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☆ Joseph Stiglitz on why America's appetite for Trump endures
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

If Trump is elected again, Stiglitz said, he could well pull support for Ukraine, sending grain prices soaring. For Stiglitz, the 2001 winner of the Nobel Prize in economics, America's appetite for Trump can be traced back a little more than four decades ago to the election of Ronald Reagan. "We've had 40 years of a neoliberal experiment: Strip away the regulations and lower the taxes — taxes are much lower than they used to be. But Komlos and Stiglitz don't place blame solely on Reagan for the growing economic inequality. Every European country that's had a wealth tax has walked away from it, by and large."

Persons: Donald Trump, Joseph Stiglitz, Trump, Stiglitz, Joe Biden, Ronald Reagan, —, that's, Reagan, We've, Dina Litovsky, Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, That's, Stiglitz doesn't, John Komlos, Komlos, Joe, Bill Clinton, Clinton, Barack Obama, insurrectionists, Desmond Lachman, Carter, Douglas Holtz, Eakin, George W, John McCain's, Holtz, America Stiglitz, Hayek, Friedman, Claudia Sahm, you've, what's Organizations: Columbia Business School, Business, Capitol, Biden, Trump, :, Good Society, America's, Federal Reserve, Budget, Bank, University of Munich, Duke University, University of North, Democratic, North American Free Trade, World Trade Organization, American Enterprise Institute, Bush's, Economic Advisers Locations: Manhattan, Ukraine, Russia, China, Beijing, Taiwan, University of North Carolina, Spain, America

☆ In Praise of Middle Managers - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( David Brooks | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Nobody writes poems about middle managers. So how do these managers work their magic? Let me give you a few features of ethical leadership:Knowing that moral formation is part of the job. When I was starting out at “PBS NewsHour” and I said something he thought was smart, his eyes would crinkle with pleasure. When I said something he thought was crass, his mouth would turn down in displeasure.

Persons: I’ve, Tucker Carlson, Ted Lasso, Lasso, fellas, Jim Lehrer Organizations: PBS

☆ Opinion: Trump’s image is on the line
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

We’re looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. … Deals are my art form.”Having a lot of money distinguished him from other presidential candidates, Trump contended. ‘I don’t need anybody’s money,’ Trump said in his June 2015 presidential campaign announcement.”“Now Trump needs money, a lot of it. In July 2006, she met Trump at a celebrity golf tournament and says that the two had sex that weekend. “Whatever the Fifth Circuit and Supreme Court decide next, the question for President Joe Biden is what to do now,” wrote Lawrence Downes.

Persons: Charles Dickens, “ David Copperfield, Micawber, ” Micawber, “, Dickens, Donald Trump, Letitia James, Trump, he’ll, ”, Tony Schwartz, I’ve, Frida Ghitis, ’ Trump, … Dana Summers, Joe Biden’s, Julian Zelizer, Biden’s, ” Bill Bramhall, Stormy Daniels, Peacock, Ana Marie Cox, Daniels, she’s, Peter Navarro, He’s, Mike Johnson, Kevin McCarthy, House Republicans —, Matt Gaetz ’, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Johnson, Clay Jones, Paul Sracic, Fareed Zakaria, Biden, Peter Bergen, Bashar al, Assad, ” Bergen, Vladimir Putin, Richard Aboulafia, ” David Horsey, Joann, Lynda Gorov, it’s, ” Kate Middleton’s, Princess, Wales, Sara Stewart, Kate, that’s, she’ll, Joe Biden, Lawrence Downes, “ Biden, Greg, Abbott, ’, ” Downes, Trump’s, Jared Kushner, Kushner, Donald Trump’s, Aseel Mousa, Drew Sheneman, Max Besbris, ” Besbris, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Thomas, Eleanor Roosevelt, ‘, ” Don’t, Grace Elizabeth Hale, Elizabeth Yuko, Avi Weiss, Jennifer Jones, Jill Filipovic, Christine Blasey Ford Derrick Johnson, Peter Rutland, Holly Thomas, Lily Allen, Mary Ziegler, Lanhee Chen, Steve Garvey, Adam Schiff, Patricia Grisafi, Caitlin Clark Walt Handelsman, Caitlin Clark, Amy Bass, Kamilla Cardoso, UCLA’s Kiki Rice, ’ ” Clark, Bass, Pete ’ Maravich, Court, Serena Williams, Clark, Maravich …, — Organizations: CNN, New, Trump, Agency, Twitter, Save, Maga Inc, Biden, Content Agency Trump, House Republicans, Rep, Ohio GOP, Russia ISIS, ISIS, Boeing, Airbus, Crafts, Boys, BBC Studios, Circuit, Texas Gov, Abbott, of Justice, Texans, Harvard, National Association of Realtors, United Nations, “, University of Iowa, ESPN, Iowa Hawkeyes, NCAA Division Locations: Save America, New York, Baton Rouge , Louisiana, Ohio, Russia, Moscow, Iraq, Syria, Syrian, “, Iran, Afghanistan, ”, Ukrainian, Windsor, ” Texas, Texas, Gaza, Southern, Rafah, Egypt, Israel, Gaza City, Al, Grace Elizabeth Hale : Mississippi, ‘, California

