BBC4 Analysis: Authenticity

These days when we talk about politicians we are more likely to discuss whether they are authentic than whether they are great orators or statesmen or women. Few of us take the time to listen to a speech or read a manifesto and when we judge politicians we more often focus on whether they seem sincere, warm or passionately committed to a cause rather than weighing up their policy programmes. We're turned off by spin and cynical about many politicians' motivations and we seek reassurance that they can really be trusted.

Professor Rosie Campbell asks how we can make judgements about a politician's authenticity. Are politicians more trustworthy if they stick to their principles without compromise? Or is authenticity about revealing our true character, warts and all? And what is better for democracy? Authentic leaders who are straight talking and stick rigidly to their ideals or leaders who are willing to negotiate behind the scenes?

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Politico: To solve Catalonia, Spain needs a new constitution

The constitution approved in 1978 reflects the compromises made by each of these parties. It was an ambiguous and rhetorical text, but it was also sufficiently balanced to provide some degree of institutional stability for almost 40 years. [...]

In recent years, Catalan separatism has grown considerably in reaction to encroaching state centralism. But the ceiling of pro-independence support seems to have stabilized at 50 percent of votes — enough to proclaim an independent state, but insufficient to legitimize or make it viable, especially considering the hostility of a significant minority of Catalans and a large majority of Spaniards.

On the other hand, Spanish nationalism — disguised as constitutional patriotism — is increasingly vocal in its push to turn Spain into a unitary state resembling France. But history shows that a centralized Spain can only be sustained under an authoritarian regime that would place the country outside the democratic norms of the European Union. [...]

The recognition of the right to self-determination should be accompanied by a law of clarity — along the lines of the 2000 Clarity Act of Canada — that makes it difficult in practice to secede. It could demand, for example, that an independence referendum must obtain two-thirds of the votes or a majority of the census before the territory in question can effectively become independent.  

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Haaretz: A War of No Choice on Behalf of the Saudis

Saudi Arabia endeavors to become a regional power with teeth, both domestic and foreign. But many still see the Saudis as U.S. collaborators: a shallow way of looking at things, since the Saudis have global interests they are willing to fight for. When you have no money, you feel that the homeland belongs to you. When you have a million dollars, you try to strike a balance between what’s good for the money and what’s good for the homeland. But when you have a billion dollars your homeland is your bank account, whether it’s in a bank in Switzerland or a tax haven in the Virgin Islands. 

That’s why the pride that senior Israeli figures take in our relations with this benighted kingdom is so nauseating. At a time when the Palestinians are being criticized, sometimes justifiably, for undemocratic actions, the Israelis are embracing the mother of all injustice. Oil money is still the most significant instrument in the attempt to acquire everything in the Arab world that thinks, from intellectuals and leaders to newspapers, television stations and websites. [...]

But in the meantime, there are problems with translation in the field. Netanyahu hastened to call Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s resignation a “wake-up call” to take action against Iranian aggression. Now it turns out the belligerent ones are actually his Saudi allies, who are imprisoning the prime minister of a foreign country, in violation of international diplomatic protocol.

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Vox: Tinder and Grindr don't want to talk about their role in rising STDs

Since then, the trend for several STDs nationwide has only gotten worse: According to a September report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were more than 2 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis reported in the United States in 2016 — the highest cumulative number ever recorded. “Not only are we at an all-time high,” Gail Bolan, the director of the division of STD prevention at the CDC, told me, “but we’re starting to see increases in all kind of communities.” [...]

But health experts increasingly view apps and sites such as Tinder, Grindr, and OkCupid as enablers of high-risk sex, helping people meet and hook up more efficiently than ever before. The impact of these sites is so profound they are also transforming the way health officials track and prevent outbreaks. [...]

But the data we have only demonstrates a correlation between online dating and STDs — not causation. Some of the best research on the sex lives of dating app users suggests they tend to have more sexual partners than non-app users. That means people who are drawn to apps may just be more sexually active than non-users, said lead study author Justin Lehmiller, a sex and psychology researcher with Ball State University.

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Al Jazeera: How the US did Iran a favour in the Middle East

Persistence of the international and regional powers' "one-Iraq" policy has evidently resulted in the emergence of a "two-Iran" reality in the Middle East. The increasing Iranian influence over Baghdad throughout the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) concluded with Tehran's proxies dominating the country's "disputed areas" and Kurdistan proper. It is fair to claim that the future of Iraq is now in the hands of Iran today, rather than any other regional and/or international actor. [...]

