Politico: For Catalan election, independence party goes back to basics

According to opinion polls, when Catalans cast their votes on Thursday, either the ERC or the centrist, anti-independence Ciudadanos could emerge as the largest party and it is far from certain whether either has strong enough allies to form a ruling coalition, meaning the political future of Catalonia — which accounts for a fifth of Spain’s total economic output — is plagued with uncertainty. [...]

Although the ERC — including Rovira — backed the unilateral declaration of independence, Rovira has made it clear she doesn’t favor another “unilateral action.” [...]

What would another pro-independence coalition do differently? “That’s the million-dollar question,” Rovira said. The plan, she explained, is to implement “all those reforms and policies that we are allowed to that will bring Catalonia forward without asking for the Spanish government’s permission.”

She gave the example of energy poverty and equal pay for women. “We’re going to launch a [negotiation] on electricity. We’re going to try not to cut the lights. We’re going to try and implement the laws that we have approved. All this without asking permission from the Spanish government. Without waiting for permission from the Spanish government.”

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Scroll: War on Christmas: Hindutva groups are targeting Indian Christians and their biggest festival

This isn’t all. In Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, the Hindu Jagran Manch warned Christian-run schools in the town of Aligarh not to celebrate Christmas at all. Like in Madhya Pradesh, this was also driven by the bogey of conversions. Earlier in the week on Wednesday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ wife, Amruta Fadnavis was attacked on social media for simply supporting a Christmas-themed charity event. One prominent right-wing columnist accused Amruta Fadnavis of encouraging Christians in their alleged efforts at “harvesting souls”. Amruta Fadnavis had to counter this charge by reaffirming that she was a “proud Hindu” and celebrated “every festival in my country”. [...]

Targeting Christmas is not new. In 2014, within six months of Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking office, the Union government had declared that December 25 would now be celebrated as “Good Governance Day”. Rather than celebrate the Christmas holiday, schools, colleges and government offices would need to stay open in order to mark this new government occasion. Facing a backlash, the Union government played down “Good Governance Day” in 2015. [...]

Six states in India have strict laws that all but penalise conversion away from Hinduism. Christian clergymen are a particular target of both Hindutva groups as well as the police under this law. In November, for instance, seven Christian children in Madhya Pradesh were detained by the police as their Bible reading teacher was booked under the accusation of converting them – an absurd charge given that the children were all born Christian.

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Quartz: Boys can’t be boys. Here’s how to fix India’s toxic masculinity problem

Globally, India has one of the largest cohorts of young men between the ages of 13 to 26 years. Their situation within the country, however, needs to be addressed. Far too many of them are under-educated, under-employed, and stuck in a low equilibrium. Far too few of them have positive role models and secure family lives.

In addition, most of them wrestle with the perception of masculinity, which, in a feudal society like ours, is very conditional. It is commonly believed that you are not masculine enough if you are emotional, sensitive, or compassionate; that you are not “man enough” if you are not strong, if you are not the breadwinner in your family. [...]

We often talk of men as people who need to alter themselves so that women can be better off. However, we rarely offer concrete, innovative strategies for young men to face issues of patriarchy and masculinity head on and become their best selves. And the fact is, if we want that ecosystem of power around women to change, we need to help men be healthy, happy, and supportive partners to women who are healthy, educated, and earning. [...]

Many countries have examples of successful programmes that use sports, music, mentoring, and more to deliver success in helping young men (especially teenagers) direct their energies positively, and build leadership potential. Programmes like El Sistema in Venezuela have successfully used classical music to help young boys find meaning in their lives. Similarly, the Big Brother programme in the United States allows young boys to be mentored by adults to help put them on the path to success.

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Quartz: The world’s biggest coal port is now preparing for the end of coal

Coal is facing tough times. Nowhere is this felt more than in Australia, the world’s largest exporter of the dirtiest fossil fuel. Last week, one of the country’s biggest banks, the National Australia Bank, said it would no longer fund coal projects. This week, Adani, an Indian multinational failed to get funding from national and international banks to build a coal mine in the Australian state of Queensland.

Now, Roy Green, chairman of the Port of Newcastle in Australia, the world’s biggest coal port, has said (paywall) that the port is preparing for a world without coal. In 2016, coal accounted for 96% of trade at the port, which is mined in the nearby Hunter Valley region. The port is hoping to diversify into non-energy sectors, such as a container port to import and export high-value products, and maybe even a cruise terminal to attract tourists. [...]

That said, it’s unclear how many years it will take for the port to stop shipping coal. The intergovernmental group, the International Energy Agency (IEA), expects the world to reduce, but not end, its consumption of coal in the next few decades. In its 2017 World Energy Outlook, the IEA estimated that, between 2016 and 2040, the world will burn at least a quarter of the coal it burned between 1990 and 2016. Though some coal energy will be replaced by renewables like solar and wind, most will be replaced by burning natural gas instead.

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Quartzy: Adrian Grenier says a toilet-paper-free life is the ultimate luxury

Despite health and environmental warnings, Americans still stubbornly choose paper for cleaning their nether regions. A Scientific American article points out that Americans use an average of 36.5 billion rolls of toilet paper ever year. Switching to bathroom bidets could save some 15 million trees. Doctors also warn that aside from being ineffective, wiping with dry toilet paper even cause painful fissures and hemorrhoids. [...]

TOTO has been pitching the hygienic bidet idea to Americans for more than a decade—partially with the goal of reducing paper waste.”We use water to clean everything else in our lives: dishes, clothes. At this critical juncture, you use paper?,” Campos said to the New York Times (paywall) in 2007. She explains that bidets weren’t common in Japan until TOTO introduced it in the 1980’s. More than 80% of Japanese households now have bidets. [...]

While he is certainly biased, Grenier believes that the Neorest’s high-tech cleansing alternative could…er…wipe away at least part of America’s reliance on paper. “We need to embrace technologies that are more hygienic and save the planet a little bit,” he says. But even if a $10,000 fancy bidet is out of the budget, there are affordable options. Washlets or hose attachments are readily available on Amazon or home appliance stores can be mounted on an existing toilet for under $50 and TOTO even sells free-standing bidet units for around $400.

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