2019-08-11_The_Week

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The main stories...


It wasn’t all bad


To take Britain out of the EU withoutadeal “would be the


most wilfully dangerous policy action that any government of


this country has taken in modern times”, said


The Guardian. Yet, “almost unbelievably”, it


now appears to be one of No. 10’s central


goals. Johnson’s chief strategist, Dominic


Cummings, let it be known at the weekend that


MPs had run out of time to preventano-deal


Brexit because even if the Government lost a


vote of no confidence, it could still delay an


election until after 31 October. Johnson lacks


“both the democratic and moral authority”


to attempt any such thing. Parliament must use


every weapon to stop this “arrogant gamble”.


Remainer MPs have already deployedafair


few of these in their efforts to frustrate the


result of the 2016 EU referendum, said The


Daily Telegraph. The sensible move now would


be for them to “change tactics”. Rather than resorting to more


“parliamentary skulduggery”, they should accept that Theresa


May’s deal is defunct and put pressure on the EU to offer the


UKabetter one. The “increasingly ill-tempered stand-off”


between Downing Street and Brussels is helping nobody,


said the Daily Mail. “Good faith and common sense must be


allowed to prevail–for all our sakes.”


The prospect ofano-deal Brexit loomed larger


this week as London and Brussels rejected each


other’s positions and No. 10 signalled that it


was prepared to push through such an outcome


even in the teeth ofafull-scale Remainer revolt.


On Monday, EU negotiators briefed European


officials that there was currently no basis for


“meaningful discussions” owing to Boris


Johnson’s insistence that the Irish backstop be


removed from the withdrawal deal (see page


22 ). Asenior EU diplomat reportedly said that


ano-deal Brexit now appeared to be London’s


“central scenario”.AUKGovernment source


denied that this was the case, but insisted the


EU had to understand that Johnson couldn’t


resubmit to the Commonsadeal that MPs have


already rejected three times.


Johnson’s fledgling administration faced further tests over the


course of the week, includingaslump in the pound, warnings


of apossible recession, and defeat in the Brecon by-election


(see page 6). Inamove widely interpreted asabid to boost


the Tories’ prospects inapossible general election, the Prime


Minister set out details ofa£1.8bn boost to the health service.


What happened What the editorials said


Cummings: tough message


The Brexit standoff


“Mr Trump has stigmatised Mexicans since the day he


announced his candidacy for president,” said The Washington


Post. He denounced Latino immigration as an


“invasion of our country”, and demonised


undocumented immigrants as “thugs and


animals”. The president’s words “have wide


and deep consequences”. Trump cannot be held


responsible for every irresponsible act, “but he


can be held to account for propagating ugly and


bigoted notions”. He should never again “spew


his loathing” from the White House.


Blaming these shootings on political opponents


is too easy, said The Wall Street Journal. After


all, there were mass killings under Obama, Bush


and Clinton. The real problem is more complex:


anew breed of angry loners who are “marin-


ated”in dangerous notions they absorb online.


It’s clear now that America hasaserious problem with white


nationalist terrorism, said The New York Times. Since 9/11, it


has claimed more American lives than the Islamist kind. True


enough, said the Chicago Sun-Times. But in the end, “it’s


about the guns. Every other explanation can get in line.”


Two mass shootings in the US in the space


of asingle day left 31 people dead and 53


injured. In the deadliest attack, 22 people


were killed on Saturday whenasuspected


white supremacist opened fire with an assault


rifle ataWalmart store in the city of El Paso,


on the Mexican border. Patrick Crusius, 21,


was later arrested and charged with capital


murder. It emerged that Crusius had posted


a“manifesto” onafar-right online message


board denouncing the “Hispanic invasion of


Texas”. Most of the dead were Hispanic. In


asecond attack,agunman killed nine people


outsideabar in Dayton, Ohio–even though


police shot him dead within 30 seconds.


Democrats bluntly blamed Donald Trump over the El Paso


attack, arguing that his rhetoric had stoked racial hatred.


For his part, Trump blamed mental illness and video games;


he also condemned racism and white supremacy. “Mental


illness and hate pull the trigger, not the gun,” he said.


What happened What the editorials said


Mourners in El Paso


American carnage


Sea eagles have been brought


back to the Isle of Wight, 239


years after they were last seen


there, as part ofaprogramme


to reintroduce the birds to


England’s south coast. Last


month, six chicks were brought


to the island from Scotland


(where they were reintroduced


in the 1970s), and 60 will now


be released over five years.


The birds, which vanished from


the UK due to persecution by


humans, can haveawingspan


of 2.4 metres, making them


Britain’s largest bird of prey.


Britain’s “worst football team”


has finally wonamatch, after


an 840-day, 73-game wait. Fort


William FC, who play in the


Scottish Highland League,


defeated Nairn County 5-2 at


Claggan Park last week. The


team, which featured inarecent


BBC Scotland documentary,


received congratulations from


clubs around the country.


Footage of the dressing room


showed champagne popping


and players chanting the name


of Russell MacMorran, the


former policeman who took


over as manager in January


followinga14-1 defeat.


AFrench inventor successfully flew


across the Channel last weekend


on his jet-powered hoverboard.


Franky Zapata, who lost two


fingers while developing his board,


completed the 22-minute journey


from Sangatte near Calais to St


Margaret’s Bay in Kent on his


second attempt, having fallen into


the sea onatrip two weeks ago.


Powered by five turbojets, the


device hasabackpack that carries


enough kerosene to stay airborne


for ten minutes, so Zapata had to


makearefuelling stop onamid-


Channel platform. Escorted by


three helicopters, he hitatop


speed of 105mph.


COVER CARTOON: HOWARD MCWILLIAM

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