Die Zeit: The soft methods of hard men

Last Sunday at 2:53 pm (14:53) on the 563-anniversary of taking over Constantinople (today: Istanbul) in 1453 AD by the Ottomans a new Turkish party was launched in Berlin. Its aim is to stir German politics in a more Turkey-friendly direction. The part was set up as an immediate response to the Armenian genocide declaration of the Bundestag.

Last Friday Jakunin-Institut was inaugurated in Berlin. With 25 Million Dollars budget (per year) and 50 employees it is aimed at pushing public debate in Germany in a more Russian-friendly direction.

These initiatives comes as German institutes and foundations are being placed under increasing administrative and legal pressures in Russia and Turkey alike.

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Los Angeles Times: Judge blocks Mississippi law on objections to gay marriage

U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves wrote that the title, text and history of the law show it is "the state's attempt to put LGBT citizens back in their place" in response to last summer's Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage nationwide.

"In physics, every action has its equal and opposite reaction," Reeves wrote. "In politics, every action has its predictable overreaction." [...]

The law sought to protect three beliefs: That marriage is only between a man and a woman; that sex should only take place in such a marriage; and that a person's gender is determined at birth and cannot be altered.

It would allow county clerks to cite religious objections to recuse themselves from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and would protect merchants who refuse services to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people. It could affect adoptions and foster care, business practices and school bathroom policies. [...]

"As a result, Mississippi will no longer be permitted to favor some 'religious beliefs' over others, and the civil rights of LGBT Mississippians will not be subordinated to the religious beliefs of only certain religious groups," said Kaplan, who represents the Campaign for Southern Equality.

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The Washington Post: The opposite of Brexit: African Union launches an all-Africa passport

On June 13, two weeks before the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, the African Union announced a new “single African passport.” The lead-up discussion was much like the original debate on the European Economic Community, the E.U.’s predecessor. African passport proponents say it will boost the continent’s socioeconomic development because it will reduce trade barriers and allow people, ideas, goods, services and capital to flow more freely across borders. [...]

The e-Passport is an electronic document that permits any A.U. passport holder to enter any of the 54 A.U. member states, without requiring a visa. It will be unveiled this month during the next A.U. Summit in Kigali, Rwanda. Initially, the e-Passport will only be available to A.U. heads of state, foreign ministers and permanent representatives based in the A.U.’s headquarters in Addis Ababa, . The plan is to roll it out to all A.U. citizens by 2018. [...]

None of Africa’s regional organizations have yet been able to create a common market. This vivid dream has endured despite the enormous political and logistical challenges it would entail. Deeper economic integration is seen by many, including the World Bank, as the road to prosperity and stability. In fact, the A.U. is guided by this premise. [...]

Opponents of the passport are concerned about a range of security risks. Detractors argue that visa-free travel would make it easier for terrorists to move within and between countries. Human traffickers and drug smugglers could take advantage of the new system. Disease and other public health crises could spread more rapidly in a borderless Africa. As has happened in Europe, an e-Passport may intensify competition for jobs and public services, leading to more xenophobic political rhetoric and attacks. Migration is already a contentious issue, as shown by deadly anti-immigrant riots in South Africa and Zambia and heated debates over refugees in Kenya.

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The Atlantic: Most American Christians Believe They’re Being Persecuted

Many, many Christians believe they are subject to religious discrimination in the United States. A new report from the Public Religion Research Institute and Brookings offers evidence: Almost half of Americans say discrimination against Christians is as big of a problem as discrimination against other groups, including blacks and minorities. Three-quarters of Republicans and Trump supporters said this, and so did nearly eight out of 10 white evangelical Protestants. Of the latter group, six in 10 believe that although America once was a Christian nation, it is no longer—a huge jump from 2012. [...]

Forty-six percent of those surveyed said immigration from Mexico and Central America has been too high in recent years. When asked the same question about immigrants from “predominantly Christian countries,” though, only 10 percent of people said immigration has been too high. The irony is that this is essentially the same question, phrased two different ways: Latin American countries are overwhelming Christian—in many places, even more so than the United States. When Americans think of those immigrants as Christians, rather than foreign nationals, they’re more likely to open their arms in welcome. [...]

In all of this, the standard caveats about polling apply. No single identity factor can explain why people answer surveys the way they do. Education, for example, makes a huge difference in how people responded to the question about discrimination against Christians: Only 38 percent of college-educated whites agreed that discrimination against Christians is a problem, compared to 62 percent of their working-class peers.

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VICE: How Boris Johnson's Dream of Leading Britain Died

In the hours after the EU referendum results were announced, Johnson took time out to write his regular column for the Telegraph. Four months earlier, he had joined the Leave campaign in a transparent attempt to boost his leadership credentials among the Eurosceptic Tory ranks. Now, David Cameron had resigned as Prime Minister and the time had come for Johnson to demonstrate his statesman-like qualities. Having successfully campaigned to secure an end to Britain's 43-year membership of the European project, he wrote: "I cannot stress too much that Britain is part of Europe, and always will be."

We all have coping strategies, and it appeared Johnson's was denial. [...]

