The death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi this week will not mark the end of Islamic state, nor US military efforts against Islamist militancy in the Middle East and beyond. But coming against the backdrop of the US withdrawal from Syria and growing Pentagon preoccupation with great-power rivals such as China, it may mark the end… Read more »
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Against the superhero regime
Two interesting things have been happening in the world of film over the last month. A relatively low-budget, no-special effects movie that places Batman’s Joker in a version of Martin Scorsese’s decaying 1970s-era New York City has become one of the most successful American movies of the year — with clouds of political outrage trailing… Read more »
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‘Human scum,’ ‘lynching’ and Trump’s tortured English
You campaign in poetry, according to a popular saying, and govern in prose. Donald Trump will be impeached in doggerel. I mean his own. The other day he turned to the bounteous trove of the English language for a pejorative worthy of his critics’ awfulness, at least as he sees it. He decided on “human… Read more »
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The tipping system is immoral
For most of my life I’ve been glad that America is a society that relies heavily on tipping. First, tipping allows us to reward excellent service. Second, in a world of rising economic inequality, a 30% to 50% tip is a small but direct way to redistribute money to those who are working hard to… Read more »
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Genocide – thoughts about 1971 and 2019
I always feel emotional whenever I write about genocide and Bangladesh’s Liberation War. It brings back many memories of the period when I was a young man in Calcutta in 1971! As far as genocide is concerned, I grew up in London during the years immediately after the end of the Second World War and… Read more »
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Clinton does Democrats no favour reviving Russia conspiracy talk
As a contender for the US presidency in 2016, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was besieged with opposition rumour and conspiracy theories. Last week, her most significant contribution to next year’s presidential race so far became indulging in the same game, effectively accusing Democratic challenger and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of being the preferred choice… Read more »