soccer. Nadia Nadim looks back, «We were in the refugee camp, and right next to it was a wonderful stadium with a goal net.» It was the first time she saw girls playing football. After two or three months, she was encouraged and asked to join the team, after which her life completely changed. Since then, gradually but continually, she began to score goals and “work more than the rest of the players in order to get opportunities” as an immigrant. She carried on with her career in Denmark clubs until she joined the famous American League where she played with the Sky Blue team and the Portland Thorns. She did a short stint at Manchester City and later joined Paris SaintGermain in 2018 where she completed her third season. In 2009, when she was 21, she played her first match with the Danish national team, and her name entered the country›s history for being the first female footballer to represent Denmark after obtaining citizenship. Since then, she has played 93 matches with her national team and scored 33 goals. Representing the country that adopted her did not make her forget her origins as this player, who speaks eight languages, carries the flags of Denmark and Afghanistan in her shoes. “I mix two cultures and two countries, I

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She had a difficult life in the small and wealthy Balkan country where she was granted refugee status and for the first time saw girls playing soccer. carry both in my heart. I am not %100 Afghani or %100 Danish.” she said. In conjunction with her successful sports career, Nadim attended medical school at Aarhus University (remotely during the football season) with the aim of becoming a surgeon when her playing days are over. In 2020, she was already assisting in surgery. In 2018, Forbes ranked her as Number 20 in their «Most Powerful Women in International Sports» list. In 2019, UNESCO chose her as an ambassador for girls› and women›s education, and her unprecedented story became a source of inspiration for many girls. Today, Nadia Nadim no longer talks about dreams, but about goals. The young woman wants to continue studying medicine while keeping a foot in the world of football that somehow saved her.

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The Book of Neurogenesis Exercise and Lifestyle Factors Are Keys to Improve Memory By Matthew Solan

also produce new brain cells, but the hippocampus appears to be where much of the activity takes place,» Science suggests it’s possible to make new brain cells says Dr. Tanzi. and improve your memory. The key is to get moving. Research has found that the hippocampus can proIt was once thought the brain could not create new duce anywhere from 700 to 1,500 new neurons each cells. You simply used what you were born with, and day. That may not seem like much considering the vast galaxy of neurons, but even this small number if they died through age or injury, that was that. Scientific studies now show that the brain can con- has value, as it supports the existing neurons. tinue to produce new cells, called neurons, as we age, «The thinking is that if you can increase this number even late into life, through a process called neurogen- even more through neurogenesis, you could intensify the hippocampus›s primary function and improve esis. How well the brain does this -- and how we can en- how people learn new information and access shorthance it -- may solve the puzzle for improving age- and long-term memory,» says Dr. Tanzi. related memory loss and perhaps prevent dementia, “SHIELD” YOURSELF TO LOWER including Alzheimer›s disease. «While most brains can develop new cells, the goal for ALZHEIMER›S DISEASE RISK science now is to find the best ways to do that,» says Dr. Rudolph Tanzi, a neuroscientist and co-director Besides exercise, research has shown other lifestyle of the McCance Center for Brain Health at Harvard- factors are linked with a lower risk of Alzheimer›s. Dr. Rudolph Tanzi, a neuroscientist at Harvard-afaffiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. filiated Massachusetts General Hospital, designed a guide called SHIELD to address these key areas. GROWING SPURTS S: Sleeping seven to eight hours. Adequate sleep helps The average brain contains about 100 billion brain the brain clear out amyloid plaque and other toxins, cells, most of which were formed before birth. In the high amounts of which are linked with Alzheimer›s earliest stages of childhood, new brain cells continue disease. to be made at a brisk pace. Over the years, neurogen- H: Handling stress. Stress induces the adrenal glands esis gradually declines, but the process doesn›t stop to produce and release more cortisol, which may have an adverse effect on memory and cognitive function. even into older age. That›s especially true in the hippocampus. There are I: Interaction with friends and family. Chronic lonelitwo of these small, seahorse-shaped regions in the ness doubles the risk for Alzheimer›s disease, some brain. One lies within the left hemisphere and the oth- studies suggest. er in the right. They are responsible for learning and E: Exercise. Regular aerobic activity helps induce storing memories. «There are other brain regions that neurogenesis.

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Regular aerobic activity helps induce neurogenesis. (Getty Images via TNS)

L: Learning new things. Learning increases synapses (communication channels between neurons) and improves the brain›s resilience. D: Diet. Plant-based eating patterns like the Mediterranean and MIND diets promote a healthy gut microbiome, which may play an important role in maintaining brain health via the gut-brain axis -the link between how the gut and brain communicate with each other.

