Politico: Italy’s politics gives new life to anti-abortion campaign

However, according to the latest health ministry figures, over 70 percent of gynecologists refuse to carry out the procedure on moral or religious grounds, declaring themselves “conscientious objectors.” That percentage rises to as high as 90 percent in some regions, especially in the more conservative south.

In October, Verona became the first Italian city to declare itself officially “pro-life.” City councillors approved a motion, put forward by the League’s member of the council Alberto Zelger, which includes public funding for Catholic and anti-abortion associations, and the launch of a regional project to encourage pregnant women to give unplanned babies up for adoption. [...]

The League’s coalition partners, the 5Stars, do not share its views on abortion: Undersecretary of State Mattia Fantinati called Verona’s move “medieval.” [...]

Bonino agrees with abortion rights activists on the need to fight back against organized conscientious objection. Because of the prominent role played by the Catholic Church in Italian hospitals and clinics, doctors who are prepared to perform abortions are often marginalized. According to the Council of Europe – which has slammed Italy twice in recent years over limited abortion access — doctors face “various types of direct and indirect labor disadvantages” if they perform abortions.

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The New York Times: Rick Scott Wins Florida Senate Race After Recount

The win in Florida gives Republicans a 52-to-47 margin in the Senate. If the party also retains the Senate seat in Mississippi after a Nov. 27 runoff, it will have a 53-to-47 edge, a two-seat pickup for the 2018 cycle. [...]

For now, Republicans will savor another victory by Mr. Scott, who has mastered the ability to eke out wins. No politician in the state’s recent history has as enviable a record: Mr. Scott is unbeaten in three consecutive statewide contests, two for governor and one for senator.

His margin has shrunk with each victory — he beat Alex Sink by 1.2 percentage points in 2010, Charlie Crist by 1 point in 2014, and Mr. Nelson by 0.1 of a point. But this year, for the first time, he obtained a majority of the vote, 50.1 percent.

Behind Mr. Scott’s victories lies his vast personal wealth. He and his wife, Ann, put more than $70 million into his first campaign for governor and nearly $13 million into his second; this year, Mr. Scott spent more than $50 million on the Senate race. But as a candidate, Mr. Scott, who is not known for his charisma, did more than just open his checkbook: He campaigned incessantly and stayed relentlessly on message, casting Mr. Nelson as a do-nothing has-been who had to be retired. [...]

During the campaign, Mr. Scott carefully distanced himself from Mr. Trump in an election that turned heavily on voters’ dislike for the president’s administration. Over the course of his eight years as governor, he also tempered his Tea Party conservatism somewhat, shifting to support more moderate measures on guns and immigration. But he embraced Mr. Trump’s bombastic style after Election Day, when it came to claiming rampant fraud nobody could prove.

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CNN: With the Khashoggi story worsening, the US may finally have an adult in the room

MBS has also variously presided over a disastrous war in Yemen; the blockade of Saudi Arabia's neighbor, Qatar; the de facto temporary kidnapping of the Lebanese prime minister; and the incarceration in a luxury hotel in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, of some two hundred businessmen and princes, who had to hand over tens of billions to secure their freedom in what the government described as settlements in an anti-corruption drive.

Astonishingly, given the importance of Saudi Arabia there hasn't ever been a Trump-appointed ambassador in the country. The US-Saudi relationship has therefore been largely an informal one managed by President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, 37, and MBS, 33. [...]

It's hard to think of someone more qualified than Abizaid for the role. Abizaid, aged 67, speaks fluent Arabic and once ran Central Command (CENTCOM), which is responsible for US military actions in the Middle East. This gives him great expertise and experience in the region as well as the gravitas to speak for President Trump. [...]

Jeffrey was one the dozens of signatories of the 'Never Trump' letters by leading Republican national security officials during the 2016 presidential election campaign. In the past, signing such a letter would have torpedoed your chance of serving in a significant role in the administration, but in Jeffrey's case his subject matter expertise has apparently trumped the letter.

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Independent: Brexit deal: Theresa May faces defeat over plan to force release of economic analysis of her plan

On Monday more than 70 MPs from six different parties will attempt to push through an amendment to the Finance Bill, which if passed would obligate Ms May to publish an economic impact assessment into the withdrawal deal she has agreed with the EU. [...]

“The reality is they won’t give us the truth because they can’t say that we will be better off with this deal than we are at the moment. That’s why even prominent Brexiteers are saying we would be better off staying in the EU than leaving with this deal – an extraordinary state of affairs.” [...]

The assessment would have to include a comparison between the current terms of the UK’s EU membership and the proposed agreement set to be signed off at an EU summit in a week’s time.

It would also have to be made public before MPs vote on whether to accept Ms May’s Brexit plans and the independent Office for Budget Responsibility would have to evaluate its accuracy. [...]

Ms May and other ministers have refused to specifically say they would publish such an analysis, and have instead stuck to the more vague line that MPs would be given the “appropriate information” before voting on Ms May’s Brexit plans.

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UnHerd: The truth about GDP figures

In a fascinating paper they compare the official GDP figures to their “core GDP” measure and find that the choice of method makes a big difference to the relative sizes of the western and non- western economies. For instance, according to the official figures the non-West only overtook the West in the middle of 2000, but according to the core GDP figures the cross-over took place much earlier – at some point before 1990 (when the comparison starts).

Choice of statistical method doesn’t change how rich or poor people actually are, but the authors observe that the bias to the West does impact on “our perception of growth in the world” and also on the weight of western influence in global institutions like the World Bank and the IMF. [...]

In fact, taking rent out of GDP would remove some deeply perverse incentives for policy-makers. Ever wondered why government does such a bad job of solving the housing crisis? Well, if it did a better job, and rental values came down, GDP would take a corresponding hit.

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