☆ Opinion: Trump’s pernicious superpower
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

She is a weekly opinion contributor to CNN, a contributing columnist to The Washington Post and a columnist for World Politics Review. His dark vision of what America is today, so divorced from reality, is aimed at frightening voters into supporting him. Frida GhitisThat is Trump’s pernicious superpower. But Trump’s speeches weave a fantasy that turns dark into light, and radiance into shadows. It’s a challenge for Biden, to overcome Trump’s practiced tactics – the Washington Post clocked 30,573 lies and misleading claims during his presidency.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, CNN —, Donald Trump, Trump, Webster, ”, Joe Biden’s, Biden, Herbert Hoover, Jimmy Carter, Abraham Lincoln, Adolf Hitler, White, that’s, “, “ you’re, you’ve, Donald, ” Biden, Trump’s Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Trump, Frida Ghitis CNN, Super, United Nations, NATO, Biden, Political Science Association, Abraham Lincoln 1st, Carnage Locations: Lago, America, Merriam, guffaws, United States

☆ Opinion: This election, Americans are shedding an ugly stereotype
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Increasingly, 2024 is becoming a foreign policy election. Even on domestic policy, one of the top issues is immigration, an area where foreign and domestic policy intersect. But foreign policy has still managed to emerge as a key concern. In 2013, when President Barack Obama launched his second term, I listened to his inaugural speech looking for clues about foreign policy. Americans worry about what’s happening in the world and about the role the United States will play in directing that trajectory.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Jim Hoge, ” It’s, Joe Biden’s, “, Nikki Haley, Donald Trump, Trump, Vladimir Putin, Biden, disparages Putin, Pew, ”, Harris, Barack Obama, …, Bashar al, Assad Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Foreign Affairs, Democratic, Israel, Republican, NATO, Biden, Trump, Hamas, Gallup, Harvard, Islamic, ISIS, West Locations: Michigan, Russia, United States, Ukraine, Israel, China, Taiwan, Gaza, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan

The ex-president will be in Eagle Pass, scene of a border showdown between the Biden administration and Texas Republican Gov. “He spent three years not going to the border,” Trump told Real America’s Voice Tuesday. But White House and Biden campaign officials see a unique opportunity for Biden to point the finger at Republicans on border security. The American voters will see it,” Cedric Richmond, a Biden campaign co-chair, told CNN. And Biden’s decision to immediately undo multiple Trump immigration policies offered an opening to the GOP.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, They’re, Biden, Greg Abbott, Trump, who’s, Biden’s, Reagan, “, ” Trump, ” Biden, it’s, Abbott, Ron DeSantis, Republicans don’t, ” Cedric Richmond, ‘, ’, “ Trump, Alejandro Mayorkas, Mike Johnson, we’re, Laken Hope Riley, Sean Hannity, Alayna Treene Organizations: CNN, Texas Republican Gov, White, Trump, Democratic, Black, State of, Union, Real America’s, Republican, Florida Gov, Biden, Republicans, Democrats, GOP, Homeland, Conservative Political, Conference, Shelby Park, Augusta University, Fox News, Washington Locations: Texas, Eagle, Brownsville, Gaza, State, Mexico, Ukraine, Washington, DC, Asia, Africa, Rio Grande

