Walter Russell Mead
@wrmead
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Scholar @HudsonInstitute , professor @BardCollege and columnist @WSJ . Forthcoming book The Arc of a Covenant available for preorder now and out July 5.
Washington, DC
Joined November 2009
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I remember Watergate pretty well, and I don't remember anything like this level of journalistic carelessness back then. The constant stream of 'bombshells' that turn into duds is doing much more to damage the media than anything Trump could manage.
CNN's initial reporting of the date on an email sent to members of the Trump campaign about Wikileaks documents, which was confirmed by two sources to CNN, was incorrect. We have updated our story to include the correct date, and present the proper context for the timing of email
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Everybody seems so confident that they can predict the consequences of Qassim Solomeini's death and so contemptuous of those who disagree with their forecast. I must have skipped the class in Pundit School where they handed out the crystal balls.
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Sentence you won't be hearing anyone saying this morning: "Trust the Americans. They know what they're doing."
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#WaPoDeathNotices
Genghis Khan, accomplished horseman and indefatigable traveler, breathes his last.
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Growth since 2009: China 139%; India 96%; US 34%. Eurozone -2%. These numbers tell the story of Europe’s decline.
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With Trump leading Biden in the latest
@WSJ
poll as the Ivies reel from the inept performance of their deeply mediocre leaders, this is less the Rise of Trump than the moral and intellectual collapse of the American Establishment. Sad. Tragic, really. Scary. But real.
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Where was he with this message during the 2012 election, when the disingenuous downplaying of security threats was a central component of the Obama re-election campaign?
James Clapper: “The threat posed by Russia” is “manifest and obvious.” Downplaying it “poses a peril to this country."
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Iran now seems to be shifting from “The feeble Jews cower before my righteous wrath!” to “Make Israel stop hitting me, Mommy!”
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@_SalmanAnwar
Paying people decent wages. Selling goods at low prices. Abolishing hereditary aristocracies. Having an effective two chamber legislature. Decentralizing government. Avoiding serious secession movements. Managing relations with EU.
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Whew!! For a moment there I thought the mob baying for Jewish blood in Dagestan was anti-Semitic. That would be bad. But fortunately, they are just anti-Zionist, so all is well.
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Does anybody ever get the feeling that Harvard’s Board of Overseers isn’t as effective and focused as it should be? And that maybe these failures reflect broader intellectual and moral weaknesses in the American Establishment as a whole?
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WaPo Death Notices: Adolf Hitler, vegetarian and student of history, dies in Berlin aged 56.
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Apparently it's no longer a bad thing to warn your enemy in advance about your next military moves. I must have missed that lesson in strategy class.
The U.S. will strike Iranian targets in Iraq and Syria on Feb. 3-4 in response to the shelling of a U.S. base in Jordan, The Wall Street Journal cited U.S. officials as saying
The Journal's interlocutors note that the measures will be "multi-layered" and will include not only
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Time to kill Presidents' Day! Washington's Birthday and Lincoln's Birthday celebrated America's two greatest political leaders. Now we have a generic celebration of all presidents, which is to say, the presidency. This is wrong; we should honor heroes, not offices.
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By any reasonable standard, a state of war now exists between the State of Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The questions now are how fast and how far does it escalate, who will be drawn in, and who will win.
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As India rises, The G-20 Reveals a Shifting World Order
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Understanding the BJP and the Hindu nationalist movement that shapes it is critical ffor anybody who wants to understand the direction of world politics.
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Evidence pouring in to suggest that Dagestan will not become a leading center of science, culture or business anytime soon. Anti-Semitism is both an indicator of ignorance and an impediment to learning.
In Russia-occupied Dagestan, a mob hunted alleged Jews in local hotels "Flamingo" and "Kyiv"(sic!)
The police allowed the mobsters to enter hotel and "control" all guests
When I said, Russia's crack will start in Dagestan, I added anything can be a trigger
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Last night's oil price collapse helped push markets into free fall, but low oil prices should help the world get back on its feet when we get to the recovery phase.
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Turkey has changed, the world has changed, and America needs to rethink an important relationship. My latest
@WSJopinion
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This could not be a more Jacksonian speech; the only thing missing is that he hasn't challenged Chuck Schumer to a duel.
