Spare a thought about the Middle East being on edge again and links to other interesting news and views

Saudi Arabia Tells Its Citizens to Leave Lebanon Immediately - Haaretz

Saudi Arabia has warned its citizens against travelling to Lebanon and asked those who are in the country to leave as soon as possible, the kingdom's official news agency quoted an official source in the Foreign Ministry as saying.

Hariri’s resignation and why the Middle East is on edge, again - Brookings

... the Middle East is entering a new phase of dramatically heightened sectarian tensions that needs to be addressed, lest another country slip into chaos.

Election funding and disclosure in Australian states and territories: a quick guide - Australian Parliamentary Library

Ten Years after the Crisis: Discredited Ideas

New Delhi declares emergency as toxic smog thickens by the hour - Reuters

How Murdoch extracted concessions from governments - John Menadue in Pearls and Irritations

Spare a thought

Germany's decision on the third gender is long overdue - Deutsche Weller

Germany just ruled on the legal need to provide a gender option beyond "male " or "female." But the ethical recommendation for a third gender actually came years ago

You Can't Hide From Calorie Counts: FDA Will Implement Obama-Era Rule - NPR

The FDA had previously halted the roll out of rules requiring chain restaurants and other food establishments to post calories on menus. Now, the agency says the rules will be in place by May 2018

 Rescuing Economics from Neoliberalism - Boston Review

That neoliberalism is a slippery, shifting concept, with no explicit lobby of defenders, does not mean that it is irrelevant or unreal. Who can deny that the world has experienced a decisive shift toward markets from the 1980s on? Or that center-left politicians—Democrats in the United States, Socialists and Social Democrats in Europe—enthusiastically adopted some of the central creeds of Thatcherism and Reaganism, such as deregulation, privatization, financial liberalization, and individual enterprise? Much of our contemporary policy discussion remains infused with norms and principles supposedly grounded in homo economicus.
But the looseness of the term neoliberalism also means that criticism of it often misses the mark. There is nothing wrong with markets, private entrepreneurship, or incentives—when deployed appropriately. Their creative use lies behind the most significant economic achievements of our time. As we heap scorn on neoliberalism, we risk throwing out some of neoliberalism’s useful ideas.
The real trouble is that mainstream economics shades too easily into ideology, constraining the choices that we appear to have and providing cookie-cutter solutions. A proper understanding of the economics that lies behind neoliberalism would allow us to identify—and to reject—ideology when it masquerades as economic science. Most importantly it would help us develop the institutional imagination we badly need to redesign capitalism for the twenty-first century.

Trump's low approval rating masks his support among likely voters: Reuters/Ipsos poll - Reuters

Your Playlist May Reveal if You're a Psychopath or Not - Curiosity

A secret may be lurking deep within your Spotify playlists. And we're not talking about "Smooth" by Carlos Santana and Rob Thomas popping up more than it should. According to a team of researchers, some of your favorite songs could reveal whether or not you're a psychopath. Be careful which tunes you tap your toe to...