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Last month, the tiny oil-rich nation of Qatar filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization that its neighbours have been unfairly blocking its ability to trade goods, services and intellectual property. The countries are now in the midst of a 60-day consultation process that will probably go on to a formal dispute settlement. Amid this turmoil, the scientific community could offer a surprising source of influence and, for Qatari researchers, relief.

There are science academies in almost every region of the world. Some, such as the US National Academy of Sciences, established in 1863, are giants boasting a long history and tradition. Others, like the Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan, established in 1978, are minnows yet to make a mark. Academies enable scientists to publicly recognize the leaders in their fields, but they have a broader purpose, too. They nurture young talent, publish research, help to resolve controversies and represent their members to policymakers. Academies are far from perfect, as the under-representation of women and minorities confirms. But they are essential to science and society.

And yet you won't find a single academy among the wealthy nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a regional alliance. Some parts of the GCC such as Abu Dhabi, which aspires to build one of the world's first zero-carbon, and Qatar, with a network of high-technology national laboratories employ many scientists. But these scientists are forbidden from setting up academies.

The Gulf's ruling monarchies fear that if scientists are permitted to establish independent organizations, then groups representing women, minority religions, lawyers, teachers and students will also ask to create institutions, publish journals, hold elections and present themselves to governments.

The problem for younger scientists, especially, is that their ambitions are held back because no organization looks after their interests. Nor is there a formal mechanism for redress when laws or regulations thwart research and innovation. For example, staff at national innovation agencies think that changes to laws governing business ownership would encourage more technology start-ups (with wider benefits for science, society and the economy). Currently, every GCC member state demands that a majority of any company be owned by a citizen of that state. This makes it hard to create start-ups, because so many potential tech entrepreneurs students and researchers are from other countries. A science academy, or similar, could take up such concerns and lobby ruling families on behalf of researchers.

Qatar's rulers could be the first to allow science academies, albeit for reasons that, even a few months ago, would have been hard to predict. Since June, the GCC states, along with Egypt, have closed their air, land and sea borders with Qatar. These countries claim that Qatar has been backing opposition groups, either directly, by funding them, or indirectly through its sponsorship of Al Jazeera TV the nearest that the region has to an independent broadcaster. This is the biggest political crisis in the Middle East since the Arab Spring revolutions.

you won't find a single academy among the wealthy nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Qatar's leaders insist that everything is under control. In reality, everything has changed and scientists are caught in the turmoil. International research partnerships must find new routes into and out of Qatar when scientists want to transport equipment or meet colleagues. GCC embassies in the Qatari capital, Doha, are refusing to renew passports, in effect expelling people from the country. Perhaps most heartbreaking is the effect on families of researchers if one partner is from Egypt or is a non-Qatari GCC national who has been ordered home by their government. And because the children of Qatari women who are married to non-Qatari men do not have Qatari nationality, they too can face deportation.

With an influential, independent science academy, Qatar could capture researchers' concerns and put these to the government. A Qatari academy would also be able to call on the help of sister academies, and of international federations such as the World Academy of Sciences and the InterAcademy Partnership, both based in Trieste, Italy.

Qatar's science leaders already have strong links to Western organizations such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science, based in Washington DC, and the Royal Society in London. Elias Zerhouni, a former director of the US National Institutes of Health, led a team that advised the Qatari government on its research priorities. These Western groups should, collectively, urge Doha to make the leap.

Qatar is an absolute monarchy, with an indigenous population of just 300,000, so political power is distributed among a small number of families who are likely to prefer an academy in which members are endorsed, if not appointed, through Qatari royals. But such a body would not be a genuine science academy. And it would be ineligible for membership of the major global academy networks.

The nation's leaders fear that a science academy might shelter seeds of what could become a larger democratic revolution, and they are not wrong. But they should be able to see that a little more democracy, especially in a form that strengthens science and innovation, will help to preserve the long-term security of their tiny nation: moral arguments to protect a democracy against dictatorship are still compelling.

Who knows, where one nation leads, others may in time follow.

