For reasons that have little if anything to do with US national security or foreign policy, Donald Trump has made clear he does not want to be diverted by a foreign crisis as he re-enters the White House. Given that several Israeli captives in the Gaza Strip hold dual US citizenship, Trump will not countenance presiding over a hostage crisis like the late Jimmy Carter, but insists on a resolution that has echoes of Ronald Reagan’s assumption of office in 1981.
In the run-up to Trump 2.0, the speed with which former opponents of the once and future president are adapting to his re-election and displaying anticipatory obedience has been greater than anyone could have, well, anticipated. Prominent examples include Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and congressional Democrats who seem to think that performing bipartisanship by loudly declaring their willingness to work with Trump might somehow be rewarded. But nobody likes to think of themselves as an opportunist; everyone wants to tell themselves (and the world) a story to justify their change of tune. As a character remarks in Jean Renoir’s movie La Règle du jeu – among other things, a profound study of the moral collapse of the French Third Republic – ‘there is something appalling on this earth, which is that everyone has their reasons.’
‘I always like to say that Iranian cinema emerges out of a thousand years of poetry, and Canadian cinema emerges out of fifty years of discount furniture commercials,’ Matthew Rankin said at a recent screening of his movie Universal Language. I come from both countries, but it’s the furniture gag that struck home.
Romania is one of the poorest and most corrupt countries in the EU. One-third of the population either live in poverty or are at risk of poverty, particularly in rural areas. The average pension is around £360 a month. The gap in living standards and educational attainment between the urban middle class and the poor means they effectively live in separate worlds. The political class is widely despised by most sections of Romanian society. Established politicians, almost without exception, are seen as self-serving and corrupt, addicted to nepotism and theft, using the mechanisms of institutional patronage to maintain their grip on power.
Maria Callas after a recital at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Paris 1973. Photo © Granger Historical Picture Archive / Alamy
When diva worship turns an artist into an icon, everyone loses.
In last November’s election, a majority of California voters declined to outlaw forced labour among incarcerated people, who make up around 30 per cent of California’s firefighters and are paid between $5.80 and $10.24 per day. At least eight hundred of them are now up against LA’s infernos. What the state will not pay to provide it will extract through coercion.
At first glance, the row of booths could be mistaken for a chorus line dressing room. There are eight in all; each with its own strip-lighting, giant mirror and packet of wipes. But the yellow bins betray the true purpose. They are there for the disposal of used syringes at the UK’s first sanctioned safer drugs consumption facility.