by Lorena Figueroa in El Paso and Ciudad Juárez on (#6G4MR)
Puppet depicting migrant Syrian girl has walked halfway around to the world, now at border comforting refugees and asylum seekersAfter two years of walking halfway around the world searching for her mother and a new home, a 10-year-old Syrian girl made it to the US-Mexico border.She reached gate 36 of the port of entry in the border fence, where crowds of asylum seekers and refugees have crossed into the US. Continue reading...
The former president will take the stand in Manhattan on Monday - and the future of his corporate empire is at stakeYou can't con people - at least not for long," Donald Trump observed in his 1987 bestseller The Art of the Deal. You can create excitement, you can do wonderful promotion and get all kinds of press, and you can throw in a little hyperbole. But if you don't deliver the goods, people will eventually catch on."The former president spent decades trying to create excitement with wonderful levels of promotion, getting all kinds of press, and throwing in more than a little hyperbole. But did he have the goods? Continue reading...
Despite a warning from the state, board supervisors threaten to sue if Shasta county registrar uses voting machinesIn Shasta county, California, voters will decide this week on a school board race, the formation of a new fire department and a local tax. What observers in California and across the US are watching most is not what they will choose - but how their votes will be counted.In the past months, Shasta has come to play an outsize role nationally as officials in this rural region of northern California have taken center stage in the election denial movement, which proposes fixes" like the sole use of manual tallies to enhance election integrity" based on the lie that the presidency was stolen from Donald Trump. Continue reading...
I may be in denial about my computer being on the blink, but after another hot and muggy Halloween, one thing is frighteningly clearI fear the Apple Store. It's a disorienting cross between a Los Angeles hotel lobby, the place where everyone over 30 gets killed in Logan's Run and the headquarters of Hydra TM (R). The protocols for attracting a staff member seem inexplicably opaque, like the rules for bidding in an auction, or initiating a new friendship. They induce mild panic attacks and my heart flutters as groomed twentysomethings, who could be customers or staff, waft by me, geishas for Steve Jobs's ghost. Why aren't there any queues? Can I just sit in here quietly and eat the things from my bag? Is there a duty free section?In the Apple Store, I never know if a commercial transaction is taking place, or if I am just involved in a continuing discussion about my needs", a situation I admittedly find replicated in my dealings with my therapist and people generally. And there is now a raised area at the rear of the Regent Street branch in London that suggests a ziggurat. Here, ancient Aztecs tore out people's hearts to appease Quetzalcoatl, a sacrifice still less demanding than the financial one required buy a new Apple laptop. When I mentioned, to the charming young man attending me, that the shop design made me think of the death rituals of the winged serpent worshippers, he just smiled, as if I were complimenting Apple's bold aesthetics. But I will have to go to the Apple Store again. Soon.Basic Lee tour dates are here; a six-week London run begins 9 December at Leicester Square theatreDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk Continue reading...
When political solutions lose out to vengeance, in Aeschylus's words, Where will it end?'Watching the tragedy unfold in Israel and Palestine has sometimes felt like reading the Oresteia backwards. A trilogy of plays by Aeschylus, written in the fifth century BC, the Oresteia tells of the transformation of ancient Greece from a society rooted in blood and revenge into one shaped by justice.The Oresteia begins with the return home from the Trojan war of Agamemnon, the leader of the triumphant Greeks. He is brutally murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra, in furious revenge for his having ritually sacrificed their daughter Iphigenia on the eve of conflict to placate the gods. Continue reading...
A female-centred workplace is a more appreciative one, Swedish research finds, but with a gender gap of 8%, nice doesn't cut it with payWe got the official data on UK earnings last week. It included the joyful reminder that last year our pay didn't keep up with rising prices, for the ninth year in the 14 years since 2010. Something we used to think almost never happened, has become painfully normal.But you all know your wages aren't going as far as they used to, so let's focus on what the data tells us is going on gender pay gap-wise. Among full-time employees it's 8%. On the positive side, that's way down from an absolutely staggering 36% in 1971, but it hasn't budged much in recent years. The remaining gap is largely about workers aged 40-plus, which is the age at which the very different impacts of having children kick in on mothers' and fathers' careers.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk Continue reading...