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As Winter Storm Bolton sweeps across the Twitterverse, one notes that whatever else is going on the President is not moving toward isolationism. Nor is this a 'pro-Russia' appointment. Bolton is a national security hawk with a global view of American interests.
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The best long term solution to US-China tensions in the Indo-Pacific? Indian economic growth. A strong, rich India will stabilize the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific and promote a peaceful future in Asia.
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A thought that every one of the Founding Fathers would reject, rightly, as inimical both to the principles of the United States and to the health of the Christian church.
Michael Flynn tonight: “If we are going to have one nation under God, which we must, we have to have one religion. One nation under God, and one religion under God.”
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Question: Did Obama administration know such depots existed, concealing that knowledge to avoid admitting Putin played BHO like a violin?
McMaster: Strikes crafted to avoid sarin gas storage unit so as not to cause widespread harm to Syrian civilians.
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Anybody else missing the good old days when angry lefties just wanted to punch Nazis?
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Next up: shocking details about disinformation and the Normandy invasion.
Associated Press: "Israeli military accused of using media to trick Hamas"
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Remembering the old days when my grandfather would put an Old Fashioned on the mantlepiece for Santa and send us up to bed. And it never failed: in the morning, it was gone!
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#WaPoDeathNotices
Innovative chef and ground breaking feminist Lucrezia Borgia dies at 39.
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Benedict Arnold: A hero whose loyalties were too wide to be confined within the narrow boundaries of a single cause.
#Trudeaueulogies
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Nazis bad. Ditto Commies.The south deserved to lose.USA deserves our service and love. Civility & tolerance matter. Why is this so hard?
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For all its flaws, the workhouse culture exemplified in Oliver Twist taught young orphans not to waste food.
For all its flaws, the Communist revolution taught Chinese women to dream big
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A day Americans should never forget. 2/14/1778 a French warship fires to salute the US flag on the USS Ranger under John Paul Jones. First recognition of the Stars and Stripes by a foreign power.
14 février 1778 : en baie de Quiberon, le vaisseau français le Robuste du comte de La Motte Picquet salue au canon l'USS Ranger commandé par John Paul Jones. Pour la première fois, le pavillon américain "Stars and Stripes" est reconnu par une puissance étrangère.
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h/t: Capitalism
“For the first time in 10,000 years, the majority of humankind is no longer poor or vulnerable to falling into poverty. Barring some global economic setback, this marks the start of a new era of a middle-class majority,” Homi Kharas and Kristofer Hamel
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Henry VIII: An idealist and a dreamer, no disappointment could deter him from his determined quest for love.
#Trudeaueulogies
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My latest
@WSJopinion
on MEAST progress: Israel is too valuable to the Arab world to be relegated to the status of a regional pariah. It has earned its place in the Middle East.
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Call me hopelessly old fashioned, but I kind of like it when senators stand up for the core principles of the Constitution.
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Moralistic foreign policy isn’t just counterproductive. It is immoral.
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For those wondering why my column didn't appear in the WSJ this week and why I've been so silent on Twitter, the reason is that my father, Loren Mead, went home to his rest last Saturday. He was the finest man I've ever known.
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For all its flaws, Walter Duranty's concealment of the crimes and horrors of communism allowed the NYT to collect a Pulitzer prize.
For all its flaws, the Communist revolution taught Chinese women to dream big
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For all its flaws, World War Two taught millions the importance of team work.
For all its flaws, the Communist revolution taught Chinese women to dream big
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This could be the biggest cultural and literary story of the century: 2,000 Greco-Roman scrolls carbonized by Vesuvius just might be readable after all.
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Good thing they didn't make the Paris Accords binding: Germany prepares to renege on its 2020 pledge as SPD insists on not punishing the industries that employ its voters:
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That the simple statement of an obvious, long established and universally perceived fact can shock and stun the diplomatic universe tells us more about that universe than about the real world.
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History is rated X, not G, crammed to the bursting point with violence, injustice, foul language, nudity, and smoking...Trigger warnings should be posted in every delivery room. The world is not a safe space, and the arc of history is nobody’s poodle.
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Extraordinary statement by Pat Robertson on the bell tolling for President Trump. Will help some Trump supporters manage the coming transition.