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A little democracy could go a long way - Nature.com

More damning discrepancies have appeared in a Hong Kong democracy activists story about being kidnapped from a busy city street and tortured by mainland Chinese agents, after he was arrested early on Tuesday on suspicion of misleading police.

Opposition politicians who rallied behind Democratic Party member Howard Lam Tsz-kin also faced questions about their credibility for projecting his case as evidence of the citys freedoms being undermined by Beijing.

Lam claimed he was pushed into a van in Yau Ma Tei last Thursday by Putonghua-speaking men who took him to an unknown location, punched staples into his legs, and dumped him on a beach in Sai Kung, from where he made his own way home in a taxi.

But police investigations, according to a force insider, suggested something less dramatic he took a minibus from Mong Kok to Sai Kung.

The revelation cast further doubt on the activists story after the FactWire news agency earlier cited closed-circuit television footage collected from nearby shops and buildings contradicting his version of events.

Lam remained in custody all of yesterday, and was said to have remained silent under questioning, with his lawyer present.

The Democratic Party leadership did not see any reason to doubt Lams story, despite his arrest, but adopted a more measured stance, saying it was still too early to jump to conclusions.

It would be unfair to the party and Lam if we were to draw any conclusion at this stage, Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai said after an emergency meeting with colleagues in morning.

Lam was picked up by officers from the West Kowloon regional crime unit on Tuesday at about 12.30am near his mothers home in Tai Kok Tsui and detained at Mong Kok police station.

Investigators also seized computers, handsets and a pair of sunglasses from his home in Ma On Shan.

Cheng said making a false report of false imprisonment was a serious offence.

Lam was transferred to Hung Hom Police Station after the home search.

Serious doubts about Lams story were earlier raised by FactWire news agency, which published a report on Monday night directly contradicting his version of events.

Former party chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan, who stood by Lam when he held a press conference on Friday before reporting his case to police, insisted there was no reason to assume Lam had lied.

Superintendent Cheng Lai-ki of the Kowloon West regional crime unit said police believed Lam had given officers false information. She said Lam had left Mong Kok alone safely by public transport on the day in question.

Our information did not show that he was pushed into a vehicle as he claimed ... and he was not where he said he was. We believe his information was false, Cheng said.

Hours before Lam was arrested, FactWire discredited his story by putting together clips from different surveillance cameras to present a different picture.

The clips showed Lam walking alone and unmolested at the time of the alleged abduction though Lam denied he was the man in some of the clips wearing a mask, dark glasses and a cap.

The activist was picked up by officers near his mothers home in Tai Kok Tsui. They also seized a desktop computer, a tablet, three mobile phones and a pair of sunglasses from his Ma On Shan home. Cheng said the motives for Lams allegation would be probed by investigators.

Another police source said they would look into Lams mental state, as the activist was said to have suffered depression and had attempted suicide in the past.

Lam appeared to be alone the whole time

FactWire

Chinese University political scientist Ivan Choy Chi-keung said Lams false kidnap claims and the Democratic Partys handling of the case would unavoidably affect its credibility.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said she had every confidence that police would find out the truth.

Lam accused police of giving the public the impression he had been uncooperative during their investigation. He said he had told police he could not attend a 4.30pm meeting on Sunday to give a statement as he was suffering from a headache and fatigue.

Officers leaked this information to the media via anonymous sources and asked them to call the activist to pursue it, Lam claimed.

Police search for taxi driver and van linked to Hong Kong kidnap claim

I was shocked that police would reveal the information to reporters, Lam said. Im very curious as to why they have to keep leaking information.

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Hong Kong democracy activist Howard Lam's kidnap claims unravel further following arrest - South China Morning Post

For more than a half century, the Philadelphia TV station now branded as PHL17 was the place where baby boomer kids flipped on the Wee Willie Webber Colorful Cartoon Club as soon as they got home from school, where teens grooved to Dancin on Air in the go-go 1980s, and where Schmitty, Lefty and the rest of their Phillies squad marched toward their first world championship in the long hot summer of 1980.

