On January 31, Gary Grappo, a former diplomat and Fair Observer’s chairman of the Board, grudgingly came to the defense of the Trump administration’s “deal of the century” that many feel has abusively been referred to as a “peace plan.” Grappo begins by admitting that it is unambiguously “an Israeli plan.” His reasoning nevertheless echoes […] More
In early 2017, Europe’s far-right parliamentary bloc met in Koblenz, Germany, to plot its political future. The meeting of the bloc’s leaders — which included Marine le Pen from France, Matteo Salvini from Italy and Geert Wilders from the Netherlands — took place shortly after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump. The group was […] More
The epicenter of China’s coronavirus outbreak is widely thought to be a wet market in Wuhan. At such markets, seafood, chicken and other conventional foodstuffs are on sale alongside live animals. You can buy more than just dogs and cats there: Local epicures also shop for more exotic fare like foxes, badgers, civets and snakes. […] More
The week began with a tragic patch of fog in California, continued with the smoke-and-mirrors diplomacy of Donald Trump and Jared Kushner in the Middle East, and is ending with Boris Johnson kicking off his nation’s great adventure into the mists of the future, the great unknown. What’s the forecast? Eleven months of unabated and […] More
Following President Donald Trump’s long-awaited unveiling of his “deal of the century” Middle East peace plan on January 28, the Palestinians now confront an existential moment: find a way to make it work or begin wrestling with how to accommodate a single state. The optics of Trump’s announcement ceremony said it all. A beaming Israeli […] More
In Havana, Cuba, the effects of sanctions imposed by the Trump administration have seeped their way into daily life: the long lines of cars outside gas stations, the dwindling stock on store shelves, the increasingly common apagones, or power outages. In early September 2019, Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel appeared on live television to address the […] More
Last July, Warren B. Kanders stepped down from his role as vice chairman of the Whitney Museum of American Art. His resignation was a response to protests regarding the sale of tear gas by his company, Safariland. Their ire was roused by reports that the tear gas had been used against migrants, including children, on […] More
The regional election held in Emilia Romagna on January 26 was not simply a local affair. The election saw the incumbent governor, Stefano Bonaccini, of the center-left coalition’s Democratic Party (PD), take 51,4% of the vote — a win that will have far-reaching consequences in Italy and Europe. In the last weeks, Emilia Romagna was the […] More
