Foreign Affairs: Mongolia's Mangled Politics

Given how unhappy Mongolians are with their current government, which they consider inept and corrupt, it would seem that there would be more excitement surrounding the country’s parliamentary elections on June 29. After all, there are 11 competing parties to choose from. But according to a poll conducted by the Sant Maral Foundation, Mongolia’s major polling organization, respondents expressed little confidence in any of them. Barely 14 percent said they would support the Mongolian People’s Party, the leading opposition party, and only 11 percent backed the ruling Democratic Party. Meanwhile, over one-third reported that they did not trust any of the parties to properly lead the country, and 77 percent stated that none of the parties accurately represented public opinion. Part of the problem is that Mongolia is in the middle of a steep recession due, in large part, to China’s declining demand for Mongolian minerals, and none of the political parties seems to know what to do about the economic downturn. [...]

Much of the disenchantment stems from the country’s tumultuous transition to democracy. In the early 1990s, after the fall of the Soviet Union, which had been Mongolia’s most important trade partner, investor, and adviser, Ulan Bator sought help in transitioning to a democratic capitalist system from the Asian Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, as well as individual countries, including Germany, Japan, South Korea, and the United States. The West prescribed “shock therapy,” a popular course at the time, which involved immediate privatization, minimizing the government, prohibiting subsidies, balancing the budget, and liberalizing prices and trade, alongside cutbacks on social, educational, and medical expenditures. Many “shock therapy” advocates, including the International Money Fund, have since partly renounced this practice, which was later deemed “shock without therapy.” Although the stringent policies did work for a few post-communist countries, such as Poland and the Czech Republic, for Mongolia, they were a disaster.

The sudden and immediate implementation of the program initially triggered massive inflation, unemployment, and poverty. The health system collapsed, and today, at least 30,0000 Mongolians travel each year to South Korea and Thailand for medical treatment. More would if they could afford the trip. The Human Development Index, a gauge of the population’s welfare, ranks Mongolia 110 of 185 countries.

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The Los Angeles Review of Books: Algorithms: The Future That Already Happened

In a sense, you’re making these recommendations yourself. Machine-learning algorithms monitor information about what you do, find patterns in that data, and make informed guesses about what you want to do next. Without you, there’s no data, and there’s nothing for machine learning to learn. But when you provide your data, and when the guesses are correct, machine learning operates invisibly, leaving you to experience life as an endless stream of tiny, satisfying surprises.

Or at least that’s how things could be, according to computer scientist Pedro Domingos. In The Master Algorithm, Domingos envisions an individually optimized future in which our digital better halves learn everything about us, then go out into the world and act for us, thereby freeing us to be our best non-digital selves. In this vision, machine-learning algorithms replace tedious human activities like online shopping, legal filing, and scientific hypothesis testing. Humans feed data to algorithms, and algorithms produce a better world for humans. [...]

So the future, which is the present, isn’t looking good for humans. What is to be done? Domingos’s answer is, approximately, learn more about machine learning. The Master Algorithm insists on a politics of data in which hypervigilant data citizens actively manipulate the algorithms that might otherwise constrain them. Since machine learning depends on data, Domingos argues, “your job in a world of intelligent machines is to keep making sure they do what you want, both at the input (setting the goals) and at the output (checking that you got what you asked for).”

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The New York Times: German Vote on Armenian Genocide Riles Tempers, and Turkey

To date, 11 of the European Union’s 28 members have recognized the Armenian killings as genocide and, despite initial protests, Turkey has maintained good relations with several of those countries.

When France approved legislation recognizing the genocide in 2011, Turkey temporarily recalled its ambassador and halted bilateral military cooperation. Such steps now by Ankara would be more complicated and potentially more damaging, as Germany and Turkey are both currently engaged in a NATO operation to stop migrant boats crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece.

Ms. Merkel and the two most senior Social Democrat ministers — Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier — will not be in Parliament for the vote, citing prior government business in Germany or abroad. [...]