Were Johnson to win the leadership battle, one of his greatest challenges would have been to steer the economy through the troubling times ahead. He seemed unfazed by the prospect. On May 22, he wrote a Telegraph column in which he imagined a page from a history book written a few decades in the future, about post-Brexit Britain. "Project Fear turned out to be a gigantic hoax," he wrote. "The markets were calm. The pound did not collapse." It is a view he reiterated this week, but unfortunately one that had already been proven to be completely false. In the wake of the referendum result, the pound plummeted. Markets were rocked, and ratings agency Standard & Poor's stripped the UK of its coveted AAA credit rating. Johnson's policy was to Keep Calm & Carry On in the face of mounting evidence that we are facing economic meltdown. [...]

Much of the public opposition to immigration has emerged from perceived pressure on public services, such as GP waiting lists and housing. This is not an area in which Johnson has a good record. During eight years as mayor, he spectacularly failed to tackle any of London's most pressing problems—an unprecedented housing crisis, the spiraling cost of living, and increasing inequality between rich and poor. Instead, he left behind a trail of broken promises, on Tube ticket offices, homelessness, and transport fares. We can already see the same approach being taken by the Leave campaign, which since the referendum result has removed all its campaign pledges from its website, including a promise to provide the NHS with the £350 million [$464 million] each week which it claimed was being paid to the EU. Boris's time as mayor would have given his opponents ample ammunition to throw at him.

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BBC4 Beyond Belief: US Republican Party

Despite the constitutional barrier between church and state in America, politicians hardly ever give a major speech without invoking religion. In particular, the political relationship between Christian evangelicals and the Republican Party has existed for decades. But is the expected announcement of Donald Trump as the Republican nominee next month about to shake things up? He is very different to the usual candidate that would appeal to the religious right. If he gets the evangelical vote, he'd be the first nominee to do so without really talking about God or the Bible. How has he proved so successful? Ernie Rea and guests discuss religion and the US Republican Party.

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Slate: Rules Are Made to Be Spoken

Sali Tagliamonte, author of Making Waves: The Story of Variationist Sociolinguistics, talks about the underlying disorder of the English language.

Listen to Lexicon Valley Episode No. 88:

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AP: Ku Klux Klan dreams of rising again 150 years after founding

In a series of interviews with The Associated Press, Klan leaders said they feel that U.S. politics are going their way, as a nationalist, us-against-them mentality deepens across the nation. Stopping or limiting immigration — a desire of the Klan dating back to the 1920s — is more of a cause than ever. And leaders say membership has gone up at the twilight of President Barack Obama's second term in office, though few would provide numbers. [...]

The Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish protection group that monitors Klan activity, describes Barker's Loyal White Knights as the most active Klan group today, but estimates it has no more than 200 members total. The ADL puts total Klan membership nationwide at around 3,000.

The Alabama-based SPLC says there's no evidence the Klan is returning to the strength of its heyday. It estimates the Klan has about 190 chapters nationally with no more than 6,000 members total, which would be a mere shadow of its estimated 2 million to 5 million members in the 1920s. [...]

Stopping immigration, not blocking minority rights, is the Klan's No. 1 issue today, Waller said. His group operates by the KKK rulebook called the "Kloran," which was first published in 1915. Various versions of the book are now online, and an edition posted by the University of Wisconsin library states in part: "We shall ever be true in the faithful maintenance of White Supremacy and will strenuously oppose any compromise thereof in any and all things.

"The current hot-button issue for Klan members — fighting immigration and closing U.S. borders — is one of the most talked-about topics in the presidential election. Klan leaders say Donald Trump's immigration position and his ascendancy in the GOP are signs things are going their way.

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Politico: Brexit pushes US closer to Germany

The longstanding “special relationship” between the U.S. and Britain gave Washington a key confidant at the table in Brussels, as Obama stressed in his April referendum intervention in London. But a Europe without a United Kingdom doesn’t exactly leave Britain’s former colony out in the cold.

“On the big issues, we’ve seen the transition for years now where the first call has not been to London, where it used to be, but to Berlin,” said Damon Wilson, a former senior director for European affairs at the National Security Council under George W. Bush and who is currently executive vice president of the Atlantic Council. “That transition has already happened and the great recession really accelerated that with the magnification of German economic and political power.” [...]

Still, he said, “the U.K.’s diffidence towards the EU for so many years diminished their clout,” he says. “Increasingly, U.S. officials have seen if you want to get something done in Europe you work with the power that knows how to work with the EU.” And that, he says, is Germany.

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Business Insider: JPMorgan and UBS both think London will lose its crown as the financial centre of Europe

Both JPMorgan and UBS think London will remain a financial hub but believe the city's dominance in Europe, and the world, will be diminished, with the likes of Frankfurt, Paris, and Dublin benefiting as a result. Such a move could devastate London. Around 350,000 people work in finance in London. [...]

JPMorgan, Barr's employer, has already warned that it will likely have to move a quarter of its 16,000 UK employees to elsewhere in the EU.

Britain may well not even get the sweetheart deal on trade and finance that's hoped for either. French President Francois Hollande yesterday signalled that he wants to stop London clearing trades made in euros, something that would be a hammer blow to the city and surely force even more jobs overseas. [...]

Of course almost no bank wants to be the one to admit they are moving jobs onto the continent. So far almost all have reaffirmed their commitment to the UK. But all have also underlined the fact that, ultimately, they will do what's best for their clients. Their analysts seem to think that's moving at least some jobs elsewhere.

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