politicians
Reviews of the politicians kissing babies and running governments around the world; applaud and criticize the decisions they make and their implications.
Trump Has Landed in China — And the Fate of the World’s Oil Supply, a Nuclear Deal, and a Global Trade War May All Be Decided in the Next 48 Hours
Air Force One touched down at Beijing Capital International Airport on Wednesday morning, and the stakes sitting on board that plane were almost impossible to overstate. President Donald Trump has arrived in China for a face-to-face summit with President Xi Jinping — his first visit to the country since 2017 — and the agenda is so packed with life-or-death issues that analysts are calling it the most consequential U.S.-China meeting in a generation.
By Gideon Polycarp4 months ago in The Swamp
Wes Streeting Prepares Leadership Bid as Pressure on Starmer Explodes. AI-Generated.
Britain’s ruling Labour Party is facing one of its most serious internal crises since taking power, after reports emerged that Health Secretary Wes Streeting is considering resigning from the cabinet and launching a leadership challenge against Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
By Veronica Bennett4 months ago in The Swamp
Netanyahu Just Said He Wants to Cut U.S. Military Aid to Israel to Zero. Strategically, It Makes Sense. Diplomatically, It Is a Bombshell. Here Is Why.
In an interview that has reverberated across global diplomatic circles this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CBS News that the time has come for Israel to wean itself from U.S. military assistance — reducing the annual aid package of $3.8 billion, the largest American military assistance program to any country on earth, to zero. "It's time we weaned ourselves from the remaining military support" from the US, Netanyahu said, telling CBS that he wants to reduce the funding "to zero." The statement, which would have been politically unimaginable in any previous era of U.S.-Israel relations, is being interpreted by analysts and diplomats as simultaneously a statement of genuine strategic intent, a piece of domestic Israeli politics, and a carefully calculated signal to both Washington and the wider world about the state of the alliance after the Iran war.
By Gideon Polycarp4 months ago in The Swamp
Why Magic Johnson’s Karen Bass Endorsement Mattered Deeply
Politics often feels distant from ordinary people. Campaign speeches come and go, promises repeat themselves, and public trust grows thinner every year. Yet sometimes a single endorsement changes the emotional tone of an election. That is exactly what happened when Magic Johnson publicly supported Karen Bass during the Los Angeles mayoral race.
By Muqadas khan4 months ago in The Swamp
Nobel Peace Prize Winner Narges Mohammadi Has Collapsed in Prison and Is Now in a Tehran Hospital. Her Supporters Say She Is Dying. Iran's Government Is Barely Responding.
As the world's attention fixed on Iran's nuclear counter-proposal and the Strait of Hormuz crisis, a quieter and equally devastating story emerged from inside Iran's prison system on Sunday, May 10. Narges Mohammadi — the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Iranian human rights activist, and one of the world's most prominent political prisoners — lost consciousness inside Zanjan Prison, was transferred to a local hospital, and has now been moved to a hospital in Tehran following days of urgent appeals from her family and supporters. The Iranian government has granted her a suspended sentence and temporary release on bail. Her foundation says this is not enough. They are calling for her unconditional freedom and the dismissal of all charges against her. They say she needs permanent, specialised medical care. And they are right to say so.
By Gideon Polycarp4 months ago in The Swamp
Trump Flies to Beijing This Week — With No Iran Deal, $4.52 Gas, and a Failed Ceasefire in His Pocket. What the Trump-Xi Summit Actually Needs to Accomplish.
On Wednesday, May 13, President Donald Trump is scheduled to board Air Force One for Beijing — where he will sit down with President Xi Jinping for a two-day summit covering the most consequential collection of global crises in decades. Taiwan. The Iran war. The Strait of Hormuz. The U.S.-China trade relationship. China's support for Russia. Ukraine's future. Trump has publicly predicted a warm welcome, telling reporters he expects Xi to offer him "a big, fat hug." The diplomatic reality is considerably less cuddly. Trump arrives in Beijing with no Iran peace deal — having just called Iran's counter-proposal "totally unacceptable." He arrives with U.S. gasoline prices at $4.52 per gallon and Brent crude above $100 a barrel. He arrives with a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire that has already collapsed. He arrives with a July 4 trade ultimatum hanging over the European Union. He arrives, in short, with an agenda so overloaded and a negotiating hand so complicated that even Trump's most ardent admirers would struggle to describe it as a position of strength.
By Gideon Polycarp4 months ago in The Swamp
The Russia-Ukraine Ceasefire Trump Brokered Lasted Less Than 24 Hours. Both Sides Reported Killed and Wounded. Zelensky Says Putin Is "Not Even Trying." What Comes Next?
The three-day ceasefire brokered by President Donald Trump — announced on Friday, May 8, confirmed by Ukrainian President Zelensky and Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, and described by Trump as potentially the "beginning of the end" of the most destructive war in Europe since World War II — began collapsing almost immediately after it came into effect on Saturday morning, May 9. By Sunday night, both Russia and Ukraine had formally accused each other of violating the truce, with both sides reporting killed and wounded personnel from drone and artillery strikes carried out within the ceasefire window. In his evening statement on Sunday, Zelensky said Russia was neither observing the ceasefire "nor even particularly trying to."
By Gideon Polycarp4 months ago in The Swamp
Trump Called Iran's Peace Proposal "TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE." Full-Scale Bombing Is Back on the Table. Here Is Exactly What Went Wrong — and What Happens Next.
Sunday, May 10, 2026, was supposed to be the day hope crystallised into a framework. Iran had promised a response to the U.S. 14-point peace memorandum. Pakistani mediators had confirmed receipt. Diplomatic channels were open. The world was watching. Instead, what came back from Tehran was, in the characterisation of President Donald Trump on Truth Social in capital letters on Sunday night: "TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!"
By Gideon Polycarp4 months ago in The Swamp
Is Iran's nuclear secret buried so deep that no one can actually reach it?
It sounds like something out of a thriller, but it's the reality we're facing right now. Trump wants the material, Iran says even they can’t get to it, and the rest of the world is just holding its breath.
By @HiddenHistory4 months ago in The Swamp
Immunity and Practical Unaccountability
In theory, no one is above the law. This phrase is repeated often enough that it functions as a civic mantra, a reassurance that power is ultimately constrained and that authority remains accountable to the same moral and legal standards imposed on everyone else. On paper, police officers, prosecutors, and government agents are subject to the law just like any citizen. They can be investigated, disciplined, sued, or prosecuted when misconduct occurs.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast4 months ago in The Swamp
Bad Faith Does Not Deserve Comfort
There is a deeply ingrained belief in modern discourse that civility is always morally required, regardless of context. No matter how dishonest a question is, how manipulative the framing, or how distorted the premise, the expectation is that the response must remain gentle, patient, affirming, and emotionally managed. This belief is often treated as self-evident, as though politeness itself were synonymous with virtue.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast4 months ago in The Swamp
Institutions Fear Inference More Than Lies
Institutions are often willing to tolerate isolated falsehoods, minor inaccuracies, selective framing, and even outright contradictions. A single lie can be corrected, buried, explained away, or isolated from the larger structure. What institutions consistently resist is not merely factual disagreement. They resist inference. They resist the moment when separate observations are connected into a pattern, and the pattern begins to imply responsibility.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast4 months ago in The Swamp