Televangelist Pat Robertson declares that Biden will be president and that Trump "lives in an alternate reality," "is very erratic," and should not run again in 2024: "You've had your day and it's time to move on."
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I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Happy Fourth of July!
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The most overlooked geopolitical story today is the US-Russia. rivalry over oil. Putin has just thrown Venezuela and Iran under the bus to attack US shale.
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The George W. Bush administration inadvertently revived the American left; President Obama returned the favor for the nationalist right.
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It would be better if all justices followed her example, not just this year but forever. The SOTU is inevitably political; justices who attend are constantly trapped between applauding, employing endorsement, or not applauding, implying censure. Both wrong.
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An Ash Wednesday thought: Christians aren’t better than other people. Often, we are worse. We are people who failed to fix up our lives on our own & turned helplessly to God. That vulnerability isn’t a weakness to hide; it’s part of our witness that the world needs to see.
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Narrowing the $10 trillion India/China GDP gap is the best way to keep the peace, promote democracy and avoid US-China conflict. The US needs a 'whole of government' approach to Indian growth. My latest
@WSJopinion
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I don't think this picture has the deterrent effect the Mayor is hoping for. Who knew blowing up a watermelon could be so much fun?
#Fireworks
are illegal in the City of Los Angeles and even small ones can cause a lot of damage.
This watermelon was completely destroyed by a firework the size of a stick of gum.
🎆 This
#FourthOfJuly
be safe, find a professional show near you:
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Does anyone ever get the feeling that Ivy League admissions departments and faculty search committees aren’t as good at their jobs as they should be?
ICYMI: Yale Campus Newspaper Removes ‘Unsubstantiated Claims’ of Hamas Raping, Beheading Israelis From Column
The column was censored to no longer include reports and eyewitness accounts of Hamas raping and beheading Israeli civilians.
By
@DionJPierre
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Handle the India-U.S. Relationship With Care by
@wrmead
If the vital US-India relationship is going to flourish, both sides must learn to tend it with care.
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I shudder to think of the horrors we would be seeing in Syria today had President Obama not used such brilliant diplomacy to force Russia and Syria to remove all the chemical weapons.
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For all its flaws, the Third Reich encouraged women like Leni Riefenstahl and Hanna Reitsch to dream and to do.
For all its flaws, the Communist revolution taught Chinese women to dream big
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Maybe the most telling election results of 2020? Blue California voters uphold two pillars of Reaganism: ban on affirmative action and limits on property taxes.
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"You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor and you will have war.” President Biden may be finished with Afghanistan, but Afghanistan may not be finished with him.
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I bet most of them voted for an African-American senator. And support their Indian-American governor. Times change, even in SC.
After the Charleston massacre, the basement of Mother Emanuel Church was filled with white evangelicals. Now I wonder how they voted.
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President Biden, take note: Putting ‘democracy’ at the center of American foreign policy is a dangerous mistake.
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Anyone who has lost a loved one will be moved by this story of a teen age pizza delivery guy's kindness to a man who wanted one last taste:
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Maybe the most consequential line in the speech: "We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone." Woodrow Wilson goes under the bus.
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A lesson many miss as Iran sanctions tighten: US power in the international system has dramatically grown. Fracking plus new sanctions approach has tilted the balance of power. My latest
@WSJopinion
:
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History teaches us two things about American responses to major challenges like
#coronavirus
. First, we will stumble and flail in the early stages. Second, we will get it right in the end. My latest
@WSJopinion
:
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A much more consequential story than the American government shutdown. Tectonic plates in Asia are shifting.
China will make up the shortfall of reduced American aid to Pakistan
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#WaPoDeathNotice
Josef Stalin, noted bon vivant and influential arts critic, dies in Moscow.
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France like the US has its shortcomings but to conflate its republican tradition with racism is... not a sign of historical literacy.
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Attila was a visionary who united his people behind an extraordinary vision; his courage will never be forgotten.
#Trudeaueulogies
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The thing Merkel did that won her the most plaudits from liberal fundamentalists and human rights crusaders was a massive disaster for the EU those folks thought they were building. Food for thought.
Overwhelming support for tougher German stance on refugees:
86% for more forceful repatriation
69% for in kind instead of cash support
62% for denying entry of refugees without documents
61% for "anchor refugee centers"
In terms of public opinion, CSU can feel emboldened.