☆ Politically motivated 'swatting' incidents reveal how common anti-government terrorism is becoming, expert warns
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-21 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

She told Business Insider that the increasing spate of swatting attempts is an intensification of anti-government extremism plaguing the country. An FBI report reviewed by CBS indicated there may be more than 500 recorded swatting calls nationwide since May of 2023. "These are tactics that terrorists have used in the past to disseminate chaos and fear with fake bomb threats — they're not new tactics," Ben-Ghiat told BI. "The thing about these threats is, whatever form they're taking, they normalize the idea of threatening public officials," Ben-Ghiat told BI. Advertisement"That's what Trump does 24/7, hammering the idea 'We're coming for you, don't resist, we're coming for you,'" referring to his administration and supporters, Ben-Ghiat told BI.

Persons: —, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Sen, Rick Scott of, Michelle Wu, Arthur Engoron —, Donald Trump —, Ruth Ben, Ghiat, Strongmen, Mussolini, they're, Ben, Trump, they'll, isn't, Andrew Thomas Finch, Casey Viner, Shane Gaskill, Gaskill, Viner, Tyler Barriss, Brian, he'd, Finch, Barriss, Donald Trump's, he's, Utah Sen, Mitt Romney, who've, autocrats, swatting, aren't, Liz Cheney, they've, that's Organizations: Service, Business, Georgia, Boston, New York University, FBI, CBS, Wichita, Gaskill, Republicans, Fifth, MSNBC, Trump, Ben, Wyoming, Republican Party, GOP Locations: Rick Scott of Florida, York, Utah, Ben

☆ Donald Trump Is the Heir Apparent to George Wallace - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Jamelle Bouie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In a post for the new Opinion blog — which you should read! — I argued that there’s nothing mysterious or hard to grok about Donald Trump’s appeal to a large segment of American voters. It is not hard to find, throughout American history, Trump-like demagogues with loyal followings. And these men tend to represent, most often, the popular expression of a certain will to power — the freedom to dominate. Either way, these demagogues stand for a supposed right to exclude and exploit, always in defense of one hierarchy or another.

Persons: —, Donald Trump’s, I’ve, Jefferson Cowie, Cowie, George Wallace Organizations: Trump, Federal Locations: United States, Barbour County, Ala

☆ Opinion: The fear of physical harm that keeps even Trump’s supporters in line
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The fact that Trump’s team seemed at best ambivalent over what anyone else could clearly see would be a shocking abuse of power was not one of those far-fetched hypotheticals put forth in the law to frame an argument. And it resonated because Trump is once again sending very clear signals that he endorses and even encourages political violence to support his cause. Trump’s adamant refusal to reject political violence strongly suggests that his choice of language is a deliberate tactic. But the real impact of the willingness of Trump’s supporters to use violence on his behalf can be seen inside his own Republican Party. As he leaves the door open to political violence, Trump recently sent an email to supporters falsely accusing Biden of a most egregious crime.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Florence Pan, Donald Trump’s, hypotheticals, Trump, “, —, Trump’s, We’ve, White supremacists, ”, Rachel Kleinfeld, Kleinfeld, Eric Swalwell, Tanya Chutkan, Maine’s, Biden, Jack Smith, Donald Trump, he’s Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Trump, Capitol, ABC, Republican Party, GOP, Carnegie Endowment, International, Democrat, Police, Seal Locations: Florida, demagogues, Washington

☆ Opinion: The principle that animated Henry Kissinger’s foreign policies
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Fareed Zakaria | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Editor’s Note: Fareed Zakaria hosts “Fareed Zakaria GPS,” airing at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. CNN —Henry Kissinger, who died this week at 100, may have been the most famous foreign policy practitioner in modern American history. And yet, admired or despised, he managed to hold the world’s attention long after his power waned. The Vietnam War was over. It particularly irked him that the liberal elites who had been enthusiastically in favor of the Vietnam War in 1967 became his most vicious critics within a few years.

