I’m Head of the State, I’m Popular | There Will Be Blood (and Oil) | 2020 Presidential Bids

“You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, who had ever been alive.”

“It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.”

– James Baldwin

Populism Has Become Very… Popular: Exclusive research by The Guardian, in conjunction with more than 30 political scientists, explores the rise of populism over the past two decades. An analysis of the performance of populist parties in national elections in 31 European countries reveals their support has tripled, from about 7 percent in 1998’s national elections to 25 percent today. A political sociologist leading the research said: “Not long ago populism was a phenomenon of the political fringes. Today it has become increasingly mainstream: some of the most significant recent political developments like the Brexit referendum and the election of Donald Trump cannot be understood without taking into account the rise of populism.”

Populists often frame politics as the struggle of virtuous ordinary citizens against the vested interests of a corrupt and nefarious elite; hence, the will of the masses must always triumph, and championing that is a vital force in a democratic society. But critics point out that upon ascension to power, populists often subvert democratic norms, whether by undermining the media and obstructing the rule of law, or trampling on minority rights and suppressing dissent. A professor of international affairs said: “There are three main reasons for the sharp rise of populism in Europe. The [2008 financial crash]…the [2015] so-called refugee crisis, and finally the transformation of non-populist parties into populist parties”.

Additional Read: “Why is populism suddenly all the rage?: In 1998, about 300 Guardian articles mentioned populism. In 2016, 2,000 did. What happened?”

The Friend Of My Enemy Is Also Hopefully My Friend: Chinese President Xi Jinping seems about to pry apart what was once an unshakable bond between the Philippines and the US. At the Asian summit in Singapore last week, Xi and Vice President Mike Pence presented dueling visions of an ­Asia-Pacific region, one aligned with the US and one with China. Hours after the summit concluded, Xi was on his way to the Philippines, the first Chinese leader to make a state visit in 13 years. On Tuesday, along with some ceremonial photo ops, Xi signed dozens of agreements, including a significant joint oil and gas exploration deal in the contested South China Sea. The latter marks a turnaround for the two countries that were locked in bitter territorial disputes before Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte took office in 2016. (WaPo)

Additional Read: “Despite APEC drama, China is winning the fight for the Pacific, step by patient step.: The US and its would-be allies, including Australia, lack a coherent, joined-up plan to counter Beijing’s growing sway.” (Guardian)

Oh Blimey: Britain’s Prince Charles delighted his Nigerian audience in Lagos by coloring his speech with several phrases in pidgin English. Charles was wrapping up a nine-day tour of West Africa, and most observers thought the effort was “heartwarming” and a show of respect. One phrase he used — “God don butta my bread!”— means “my wish has been granted” in Pidgin. The term “pidgin” is over 200 years old, and used to be seen as a language for uneducated people. It’s had a bit of a revival. Today it’s widespread among all social classes, and increasingly popular among young people, writers, politicians and musicians. (NPR)

Don’t Get It Wet, Don’t Feed It After Midnight, And Don’t Elect It Interpol President: The general assembly of Interpol, the international police organization, is due to elect a new president on Wednesday, and a Russian is in line for the job. On Tuesday two of the Kremlin’s loudest critics joined forces to try and stop it, saying they feared Moscow would abuse the post to hunt down its detractors. Russian dissident Mikhail Khodorkovsky gave a news conference in London alongside US-born Kremlin critic Bill Browder; both men warned against electing Alexander Prokopchuk, a former major general in Russia’s Ministry of the Interior. Browder, the head of a large investment fund, has led a campaign to expose corruption and punish Russian officials he blames for the 2009 death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in a Moscow prison. “To put [Putin’s] representative in charge of the most important international crime fighting organization is like putting the mafia in charge,” Browder said. (Reuters)

Oil Is Thicker Than Blood: When asked about the US-Saudi Arabia relationship, President Trump defaults to money. Questioned on Saturday about the CIA’s conclusion that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the murder of US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Trump replied: “They give us a lot of jobs. They give us a lot of business.” Trump rarely mentions any Saudi role in achieving his stated objectives in the Middle East — bringing Iran to heel, forging an Israeli-Palestinian peace, and vanquishing Islamist terrorism. “They have truly been a spectacular ally in terms of jobs and economic development,” he said, referring primarily to Saudi arms purchases. (WaPo)