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“All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” Blaise Pascal never seemed more prescient.
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Bannon doesn't want them silent; he wants them so enraged and envenomed that voters tune them out. Polarization is his aim.
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Class bigotry and snobbery masquerading as cosmopolitan benevolence is one of the most dangerous evils of our time.
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Amazing. Trump apparently did better among Muslims than Jews.
Muslims were another minority group where Trump made significant gains. 35% voted for Trump, according to this AP VoteCast survey
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I'm old enough to remember when parents, scout leaders, teachers and coaches worked to teach boys and young men to become 'gentlemen' who treated women with respect and knew that privilege brought responsibility.
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After the Great California Rail Fail: faster highways? California legislator proposes "American Autobahn" no speed limit highway as alternative to high speed rail. Prediction: Greens won't be amused.
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Today is my first Father's Day since my father died in May. It's been a hard day but not a bad day. It turns out that all gifts your father gave you live on in you, your family and the world at large. Death is not as powerful as we sometimes think.
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Yes, identity politics for minorities creates majoritarian identity politics. Bad idea. Common citizenship should be the standard.
Been telling everyone for years that identity politics, once normative, cannot be confined just to "approved" groups. Now you believe me?
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Democracy survives in part because it is the most entertaining form of government. By this measure, American democracy has never been stronger than it is today.
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No problem in keeping this news away from press and public. US forces are under fire and our enemies don't need to know all our business. But not to tell the NSC and senior officials? Madness and folly. The world is in a dark place and we need leaders with good judgment. This
NEWS
This is a scandal and absolutely outrageous.
Not only was the public not informed that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was hospitalized for four days. But he was in intensive care for those four days and not able to work.
The White House was not informed until
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#Coronavirus
won't be the last black swan to manifest in China, and its financial markets may be a greater danger than the wildlife markets. My latest
@WSJopinion
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Biden foreign policy facing a true crisis now. Most of the foreign policy concepts they brought into government didn't work and most of the changes they need to make are toxic to the Dem base. Interesting times.
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Now do the left: Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Castro, Ho, Ortega, Chavez...
One Hundred Years of Dictator Worship. For a century, the right has fawned over foreign autocrats from Kaiser Wilhelm to Vladimir Putin.
@brooks_rosa
on "America Last" by
@Jacobheilbrunn
.
a
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2024/02/20/one-hundred-years-of-dictator-worship/
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@Yair_Rosenberg
No ifs ands or buts. Whether from the left or right, whatever political motives or grievances alleged, Jew hatred always and everywhere is both a moral evil and a mental disease. May the Lord of Abraham look mercifully on this land and cleanse us of this evil.
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Looks like Japan is signing up for AUKUS. Pacts with US and Australia, planning similar one with UK.
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Every now and then I get the feeling that America could do with a healthy dose of Edmund Burke right about now.
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Meanwhile, a small Central Asian country sets an example for us all: 500 visas for displaced Afghan students.
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If this poll is right, the most popular policy on migration seems to be to treat them well while here and keep the families together, but also to deport them quickly and try to build a wall, even if it doesn't quite work.
CBS poll finds strong support for removing migrant family units together, even over releasing them into the United States temporarily
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Malthus spins in grave as Chinese scientists introduce high yield rice that thrives in salt water.
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Threaten the peasants with disaster unless they obey; then quietly walk the predictions back, still cursing their arrogance and pride.
Having some second thoughts about my global recession call. As with Brexit, the short-run case isn't that clear. Still a disaster
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California's soft secession—state bans publicly funded travel to a growing list of red states.
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"A republic, if you can keep it." Franklin statue collapses in Boston.
1856 statue of Ben Franklin positioned along Boston’s Freedom Trail tumbles down
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Nero: an artist who illuminated the worlds of politics and music with the fire of his genius.
#Trudeaueulogies
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In 2016, immigration gave us Brexit and Trump. Now it’s caused government shutdowns in DC and Berlin. It’s the most disruptive issue in the rich world, and it’s still getting hotter.
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Some good news today. Two Afghan students enrolled in my fall class on US foreign policy were trapped in Kabul. Today they attended (virtual) class and are safe in Bishkek where Kyrgyz authorities are generously receiving student refugees.
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