But if a planned sale of the station along with dozens of other TV outlets from coast-to-coast to the Sinclair Broadcast Group wins approval from federal regulators, PHL17 may become the go-to place on your local remote for pro-government curve balls from the Terrorism Alert Desk and a blast of commentaries dancin on rhetorical hot air in support of President Trump during the run-up to the 2020 election.

STEVE RUARK / AP

Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc.s headquarters in Hunt Valley, Md. STEVE RUARK / AP

Experts caution that Sinclairs ultimate plan for the Philadelphia station is a little unclear because unlike most of the 42 stations in 33 key markets that it seeks to acquire in its pending deal to buy Tribune Media PHL17 doesnt currently have its own in-house-produced nightly newscast where Sinclair could plant its conservative propaganda flag. But they still express alarm about the bigger national picture less local journalism and less choice for viewers, with federal government in the process of twisting the licensing rules in a way to benefit a media company that so enthusiastically cheerleads for the head of that government, Trump.

Craig Aaron, the president and CEO of Free Press, an advocacy group that fights against media consolidation, said the massive Sinclair deal puts too much media power in the hands of one company, especially because the firms business model lays off independent journalists covering local stories, like corruption in City Hall, and instead orders stations to run commentaries from a handful of right-wing national pundits who push pro-GOP and increasingly, pro-Trump propaganda. We need competent sources of local news and the Sinclair model is to eliminate them.

Sinclairs $3.9 million push into untapped local markets may be the last puzzle piece in the move that more than anything else defines Donald Trumps America. Success will create a seamless media bubble for the presidents rabid base, from the blather of Fox & Friends when they turn on their TV in the morning to right-wing talk radio as they drive to the supermarket to the anti-liberal diatribes, some of it fake news or even manufactured on Russian content farms, in their Facebook feed, now bolstered by Trump-boosting commentaries from the presidents former aide Boris Epshteyn on their local Sinclair-owned TV news. All while the president brands the traditional news media as enemies of the American people.

Whats revealing about this scheme is that the Sinclair acquisitions of local TV outlets are heavily focused in the presidential swing states like Ohio, Wisconsin, and, of course, Pennsylvania where the Trump-lovin broadcaster would own a station in every key media market after gaining PHL17 and Fox43 in Harrisburg. Thats a huge two-fer for Sinclair, since in addition to its unbroken web of pro-Trump agitprop. the company will reaps hundreds of millions of dollars from battleground-state political spending. Thats your modern kleptocracy at work.

As Maryland-based Sinclair has grown its coast-to-coast reach, its also found with too little fanfare new and creative ways to boost its far-right agenda, dating back to the early 2000s when its ABC affiliates wouldnt air a Nightline episode simply listing the names of American troops whod died in Iraq, an act apparently seen at Sinclair HQ as anti-war propaganda. Its affiliates did, however, run on the eve of the 2004 a documentary called Stolen Valor that slammed the Vietnam War-era record of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, a piece heavily promoted by Swift Boat Veterans for the Truth. They also broadcast a mix of news pieces and a dishonest infomerical that slammed Barack Obama during his presidency, most under the banner of must-run commentaries.

That trend has only increased in the Trump Era, with the hiring of Epshteyn, who worked on the 2016 campaign and for a short time in the White House, and whose Trump-talking-point commentaries must run a whopping nine times a week. Viewers who switch on their local news on a day when things arent going well for the Trump White House wont get that story but instead get a Terrorism Desk Alert on the fighting in Syria or blasting the Muslim treatment of women. Meanwhile, its been reported that Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner cut a deal giving Sinclair access to Trump in return for favorable coverage.

I realize that a lot of you are saying at this pointso what? The 1st Amendment not only permits but implicitly encourages an opinionated media, and liberals certainly have their own outlets, like MSNBCs The Rachel Maddow Show, to name just one. Theres nothing inherently wrong with conservative commentary on your high-def screen. But what Sinclair and its allies in the Trump administration are seeking to pull with this Tribune acquisition is radically different upending the once-cherished ideal of diverse, locally based voices, replacing that quaint vision with a large centralized media monopoly. And they are deliberately gaming the federal licensing rules to get there.