All the parties sponsoring the resolution have argued that it is not Germany lecturing the Turks, but a step intended to foster reconciliation between Turks and Armenians by encouraging them to examine their history.

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The Washington Post: As fighting surges again in Ukraine, an environmental disaster looms

One building near the desolate arc of tarmac is a water-filtration plant, staffed by 117 Ukrainian engineers and others. Hundreds of thousands of civilians on both sides of the front line depend on this crucial public utility, a symbol of resilience in an intractable conflict that has cost more than 9,000 lives.

Now, international cease-fire observers warn, renewed fighting between Ukraine’s army and Russian-backed separatists in the area threatens to destroy the plant, potentially triggering environmental havoc and a humanitarian emergency. [...]

More than a ton of chlorine, which in concentrated forms is highly toxic, arrives daily at the plant. Damage to storage containers could expose up to 20,000 people to serious health problems, according to Voda Donbassa, which operates the facility.

Ukrainian commanders have forbidden their soldiers to return fire from separatists dug in around the plant, recognizing the magnitude of that risk as well as the prospect of a public-relations disaster for Kiev.

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Think Progress: Iowa’s Governor Signed A Proclamation Encouraging Iowans To Read The Bible Every Day

“I, Terry E. Branstad, Governor of the State of Iowa, do hereby encourage all Iowans to join this historical 99 County Bible Reading Marathon,” the official proclamation reads, “and furthermore, encourage individuals and families in Iowa to read through the bible on a daily basis each year until the Lord comes.”

The proclamation begins under a banner noting that it is “In the name and by the authority of the state of Iowa.” It also says that “the Bible is recognized as the one true revelation from God,” that “all Scripture is essential to prepare us to be the people God wants us to be,” and that the Bible, as “God’s revealed will for mankind,” holds the answers for civic leaders with regard to issues like social injustice and the drug crisis. [...]

Though intuitively Branstad’s proclamation may seem a clear violation of the separation of church and state, Jefferson’s “wall” between the two was recently dealt a severe blow by a 2014 Supreme Court decision.

In Town of Greece v. Galloway, a bare majority of justices concluded that it was constitutional for a small upstate New York town to open government meetings with a religious invocation, nearly all of which were Christian or had Christian themes. Following the decision, other towns have followed suit in opening official government meetings with prayers. The Supreme Court decision, however, holds that the practice is only constitutional as long as legislatures maintain “a policy of nondiscrimination,” and thus don’t privilege one religion over another.

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The New York Times: Drawing Lessons From the Scottish Referendum as E.U. Vote Nears

And he has some lessons from the Scottish experience to impart.

First, he said, “psychology matters more than psephology” — ignore the polls, at least until the very end. Both telephone and internet polls are flawed when assessing support for referendums, because they are so rare, and what matters will be “the overriding question in people’s minds as they vote.” [...]

The Remain side must speak to British patriotism and the benefits of the European Union, not just spout statistics. It is quite possible, as he understood at some point during the Scottish campaign, “to win the argument but lose the audience.” [...]

“Referendums have an afterlife,” he said. “This will not settle it for a generation,” contrary to what Prime Minister David Cameron has said, any more than the Scottish referendum has settled the issue of independence.

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Deutsche Welle: EU threatens sanctions if Poland doesn't reverse high court overhaul

Timmermans did not mention possible of sanctions, which are a last resort in a procedure introduced in 2014 and have never been used against any of the 28 EU member states. Hungary is thought likely to oppose sanctions, which require the unanimous approval. [...]

The government has also incurred the displeasure of the Council of Europe, a human rights group, and the United States. The Venice Commission, a body of constitutional experts and part of the 47-country Council of Europe, in April found that the reforms "undermine democracy, human rights and the rule of law."

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Psychology Today: Why Are More People Having Sex With Both Men and Women?