Kaoru Nakajima's lavish birthday party in Palermo follows Google's annual summer camps' that seek to convey credibility and longevitySicilians were bewildered last week to see a Japanese billionaire, Kaoru Nakajima, block booking entire sections of their city for his extended birthday party. Palermo's most deluxe hotels were completely occupied by Japanese celebrants. The seating of the grand Politeama theatre was rearranged so that his 1,400 guests could also dine and dance. The opera house, Teatro Massimo, was closed for a private performance of Don Giovanni, with Riccardo Muti conducting.These pharaonic festivities caused consternation and controversy because Sicily is all about beguiling simplicity. There's immense panache to the island, of course, but it's sometimes at the spit-and-sawdust end of the spectrum. So Sicilians perceived something profoundly inauthentic, even unfair, about thousands of jet-setters renting their city for a lavish, gargantuan party. Continue reading...
Silicon Valley tech showmen like Elon Musk and Sam Bankman-Fried can blind us with science. A little more scepticism would not go amissGreat wealth has always signified status, but today tech wealth also signifies having special futuristic insights denied the rest of us, which the Silicon Valley billionaires are all too ready to dispense and we are too ready to receive. Thus the spectacle of the British prime minister fawning over the banal utterances of the world's richest man as prophecies from an entrepreneurial god who deigns to walk among us. On the same day, a bizarre hi-tech huckster, once no less fawned over, was convicted of a $10bn fraud and faces imprisonment for up to 110 years. This bewildering world has robbed everyone from limelight-seeking political leaders to greedy investors of their senses. There has been a collective loss of our sceptical faculties.The obstacle to any such scepticism is that amid the hype, banality, self-deception and sometimes outright fraud is the truth that, on occasion, real wealth and technological breakthroughs are being created at dizzying speed. Elon Musk, interviewed in that notorious fireside chat" by Rishi Sunak after the prime minister had hosted the world's first AI safety summit at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire last week, owes the bulk of his $200bn-plus fortune to the success of his electric car producer, Tesla. It has sold more than a million Model 3 vehicles, helping to deliver the death knell to the petrol engine and with it the age of fossil fuels. Continue reading...
Frankie Dettori, Ryan Moore and William Buick all produced memorable winning ridesHere comes Cody's Wish, taking on National Treasure, who fights back right on the wire .... PHOTO!Off and running in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile! Continue reading...
Bad news for Florida governor's campaign, with favorability falling throughout 2023 and a GOP debate scheduled for WednesdayFive Republican legislators in Florida have switched their endorsements from rightwing governor Ron DeSantis to former US president Donald Trump before a key party nomination debate in Miami next week.The move is another boost to Trump - who remains dominant in the 2024 Republican race - and a blow to DeSantis, whose once highly anticipated bid for the White House has recently floundered badly. All recent polling has shown Trump with a strong lead over his rivals and DeSantis being edged out of second place by the former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley. Continue reading...
Michigan Democrat is only Palestinian American in Congress and warns Biden voters will remember in 2024'Michigan Democratic congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American member of Congress, has released a video accusing Joe Biden of supporting the genocide of the Palestinian people".Tlaib has been a withering critic of Biden's staunch backing of the Israeli war against Hamas in Gaza and the White House refusal to listen to demands from some progressive Democrats to back calls for a ceasefire. Continue reading...
It's always been an unreliable process, so let's think again about how to recruit the right peopleIn the evolutionary arms race between interviewer and interviewee, I think it is inevitable that both roles will at some point be played fully by robots. AI is already helping us to filter through CVs - one day, we will be able to leave chatbots entirely to it: everywhere, in pockets of cyberspace, one large language model will be offering another a seat and asking about the last challenge it faced at work, while we humans get on with something more useful.We came one step closer to this utopia recently, when one - clearly quite brilliant - job candidate was revealed to be using AI to feed her answers during a Zoom interview. A phone app recorded the questions in real time and delivered perfect" replies, which she calmly read off the screen, thus demonstrating innovation, resourcefulness, and a healthy disrespect for the whole interview process. I hope she gets the job. Continue reading...
