Jacobin Magazine: The Roots of Spanish Rage

While it is tempting to read ongoing events as an authoritarian lapse, this interpretation remains incomplete. More than a simple throwback to Spain’s past, the Catalan crisis presents an ominous vision for the future: one in which the reconfiguration of the state takes place along reactionary and punitive lines. Spanish nationalism has become a vehicle for this endeavor, galvanizing the right and presenting a critical challenge for left and progressive forces. But it is, by its nature, incapable of producing a stable political outcome. As long as symbols of national unity remain cudgels in the hands of the Spanish right, disarray will persist. [...]

Maurice Duverger once remarked that just as people are conditioned by their childhoods, political parties are defined by their origins. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s Partido Popular (PP), which governs with support from the center-right Ciudadanos (C’s), owes its existence to Franco’s longtime information minister, Manuel Fraga. In the late sixties Fraga realized the regime could not outlive Franco, so he pressed its modernizing cadres to accept a democratic transition after the dictator’s death. With the dictatorship’s structures still in place and the left too weak to topple them, elites from both sides negotiated a restoration of democracy, with the regime insiders managing to maintain the initiative throughout the process. Established opinion hailed it as a paradigmatic success. [...]

The “Spanish exception” to the rising tide of xenophobia in Europe, therefore, only begins to make sense when one takes into account that the PP represents a sizable number of hard-right voters. More importantly, the kind of xenophobia that in other European countries articulates along a native–foreign “other” axis in Spain is harnessed along center–periphery lines—a reflection of what Eric Hobsbawm called the “anomalous and self-contained” nature of the country. Anti-immigrant rhetoric is not a leading plank of the PP’s platform—but it is not a coincidence that its most xenophobic politicians often come from Catalonia and the Basque Country, where they would otherwise have very little to offer right-wing voters. Indeed Badalona, the only large Catalan municipality recently governed by the PP (in 2011–‘15), became ground zero for a Le Pen-style experiment under the mayorship of Xavier García-Albiol, now the leader of the PP in Catalonia. Xenophobia lurks not far beneath the surface, ready to be weaponized if more traditional demagogy fails. [...]

C’s originates from Barcelona, where it was founded twelve years ago as a center-left party opposed to Catalan nationalism. Led by Albert Rivera, a young and charismatic former banker, it was catapulted onto the national stage in 2015. Following Podemos’ success, it positioned itself as a “safer” alternative to established politics. Like Emmanuel Macron in France, Rivera repeatedly defines himself as “neither left nor right.” Ideological vagueness has long been a part of the party’s approach: during the 2009 European elections it ditched its pro-EU platitudes and progressive credentials to join a Eurosceptic right-wing coalition.

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The Atlantic: The Meaning of Robert Mugabe's Stunning Non-Resignation

The immediate issue of concern is what shape the political transition takes. Unfortunately, the most likely outcome is a military junta that retains only a fig leaf of legitimacy. The various opposition groups, especially the party of former labor leader Morgan Tsvangirai, would be wise to avoid a coalition trap again. A notional government of national unity, with Tsvangirai as prime minister, presided over the country from 2009 to 2013 after a disputed election that Mugabe lost. During that time, Mugabe and his cronies in ZANU-PF kept firm control and merely consolidated their political power. This culminated in a July 2013 election in which the opposition was thoroughly routed. [...]

Mnangagwa, Mugabe’s likely successor, was a longtime security chief and the prime architect of a massacre of at least 20,000 civilians in the 1980s. General Constantino Chiwenga, the organizer of the coup, launched a vicious campaign of violence against Tsvangirai’s supporters and civic leaders in 2008, which killed hundreds and left tens of thousands homeless. Both men are also part of ZANU-PF’s vast, corrupt business empire. The party meeting to expel Mugabe, for instance, was chaired by Obert Mpofu, a Mnangagwa ally who oversaw the nation’s diamond mines at a time when billions of dollars of revenue went missing, never making it into government coffers. Meanwhile, Mpofu and other ZANU-PF bigwigs live in extravagant mansions and own fleets of luxury cars. [...]

The United States will be even more relevant for Zimbabwe’s economic revival. Over half of Zimbabwe’s rural population relies on outside food assistance, a stunning statistic for a country that was once a net food exporter. The average Zimbabwean is poorer today than in 1980; by some estimates, unemployment is at 95 percent. The country is desperate for cash to jumpstart its once productive farms and factories. Although Mnangagwa and his political allies have long-standing ties to China, the road to recovery inevitably runs through Washington—the country is more than $9 billion in debt to western institutions, including the World Bank. A bailout plan proposed two years ago received British backing, but the United States blocked any financial support to the abusive Mugabe regime. The Americans will now need to be convinced that commitment to reform is real before agreeing to any restructuring or new loans to Zimbabwe. Importantly, too, Mnangagwa and Chiwenga are still under U.S. Treasury sanctions due to their involvement in widespread human rights abuses.

