Two things we've learned in the last couple of days. One - the Trump administration officially could not care less about international law, at least - if it should ever prove to be a constraint on them doing exactly what they want to do. And two - for all that MAGA social media posts have been bigging up the initial celebration of Venezuelans at Maduro's downfall, Trump actually is just fine with an authoritarian regime staying in place, just with someone different at the head of it. So all those people who initially celebrated are now feeling crushing disappointment, and the ones actually living in Caracas are hiding from the armed militia crackdown. Let's discuss.

So the plan to oust Nicolas Madura resulted in an attack, during which the dictator and his wife were seized and transported to the United States. This is an undoubted breach of international law, but Trump and MAGA don't care about that. It also broke the rules of the United States, but nobody seems inclined to enforce those. Nevertheless, this isn't just another mad President Trump moment - this has pushed Trump, the bully who used tariffs to put extreme pressure on other countries - across the line into the use of military force to do likewise. This makes it highly likely more will follow. Let's discuss.

In this news round-up of the week for January 2nd 2026, President Trump threatens military action against Iran, as the regime there tries to cope with mass protests. Global warming is already hitting Southern Europe so hard that growers there are having to give up traditional crops such as citrus fruit. Elon Musk makes a shocking observation about the state of government that someone really ought to do something about. And the people that took Russian money to fund MAGA Influencers have been allowed back into the US - because foreign interference is just fine so long as it’s Vladimir Putin.

What are the three basic values and processes of democratic systems that we are most in danger of losing - both in Trump's United States and much of Europe, and elsewhere in the world? And - having identified what makes a healthy democracy work, how can we halt the process of democratic decline that we see all around us? In other words, how can we make 2026 the beginning of the fightback for democracy against autocracy? Well, let's discuss.

The New Year is upon us - a time for new beginnings! But for President Trump, the early days of 2026 could see the Supreme Court ruling on the legality of his tariffs - and to all appearances the merits of the case are overwhelmingly against him. Should the justices rule accordingly, the tariff Plan B will be invoked - and the administration will pretend it's all okay, but it will have defanged Trump by removing his most powerful and arbitrary weapon. Let's discuss.

In the first half of 2025, the massive investment in Artificial Intelligence data centres was by far the largest part of the economic growth that the US economy registered. This reflects a breathtaking scale of activity. But every action has an equal and opposite reaction - and communities across the United States, across the political divide, are starting to vigorously protest all these new energy-hungry data centres. And that presents a particular problem for Trump, allied as he is to the tech billionaires. Let's discuss.

In this news round-up of the week for Friday December 26th 2025. Trump's America launches a bombing strike against ISIS targets in Nigeria - but with the support of the government there, contrary to its earlier approach. Five Europeans who are deemed to be beastly to American free speech are barred from being in the United States - and why this is a trend we'll be seeing more of. And Trump world is dismayed that the Administration's extraordinary incompetence in its messaging over the Epstein Files has made it far worse, and laster longing, than it ever needed to be.

President Trump has launched a new battleship concept for the US Navy, bigger, more advanced, faster - what else could it be called other than 'Trump Class'? But is this project just a misconceived fantasy - a vanity project that could divert major spending from the things the US military actually needs to do to keep pace with its rivals? Or is it the way of the future? And if the latter - why a battleship - given that these were abandoned after the second world war, and for good reason? Well, let's discuss.

President Trump had already told us that he wanted to take over Greenland. Then we got the sense that it was a live project when it was revealed that spies had been sent to the island on a 'covert influence' operation. Now, Trump has announced a "special envoy" for Greenland, placing it at the top of a priority list, and alarming Greenland and Denmark over what this means might be coming next. Meanwhile, Europe pretends that nothing much has changed with the US, and we're all still the best of allies. At what point does that change? Let's discuss.

In its recent National Security Strategy, the Trump Administration lay claim to Central and South America as being 'its neighbourhood', where it would exert more control and expect to be able to shape events to its satisfaction. And it specifically said it would seek to push out third party countries, and it was clear that this meant China. But China just released its own strategy, and it's making it clear that it has no intention of going anywhere. Let's discuss.