As investigative journalists from the New York Times reported this week, Sinclairs chairman David Smith met with the FCC commissioner whom Trump was naming as its chairman, Ajit Pai, on the day before Trumps inauguration to map out the plan for radical deregulation that the FCC has largely carried out since January lifting the cap on how many stations a broadcaster like Sinclair can own, as well as relaxing other restrictions in ways that would benefit the Trump-friendly companys bottom line.

Its not front-page news not surprising in a time of nuclear bluster and white-supremacist marches through American cities but the average citizens should still be alarmed. For one thing, all the must-run pro-Trump blather emerging from Sinclairs offices kills any chance for real journalism on local issues. Hannah Jane Sassaman, policy director for the Philadelphia-based Media Mobilizing Project, told me that activists in Harrisburg have been pleased with the coverage that Fox43 gives to immigrant-rights issues and are alarmed that such reports might dry up under Sinclair. A conservative media that uses dog whistles, Sassaman said, is being expanded to our broadcast news outlets that should be terrifying.

That said, the picture in Philadelphia is fuzzy. Some analysts have wondered if Sinclair ultimately aims to flip PHL17 to another buyer. The channels current line-up, with a short morning news show and a 10 p.m. newscast produced by ABC 6/WPVI Action News, doesnt offer at the moment the opportunities for running conservative commentary that exist at other stations that its buying. But that could change quickly if the sale goes through.

Regardless of what happens on the local dial, Sassaman is right that the prospects for U.S. democracy are terrifying. One of the gateway drugs for authoritarian rule is state control of the mass media. If Americans in key battleground states start getting spoon-fed pro-White House propaganda in between their local weather and the 76ers highlights, were much farther down that rocky road than we ever want to be.

The good news is that while the path for FCC approval of the Sinclair-Tribune deal appears to be well-greased, the sale is still not final. Both Sassaman and Aaron from Free Press which has challenged the sale on both the legal and regulatory front urged citizens to contact the FCC and register their objection. They also recommended calling public officials, from Mayor Kenney to members of Congress, to urge public hearings or at least strong condemnations. Its worth a shot, because the stakes are so high. Like a batter facing a Steve Carlton fastball from the glory days of Sunday afternoon baseball on Channel 17, this dangerous scheme needs to be struck out.

Published: August 15, 2017 3:01 AM EDT | Updated: August 15, 2017 2:05 PM EDT

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Why the looming sale of PHL17 is a threat to democracy - Philly.com

What is the single most important issue before us?

To ask the question is either to invite scoffing (how can any one issue be described in this way?) or to call forth a cacophony of replies. For starters: the North Korean confrontation, globalization, climate change, rising inequality, terrorism or the ongoing troubles in the Middle East.

But at the risk of being accused of cultural imperialism, I'd argue that the challenge to liberal democracy is far and away the most consequential question facing the world. If liberal democracy does not survive and thrive, every other problem we face becomes much more difficult.

The very phrase "liberal democracy" is vexed. In the United States, "liberal" is associated with a New Dealish center-left. Elsewhere, particularly in Europe, it often implies minimal governmental interference with the workings of capitalism.

But liberal democracy is, in principle, a simple if also profound idea: a belief in governments created through free elections and universal suffrage; an independent judiciary; and guarantees of the freedoms of speech, assembly, religion and press. Some of my more libertarian-leaning friends and in our shared desire to defend liberal democracy, we are friends would define it as excluding various forms of regulation and redistribution.

I'd agree with them that the right to private property is a characteristic of liberal societies but insist that there is also an important place for social insurance, government provision of various services (education and health care among them) and rules protecting workers, consumers and the environment. Indeed, the vast inequalities that capitalism can produce when unchecked typically undermine liberal democracy, and are doing so now.

For those who claim that liberal democracy is simply a Western idea, consider that India is the world's largest democracy and that many nations in Africa, Latin America and other parts of Asia are working democracies or struggling for democratic rights.