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Vox: A Bible museum is a good idea. The one that's opening is not.

Different sections are devoted to different elements of the Bible. One floor, for example, explores the history and culture of the various eras in which various books of the Bible were written. Another is devoted to the Bible’s transmission as a book. A third is devoted to its impact: the different ways it’s been interpreted through time. [...]

Earlier this summer, that recklessness caught up with the Greens. In July, Hobby Lobby admitted to having illegally imported ancient Near Eastern cuneiform tablets — labeled, somewhat unconvincingly, as “spare tiles” — to Hobby Lobby stores in 2010 and 2011 and agreed to pay a $3 million fine and forfeit the antiquities in question. The antiquities were almost certainly intended for the Green collection and, ultimately, for the museum. At the time, they characterized it as part of the museum’s growing pains: “The Company was new to the world of acquiring these items, and did not fully appreciate the complexities of the acquisitions process. This resulted in some regrettable mistakes.” Meanwhile, questions abound about other Dead Sea Scrolls in the collection, some of which may very well be forgeries.  [...]

But elsewhere, on floors devoted to the history of the Ancient Near East, scholarship seems to come second to ideology. In a room dedicated to the Exodus narrative (in which Moses led the Jews out of exile in Egypt), there is absolutely no mention of the fact that almost no reputable scholar believes such an exile, or exodus, ever occurred, even as other plaques with (authentic) historical information about Ancient Egypt serve to imply that the exhibit is therefore historical in nature. A casual viewer could easily come away with the impression that the Egyptian exile and exodus were, in fact, historical events.

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Vox: The military coup in Zimbabwe, explained

On November 14th 2017, Zimbabwe military troops drove tanks into the capital city, Harare. They patrolled the streets, blocked access to government buildings, and took over the state television station to insist…. This is not a military takeover of government.

Once praised as a war hero, Robert Mugabe helped Zimbabwe win independence from Great Britain in 1980. He became president under Zimbabwe’s new constitution with the support of the people. But soon, he digressed into a repressive dictator. He secured his power through aggression and threats, there have been reports of state-sponsored torture and killings. And even though Zimbabwe is technically a democracy, there’s evidence Mugabe rigged elections in his favor.

Now that Mugabe is 93 years old, and reportedly in poor health, the fight for political influence is more important than ever. And it’s caused a split in Mugabe’s own party, the ZANU-PF. On one side we have the old guard lead by Mugabe’s sacked vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa. Like Mugabe, he fought for Zimbabwe’s independence and has a checkered past that includes human rights abuses against political opponents and ethnic minorities. 

Popular Science: Companies are realizing that renewable energy is good for business

The conservative city of Georgetown, Texas, runs on renewable energy. After all, wind and solar power are more predictable and easier to budget than oil and gas. Clean power pushes may be associated with more left-leaning cities, but Republican mayor Dale Ross called the switch to renewables a no-brainer. [...]

On an even larger scale, the costs of switching to renewable energy are larger up front, though they save money in the future. For example, Denmark struggled to store its wind power in a way that allowed them to save it for times of high electricity demand. Then they encouraged residents to buy electric cars. Now these vehicles act like moving batteries, and people can sell the energy back to the grid when the cars are parked. “They are giving people monetary incentives,” says Brown.

Companies that do right by the climate don’t just make more money over time. They earn customer trust. Brown polled the audience to see who bought Patagonia mountain gear because the company famously practices environmental conscientiousness. Many bought Patagonia clothing for this reason. Ford and Heineken are companies that most people don’t necessarily associate with green practices, but that might soon change. After the last fuel crisis in 2010, Ford created F150s that are lighter and more energy-efficient. The company also hired the architect Bill McDonough to redesign the Ford Rouge Center, a manufacturing facility built on the wetlands of Michigan. Ford wanted to clean up toxic stormwater and expand the plant. Now, the roof is covered with plants that clean rainwater and moderate the temperature of the building.

