Haaretz: Why Israelis live in constant fear, and how their leaders capitalize on it

Insecurity is a psychological phenomenon that differs from the emotion of fear, notwithstanding the strong link between the two. Insecurity is essentially a cognitive (or mental) response, whereas fear is a negative emotion arising from threatening and/or dangerous circumstances. Oftentimes, fear is triggered automatically, by something that is out of our control. Threats or dangers that trigger fear in us may reflect experiences occurring in the present: for example, if we see the remains of a bus that was blown up in a terror attack. At times, fear surfaces because of experiences that occurred in the past – as in the case of air-raid sirens, whose sound may continue to haunt us because we associate them with the warning indicating an incoming missile attack. Fear can also be learned from a variety of sources, such as parents, teachers and leaders. [...]

In Israeli Jewish society, beliefs about insecurity contribute to a unique sense of identity among its members, and to a sense of being distinguished from other nations. Along with other beliefs regarding the ethos of the conflict (such as the justness of the cause, the Palestinians’ lack of legitimacy, or glorification of the Jews), beliefs of insecurity constitute the lens through which members of Israeli society view the world and gather new information. [...]

Insecurity breeds conformity, and an upsurge in popularity of leaders of the “Mister Security” model. However, as opposed to the line that politicians sometimes try to feed us, we are not talking about objective concepts here: Feelings of insecurity (or of security) are not connected to the number of nuclear bombs said to be in Israel’s arsenal, or to the number of F-35 stealth bombers it possesses. In reality, these beliefs depend on the subjective outlook of each individual: Each of us develops a sense of security or insecurity on the basis of our own personality and the information we possess. [...]

Over the years, the concept of security has repeatedly been cited to justify and explain numerous government decisions, even in cases where they did not have direct or immediate implications for national security; moreover, the concept has become a rationale for proactive or reactive moves in the military, political and societal arenas, and even in the educational and cultural realms. It has served as the basis for undemocratic, unethical and even illegal practices, and has been exploited for the mobilization of extensive human and material resources, well beyond the accepted norm in societies that do not have chronic security problems.

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The Atlantic: How Being a Woman Helped Marine Le Pen

Still, Le Pen’s ascent coincides with a historic far-right resurgence taking place across the Western world—one that, if successful, could have major implications for Europe’s institutions, its establishment parties, and its future. Le Pen’s candidacy is also historic in a country like France, whose political history, much like that of other western democracies,  doesn’t boast much female representation. French women were only afforded the right to vote and serve in public office in 1944, decades after women in Britain (1918), Germany (1918), and the United States (1920). Édith Cresson became the country’s first and only female prime minister in 1991 under President François Mitterrand, but lost the post less than a year later due to low approval ratings that some attribute to the misogynist attitudes of Socialist-party elites. Ségolène Royal, a Socialist politician who in 2007 became the first woman to be nominated for the presidency by a major party, faced similar discrimination. [...]

Le Pen has done this by attempting to soften the FN’s extremist edges and embrace her role as a woman, while keeping the party focused squarely on immigration and security. Her illiberal rhetoric about Islam and the Holocaust are still likely to curb the support of some voters who aren’t entirely convinced the FN has shed the racist and xenophobic image that has defined it for years. Still, while Le Pen may have no viable path to victory this year, her overhaul of the FN guarantees it has a chance of competing going forward for perhaps the first time in its 50-year history. [...]

Another way Le Pen has drawn more women to FN: by promoting herself as a modern woman of the people. In a recent campaign ad, she discussed being a woman, a mother, and a lawyer—aspects of her identity that she says makes her “proudly, loyally, and resolutely French.” It’s a populist, anti-elitist characterization that has helped her attract new voters to the party, including former Socialist voters who are disillusioned by the deeply unpopular presidency of François Hollande. “She’s twice divorced, she is effectively a single mother, she has a partner of several years who she isn't married to,” Murray said. “She can put herself forward as someone who understands the dilemmas faced by other women in that situation.”

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Vintage Everyday: 69 Fantastic Color Snapshots Document Everyday Life of Seoul in the 1960s

Seoul is the capital and largest metropolis of the Republic of Korea (commonly known as South Korea), forming the heart of the Seoul Capital Area, which includes the surrounding Incheon metropolis and Gyeonggi province, the world's 16th largest city.

Situated on the Han River, Seoul's history stretches back more than two thousand years when it was founded in 18 BCE by Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. It continued as the capital of Korea under the Joseon Dynasty. Seoul is surrounded by mountains, the tallest being Mt. Bukhan.

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The Washington Post: A backlash against same-sex marriage tests Taiwan’s reputation for gay rights

Over the last year, mostly Christian community groups have mobilized against the marriage-equality movement, warning, contrary to evidence, that same-sex partnerships are a threat to children, that giving LGBT families legal protection will hurt Taiwan.

They have also claimed—again, contrary to evidence—that protecting the rights of gender and sexual minorities is a Western idea, that being gay is somehow not “Chinese.” [...]

Yu Mei-nu, the legislator behind Taiwan’s most recent marriage-equality bill, was one of the human rights lawyers who struggled against one-party rule. She helped revise laws to guarantee the rights of women and, in 1986, represented a gay man suing for the right to marry. [...]

In recent months, concerned groups have reprised homophobic tropes about homosexuality, casting same-sex marriage as a gateway to incest, bestiality and AIDS. One group warned, without irony, that new marriage laws would lead to a future where “it’s possible to marry a ferris wheel.” [...]

At a hearing on marriage equality last month, Justice Minister Chiu Tai-san argued, in a court of law, that same-sex relationships are a “newly invented phenomenon” unlike “social norms and mechanisms formed by the people of our nation over the past thousand years” —leaving many people wondering what nation and norms he was referring to. 

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The Guardian: Out in the country – rural hotspots found as gay population mapped

Some of the findings are unsurprising: six of the 10 local authorities with the highest relative lesbian, gay and bisexual populations are in inner London, including Hackney, Lambeth and Southwark, while Brighton and Manchester also make the list.

But the county-by-county data puts rural Devon slightly ahead of East Sussex, the county that contains Brighton and Hove. An estimated 1.3% of Devon’s population told researchers they were gay, lesbian or bisexual, slightly ahead of the 1.1% estimated for East Sussex. [...]

By a slender margin, Northern Ireland was the country of the UK found to have the highest proportion of gay men – an estimated 1.6%, compared with 1.5% for England, 1.3% for Wales and 1.1% for Scotland. But it was also the country where women were least likely to say they were lesbian - just 0.3%.

However, some questioned the impact of how the data was collected. “I’m encouraged to see there’s been an increase in people in Northern Ireland identifying as LGB, but this disparity I find really challenging,” said Gavin Boyd, policy manager at the Rainbow Project, a Belfast-based support organisation.

One factor could be a reluctance by women to identify themselves as lesbian, he said. “You’ll find in a lot of places that have experienced armed conflict, the role of women tends to be minimised: post-conflict places tend to be quite macho societies.”

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