The EU is politely but firmly calling Boris’s bluff
In the era of fake news and spin-masters, the coverage of the Boris visit to Merkel and Macron by the Tory media in Britain should come as no surprise. Victory salutes and breakthroughs were trumpeted. Boris was accorded a triumph by the right-wing newspapers who were ardent supporters of Brexit. But the truth is very […]
Making America greater by buying Greenland seems an obvious step for the Trump regime
A “beautiful letter” was the phrase used by Trump to describe the latest missive he had received from Kim Jong Un – just 24 hours before Kim resumed his role as rocket man this August. Unless the letter is published, we shall not be in any position to judge whether it was beautiful in any […]
What is the meaning of and means towards Irish unity
One of the advantages of the silly season days of August is that it gives us space in which to stand back from the trench warfare of conventional political and social discourse and to reflect on other long term and strategic issues. In that spirit, I make this week’s column Trump-free and Brexit-free. I was […]
As Boris mulls over his options the backstop must remain intact
The result of the Brecon and Radnorshire by election was not wholly unexpected. After all the Tory candidate had been found guilty of falsifying his electora expenses records, had been the subject of a recall petition, and had been re-nominated for the by-election in a gross gesture of defiance. The victorious Lib Dems had come […]
To defeat the racist in the White House, the Democrats must win over Middle America
I have never shrunk from calling out Donald Trump here as mad, bad, and dangerous. And so it will come as no surprise if I take the opportunity this week to reflect on the true meaning of his explicitly racist rhetoric including his clear incitement to a rally of his supporters to echo his racism […]
Sir Kim Darroch’s forced resignation was indicative of subservience rather than a “special relationship” between the US and UK
Sir Kim Darroch’s forced resignation at the hands of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson was the entirely predictable outcome of the utterly malicious leaking of his secret communications to the Foreign Office. I don’t buy for a minute the suggestion that the leaking was done by hackers working for a foreign state. Nor do I […]