Archive for the ‘American current affairs’ Category
The November election is over
July 1st, 2009 by Roger Darlington
What November election? And why has it taken eight months to conclude? At the beginning of November 2008, the Americans elected a new President, all of the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate. But one Senate seat was so closely contested that only this week has the final result been declared. The […]
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How is Obama doing?
June 28th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
During the US presidential election campaign, we all knew that expectations of Barack Obama were so high that the reality was bound to disappoint. On the inauguration of Obama as president, we all knew that the honeymoon period could not last for ever. At the end of his first 100 days in the White House, […]
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Obama and that fly
June 18th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
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Obama’s first 100 days
April 29th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
For those of us who supported Barack Obama’s candidacy for so long and so enthusiastically, his first 100 days have been heady stuff. As this piece puts it: “Although only a short way into his first term, Obama has already committed trillions to lift the country out of recession, discarded some of the most unpopular […]
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Union recognition in the USA
April 24th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
The election of Barack Obama to the United States Presidency has changed so much in world politics, but non-Americans may not appreciate how transformational his administration is for domestic politics. Obviously the world’s media reports the new policies aimed at overcoming the economic recession, but you probably haven’t been aware that a proposed change to […]
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Why didn’t they tell us?
March 15th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
It wasn’t just the regulators who failed totally to control the absurdities of the market that led to the credit crunch; financial journalism failed big time and most financial commentators were complicit in the myth making that deluded ordinary borrowers and investors. Over in the United States, Jon Stewart has done a brilliant job on […]
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How should judges be chosen?
March 8th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
Following a suggestion from a reader in Taiwan, I’ve added a paragraph to my web essay on “A Short Guide To The American Political System” to point out that, below federal level, the overwheming majority of American judges are elected whereas, in virtually every other country, they are selected in some way. Nationwide 87% of […]
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A message from Osama to Obama
January 24th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
I can exclusively reveal that somehow Osama bin Laden has already managed to obtain the secret address of the Blackberry that newly-inaugurated President Barack Obama has been permitted to retain. Osama has sent a coded message to Obama. “3 7 0 H S S V 0 7 7 3 H” Barack was baffled. Unfortunately the […]
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The first three days
January 24th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
Barack Obama finally became US President at noon on Tuesday Washington DC time. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were very busy days for him and very satisfying ones for those of us who supported his candidacy: He stopped the legal proceedings involving detainees in Guantanamo Bay He took the first step in the closure of Guantanamo […]
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Bartlet + Santos = Obama
January 22nd, 2009 by Roger Darlington
If you’re as massive a fan of the television series “The West Wing” as I am, you can’t help but think of President Barack Obama as a combination of the erudition and eloquence of President Jed Bartlet and the minority ethnicity and youth of President Matt Santos. Over the seven series of “The West Wing”, […]
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