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Can Europe ever solve its immigration problem?
đ”âđ« Psychedelic beer | đŹ Facial fitness | đ€ Perfect naps
In the headlines
Vladimir Putin will meet Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang today during his first visit to North Korea in 24 years. The pair are expected to sign a âcomprehensive strategic partnership treatyâ to counter the West, bringing the two countries âcloser than at any time since the end of the Soviet Unionâ, says The Times. The UK has the lowest level of business investment of all G7 nations for a third year in a row. The Institute for Public Policy Research says spending by private businesses on new factories, equipment, technology and the like is âsignificantlyâ behind the competition, making it far harder for the economy to grow. A new study has found that women find men 21.5% more attractive when they see them with children. Researchers put it down to the âparental investmentâ theory that women look out for a nurturing partner.
Comment
Marine Le Pen. Gabriel Kuchta/Getty
Can Europe ever solve its immigration problem?
Europeâs recent swing to the right was largely driven by two issues, says Joseph Sternberg in the Wall Street Journal: mainstream partiesâ failure to get a grip on immigration and the eye-watering cost of the mad dash to net zero. By leveraging those grievances, parties like Franceâs National Rally and Brothers of Italy managed to achieve a critical mass that will allow them to become âproperly obstructive in Brusselsâ. But having tacked towards the centre in recent years to appeal to a wider coalition of voters, they will soon learn a hard lesson: âone needs to govern skilfully to hold that coalition togetherâ. The trouble is, the ascendant rightâs signature policy promises are famously âdifficult to enactâ.
At least in the short term, their chances are best on climate matters. Not only is scaling back net zero widely popular, but also the EUâs âbaroque governing systemâ means the newly muscular right can use its power in the European Parliament to push through the changes it wants. Immigration will be much tougher. Itâs easy enough to claim that âobvious solutions exist if only Europeâs effete ruling class would actâ. But while the blocâs attempts to cut immigration are clearly ineffective, thereâs truly no ready, simple solution. Reducing the number of illegal arrivals is a logistical nightmare, and EU efforts inevitably run aground when member countries realise the remedy requires them to cede national sovereignty to Brussels or spend money solving a problem elsewhere. Is Marine Le Pen really willing to raise French taxes so Giorgia Meloni can spend more policing the coast of Southern Italy? Insurgent parties may soon be confronted with the âmismatch between what they want and what theyâre prepared to do to get it.
đ€·ââïž đłïž The problem is that voters want conflicting things, says Stephen Bush in the FT. They want lower immigration, and they also want lower taxes and better public services. But cutting off cheap imported labour means you have to either raise taxes to train domestic workers or offer a worse service. Or both. This is true not just in the NHS, but also in gig-economy services like Deliveroo. âMost voters like being able to get food delivered to them and they dislike tax rises.â Any politician who thinks they will be âautomatically rewarded at the polls for reducing immigrationâ should think again.
Photography
An anonymous hacker has leaked thousands of photos of what life was like in Iran under the 19th-century Qajar dynasty, says PetaPixel. And theyâre oddly gripping. One shows the captured chief of a Kurdish tribe, chained at the neck and roped around the waist, posing quite happily with his captors. In another, a moustachioed man is buried up to his chin in sand, possibly as a therapy for aching joints. Others include âthe Dwarves of Naser al-Din Shahâs courtâ, some sort of distiller surrounded by his kit, and the Shah himself at a dentist appointment. See more here.
Election watch
đłïž 16 days to go...