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Al Jazeera: Why Saudi-Israeli normalisation could be dangerous

On Thursday, the Israeli army's chief-of-staff, Gadi Eizenkot, gave the first-ever interview to a Saudi news outlet, saying that Israel is ready to share intelligence with Saudi Arabia on Iran. Also for the first time, Israel co-sponsored with Saudi Arabia a resolution against Syria in the UN Human Rights Council last week. Furthermore, Israeli Communications Minister Ayoub Kara extended a warm invitation to Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti, Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh, to visit Israel for what he said were his friendly comments about the country. 

To "legitimise" steps taken to normalise relations with Israel, Saudi Arabia summoned Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to Riyadh last week, to convince him to accept a peace plan put forward by US President Donald Trump's special adviser, Jared Kushner. Saudi-Israeli collaboration is an integral part of that plan. According to the New York Times, the proposal could include, among other normalisation measures, "overflights by Israeli passenger planes, visas for business people, and telecommunication links" with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the UAE.

Abbas' cooperation is essential for Saudi-Israeli normalisation to proceed; without it, the Saudi move would be seen as a betrayal to the Arab and Muslim position on Palestine. Although not much has been revealed about what really happened during Abbas' visit to Riyadh, some reports talk about the Saudi leadership pressuring Abbas to accept whatever plan Kushner puts forward, or to resign. [...]

Just a few days later, another blow was dealt to the PA. On Sunday, the US administration announced that the license of the PLO office in Washington will not be renewed - this could not be a mere coincidence. In fact, it might be another strong sign that Abbas continues to resist Saudi-US pressure. In line with this argument, Mohammad Shtayyeh, Fatah Central Committee member and one of the candidates to succeed Abbas, told me, "Reconciliation will not be a railway for a regional political project at the expense of the Palestinian cause."

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Quartz: The agony and joy of being gay in Africa

This assertion was so off the mark that the American ambassador at the time, Samantha Power, described it as patently false. She would later assert that violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity are “well established,” and have been referred to repeatedly in UN statements and resolutions, including in the General Assembly and Security Council. “In reality, this amendment has little to do with questions around the definition of sexual orientation and gender identity,” she said. “Instead, this amendment is rooted in a real disagreement over whether people of a certain sexual orientation and gender identity are, in fact, entitled to equal rights.”

During my presentation, I posed the same question to the scholars and participants in the room that Botswana, on behalf of the African group of nations, had posed to the UN General Assembly: “Should sexual orientation and gender identity be included in broader issues of human rights concerns?” Then I gave them the unsatisfying response that Botswana’s ambassador, Charles Thembani Ntwaagae, gave to the UN: “Those two notions are not, and should not be, linked to existing international human rights instruments.” [...]

His words give me hope. And back home in Nigeria I am filled with hope when a leading Nigerian online publication, Pulse.ng, calls out Nollywood, our robust film industry, opining that the ‘representation of homosexuality in most Nollywood movies is at best a caricature attempt at bad comedy.’ I have to admit that I used to be of the mindset that, even if it is a poor depiction, at least there is one, especially since many habitually say we gay people do not exist in Nigeria, and in all the years that Nollywood has been churning out films – movies that are sought after all over the continent – we have rarely been seen. But the depiction of Nigerian gay men as bearded effeminates sporting bright red lipstick and making exaggerated arm movements is not funny, nor is it remotely the norm, and I now feel that if Nollywood is going to depict us, then they had better do it right. We are not going to be the butt of their jokes. And clearly the editors at Pulse don’t recognize the caricatures on screen either.

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CityLab: Venice Mayor to Tourists: Stop Whining and Pay Up

Over the past few weeks, news of scams against visitors to the city have been ricocheting around the European press, with complaints that tourists’ naïveté and limited language skills have led to them being parted from their money in dishonest if not openly illegal ways. Exhibit A: a recent lunch for four British tourists at a place called Trattoria Casanova, near St. Mark’s Square. After the table was piled with dishes the group claims they didn’t order, the bill ended up coming to €525 ($612). This is taking a liberty, but for a tourist town, it’s sadly a case of so far, so normal. The spin in this familiar tale takes place a little higher up: Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro has waded into the bill dispute—and he’s on the restaurant’s side.

When it comes to general tourist manners, he has a point. You can’t arrive in a city without a single word of the local language and expect everything to run smoothly. You can, nonetheless, hope that your lack of language skills do not make you the target of a scam—and that looks like what we’re discussing here. [...]

Firstly, there’s the bad PR for the city. Implying that language non-proficiency makes you a viable target for price gouging in Venice is a bad message for a city that relies almost entirely on tourism—and it’s also offensive to the vast majority of Venetian traders. The group says that the attitude is a symptom of a wider problem.

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