From Afghanistan and Ukraine to the Middle East, the US president faces the fallout from his predecessor's foreign policy blundersIs Joe jinxed? In less than three years as US president, Joe Biden has faced more than his fair share of international crises. America's withdrawal from Afghanistan blew up in his hands like a cluster bomb. Then came Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Europe's biggest war since 1945. Now, suddenly, the Middle East is in flames.It could just be bad luck. Or it could be Biden, who prides himself on foreign policy expertise, is not as good at running the world as he thinks. But there is another explanation. It's called Donald Trump. If Biden's presidency is cursed, it's by the toxic legacy of the very stable genius" who preceded him.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
Agricultural department says multiple states will be affected, forcing a brainstorm of backup plansThe tiny, half-pint cartons of milk served with millions of school lunches nationwide may soon be scarce in some cafeterias, with districts across the country scrambling to find alternatives.The problem is not a shortage of milk itself, but the cardboard cartons used to package and serve it, according to dairy industry suppliers and state officials. Continue reading...
The former South Carolina governor is rising in the polls but despite executive and foreign policy experience she has a mountain to climbOn Monday, Nikki Haley returned to the building where her political career began to formally submit the paperwork to appear on the Republican presidential primary ballot in her home state of South Carolina. Haley held up her filing for the cameras. In loopy writing she had scrawled: Let's do this!"The exclamation punctuated Haley's emergence as a viable alternative to Donald Trump. It comes nearly 20 years after Haley's election to the South Carolina statehouse, having bested a 30-year Republican incumbent in a come-from-behind victory that stunned her party and began her unlikely ascent to the governor's mansion and then to become Donald Trump's ambassador to the United Nations. Continue reading...
The Minnesota representative has angered some supporters by running against the president for the Democratic nominationFor people who know the Democratic Minnesota congressman Dean Phillips, his run for presidency is perplexing. For some of them, it's also disappointing, maybe even enraging. But they also think he's genuine in his quest to go up against Joe Biden in the Democratic primary, despite how it might affect his own political career and how it could damage Biden in one of the most consequential elections in recent US history.Phillips announced his run for the presidency in New Hampshire last week, saying it was time for the next generation to lead in a pointed reference to concerns about Biden's age. He says he is a fan of Biden's and a supporter of his policies, but he is 54, while Biden is 80. Phillips, the heir to a distilling empire who also co-owned a gelato company, is injecting his own wealth into his presidential campaign - solving any problem of raising funds. Continue reading...
Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr both testified in a trial featuring a copious paper trail, plenty of blame shifting and a gag orderThe fifth week of the New York fraud trial of Donald Trump ended smack in the middle of a family affair and with another gag order for the combative Trump team.Trump's elder sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, took the witness stand in New York this week and testified they had little knowledge about the financial statements at the center of the case. Next week, Donald Trump is expected to take the stand on Monday, followed by daughter Ivanka Trump on Wednesday. Continue reading...
Evidence suggests insurrection' clause of 14th amendment could apply but biggest challenge may be outside the courtroomWhen Scott Gessler stepped up to the lectern in a Denver courtroom on Monday, he opened with a full-throated defense of American democracy.When it comes to decide who should lead our nation, it's the people of the United States of America who should make those decisions," he said. This court should not interfere with that fundamental value - that rule of democracy." Continue reading...
Republican Carolyn Carluccio, running for supreme court, has drawn ire over apparent opposition to abortion accessPennsylvania voters will select a new member of the state's supreme court on Tuesday in a judicial election that has become the unlikely focus of Republican billionaire donors, political action committees and abortion rights advocates.Democrat Daniel McCaffery is facing off against Carolyn Carluccio, a conservative judge whose apparent opposition to abortion access has drawn the ire of Planned Parenthood and other reproductive justice groups. Continue reading...
As the relationship is tested by the Israel-Hamas war, it's clear a more flexible dynamic is needed to help secure a lasting peaceWith Gaza bombarded, with thousands dead and its infrastructure largely in ruins, is it ever acceptable for a German to criticise Israel? Almost the entire German political establishment and most of those in public life apparently think not.Since 7 October, the day Hamas fighters inflicted carnage on a music festival and on kibbutzim inside Israel, all the main parties - the three making up the government, plus the Conservative CDU opposition and even the far-right AfD - have spoken with one voice, in solidarity with Israel. It is not lost on Germans that more Jews were killed on that one day than on any single day since the defeat of the Third Reich.John Kampfner's latest book is In Search of BerlinDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
Posting can turn into a privacy risk - and in a changing online landscape, it's become another parental identity markerAn old friend asked me recently why I never put my son's face online. Can you explain the not showing pics of babies thing to me?" she asked. Everyone our age seems to obscure their baby's face with emojis. I feel as if I've missed a key essay on the morality of baby pic social media publication."I don't do the emoji thing - in fact I've even stopped showing the back of his head, or any aspect of his home life, really - but I know what she means. A few years ago, sharenting, as it's been called, felt like the norm among my social circle. These days I see far fewer babies' faces on social media. Concerns about online privacy and safeguarding, as well as facial recognition and the commercial use of personal data, are far more prevalent than they were in the early days of Facebook. In fact, you could say that whether or not you share photos has become another parental identity marker, up there with breastfeeding, cloth nappies and baby-led weaning as evidence that you're doing things the right way", not like those other parents". Continue reading...
