海角大神

Remember when? Nostalgia is not usually a feature of political campaigns, which tend to look to the future. But Joe Biden, like President Donald Trump, tends to hark back to a 鈥榖etter time.鈥�

Hong Kong鈥檚 pro-democracy camp won big in district elections. Now, they have to translate big-picture dreams into day-to-day decisions. If the protests were a seminar in activism, this presents a whole new learning curve.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is all about sustainable solutions that feel achievable. That鈥檚 what shifts people鈥檚 thinking about their choices. 鈥淚f we make it easier to take the bus, people will,鈥� he says.

Seeing opportunity in its problems led the city of Amsterdam to create the first 鈥渘ight mayor鈥� position in 2012. Providence, Rhode Island, is considering the investment after a string of incidents around nightclubs.

Hollywood often portrays women journalists unflatteringly. The harm may seem less when characters are fictional. But the film 鈥淩ichard Jewell鈥� implies a real reporter slept with a source. Why does this keep happening?

The latest survey of Arab opinion gives the lie to the impression that the Middle East will always be mired in corruption. More than half of those polled in the region by the watchdog group Transparency International say ordinary people can help stop graft in high places.

In recent weeks, those personal convictions have begun to turn into public reality.

Mass protests in Sudan, Lebanon, Algeria, and Iraq this year show citizens can indeed make a difference in working toward honest, accountable governance. Here are a few of their successes:

In Sudan on Saturday a court convicted a former dictator, Omar al-Bashir, of corruption and sentenced him to two years in detention and the surrender of $351,770. Protesters had forced the ouster of Mr. Bashir last April, leading to tentative steps toward democracy. The conviction, while one of many that may await the ex-president for three decades of harsh rule, is seen as an example that a 鈥渟pell of immunity鈥� may be breaking in Sudan.

In Algeria, similar protests led to the downfall of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika as well as to a string of recent court convictions for former leaders, including two ex-prime ministers, on corruption charges. While the army still holds sway over democratic reforms, the convictions show the military is bending to demands by protesters to end graft. A newly elected president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, vows to fight the 鈥渃orruption which has infected the Algerian state.鈥�

In Iraq, months of protests have not only felled a prime minister but also forced parliament to lift immunity for lawmakers accused of bribery or other crimes. In addition, the country鈥檚 Commission of Integrity has arrested several former ministers, former governors, and others in a new crackdown on corruption.

And in Lebanon, months of protests have yet to lead to court convictions on corruption, but they have forced a crisis for a corrupt system of politics. Since the end of a civil war in 1990, the small country of diverse faiths has relied on power sharing among sects that has also produced mass patronage and nepotism. Now several leaders have mouthed support for a government of technocrats, which could break the current sectarian system. In a TV address, President Michel Aoun said, 鈥淢inisters should be chosen according to their competencies and expertise, not political loyalties.鈥�

These examples of progress reflect a different vision of society among the region鈥檚 massive youth population. More than half of Arabs in a survey by Arab Strategy Forum say corruption is the 鈥渢op problem.鈥� In Iraq and Lebanon, nearly three-quarters resent the use of religion for political advantage.

The protests hint at an upwelling for integrity in governance. Some leaders have fallen. Yet fundamental reforms in democracy are still uncertain. For now, these examples in cleaning out corrupt leaders show something just is afoot in the Middle East.