– “Stigma pushes disabled children into ‘dangerous’ Kenyan orphanages:Report reveals widespread neglect in institutions across the country, yet fierce discrimination means such children may be at risk of being killed if they remain in their communities” (Guardian)

– “Dead sperm whale found in Indonesia had ingested ‘6kg of plastic’: A dead sperm whale that washed ashore in a national park in Indonesia had nearly 6kg (13 lbs) of plastic waste in its stomach, park officials say.” (BBC)

– “Penguin filmed caring for snowball: In what might be a filming-first, emperor penguins were captured caring for a snowball ‘egg’”

Do you know what makes a good pitch into a great pitch? Well, if you ask the founders of the multi-billion dollar Airbnb, they’d say it’s Slidebean. Slidebean is an easy to use presentation platform makes it easy for anyone to create a beautiful pitch deck in the same style as the one that Airbnb’s founders used. To date, Slidebean has helped thousands of entrepreneurs raise capital from investors by giving them access to beautifully designed templates and robust analytics. If you’re in the process of raising funding and you want your presentation to stand out, check out Slidebean.

Democrats Get More Vitamin C In Their Diet: In California politics, Orange County was always staunchly conservative. Richard Nixon was born and raised there; Ronald Reagan got his political fuel from there. In the 1960s a state senator from Orange County joked that he’d joined the John Birch Society because he wanted to get the middle-of-the-road vote in Orange County. (The anti-communist ultraconservative group had a large presence in Orange County at the time.) Now a heretofore unthinkable thing has happened: Democrats have swept all seven congressional districts in Orange County, including the 48th, held by Republican Dana Rohrabacher. (NPR)

– “Ivanka Trump Reportedly Used Personal Email Account For Official White House Business” (NPR)

– “New York City subway and bus services have entered ‘death spiral’, experts say: MTA officials warned they may have to drastically cut service or increase fares as deficits are expected to hit nearly $1bn by 2022” (Guardian)

2020 Presidential Bids: “Tom Steyer inches closer to 2020 White House bid” (WaPo) and “Beto O’Rourke blows up the 2020 Democratic primary: Top party donors and operatives are eager to see the Texas congressman jump into the presidential race.” (Politico)

– “These Americans Are Done With Politics: The Exhausted Majority needs a break.” (NYT)

– “Is Donald Trump an authoritarian? Experts examine telltale signs” (Guardian)

– “The Psychology of Political Polarization: Our country is divided, but science suggests the rift is less severe than it seems.” (NYT)

– “The Democrats’ White-People Problem: Donald Trump likes to pit elite and non-elite white people against each other. Why do white liberals play into his trap?” (Atlantic)

– “Why TOMS is taking a stand to end gun violence: The shoe company, known for its one-for-one giving model, has never taken a political stance. But after the recent mass shooting in Thousand Oaks, California, founder Blake Mycoskie is ready to change that–and his company’s entire giving strategy.” (Fast Company)

– “How Do Wishes Granted To Very Sick Kids Affect Their Health?” (NPR)

– “5 Principles For Making Better Life Decisions” (Mark Manson)

Literary Nuts: “100 Notable Books of 2018” (NYT) and “Why Aren’t People Buying Much Fiction These Days?” (NYT) and “The Fleeting Magic of Scholastic Book Fairs” (Atlantic)

– “Founder’s Big Idea to Revive BuzzFeed’s Fortunes? A Merger With Rivals: Jonah Peretti, the chief executive, says his company could eventually merge with other online publishers in order to negotiate better terms with tech platforms like Facebook.” (NYT)

– “Sigrid Johnson Was Black. A DNA Test Said She Wasn’t.: The surge in popularity of services like 23andMe and Ancestry means that more and more people are unearthing long-buried connections and surprises in their ancestry.” (NYT)

– “Startup Offers To Sequence Your Genome Free Of Charge, Then Let You Profit From It” (NPR)

– “If you want to understand Silicon Valley, watch Silicon Valley” (Bill Gates)

– “Do You Even Bake, Bro?: How the Silicon Valley set fell in love with sourdough and decided to disrupt the 6,000-year-old craft of making bread, one crumbshot at a time” (Eater)

– “Are You Sitting Down? Standing Desks Are Overrated: They’re not cures for anything, and standing is not exercise.” (NYT)

“People pay for what they do, and still more for what they have allowed themselves to become. And they pay for it very simply; by the lives they lead.”

“Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor.”

– James Baldwin

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