FINDING CONNECTIONS Scientists have explored several specific questions about neurogenesis. For example, what exactly «turns on» neurogenesis in the hippocampus? What effect does it have on memory? And perhaps most important, is it possible to increase neurogenesis to improve cognition in people with Alzheimer›s? Unfortunately, human studies on neurogenesis are limited. Much of what we know about it comes from animal studies. But here is what is understood so far, and how it may relate to humans. In one study led by Dr. Tanzi, researchers used drugs and gene therapy to induce hippocampi

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«Anything that gets the heart rate up, like using a treadmill, cycling, or power walking, is ideal,» Dr. Tanzi says. «If it works the body, it’s great for the brain.» neurogenesis in older mice who were genetically modified to develop Alzheimer›s to see if ramping up the production of new brain cells would slow or reverse the disease. They found that the animals› condition did not improve. «While drug and gene therapy helped make new neurons, they eventually died like other existing neurons before they could make any kind of lasting impact,» says Dr. Tanzi. Next, they took a different approach and explored whether exercise could trigger neurogenesis --

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and, if so, what lasting effect it could have. (Scientists have already found a strong link between increased aerobic exercise and improved mood in adults.) Here, Dr. Tanzi and his team put healthy young and old mice through exercise routines on a running wheel. Aerobic exercise not only induced neurogenesis in the mice, but also increased what›s known as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF is a protein found in the brain that plays a key role in nerve health. «It helps neu-

rons grow and survive,» says Dr. Tanzi. «It›s like fertilizer to help plant seeds grow.» Follow-up research has supported the exerciseneurogenesis link. One study found that adult male rats that did aerobic exercise for eight weeks had two to three times as many hippocampal neurons than rats that did no exercise. Besides producing BDNF, aerobic exercise might help increase the liver›s production of an enzyme called Gpld1, which also may assist with neurogenesis.

Besides exercise, research has shown other lifestyle factors are linked with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s. Dr. Rudolph Tanzi, a neuroscientist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital, designed a guide called SHIELD to address these key areas.

Even though these findings were from animal studies, Dr. Tanzi says people could gain the same brain benefits through aerobic exercise. «Right now, there is no substitute for regular exercise to help with neurogenesis,» says Dr. Tanzi. Yet it›s not clear what kind of exercise works best, nor how long and how much is enough. Until those questions are addressed, Dr. Tanzi suggests aiming for the recommended 120 to 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week. «Anything that gets the heart rate up, like using a treadmill, cycling, or power walking, is ideal,» he says. «If it works the body, it›s great for the brain.»

BRAIN EXERCISES

This article is originally published by Harvard Men’s Health Watch.

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A model of human brain. (Photo by Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash (

ook Reviews

Power Play: The Inside Story of Tesla A Deep New History of Tesla Takes the Shine Off Elon Musk By Russ Mitchell Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook and Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk are talking on the phone. The 2016 unveiling of the make-it-orbreak-it Model 3 is coming soon, but Tesla is in serious financial trouble. Cook has an idea: Apple buys Tesla. Musk is interested, but one condition: «I›m CEO.» Sure, says Cook. When Apple bought Beats in 2014, it kept on the founders, Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre. No, Musk says. Apple. Apple CEO. «F— you» Cook says, and hangs up. So goes the juiciest allegation in «Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk and the Bet of the Century» by Wall Street Journal reporter Tim Higgins. The secondhand anecdote is atypical in a way — Higgins doesn›t break much news or gossip — but it also nicely encapsulates this sweeping history of the electric-car juggernaut, a company that often seems to innovate and thrive in spite of its founder rather than as a result of his vaunted genius. To the inevitable disappointment of some and

the relief of others, this is a book about Tesla, not about its founder. Elon Musk already does a fine job aiming the spotlight on himself. As Higgins details, it took a village to build Tesla. «Power Play» at its core is about the many employees not named Elon Musk who made essential contributions to whatever success the carmaker enjoys today. Don›t fret: Musk is always part of the story, contributing his own brand of drama to keep things moving along. But in this book, the selfanointed «TechnoKing» (his actual job title at Tesla) serves not as main character but dramatic foil to those doing their best under chaotic, dysfunctional conditions. One is J.B. Straubel, the Stanford engineer who teamed with Musk to take over the original Tesla, founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Musk was the money man, Straubel «Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century» by Tim Higgins; Doubleday (400 pages, $ 30) This was originally published by the Los Angeles Times.

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In this book, Elon Musk, the self-anointed «TechnoKing» (his actual job title at Tesla) serves not as main character but dramatic foil to those doing their best under chaotic, dysfunctional conditions.