Persons: Fareed Zakaria, “ Fareed Zakaria, CNN — Henry Kissinger, Kissinger, Martin Luther King, Jr, Robert Kennedy, Egypt, Fareed Zakaria Kissinger, Hitler, Goethe, Stalin, reread Spinoza, Henry Kissinger, Henry Kissinger’s Organizations: CNN, doer, The, Israel, Pakistan Locations: America, The United States, Vietnam, Soviet, Washington, Beijing, China, Israel, Taiwan, Moscow, United States, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Chile, Indonesia, Germany, optimists, European, Japan, Europe

☆ Trump’s extreme rhetoric conjures the prospect of a presidency like no other
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

CNN —Donald Trump is promising a second presidency that would be an aberration in American history. And Trump’s ambitions should be taken seriously because one year from the election, President Joe Biden’s reelection hopes are far from secure. He dehumanizes his political enemies, has discredited the legal, political and electoral system, has demonized the press and has targeted vulnerable members of society, minorities and immigrants, as scapegoats. With questionable historic comparisons, Trump’s critics only fuel his bid to provoke the outrage that is essential to his political appeal. Nikki Haley have only criticized Trump obliquely, understanding there’s no market in the modern Republican Party for confronting Trump’s lawlessness.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Joe Biden’s, “, ” Trump, ”, “ Donald Trump parroted, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Ammar Moussa, he’s, he’ll, else’s, Biden, —, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, there’s, Bob Dole, Mitt Romney, institutionalists, Republican Party isn’t reining, Trump’s, Mike Pence, Chris Christie, Asa Hutchinson, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen, Tim Scott, Susie Wiles, Chris LaCivita, …, Mark Milley, who’s, Jack Smith’s, –, Abraham Lincoln’s, George Washington’s, ” Smith Organizations: CNN, White, Veterans, Trump, New York Times, Republican, Democratic, Capitol, Republican Party, GOP, Florida Gov, South Carolina Gov, Justice Department, Conservative Political, Conference, Univision, Joint Chiefs, Staff, NBC News, MSNBC, Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Locations: New Hampshire, Gaza, Ukraine, China, Russia, Europe, America, South Carolina

☆ 5 takeaways from new polls that reveal Biden’s challenges and Trump’s potential victory path
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

The CNN poll finds that 25% of voters believe Biden has the stamina and sharpness to serve effectively, while 53% say Trump does. The CNN poll encapsulates this potential dilemma for voters. And given his national approval rating in the CNN poll of only 39%, any economic downturn next year would be disastrous for him. Voters see Trump as a stronger leader, suggesting that bluster and threats are more convincing than Biden’s nuanced approach. Latino voters favor Biden over Trump by only four points compared to 33 points in the 2020 election.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Donald Trump, Trump’s, Andy Beshear, Glenn Youngkin, let’s, ” Biden, Trump, demonization ”, ”, hasn’t, he’s, MAGA, there’s, trimmer, Will, abate, Tim Ryan, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, it’s, “, …, Bacon, –, doesn’t, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama’s, Jimmy Carter, Obama, Clinton Organizations: CNN, Democrats Tuesday, Biden, GOP, Democratic, New York Times, Siena College, Trump, Democratic Gov, GOP Gov, Republican, “, Former Democratic, Hamas, Voters, Black Locations: Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, America, New York, Ukraine, Israel, Nevada, Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, American, Gaza

☆ New Zealand election: Voters goes to the polls in a narrow race
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins at Parliament on July 26, in Wellington, New Zealand. New Zealand National Party leader Christopher Luxon speaks during a National Party campaign rally on October 10 in Wellington, New Zealand. Before becoming prime minister, he was minister of education, minister of police, minister for the public service, and leader of the house. Hipkins’ main contender Luxon is a businessman and former CEO of Air New Zealand who became leader of the National Party in 2021. Voters get two votes on the ballot: one for a candidate in their local constituency and one for the party.

Persons: Jacinda Ardern, Christopher Luxon, Chris Hipkins, Winston Peters, Ardern, Hagen Hopkins, demagogues, Hipkins, Sophia Ha, ” Ha, “, ” Alex Wareham, ”, It’s, Wareham, Luxon Organizations: CNN, National Party, Labour Party, Radio NZ, NZ, Labour, Zealand, New Zealand National Party, Getty, Air New Locations: Zealand, New Zealand, Hipkins ., Wellington , New Zealand, Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland, Sydney, United States, United Kingdom, Covid, Air New Zealand, New

☆ Opinion: Washington’s turmoil plays right into Putin’s hands
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Sheena Mckenzie | Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

In the meantime, a top NATO official warned that the arsenal for supporting Ukraine is running low. Europeans, contrary to the claims of demagogues running for president, are spending heavily to support Ukraine. Their meeting erupted in a round of applause for the Russian president, with delegates shouting “Putin! He voted against four of five bills supporting Ukraine as it sought to defend itself from a Russian invasion, which is now in its 20th month. Asked if Ukraine would be able to fight without US military support, 37-year-old Olha said, “Of course, we will fight — but it will be many times bloodier.”