With the cost-of-living crisis still the No 1 issue for most voters, Rishi Sunak âwalked into a trapâ last week when he bemoaned the hardship of his childhood spent without Sky TV, says Andrew Pierce in the Mail on Sunday. So it may not be the best idea for the Conservative Party to press ahead with its summer gala at Londonâs exclusive Hurlingham Club this week. Tables at the event on the 42-acre Fulham estate will cost up to ÂŁ12,000. As one ex-Tory chief puts it: âMinisters seen quaffing champagne next to fabulously rich donors. A gift for Labour.â
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Staying young
The Siesta (after Millet) by Vincent van Gogh. VCG Wilson/Corbis/Getty
An afternoon nap boosts cognition, creativity, memory and supports a healthy heart, says Time magazine. So here are a few tips to catch the perfect siesta. Firstly, make sure to âpre-gameâ your naps with deep breathing or meditation â this will help you to relax and get a more restorative rest. Another tip is to caffeinate before falling asleep. Metabolising caffeine takes about 30 minutes â the ideal length of a nap â so if you down an espresso before nodding off you will wake up as it takes full effect. Finally, try building a âpoor manâs nap podâ by using a sleep mask with earplugs or headphones. And if you can, turn your room into a âcool dark caveâ â the perfect environment for daytime rejuvenation.
Comment
Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin in 2019. Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool/AFP/Getty
Weâve been foolish to ignore North Korea
When it comes to North Korea, âWestern interest tends to wax and waneâ, says Gearoid Reidy in Bloomberg, oscillating between the âtactical patienceâ of Barack Obama to the âbombast of summits, fire and furyâ under Donald Trump. But with wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East, Pyongyang barely registers. In an annual poll asking which states Americans regard as their countryâs greatest foe, just 4% now say North Korea â down from 51% in 2018 and lower than âthe US itselfâ, which came in at 5%. Weâve become so indifferent that even the missile launches that once caused global terror now âelicit snoozesâ.
But ignoring North Korea is a mistake. Vladimir Putin is in Pyongyang today, visiting his friend Kim Jong-un at home for the first time in two decades. Both leaders have âmuch to gain and little to loseâ from closer ties, and are already so heavily sanctioned that âthe US and its allies have little leverage to punish them furtherâ. According to Kim himself, the two strongmen have an âunbreakable relationship of comrades-in-armsâ that is steadily developing into âhigher-level state relationsâ. South Korea and the US say Pyongyang has already sent âmillions of artillery shellsâ to aid Putinâs invasion of Ukraine. And North Korea can use Russiaâs seat on the UN Security Council to stymie sanctions and undermine efforts to keep tabs on its nuclear ambitions. US allies in the region, like South Korea and Japan, have long fretted about such a development, but they have a record of being âdistracted while Pyongyang stays laser focusedâ. With the world looking elsewhere, North Korea has a prime window to âmaximise its meddlingâ.
Quirk of history
Blackadder tucking into some bilsenkraut
In the Middle Ages, âEuropean beer was hallucinogenicâ, says Vinepair. Black henbane, a flower in the nightshade family, was widely used to flavour ale and enhance drunkenness by inducing âmild psychoactive effectsâ. Such was demand for the poisonous plant, known as bilsenkraut in what is now Germany, that whole gardens were dedicated to growing it. These bilsenkraut gardens inspired the names of several nearby settlements, including the Czech town of Pilsen â âbirthplace of the beloved Pilsnerâ. Prost!
Zeitgeist
Beauty boffins have developed âfacial fitnessâ chewing gum to help build a stronger jawline, says The Cut. The gum is extra-tough to chew, which â if the marketing bumf of firms like Rockjaw and Jawz Gum is to be believed â gives a special workout to the muscles in the neck and face. The target market is primarily teen boys, particularly fans of âlooksmaxxingâ â an online movement that trains those not blessed with beauty to âmaximiseâ their features and appeal to the opposite sex.
Snapshot
Snapshot answer
Itâs the worldâs tallest dog, says People Magazine. Kevin, a three-year-old Great Dane from Iowa, was officially given title by Guinness World Records last week. Standing on four paws, he measures an impressive 3 feet and 2 inches from âhis feet to his withersâ â a technical term for the highest point of a dogâs shoulder blades â which is the average height of a three-year-old child. âI donât think heâs aware he is as big as he is,â said owner Tracy. âHeâs continuously trying to squeeze into small beds and sit on top of usâ. The gentle giant is also scared of most things â particularly hoovers.
Quoted
âPolitics is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage.â
HL Mencken