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Peter Oborne’s

Diary

Regular observations of the political scene at home and abroad

Peter Oborne portrait, by Alex Chamberlain

Nothing to Celebrate

Three months remain before the United States celebrates a historic milestone: the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

In normal circumstances, this would not have been a complicated moment. World leaders would have gathered in Washington to celebrate the familiar pieties of liberty, justice, democracy, and American leadership of the free world.

But circumstances are not normal.

During the past two years, the US has sanctioned the International Criminal Court, is on a mission to put the United Nations out of business, launched a military strike in Venezuela and captured its president, threatened Greenland, and participated in what most informed observers regard as a genocide in Gaza.

Mandrake – Stollar’s Tours

A safe distance before Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump’s attack on Iran, MP Tim Farron headed a Liberal Democrat delegation to Israel and the West Bank. He obligingly wrote a piece afterwards for Jewish News which showed all too little compassion for the people of Gaza.
Tim Walker

Zeitgeisters – Michael Pollan

Michael Pollan is a celebrated American journalist and author of nine non-fiction books, several of which have become bestsellers.
John Mitchinson