Global Comment

Where the world thinks out loud

Must reads: US politics, crime writing, and a surreal election

A person reading a newspaper.

October is drawing to a close, the leaves are turning, and another week has begun…which means it’s time to talk about what we’re reading! We’re showing you ours…so pop into comments and show us yours as well!

The Italianization of American Politics — and Why It Terrifies Italians‘ (Pacific Standard)

What happens when the politics of your home nation begin to resemble the politics of your adopted one…and not in a good way?

I admit I felt a little smug when I compared the two political systems in conversation with Italians. I often wrote about politics and had even worked on one gubernatorial-level political campaign in Florida. I was aware the U.S. system had its own set of problems. But from my vantage point in Rome, it looked pretty good in comparison.

Writing in the Gray Areas‘ (Guernica)

A thoughtful read on what drives someone to become a writer…and the secrets that lie between the pages.

When my mother finally came out of prison, I overheard someone telling her that it was the same theater director Barney Simon, one of my mother’s best friends, who had been waiting outside those prison walls. Such a dramatic secret. It wormed its way inside of me until it hurt to hold it. But I couldn’t tell my mother I had been listening in–and I couldn’t tell anybody else–and so for years I carried the guilt of knowing what I shouldn’t have.

Russia’s October Surprise‘ (Foreign Affairs)

Russia has taken a rather unhealthy interest in the US election, as brought up during the last presidential debate. Are their attempts at tipping the election going to work?

Just before the WikiLeaks dump, the White House released a statement in which it directly accused Russia for the first time of hacking the e-mails of DNC and Democratic Party members. The unexpected and unprecedented announcement dominated the headlines, leaving Russia’s and WikiLeaks’ attempts to show Clinton as shifty and close to Wall Street as a sideshow.

Women Are Wavering in Trump County, USA‘ (Politico)

Recent revelations about Donald Trump have made him extremely unpalatable to a growing number of women, even Republican diehards and former Trumpettes. Are they going to cost him the election?

Thirty minutes later, inside Pizza City, as Team Trump for Indiana met with about a dozen members of the local Pachyderm Club—a group of Republicans and Trump supporters—the mood was downright funereal. It had the feeling of a group of battle-weary survivors huddling around a campfire to count their losses while bracing for what the next day might bring. While the official purpose of the meeting was to get out the vote early, it quickly turned into a Trump supporter group-therapy session.

Hating Hillary‘ (The Economist)

Why do so many people hate Hillary Clinton? The answers are complicated — and they say a lot about America.

Around 55% of Americans have an unfavourable view of her; about the same number do not trust her (see chart). Yet, among those who know Mrs Clinton, even critics praise her integrity. She is a politician, therefore self-interested and cynical at times—yet driven, they say, by an overarching desire to improve America. More surprising, given the many scandals she has been involved in, including an ongoing furore over her use of a private e-mail server as secretary of state, not many of those who have dealt with her seem to think her particularly shifty. Even some of her foes say the concern about her probity is overblown. “People can go back decades and perhaps criticise some of the judgments that were made,” Michael Chertoff, who was the Republican lead counsel in one of the first probes into Mrs Clinton, the Senate Whitewater Committee, but has endorsed her, told Bloomberg. “That is very, very insignificant compared to the fundamental issue of how to protect the country.”

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Photo: Jason Ralston/Creative Commons