The shoddy, shabby treatment of the. British Ambassador to Washington raises the immediate question: who leaked his very accurate assessment of Trump? My favourite explanation is that the Foreign Office computer system was hacked by an insider with a view of getting Darroch replaced – by Nigel Farrage. Who would want this and why? Principally, Boris Johnson (an …
Continue reading ‘Ambassador Darroch’s unresolved resignation’ »
“Jesters and satirists have always been valued for speaking truth to power. But now they’re winning office themselves. When comedian Beppe Grillo joked his way into Italian politics a decade ago, he seemed a one-off. Turns out, he was a “harbinger of things to come”. Since then, Tiririca – an actual clown – has become …
“In Britain and the US a deep crisis of conservatism has been building since the end of the Reagan and Thatcher governments. It is a crisis of competence, of intellectual energy and coherence, of electoral effectiveness, and – perhaps most serious of all – of social relevance.”. (The Guardian, 28 May 2019). If this is …
I don’t want to bore non-Brits with too many comments on Brexit, existential though it is. But I would like to tell a short story. My wife and I were recently walking round an ancient Greek temple in Sicily when a man, who I had never seen before in my life, approached me, and, with his …
Epicurus counseled us to avoid politics and politicians, and watching the antics of politicians in the US, the UK (and, come to think of it the majority of other nations ) he was right. But we are experiencing another attack of world-wide irrational rage and lust for careless and cruel destruction last seen in the …
Support for remaining in the EU is above 80% in most EU countries. Asked how they would vote in an in-out referendum, 94% of people in Luxembourg said “in”, as did 92% of people in Portugal, and 91% in Ireland and the Netherlands. In the UK, the poll found that 55% want to remain, making …
Continue reading ‘As we await the results of the EU Parliamentary elections…..’ »
More than 87,000 properties in England and Wales, worth £100bn in total, are owned by anonymous companies registered in tax havens. (The Week, 23 March 2019) If you think this is sleazy, wait until Britain is out of the EU. Given the main cheerleaders of Brexit one has to conclude that one motivation of the …
Continue reading ‘Britain is the bolthole for crooked money from all over the world’ »
If we really want the parties to reconnect with voters, we should import – from Australia, say, or Brazil – a far more important innovation: compulsory voting. Obliging people to cast a ballot may sound illiberal: but it has the huge advantage of forcing political parties “to reach beyond their comfort zone”. Labour could no …
The U.S Attorney general, William Barr has excused the wild behavior of the President by explaining, without a hint of humour or irony, that the President gets “emotional”. Wow! One of the frequent Republican accusations against women in charge of anything is that they are too “emotional” to be able to run whole countries or …
When asked which of the main British political parties they felt an affinity with, 19% of voters said the Tories, 15% Labour, and 3% the Lib Dems; 54% said none. (Lord Ashcroft Polls/The Mail on Sunday, April 2019). The political class has betrayed the country, and the country knows it. No wonder Epicurus disliked …
Back in 2001, when George W. Bush came to power, he and the neocons could see nothing standing in their way. There was a weakened and impoverished Russia (still with its nuclear arsenal more or less intact). There was a Communist-gone-capitalist China focused on its own growth and little else. And there were a set …
We are now well into the third version of the German European empire. Startling claim? Only if you haven’t studied history. German Empire, Mark 1 (if you exclude the medieval “Holy Roman” version): the strikingly stupid German Kaiser, sitting astride a belligerent Prussian- dominated army and a burgeoning industrial economy, jealous of the British and …
Continue reading ‘Where the British went wrong. (a bit long, but something to debate)’ »
So the Mueller Report has cleared Trump and his staff from conspiring with Putin and Russia to win the election. Phew!!!! Thank goodness. The thought that one’s own Head of State was a traitor would have been intolerable. For the sake of peace of mind this is great news. Mueller is a good man and …
Continue reading ‘Good news! We can stop worrying about treachery!’ »
Continued from yesterday: The Trump administration is, in fact, experiencing increasing difficulty finding allies ready to join a new Coalition of the Willing to confront Iran. The only two charter members so far, Israel and Saudi Arabia, are, however, enthusiastic indeed. Last month there was a rally in Warsaw to promote war, featuring Netanyahu as …
(The following 3 paragraphs are by Tom Engelhardt, editor of Tom Dispatch, the inside, go-to publication for military affairs, edited for length. Go to tomdispatch@nationinstitute.org It is possible that the next U.S. military disaster of the twenty-first century might be Iran. That country has, of course, had a significant spot on Washington’s war-making to-do list since …
Donors Trust is an American non-profit donor-advised fund. It was founded in 1999 with the goal of “safeguarding the intent of libertarian and conservative donors”. Like all donor-advised funds, Donors Trust can offer anonymity to its clients who do not wish to make their donations public. It makes grants to charities that are not dependent …
Since 30 March 2018, at least 250 Palestinians have been killed and 6,000 injured with live ammunition amid Israel’s use of force against “Great March of Return” protestors in Gaza. Among the casualties, three health workers – Musa Abu-Hassanin, Razan al-Najjar and Abdallah al-Qutati – have been shot dead by Israeli forces while trying to …
Maduro is a tyrant; any defence of him is inexcusable. Under Maduro’s presidency, Venezuela’s economy has collapsed, inflation has skyrocketed and goods shortages are increasingly common. Despite being blessed with abundant natural resources, systemic corruption, cronyism and an authoritarian political culture have left the country in ruins. No one can defend Maduro and have any moral …
Continue reading ‘Brief thoughts on the crisis in Venezuela’ »
The Atlantic’s David Frum is one of my favourite American columnists. A thoughtful conservative and provocative Trump critic, Frum doesn’t shy away from eviscerating both the Right and the Left. In contrast to ever-increasing partisanship, Frum’s independence of thought and lack of partisanship makes for refreshing reading. Last November, Frum made the comprehensive case for …
Continue reading ‘Why Liberal Republicanism is an oxymoron: A response to David Frum’ »
President Trump has named a former Fox News journalist with no background in international relations as his pick for America’s new ambassador to the UN. The crucial role – which former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley will be leaving at the end of the year – has previously gone to scholars, diplomats or experienced politicians. …