Acceptance of same-sex sexuality also shot up, with only 13% saying it was “not wrong at all” in 1990, compared to 49% in 2014. Millennials – those 18 to 29 years old in 2014 – were the most accepting, with 63% saying same-sex sexuality was “not wrong at all.” This is an enormous cultural change over a relatively short period of time. It was partially due to a time period effect, with all generations growing more accepting over time, and partially to a generational shift, with a continuing generation gap between the Millennials and older generations. [...]

But that still doesn’t really answer the “why” question. Why did the culture open up to LGBT individuals? The larger context is the many other cultural shifts that occurred in American life over the same time: growing gender equality, more self-focus, more emphasis on uniqueness, and less reliance on traditional social rules. In short, American culture has become more individualistic: More focused on the self, and less on social rules. This is the primary thesis of my book Generation Me.

My colleagues and I (and many others) have found evidence for a shift toward individualism in everything from the language used in books (including pronouns) to the names we give our children to the decline in religion to our self-views. That has implications for sexuality as well: In a society where the individual self is paramount, sexuality becomes more free and open. You don’t need to marry someone to have sex. Your sexual partner doesn’t have to be a different gender to make it OK. The modern idea is "do what's right for you," and that has meant more freedom for people to engage in same-sex sexuality and accept it among others.

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AP: Israeli Leader Under Fire Over Wife's Slew of Scandals

The scandals come at a delicate moment for the hard-line prime minister, who is at loggerheads with much of the international community and key domestic elites such as the security establishment. He has come under heavy criticism for replacing his widely respected defense minister with one of the country's most polarizing politicians, Avigdor Lieberman. And this week, France is hosting an international conference expected to put pressure on Netanyahu to make concessions to the Palestinians.

For now, none of the scandals seem to threaten Netanyahu's rule. They mostly have been an embarrassment and served as more fodder for those who charge that power has corrupted the couple. Netanyahu is now in a fourth term as prime minister, holding the job for over 10 years in all. [...]

The Movement for Freedom of Information, an anti-corruption advocacy group, recently slammed the Netanyahus for not releasing receipts for their residence's expenses despite a court order to do so.In February, another former employee won a case alleging Mrs. Netanyahu subjected him to abusive language and insults. Last year, the state comptroller detailed alleged excessive spending at Netanyahu residences, citing large sums of public money spent on food, furniture, cleaning and gardening at Netanyahu's official residence in Jerusalem and his private home in the exclusive coastal town of Caesarea.

Over the years, reports have also been released about the high cost of the Netanyahus' catering, housekeeping, furniture, clothing and makeup. In one case, the premier was chided for spending $127,000 in public funds for a special sleeping cabin on a flight to London. Even their costly purchases of scented candles and pistachio-flavored ice cream have been derided.

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Reuters: In Crimea, Moscow labels some opponents dangerous Islamists

Two years after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, police are intensifying their scrutiny of the Crimean Tatars, a mainly Muslim community that makes up about 15 percent of the peninsula's population. Searches of properties, raids, and arrests have become commonplace, say local people.

The Tatars, who were deported from the region by Stalin during World War Two and only allowed back four decades later, have largely opposed Russian rule. [...]

The police campaign targeting Crimean Tatars has drawn little comment from foreign governments, however, perhaps because it is difficult to separate officials' legitimate concerns about Islamist extremism from other possible motives.

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The Guardian: Angela Merkel strikes deal with German states to put brakes on green energy

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has hammered out a deal with state premiers on the latest reform to Germany’s renewable energy law aimed at curbing the costs and controlling the speed of the roll-out of green power sources.

After a meeting with the leaders of Germany’s 16 states that stretched into the early hours of Wednesday, the government agreed to cap the expansion of onshore wind power at 2.8 gigawatts in capacity per year. [...]

With the government sticking to its target for an increase in the share of renewable sources to 40-45% of total electricity production by 2025, it will have to put the brakes on growth to avoid overshooting.

One of the biggest sticking points in the talks was a plan to limit the amount of onshore wind, with critics saying this would endanger Germany’s long-term energy goals and put jobs in the sector at risk.

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