As he completes his first year in office, Iraq's prime minister writes of how the Israel-Hamas war has rekindled memories of his country's own violent past and how it is trying to rebuildFew countries have endured the suffering and conflict that Iraq has experienced over the past 50 years. The tragic events in Gaza bring back painful memories for the Iraqi people. Red lines have been crossed, with civilians enduring unimaginable suffering, and as a result there is an urgent need for critical humanitarian assistance.Here in Iraq, we stand in strong solidarity with the Palestinian people, and our country has committed to providing substantial aid, all the while working with our international partners to bring a swift end to this tragedy. Continue reading...
Abby Zwerner was hospitalized for two weeks after the January shooting and is suing school administrators for negligenceA teacher who was shot by her six-year-old student in Virginia can press forward with her $40m lawsuit against a school system over claims of negligence by school administrators, a judge ruled Friday.The surprise decision by the Newport News circuit court judge Matthew Hoffman means that Abby Zwerner could get much more than just workers' compensation for the serious injuries caused by January's classroom shooting. Continue reading...
Ridden by Tom Marquand, Big Evs got the European challenge off to an ideal start1. FIERCENESS, 2. Muth, 3. Locked.Ok, as anyone who has stuck with this must surely now be aware, the tech here at Santa Anita is in a desperate state. I'm doing what I can but it's taking five minutes to send an email. Continue reading...
Congressional progressives say proposed $14.3bn breaches 1997 Leahy act as assault on Gaza has overwhelmingly harmed civiliansLeftwing Democrats in Congress have invoked a landmark law barring assistance to security forces of governments deemed guilty of human rights abuses to challenge the Biden administration's emergency military aid program for Israel.Members of the Democratic party's progressive wing say the $14.3bn package pledged by the White House after the 7 October attack by Hamas that killed more than 1,400 Israelis breaches the Leahy Act because Israel's retaliatory assault on Gaza has overwhelmingly harmed civilians. An estimated 9,000 people have been killed in Gaza so far, among them 3,700 children, according to the Gaza health ministry, run by Hamas. Continue reading...
Arthur Engoron forbids Trump's lawyers from discussing confidential communications' between the judge and his staffThe judge overseeing Donald Trump's $250m fraud trial moved to gag Trump's lawyers from talking about confidential communications" between the judge and his staff on Friday.Judge Arthur Engoron has already fined Trump $15,000 for attacking his clerk on social media and threatened to jail the former president if the attacks continue. Continue reading...
Mark Levin called Wolf Blitzer and Jake Tapper self-hating Jews' on syndicated radio show, prompting furious responseFor the second time in two days, the White House denounced Fox News over remarks by a host relating to the Israel-Hamas war, following condemnation of Jesse Watters' apparent incitement of violence against Arab Americans with condemnation of Mark Levin for calling two CNN anchors self-hating Jews".Andrew Bates, a spokesperson, said: President Biden believes in an America where we come together against hate and don't fan its flames. But not only is Fox News aligning with those who fan the flames of hate - Fox is paying their salaries." Continue reading...
Ballots from voters of color are being flagged for rejection at much higher rates ahead of election day this month, party analysis saysVirginia Democrats are concerned that non-white voters in the state are getting their mail-in ballots flagged for possible rejection at much higher rates than their white counterparts ahead of a closely watched election day on Tuesday.Virginia, like all states, requires voters to fill out certain information on the envelope in which they return their ballot. In Virginia that includes their name, address, birth year and last four digits of their social security number. If any of that information is missing, voters have until 13 November to provide it. If they don't provide it by the deadline, the ballot is rejected. Continue reading...