Liberal democracy is essential for solving every other problem because it assumes that history is open and that free electorates can change their minds and their governments. Oppressed groups have a right to agitate and organize against injustices, and new ways of reforming society are given room to emerge.

But is there a crisis of liberal democracy? We could argue for days over whether the word "crisis" is appropriate, which is why I like the more modest title of Financial Times columnist Edward Luce's compelling book published earlier this year, "The Retreat of Western Liberalism." Crisis or not, liberal democracy is in trouble partly because, in the years after World War II, liberal democrats became complacent.

Luce affectingly describes the elation he felt when he and a group of fellow students raced to Berlin as the Wall was coming down: "Borders were opening up. Global horizons beckoned. ... Though still alive, history was smiling."

But history is starting to scowl as once-solid democracies (Hungary, Poland and Turkey, along with many outside Europe) move in an autocratic direction. China, meanwhile, offers a path to development and growth that involves neither freedom nor democracy.

Even where liberal democracy has its strongest foundations, authoritarian brands of populism have gained ground by exploiting widespread discontent. Luce is especially powerful when taking to task those at the global economy's commanding heights for failing to address the stagnation of middle- and working-class incomes. "The world's elites have helped to provoke what they feared: a populist uprising against the world economy."

In 2017, there has been something of a liberal democratic comeback in France, the Netherlands and, it would appear from the polls, Germany. Movements of the far right are (at least for now) receding. My Washington Post colleague Fred Hiatt recently pointed to "the Trump boomerang effect" as other nations learn from the mistake the United States made in November 2016.

And we should not petrify ourselves with too many comparisons between our time and the 1930s. On the eve of World War II, as the historian Ian Kershaw reminds us in "To Hell and Back," his monumental history of Europe from 1914 to 1949, three-fifths of Europeans lived under authoritarian regimes a calculation that does not even include Stalin's Soviet Union.

We are far from such a catastrophe, but I'm grateful to Luce and others for warning us not to take liberal democracy for granted. When liberal democrats become arrogant and forget that governments have an obligation to create the circumstances for widespread well-being, autocrats will always be there offering security and prosperity in exchange for less freedom. Liberal democracy must be defended. It must also deliver the goods.

E.J. Dionne Jr. is a columnist for The Washington Post.ejdionne@washpost.comand@EJDionne

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EJ Dionne Jr.: Standing up for liberal democracy - Madison.com

Its the most cynical political game in a cynical town, calculated to deprive New York voters of what little democracy theyre allowed to participate in.

Veteran Assemblyman Herman Denny Farrell reportedly plans to be the latest machine politician to step down at just the right time to prevent voters from picking his successor.

Leave office before your term expires, but after the filing date for the Democratic primary, and youve assured that county party leaders, not voters, get to pick the next candidate. And that candidate almost always is the one the outgoing legislator wants.

Weve seen it all before, but this year in particular has produced a bumper crop of similar travesties.

State Sen. Daniel Squadron (D-Queens) last week announced he was quitting because of his frustration with Democratic divisions in Albany.

Fair enough. Yet somehow his frustration kicked in only after it was too late for anyone else to qualify for a special election.

Last month, City Councilman David Greenfield (D-Bklyn) announced his resignation to head the scandal-scarred Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty also too late for any other candidates. He then tapped an ally (who was already running in a different district!) to succeed him.

Just two years ago, then-Bronx DA Robert Johnson abruptly resigned in a squalid deal engineered by current Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie that gave Johnson a state Supreme Court judgeship and replaced him with the machines hand-picked choice, Darcel Clark.

And people wonder why New Yorkers are so cynical. The citys heavy Democratic tilt has deprived most general elections of any meaning, and now the bosses are increasingly shutting voters out of primaries, too.

Greenfield, for one, makes no apologies for gaming the system. If you dont like the rules, he says, change them.

Instead of pushing arcane fixes to the campaign-finance laws, self-proclaimed reformers ought to take up that challenge or stop pretending they really want to clean up politics.

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By dodging primaries, New York pols are killing democracy - New York Post