Book Cover

the brains behind the battery technology. Straubel departed Tesla in 2019 after the board of directors agreed to a pay plan that has made Musk one of the richest people on the planet. Another key player who gets his due here is Sterling Anderson, the self-driving-car pioneer who headed Tesla›s Autopilot project, only to quit after Musk rejected his push for drivermonitoring technology to keep people safe. Musk said he didn’t want to add technology that might nag Tesla customers. Anderson is now cofounder and chief product officer at Aurora Innovation, engineering true self-driving vehicles. There is also Peter Rawlinson, who came to Tesla from Lotus as chief engineer for the Model S. He and Musk got along fine until Rawlinson started criticizing some of Musk›s ideas for the ill-fated Model X. Musk then found him «irritating.» Rawlinson quit and now runs Lucid

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Motors, a luxury EV maker soon to introduce vehicles that will compete directly with Tesla. Dozens more are noted, most of them witnesses to or victims of the rage and wrath of Musk, a hair trigger of an executive who›s quick to fire people whether they deserve it or not. On the floor of Tesla’s Fremont, California, factory, a line worker told Musk he›d invented a way to fix a car window›s screeching sound by making an incision on the door seal. Musk turned on manufacturing executive John Ensign in a rage: «This is unacceptable that you had a person working in your factory that knows the solution and you don›t even know that!» Ensign was fired. In fact, engineers had already tried that approach and the fix proved temporary. Ensign — now chief operating officer at Los Angeles electric bus maker Proterra — didn’t want to embarrass the worker by saying so in front of Musk. Musk’s approach to many manufacturing issues was, and still appears to be, keeping the assembly line moving while line problems are being fixed. He’s not a fan of the Toyota method, where a worker can stop the line until the problem is solved. He’s all about the volume. That may be one reason why the quality of Teslas is so variable — why buying one can feel like a crapshoot. Some owners report their car is perfect; some say they were sold a piece of junk. (Including Kristen Wiig and Avi Rothman.) In fact, Toyota ended a partnership with Tesla over such issues. «Musk was willing to let some

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quality issues slide if addressing them meant slowing down their schedule…,» Higgins reports. «Tesla was building the airplane as Musk was heading down the runway for takeoff.» Plenty of readers would respond: Sure, but look at how successful he›s made Tesla. Maybe you need that kind of personality to succeed. These days, maybe so. No question: Tesla has earned a prominent place in motor vehicle history under Musk. While the rest of the auto industry sought to protect its internal-

Dozens of characters are noted, most of them witnesses to or victims of the rage and wrath of Musk, a hair trigger of an executive who’s quick to fire people whether they deserve it or not.

combustion business under the assumption few people would buy an alternative, Musk showed that stylish, fast and fun electric cars would prove popular. The Model S sold in sufficient numbers to prompt regulators to begin ordering phase-outs of gasoline and diesel cars. The Volkswagen diesel-cheat scandal and the bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler weakened auto industry clout. Now everybody›s spending billions on an EV transition. Still, the company has a long way to go. Tesla did deliver just shy of 500,000 cars last year, but that›s still less than %1 of the world market. Tesla profits today come mostly from sales of emissions credits to other automakers and -10,000$per-customer payments for «full selfdriving» technology — which, Musk admitted in a recent analyst call, doesn›t work. Videos posted all over YouTube attest to the fact. One shows Tesla’s «self-driving» system mistakenly identifying the moon as a yellow traffic light. Some call Musk a genius. When it comes to fundraising, he›s in a class by himself. Tesla›s skirted bankruptcy at least twice. The company would not be alive today without continued infusions of debt and equity. The longest-running

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Tesla Founder Elon Musk leaves a courthouse after testifying in a court case on Monday, July 12, 2021 in Wilmington, Delaware. Musk testified in court over Tesla’s $ 2.6 billion acquisition of SolarCity, a rooftop solar panel installer. (Michael A. McCoy/ Getty Images/TNS)

Inside Tesla’s Fremont assembly plant. (Russ Mitchell/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

bull market in U.S. history has helped. So has investor preference for storytelling over oldfashioned fundamentals as a way to value a company’s stock. But a showman can only paper over serious long-term challenges for so long. Higgins quotes Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas at an early crisis point: «The biggest question is if Tesla can remain solvent long enough to capitalize on the forthcoming technology breakthroughs.» The word «forthcoming» is key here. While Tesla now has four cars on the market, only future projects will justify the company›s jawdropping $ 625 billion market value. In 2016, Musk promised that a self-driving car, a Tesla semi-truck and a new, possibly jet-powered roadster were imminent. None are remotely close to production. Musk›s side hustles are doing no better: His underground tunnel project is just a tourist attraction in Las Vegas. He faked an innovative solar roof tile in 2016 before Tesla bailed out SolarCity, a company owned by Musk›s cousins. He promised a million robotaxis by the end of 2020. So far there are none. And then there’s Musk’s fake «funding secured» buyout announcement in 2018 that earned him

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Musk’s approach to many manufacturing issues was, and still appears to be, keeping the assembly line moving while line problems are being fixed. a wrist-slap fine from the Securities Exchange Commission on charges of fraud. Musk apparently did not participate in the creation of «Power Play.» In an authors note at the end, Higgins writes that Musk «was given numerous opportunities to comment on the stories, facts, and characterizations presented in these pages. Without pointing to any specific inaccuracies, he offered simply this: ‹Most, but not all, of what you read in this book is nonsense.›» I’ve covered Tesla as a reporter since 2016. When Higgins writes about facts and situations I›m familiar with, I can attest he›s right on the button, every time. If there›s any nonsense in «Power Play,» Higgins isn›t the source of it.