Archive for January 9th, 2019
Romantic Mystery: Buy or Read Free on Kindle Unlimited
Wednesday, January 9th, 2019Trump’s Wall: Is He Losing his Grip?
Wednesday, January 9th, 2019Trump has become his own worst enemy. His mid-east policy, especially in regard to Syria and Saudi Arabia, is a mess. In recent days Pompeo and Bolton have been in the region saying opposite things. Turkey is furious that Trump appears to be back peddling on his Syria withdrawal announcement, anger made worse by the Bolton request for Turkey to protect the Kurdish militias which rightly or wrongly, Ankara regard as terrorists and have done for decades.
Meanwhile China and Russia have cemented their positions in their own spheres of interest and China now holds the keys to ending the trade war Trump started, and the ongoing dialogue with North Korea over its nuclear programme. Europe has given up on Trump and now regards his presidency as something to put up with and manage as best it can, while increasingly ignoring the Trump White House.
And then there is the Wall. This blog is not going to argue the case one way or another. It is worth observing that the majority of Americans are against it, the wall and affordable healthcare were the issues that propelled the Democrats to their major victory in the House, of all the terrorist suspects detained by the US in 2018, only about a half a dozen came from Mexico, 90% of all illicit drugs entering America come through legal points of entry and the nine minute broadcast from the White House yesterday was a bravura performance in the black art of Fake News.
Trump’s poll ratings are falling and the Republican party itself is now becoming de-stabilized by a chaotic White House and a wild card incumbent. Trump may yet surprise and recover. He has done so before. Now everything hinges on the economy. If that falters he might even fail to get the Republican Nomination to run in 2020. He would probably run anyway as a spoiler. The rest you can work out.
Government Defeat: A Game Changer?
Wednesday, January 9th, 2019Yesterday’s cross party victory over the government was interesting. Dismissed by ministers as a minor inconvenience and procedural, it is not a game changer in itself. It has also emerged that parliament cannot directly stop a No Deal Brexit by simply passing an amendment prohibiting it. Therefore if it cannot agree either to May’s plan or some other, no deal is the default position enshrined in both EU and UK law. What yesterday’s vote reveals is that if the hard Brexiteers have a strategic plan to push for no deal, there are enough Tory MP’s willing to put country above party to bring the government down. That is a game changer.