Persons: Frida Ghitis, you’ve, Kevin McCarthy, McCarthy, Olha Hrubryna, she’s, ”, “, ” Volodymyr Kostiak, MAGA, Robert Fico, Rob Bauer of, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Putin, Donald Trump –, Josep Borrell, Joe Biden, Paul Krugman, Krugman, Trump, “ Putin, Oksana Markarova, Steve Scalise, Jim Jordan, firebrand Trump, he’s, Olha Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Republican, Frida Ghitis CNN, House Democrats, Ukraine, Capitol, NATO, European Union, Pro, Royal Dutch Navy, Soviet Union, European, Republican Party, New York Times, Political, firebrand, GOP Locations: Ukraine, Washington, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Slovakia, Russian, China, Russia, United States, –, Europe

☆ The Founders Anticipated the Threat of Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Jeffrey Rosen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The allegations in the indictment of Donald Trump for conspiring to overturn the election of 2020 represent the American Founders’ nightmare. A key concern of James Madison and Alexander Hamilton was that demagogues would incite mobs and factions to defy the rule of law, overturn free and fair elections and undermine American democracy. “The only path to a subversion of the republican system of the Country is, by flattering the prejudices of the people, and exciting their jealousies and apprehensions, to throw affairs into confusion, and bring on civil commotion,” Alexander Hamilton wrote in 1790. “When a man unprincipled in private life desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper…is seen to mount the hobby horse of popularity,” Hamilton warned, “he may ‘ride the storm and direct the whirlwind.’”

Persons: Donald Trump, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, demagogues, ” Alexander Hamilton, ” Hamilton, “ Locations: American

☆ David Axelrod: After Barack Obama, America will never be the same
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( David Axelrod | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

David Axelrod, a CNN senior political commentator and host of “The Axe Files,” was a senior adviser to former President Barack Obama and chief strategist for the 2008 and 2012 Obama presidential campaigns. CNN —In all the years I worked for Barack Obama, I didn’t think enough about the burdens of being America’s first Black president – in part because he bore them so gracefully. The president asked me to chat with her and assess how she would hold up under the pressures of the confirmation process and that weighty history. Jacob Philadelphia, the son of a White House staff member, touches then- President Barack Obama's hair in the Oval Office of the White House. It was a moving, spontaneous scene captured by the splendid White House photographer Pete Souza.

In a text message with his producer, Alex Pfeiffer, Mr. Carlson appeared livid that viewers were turning against the network. On Nov. 7, 2020, Mr. Carlson told Mr. Pfeiffer that claims about manipulated software were “absurd.” Mr. Pfeiffer replied later that there was not enough evidence of fraud to swing the election. A video of Carlson from “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” Said publicly on Nov. 19, 2020 Carlson: “We did not dismiss any of it. It aired on the programs hosted by Mr. Dobbs, Ms. Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro. On Feb. 5, 2021, one day after Smartmatic filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox, Fox Business canceled “Lou Dobbs Tonight.” At the time, Fox said it regularly reviewed its lineup.

☆ Tucker Carlson told his producer Trump is 'the undisputed world champion' of destroying things and could ruin Fox News if it didn't back his election lies
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Sonam Sheth | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tucker Carlson called Trump the "undisputed world champion" of destroying things, per a new court filing. Carlson texted his producer after the 2020 election that Trump could "easily destroy" Fox News if "we play it wrong." "We worked really hard to build what we have," Carlson texted his producer, Alex Pfeiffer, on November 5, 2020, according to the filing. At another point the same day, Carlson texted that "we've got to be incredibly careful right now. Dominion became a focal point for Trumpworld's election-related conspiracy theories shortly after Election Day 2020.