Tax-burdened property owned by the descendants of formerly enslaved people in South Carolina is being sold to hedge funds and developersOn 2 October, in a gymnasium in Beaufort, South Carolina, an auctioneer announced real estate properties that were up for bid. At different points throughout the proceedings, several people rose from their seats and yelled: Heirs' property!" The auctioneer would then clarify for the hundreds of others in attendance - those who had come hoping to buy land - that the property up for bid belonged to descendants of enslaved people, a group known as the Gullah-Geechee. The owners had failed to pay taxes; therefore, their homes and land had been seized by Beaufort county and were up for public sale.The custom at these delinquent tax sales in Beaufort is to abstain from bidding on Gullah land, the aforementioned heirs' property". Across the low country, land once owned by formerly enslaved people and their descendants is being lost rapidly to development. With that land loss comes the degradation of Gullah culture, which once flourished in places like Beaufort, Hilton Head and other islands off the eastern coast of the US. As a means to help preserve Gullah land from this tide of coastal development, officials in Beaufort county allow heirs, as the descendants are called, to claim their land when it comes up for bid at auction. The hope, in explaining to attendees that the county's practice is deference to the owners, is that would-be bidders will respect the custom and not make offers on the historic land. Continue reading...
A lasting peace has to become thinkable again. And it will be - if extremists on both sides are shunnedBeneath the surface of the war between Israel and Hamas, another conflict rages. In this clash, the battle lines are drawn in a very different place, and the alliances and enmities take unexpected shapes. We got a glimpse of it this week - and when the current violence subsides, we shall see it even more starkly.Right now, that moment - what diplomats and others refer to as the day after" - seems a long way off, though the visit to Israel on Friday of the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, suggests that Washington is already looking at its watch: proof that even some of Israel's staunchest allies are alarmed by the mounting loss of life in Gaza. Blinken is urging Israel to do more to protect civilians; others demand a ceasefire, or at least a pause. Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is under pressure. But this week, as he sought to make Israel's case, he received help from an unexpected quarter. Continue reading...
While Equinox, officially the best horse in the world, is not here, Japan's challenge is spread across both the dirt and turfThe 40th running of the main Saturday card at the Breeders' Cup in California this weekend will, like most of the previous 39, have a bubbling undercurrent of intercontinental rivalry throughout the nine races, as many of the best racehorses in the world compete for $22m in prize money. Auguste Rodin and King Of Steel, first and second in the Derby at Epsom in June, are among the European star names that will take on the Americans on their home turf, alongside Mawj, Mostahdaf, Inspiral and plenty more.It is a familiar dynamic to jumping fans used to the Anglo-Irish rivalry at Cheltenham each March. This time, however, it comes with a twist, because the latest renewal of this annual meeting of the continents promises to be a three-way go. As a result, Santa Anita in 2023 could yet come to be seen as the moment when the Breeders' Cup finally lived up to its longstanding claim to be the world championship" of horse racing. Continue reading...
In Manhattan court, Don Jr couldn't remember much about the company he works for - and brother Eric had trouble, tooIn 1990, Ronald Reagan testified at the trial of John Poindexter, his former national security adviser caught up in the Iran-Contra affair. Two years out of office, questioned for eight hours, the former US president memorably said I don't recall" or I can't remember" no less than 88 times.This week, the two adult sons of one of Reagan's Republican successors took the stand in New York, for testimony in a $250m civil fraud trial in which the judge has already determined the family's guilt and now seeks to determine their penalty. Continue reading...
Frick Pittsburgh staff said exhibit would be insensitive' to Jewish community, but decision angered both Muslims and Jewish peopleOfficials at a Pittsburgh museum have promised to repair our relationships with the Muslim community" amid criticism of its decision to postpone an Islamic art exhibition because of the Israel-Hamas war.Staff at Frick Pittsburgh believed pressing ahead with its Treasured Ornament: 10 Centuries of Islamic Art exhibition, which had been scheduled to open Saturday, would be insensitive" to the Jewish community and others, according to the museum's director and internal emails reported by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Continue reading...
Ex-president's second son says he relied on accountants and lawyers to check financial records judge has ruled to be fraudulentEric Trump, one of the two sons trusted to run Donald Trump's real estate empire, testified on Friday that he was not involved with the financial documents a judge has ruled to be fraudulent, in a trial that threatens to hobble his family's business.In a second day on the witness stand, the former US president's second son said he relied on outside accountants and lawyers to check financial documents. His older brother Donald Trump Jr made the same argument in his testimony earlier this week. Continue reading...
