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Reflections on politics of the week
Slavery reparations, accusations of fascism and a pre-Budget comms cock-up have kept commentators on their toes
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Eliot Wilson
1
The West Wing at 25: changing the game
Aaron Sorkin's high-minded political drama made its debut 25 years ago today, and, though it has flaws and critics, it revolutionised the way TV…
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Eliot Wilson
6
The 51st state? Why the US has stopped growing
This week marked the 65th anniversary of the last addition to the stars on the American flag as Hawaii became a state: has the "more perfect union" been…
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Eliot Wilson
2
Robert Kennedy Jr pulls out: now what?
Third-party candidates rarely perform well in US presidential elections, and are rarely more than a blip: RFK Jr's campaign has confirmed rather than…
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Eliot Wilson
3
The lesser of two evils: how much should be expect of Never-Trump Republicans?
A claque of high-profile Republicans has appeared at the Democratic National Convention this week but they have had to undertake an arduous political…
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Eliot Wilson
2
The imperial presidency: Nixon to Trump
Fifty years ago today, Richard Nixon resigned as President of the United States, a unique act: what drove him from office would not make Donald Trump…
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Eliot Wilson
Strengthening America's hand in the Pacific
The Pentagon is upgrading its presence in Japan to strengthen its challenge to China, but there may be a degree of reinforcing the alliance before a…
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Eliot Wilson
Biden was not selfless, he grudgingly accepted reality
Timothy Snyder hailed Biden as "humanly magnificent and morally extraordinary", a staggeringly sycophantic reframing of the president's eventual…
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Eliot Wilson
3
NATO and military assistance to Ukraine
The alliance has appointed a veteran UK civil servant and former NATO official to the new post of Senior Representative in Ukraine, starting in…
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Eliot Wilson
2
The US presidential race: observations
It is four weeks since President Joe Biden and Donald Trump walked onstage in Atlanta for the first presidential debate: a lot has happened since then
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Eliot Wilson
2
Sunday round-up 14 July 2024
Bastille Day! Also birthday greetings to Bruce Oldfield and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, while the Church of England commemorates John Keble
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Eliot Wilson
1
A collection of political insults
Politics is a contact sport and participants sometimes let loose with invective: the best insults are clever, shocking and/or contain an uncomfortable…
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Eliot Wilson
6
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