It is essential to remind everyone that the US has never succeeded in brokering a durable peace agreement for any of the conflicts in the Middle East - even if Presidents Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to that end. [...]

Washington's reaction towards the crisis that broke out in the Middle East due to the Arab Spring was therefore not an exception. Since the cross-border nature of the Arab Spring that motivated the masses was, above all else, a threat to existing political borders, the US and the international community as a whole tried to maintain "stability" once again by reinforcing the territorial integrity of each state and/or by continuing support for the dictatorial regimes. [...]

The US, however, preferred not only to trigger the tensions which eventually paved the way for greater Iranian influence in Iraq but also to sit back and watch the destruction of the KRG presidency. Yet the KRG has so far gained a symbolic representation value and capacity in the name of all Kurds beyond Iraqi Kurdistan's borders.

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Vox: A German newspaper estimates 33,293 migrants have died trying to reach Europe since 1993

Even this number is incomplete, of course, in part because it continues to grow: Nearly 3,000 have perished this year alone. The 33,293 is the tally of those lost trying to reach Europe between 1993 and May 2017, but deaths have continued to mount. [...]

The List was compiled by painstaking effort: Researchers pored through reports compiled by the International Organization on Migration, newspaper stories, human rights group documentation, and missives issued by the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees. The newspaper set out, the editors said, to document how Europe’s border policies had contributed to this enormous loss of life. [...]

Nevertheless, the day following the publication, reporter Andrea Dernbach noted how terribly incomplete this list remains. “Not included in this count are those who die en route to the Mediterranean coast,” she wrote. “How many perish on the way through the desert, get caught in the shadows in Iraq and Libya, or die from ill-treatment does not, or only exceptionally, come to light when their families report missing.”

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Associated Press: Saudi walks back escalation as dramatic moves backfire

On Monday, the kingdom announced that the Saudi-led coalition fighting Shiite rebels in Yemen would begin reopening airports and seaports in the Arab world's poorest country, days after closing them over a rebel ballistic missile attack on Riyadh. [...]

"This represents de-escalation by the Saudis," said Yezid Sayigh, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. "The general trend is that the Saudis are going to back off and this is largely because of the unexpected extent of international pressure, and not least of all U.S. pressure." [...]

While Saudi Arabia appears to have the full backing of Trump, the recent purge of top princes, officials, businessmen and military officers has raised concerns the crown prince has overextended himself. The kingdom says it has detained 201 people in the sweeping anti-corruption probe, which MBS is overseeing. The arrests raise the potential for internal strife and discord within the royal family, whose unity has been the bedrock of the kingdom for decades. [...]

More surprisingly, the White House issued a strongly worded statement calling on all states and parties to respect Lebanon's sovereignty and constitutional processes, describing Hariri as a "trusted partner of the United States in strengthening Lebanese institutions, fighting terrorism and protecting refugees."

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The Conversation: Support for standardised tests boils down to beliefs about who benefits from it

The threat of the USA losing the space race in the 1950-60s led to a focus on the quality of educational outcomes. Standardised assessment procedures were used nationally to monitor this. Over the decades since, testing has become more frequent and more centralised, with a shift to making schools and educators accountable for scores. [...]

In other words, like other concepts in contemporary education, there are multiple perspectives on standardised assessment. Our position on its value, relevance and valid use is informed by our more fundamental beliefs about the purposes of education in a culture, our conception of students, our roles and responsibilities as educators and our understanding of learning and teaching. Awareness of the five narratives can contribute to our personal views about standardised testing. [...]

Standardised testing is likely to be with us for some time. As educators, many of us object to how and why it is used beyond the teaching-learning context and the preference and priority it is given over other forms of assessment. To ensure that it benefits optimally the learning outcomes of our students, we may need to both broaden our narrative about it and take whatever steps we can to minimise its negative influences

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Politico: Mogherini hails ‘historic’ EU defense pact

All EU countries except Britain, Ireland, Denmark, Malta and Portugal said Monday they would sign up to the pact, which will be officially launched at a summit next month. By the time of the summit, diplomats expect only Britain, Denmark and Malta not to be involved.

Although the initiative, known as Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) in EU jargon, is a Franco-German brainchild, some differences between Berlin and Paris have emerged, diplomats said. Germany wanted the pact to include as many countries as possible while France wanted it to be as militarily ambitious as possible, they said. [...]

The new initiative aims to spend more on defense systems and make member countries’ militaries much more integrated with each other. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel stressed it would have economic benefits. He said Europe spends 50 percent as much as the United States on defense yet only has 15 percent of its military efficiency.

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