Tag Archives: gabrielle giffords

Opinion: God Bless America?

Well, you have to hand it to our American cousins. They can certainly do theatrics. The solving of the (self-inflicted) debt crisis has been a real nail-biter. At the tenth hour last night, there was a bi-partisan vote in the US House of Representatives, including the hugely poignant appearance of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. All House members were on their feet as she returned to Congress for the first time since being shot while carrying out a constituency surgery (as we would call it).

It was pure Hollywood. But beneath the tear-jerking choreography let’s acknowledge that it is genuinely historic for the …

Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 13 Comments

The Saturday debate: Do we pay too much attention to news from the US?

Here’s your starter for ten in our Saturday slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate…

The tragic killing of six and injuries to thirteen others, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, have received heavy coverage in the UK media, not only in response to the shooting itself but also following up the story subsequently. Yet other recent political deaths from countries around the world have received, at most, very little media coverage in the UK.

There are partial explanations – such as the murdered Nigerian politician being a local government figure rather than a national figure and the

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 20 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Rose Runswick
    Thank you for saying this, international law is our best hope for a fairer and more peaceful world, I worry the memory of why it came about in the first place i...
  • Tristan Ward
    Sanctions should absolutely continue, but the idea that Britain should not rearm is to repeat the mistakes of the 1930s. Appeasement is not an option....
  • Katharine Pindar
    Paul Barker: you are right, Paul, in the wider world we do seem largely invisible. That was for instance clear in today's Laura Kuennsberg show when, you could ...
  • tom arms
    The first known use of the phrase "May you live in interesting times" was towards the end of the 19th century when Joseph Chamberlain used it in several speech...
  • Andy Daer
    John is, of course, right to remind us all of the need to uphold international law. Today we've seen Trump congratulate the man he had previously distanced h...