Some things are almost beyond parody. Lord Frost says the (British) government will hire an external adviser to identify post-Brexit opportunities. “We have high hopes of outside input into this process,” he says. The government of the United Kingdom, almost five years after the Brexit referendum, wants help on identifying post-Brexit opportunities! (Truly! Ed) The …
Continue reading ‘A fine mess you have got us into ( No.1)’ »
Far from finally turning the page on five long years of Brexit acrimony, the European parliament’s overwhelming vote to approve the EU-UK trade and cooperation agreement is set to open a whole new chapter of potential disputes. Commission president Ursula von der Leyen referred pointedly to the “possibility for unilateral remedial measures” in the agreement, …
Continue reading ‘Update on the EU and the post-Brexit 1 UK’ »
This is the perspective of a native American: “Recently, Rick Santorum repeated a widely held myth of US exceptionalism. “We came here and created a blank slate, we birthed a nation from nothing,” the former US senator and CNN commentator told the rightwing Young America’s Foundation’s summit. “It was born of the people who came …
People with extreme views are less able to do complex mental tasks, researchers at Cambridge University have found. The study, of 330 US-based participants, found those with extremist views tended to see the world in black and white terms and struggled with complex tasks. The findings could be used to spot those at risks of …
The distribution of white supremacist propaganda nearly doubled across the US in 2020, according to the Anti-Defamation League, which recorded 5,125 incidents of racist, antisemitic and other hateful messages, averaging around 14 cases a day. This compared with 2,724 in 2019. My reaction : Firstly, we are all human beings. Secondly, there is nothing inherently …
Since the 2020 election, state legislatures have introduced more than 250(!) anti-voter bills particularly targeting Black and Brown voters. Millions of dollars in political spending from big donors and wealthy special interests — often spent anonymously — are tilting (have tilted?) the balance of our democracy towards special interests. Meanwhile, partisan and racial gerrymandering is …
“Have we crossed a line in surrendering freedoms? Having locked down the country for the best part of a year and suspended basic civil liberties once, we are far more likely to do it again. We have crossed a line and it will stay crossed. “Ensuring that the powers the government has granted itself are …
Continue reading ‘Once granted a certain power, politicians seldom give it up’ »
It is unacceptable that the 712,000 people who live in DC should have no representation in Congress. In South Dakota ( population 892,000) the idea of DC being made a State of the Union was recently rejected because, I quote, it is “incredibly smaller than any other state in geography. The major economic activity is …
More than 25% of Americans are likely to refuse the vaccine, according to an international study Only 11% of US citizens said they trusted their government to be a reliable source of information on vaccines, compared with 30% in the UK. Three out of four Republicans don’t think Joe Biden won the election legitimately. About …
An education commission formed by the Trump administration after last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests issued a report this week equating progressive politics with fascism and accusing American educators of brainwashing kids. The “1776 Report” prepared by the 18-member commission—with no professional historians—called for “patriotic education,” blasting educators for highlighting the nation’s “sins.” The commission …
Up to 200 academics from more than a dozen UK universities are being investigated on suspicion of unintentionally helping the Chinese government build weapons of mass destruction. China overtakes Russia as world’s biggest state hacker. Russia warns US against including China at nuclear disarmament talks. China uses microwave weapons to blast Indian troops in disputed border …
Continue reading ‘Are we taking the threat of China and its chief megalomaniac seriously enough?’ »
“The past conduct of the suspected white supremacists so alarmed investigators that their names had been previously entered into the national Terrorist Screening Database, a massive collection of individuals flagged as potential security risks, according to people familiar with evidence gathered in the FBI’s investigation. The presence of so many watchlisted individuals in one place …
The commander of the D.C. National Guard has said the Pentagon restricted his authority ahead of the riot at the U.S. Capitol, requiring higher level sign-off to respond that cost time as the events that day spiraled out of control. Local commanders typically have the power to take military action on their own to save …
When you read about desperate refugees crossing the English Channel in dinghies, do you ever ask yourself why these people left home in the first place? Few give it much thought. To most, migrants seem just a fact of life. But the reality is they’re “the thin edge of the wedge of a vast exodus” …
Continue reading ‘The cataclysm caused by the war on terror’ »
The Capitol riot highlighted the need for DC statehood in tragic, terrifying relief. The 700,000 residents of DC watched as racist armed insurrectionists took over city streets, hotels, restaurants, Airbnbs, and peaceful neighborhoods before and after the Capitol attack, powerless to do anything about it. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser was hamstrung in her attempt to …
Continue reading ‘The attempted coup and the District of Columbia’ »