☆ House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says Democrats will offer 'maturity over Mar-a-Lago' — a dig at Trump's influence over the GOP
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Jeffries on Saturday gave an A-Z explainer on how he felt House Democrats would differ from the GOP. The new Democratic leader contrasted the two parties before handing the speaker's gavel to McCarthy. "House Democrats will always put American values over autocracy," Jeffries said in kicking off his speech. Not as Democrats, not as Republicans, not as Independents, but as Americans," he said. But McCarthy still elicits distrust from several conservative lawmakers within the party, making those members highly consequential in such a narrowly-controlled Congress.

☆ Want to prevent a civil war? Regulate social media algorithms, says an expert on political violence
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Political scientist Barbara Walter said unregulated social media is increasing the threat of a civil war. "Let people put whatever they want on social media," Walter said in an interview on Wednesday. And my answer is always the same: regulate social media," Walter said. Russia's Vladimir Putin, through his intelligence services and state-run media properties, has also used social media to pursue his own anti-democratic agenda. "Let people put whatever they want on social media," Walter said.

☆ Polycrisis may lead to polycentric world order
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Another scenario is possible: a “polycentric order” with multiple centres of authority, where the United States is the leading power but not the hegemonic one. Indeed, the outlines of such an order may already be emerging out of the conflagration of economic, political and other shocks often labelled the polycrisis. A polycentric order would be different from what is often called a “multipolar” system - a dog-eats-dog world where big powers have a licence to dominate their neighbours. The United States is not nearly as powerful as it was. President Joe Biden realises the United States needs allies, says Peter Engelke of the Atlantic Council think tank.

☆ Democracy remains vulnerable despite a good year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

PARIS, Dec 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Aristotle said there are three good forms of government – monarchy, aristocracy and constitutional democracy – in which the rulers act for the common benefit. Rich democracies face two main threats: an external one from autocracies, such as China; and an internal one from demagogues. Both autocrats such as Chinese President Xi Jinping and demagogues such as former U.S. President Donald Trump have had a bad year. The world economy faces a tough decade. Until democrats provide some answer to this, they will be vulnerable to new waves of autocracy and demagogy.

☆ Retired conservative federal judge calls the 2022 midterm elections a 'resounding victory for American democracy' after many election deniers lose races across the country
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

J. Michael Luttig called the 2022 midterm results a "resounding victory for American democracy." "I don't think of the mid-term elections in the partisan political terms of whether the Democrats or the Republicans 'won' or 'lost.' I think of these midterm elections only in the 'constitutional' terms of whether American Democracy won or lost," he tweeted. And the elections were indisputably a resounding victory for American democracy," he continued to say. "Just as the People vest and entrust their power in their political leaders, so also can they divest those political leaders of that entrusted power – divest the demagogues and charlatans among their leaders who have betrayed them," he wrote.

☆ The attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband echoed threats pro-Trump rioters made during the Capitol riot. An expert on authoritarianism warns there could be more to come.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The attack on Paul Pelosi could be a sign of more violence to come, per an expert on authoritarianism. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an NYU history professor, said the attack could be a continuation of the January 6 insurrection. "The attacker who injured Paul Pelosi was looking for Nancy Pelosi, likely wanting to finish the job," she said. Paul Pelosi, the Democrat's 82-year-old husband, was attacked with a hammer early Friday morning in the couple's home. "The attacker who injured Paul Pelosi was looking for Nancy Pelosi, likely wanting to finish the job."

☆ Russia's Medvedev raises spectre of nuclear strike on Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Maxim ShemetovSept 27 (Reuters) - One of President Vladimir Putin's allies on Tuesday explicitly raised the spectre of a nuclear strike on Ukraine, saying that the U.S.-led military alliance would still stay out of the conflict for fear of a nuclear apocalypse. According to Russia's nuclear doctrine, the president may use nuclear weapons if the state faces an existential threat, including from conventional weapons. Around 90% of the world's nuclear warheads are held by Russia and the United States, who remain by far the world's biggest nuclear powers. Russia has the right to use nuclear weapons if necessary," Medvedev said, adding that it would do so "in predetermined cases" and in strict compliance with state policy. Medvedev, who cast himself as a liberalising president from 2008-2012, has regularly issued hawkish statements about the war in Ukraine.

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