Suspect had been asked to leave by security at Oconee nuclear station about an hour earlier and remains at largeA driver tried to crash through the exit gates of a South Carolina nuclear plant on Thursday night about an hour after security asked the same car to leave when it tried to enter, authorities said.A pop-up security barrier stopped the car with an Arkansas license plate at the Oconee nuclear station near Seneca around 8pm, the Oconee county sheriff's spokesman, Jimmy Watt, said in a statement. Continue reading...
The race for the inaugural NBA Cup tips off on Friday night with all 30 teams set to compete for a newly minted trophy and cash bonusesWhen Greg Popovich is enthused, you know you're onto something. The often-reserved coach of the San Antonio Spurs is known for keeping his composure and not using hyperbole. It's what's helped his team win five NBA championships during his ongoing tenure. Now, though, as the league is set to embark on its latest endeavor - the in-season tournament, beginning on Friday night - the 74-year-old coach says that the event is exciting for everybody". Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the Spurs coach reminded those listening just how driven NBA players are. So, with a chance at winning the new NBA Cup, Pop says teams will rise to the challenge.You have to understand all these guys are very competitive," Popovich says of the NBA workforce. If you put something out there like this, it just adds to that competition." Continue reading...
If it can retake its place at the high table of Middle Eastern politics, the Kremlin would be harking back to the Soviet Union's superpower glory daysOn 26 October, a Hamas delegation headed by politburo member Mousa Abu Marzouk turned up in Moscow for talks that - according to Russian readouts - focused on the safety of Russian citizens in Gaza and the release of hostages. The Russians kept tight-lipped about the real purpose of the visit. The simultaneous presence in Moscow of Iran's deputy foreign minister, Ali Bagheri Kani - who also met Hamas - suggested a troubling degree of coordination between Hamas on the one hand, and Russia and Iran on the other. The Israelis were quick to lodge a protest with Moscow.Feting Hamas just weeks after its terrorist raid on Israel is part and parcel of Vladimir Putin's deliberate strategy of bolstering Russia's waning influence in the Middle East. Deft diplomacy and cynical opportunism can help the Kremlin carve out a role for itself in a region long deemed essential to Russia's great power ambitions. It would not be the first time.Sergey Radchenko is Wilson E Schmidt distinguished professor at the Henry A Kissinger Center, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in BaltimoreDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
Helen MacNamara's quietly devastating evidence to the Covid inquiry reminded me how desperately we need more women channelling their anger into politicsIt's a bleak reflection on 2023 that the Covid inquiry - painstakingly detailing how sloppy, hubris-fuelled mismanagement led to thousands of deaths - passes for light relief in current affairs, but it sort of does. I feel bad enjoying any element of the back-stabbing, score-settling and general squirming: it's a reminder of how noisy, macho gamification of public life characterised the Johnson administration and of the quiet private tragedies that accompanied it. Even so, there's a grim satisfaction in hearing all those unguarded WhatsApps and meeting notes flatly read out confirming, yes, they were just as bad as we suspected; everyone knew Boris Johnson was a callously catastrophic PM, Matt Hancock was a liability and Rishi Sunak's Eat out to help out" was face-palm folly.Anyway, the recent colourful useless fuckpigs" and magic hairdryer" phase has given me an earworm. Helen MacNamara's understatedly devastating evidence on the damage wreaked by an unbelievably bullish" Downing Street culture that failed to consider, respect or listen to women, combined with all those testosterone-heavy, shouty WhatsApps, reminded me of a video that keeps flitting across Instagram. It's Belgian, it's gone semi-viral and it features two female performers in black and pink doing a stompy dance while shouting Frustrated man in politics, take some fucking therapy / Angry woman in therapy, get involved in politics" against an insistent beat.Emma Beddington is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Jamie Raskin says it was an easy call' because Santos hasn't been convicted of a crime, though he faces 23 federal criminal chargesThirty-one Democrats voted not to expel the Republican lawmaker George Santos from the US House of Representatives because he has not been convicted of any crime and to eject him would set a dangerous precedent for Republicans to expel their ideological opponents, a leading congressman said.For me this was an easy call," said Jamie Raskin of Maryland, a law professor and influential progressive who sat on the January 6 committee and was lead manager in Donald Trump's impeachment for inciting the attack on Congress. Continue reading...
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