French public life is becoming more ‘Americanized’ and British public life more French
by Rashmee
Posted on February 20, 2020
Everyone’s talking about the alleged “Americanization” of French public life, but almost no one is mentioning the almost parallel Gallicization of British public life. Let me explain. Just days ago, for the first time in France’s modern history, a politician resigned because his sex life was publicly exposed. Benjamin Griveaux, one of President Emmanuel Macron’s … Continue reading “French public life is becoming more ‘Americanized’ and British public life more French”
Read MoreTrump and the lucky man syndrome
by Rashmee
Posted on February 19, 2020
Everyone’s marvelling at Donald J Trump. He may dissemble, lie, cheat, bully, blunder, but he has the damndest luck. Imagine, he was serially bankrupt but can now claim to have led the sound management of the world’s largest economy. He’s a serial philanderer who can now claim to speak about God and the values so … Continue reading “Trump and the lucky man syndrome”
Read MoreTrump’s invisible wall is not just for Muslims
by Rashmee
Posted on February 15, 2020 / The Arab Weekly
The virtual wall takes the United States back to a century ago, when being white was key to acquiring US citizenship. The battle to replace Donald Trump in the White House got properly under way with the Democratic Party primary election in New Hampshire, so it’s worth examining the state of Trump’s signature campaign promise … Continue reading “Trump’s invisible wall is not just for Muslims”
Read MoreMr Trump’s proposed NATOME will be in the Middle East. That’s as ludicrous as the acronym
by Rashmee
Posted on February 14, 2020
It’s hard to see the rationale for Donald Trump’s call on the NATO alliance to increase its involvement in the Middle East. He’s dreamt up a name for the mission – NATOME (NATO plus the initials of Middle East) – but beyond, there’s no clarity on anything very much. NATO is primarily focused on collective … Continue reading “Mr Trump’s proposed NATOME will be in the Middle East. That’s as ludicrous as the acronym”
Read MoreWhy a small American state can have a big impact on the world
by Rashmee
Posted on February 12, 2020 / The National
The battle for the US presidency gets properly under way with Tuesday’s election in New Hampshire, a small north-eastern state, where the Democratic Party picks its preferred choice for presidential nominee. Meanwhile, two seemingly contradictory narratives are emerging. The first is that the Democratic Party is simply incapable of winning against incumbent president Donald Trump … Continue reading “Why a small American state can have a big impact on the world”
Read MoreThe great game…in Africa
by Rashmee
Posted on February 10, 2020
Europe is fighting hard to be relevant to Africa, its nearest continental neighbour. Today (Feb. 10) is the Africa Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia and AU headquarters. And it’s drawn European Council president Charles Michel – he’s been in Addis since Sunday – for some two dozen bilateral meetings with African … Continue reading “The great game…in Africa”
Read MoreIncarcerating jihadists ‘forever’ could run into logistical quicksand
by Rashmee
Posted on February 9, 2020 / The Arab Weekly
It’s a conundrum. There may not be a single solution to the threat of terrorists re-offending. Britain has declared a war on terrorists. It is only marginally better than US President George W. Bush’s “war on terror.” Unlike the United States, which has fought since 9/11 against an abstract noun, Britain will wage war against … Continue reading “Incarcerating jihadists ‘forever’ could run into logistical quicksand”
Read MoreTwo ‘I’s currently seem to define America
by Rashmee
Posted on February 6, 2020
Iowa and impeachment. In the first week of February, an impeached American president was acquitted by a partisan Senate and the first-in-the-nation US presidential election vote was beset by chaos. It would not be extreme to say that to many around the world, Iowa and impeachment currently define America. The two ‘I’s suggest impunity and … Continue reading “Two ‘I’s currently seem to define America”
Read MoreIowa: Not a farce, but an acutely embarrassing tech fail
by Rashmee
Posted on February 4, 2020
Much of the world expected to have woken on Tuesday morning (Feb. 4) to a result from the Iowa caucuses. In fact, in this 2020 cycle, much of the world expected three separate results from Iowa because the Democratic Party changed the rules to count the following: the first choice or “alignment” in caucus parlance … Continue reading “Iowa: Not a farce, but an acutely embarrassing tech fail”
Read MoreToday, Iowa caucuses. But to what end when winning is going out of fashion?
by Rashmee
Posted on February 3, 2020
Winning is going out of fashion, we learnt late last year. In early December, Britain’s most prestigious modern art award, the Turner Prize, organised a mass giveaway to the four shortlisted artists, after they had already asked to share the honour. Just weeks before that, judges of the world’s august literary prize, the Booker, refused to … Continue reading “Today, Iowa caucuses. But to what end when winning is going out of fashion?”
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Rashmee has lived and worked in several countries in the past decade, including Afghanistan, India, Haiti, Tunisia, the UAE, US and UK