27 h. ago The Antichrist has long haunted American politics. Now it’s rearing its head again | Matthew Avery Sutton

From Silicon Valley to Michigan, the biblical figure is in the headlines. The shift from pulpits to politics is familiar – and dangerousTwo scenes from the past two weeks capture something unsettling – and familiar –about American public life. In San Francisco, a tech billionaire delivered a sold‑out, off‑the‑record lecture series on the antichrist. In Michigan, a man rammed his pickup truck into a Latter‑day Saints meetinghouse during Sunday worship, opened fire and set the building ablaze, apparently believing that Mormons are the antichrist.The antichrist is clearly back. But perhaps he has never really left.Matthew Avery Sutton is a Guggenheim Fellow and author of the forthcoming Chosen Land: How Christianity Made America and Americans Remade Christianity (Basic Books), in addition to five prior books on Christianity. He is the Claudius O and Mary Johnson distinguished professor and chair of the department of history at Washington State University. The views expressed here are h...

Politics

4 d. ago Black Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story – exhilarating record of game

London film festival Brathwaite’s empowering images of African Americans in the 1960s gave a new generation a fresh template for representation, brilliantly honoured hereThere have been some fascinating documentaries about photographers: Tish Murtha; Martin Parr; Vivian Maier. Maybe the movie documentary form is something that naturally comes alive when showcasing particularly vivid still images. Here is another outstanding example, from writer-director Yemi Bamiro, about the remarkable career of Kwame Brathwaite, a photographer, musician and African American activist who was a unique politico-aesthete. With his brother Elombe, he virtually invented the phrase “Black Is Beautiful” in the 1960s by photographing the Grandassa Models in Harlem: young African American women who became the sensational template for beauty, doing away with the usual cosmetic products and the usual white standard of femininity.Black Is Beautiful became a radical rallying cry, an inspired three-word prose po...

Politics

6 d. ago Furloughed federal workers in government shutdown aren’t owed back pay, Trump’s White House claims

‘The livelihoods of the patriotic Americans serving their country in the federal government are not bargaining chips in a political game,’ the American Federation of Government Employees national president said.

Politics

9 d. ago Blue states should come together to declare an emergency. Here’s how | Thomas Geoghegan

States opposed to Trump can create a compact – a new prototype for American government – even if it’s perceived as political theaterTrump is all about political theatre, or circus, and it often seems that even in resisting him, as decent citizens must do, we become part of the circus too. We are like the extras who splutter while he thrills the base by violating some heretofore inviolate human norm. So the show goes on. But why not put on our own show, our own form of political theatre, that leaves Trump out – or at least has a different focus?We could consider the kind of political theatre that Americans created from 1768 to 1776 to resist Britain’s growing crackdown. Instead of employing their creaky legislative bodies, they opted for new forms of resistance, non-importation committees, even a first continental congress with no apparent legitimacy or precedent.Thomas Geoghegan is a lawyer and author of Which Side Are You On? (1991) and The History of Democracy Has Yet to be Writte...

Politics

1 week ago “‘I’m leaving,’ Trump said. ‘There’s no reason to be here any more’”: inside the meeting that brought Nato to the brink

Former secretary general Jens Stoltenberg recalls the rollercoaster ride of dealing with Donald Trump – and how close the US president brought the alliance to the point of collapseNo other nation means more for what Nato is than the United States. It holds a unique position among member states due to its political, economic and military weight. Which is why the forces that dominate American politics – and who is in the White House – are such decisive factors. The presidential election in November 2016 was therefore not only important to the US, but also to all of Nato.For the first six months of 2016, Hillary Clinton was ahead in every poll. By autumn, election experts were predicting her victory. I, too, had a gut feeling this would be the outcome. On election night, my wife Ingrid and I arranged a party with friends and colleagues at the residence in Brussels. We rigged up a large television in the living room, and hamburgers were served. A long day lay ahead, so I turned in befor...

Politics

1 week ago How American political refugees, economic migrants and devoted Anglophiles are transforming London

How American political refugees, economic migrants and devoted Anglophiles are transforming London  Country Life

Politics

1 week ago Embattled figure in Native American politics resigns as chairman of pueblo governors coalition

An embattled figure in Native American politics has resigned as chairman of the All Pueblo Council of Governors, days after his arrest on suspicion of driving while intoxicated

Politics

1 week ago Putin says Charlie Kirk’s ‘disgusting’ murder is proof of a ‘deep rift’ in America

‘This is a sign of what happens — a deep rift in society,’ Putin said, adding: ‘I think the US is going this way.’

Politics

1 week ago Donald Trump urges generals to fight 'enemy within' in deeply troubling escalation

The US President appeared to be softening the ground for the illegal deployment of troops on American soil to crack down on protests and fight his political opponents

Politics

2 w. ago Idris Elba makes a rare appearance with his daughter Isan at the New York Film Festival premiere of A House Of Dynamite

The actor and rapper, 53, was among the stars of the American political thriller who attended the premiere at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center in NYC on Sunday.

Politics

2 w. ago Intense and intentional training is helping Democratic women gain state lawmaking seats

Democratic women have made gains in state legislatures and are now nearly equal in number to Democratic men in state legislatures since 2016, according to the The Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University

Politics

2 w. ago Trump swings by the Ryder Cup, soaking up fans’ love after vowing revenge on more of his enemies

President Donald Trump started Friday by warning that more of his enemies will face prosecution, shaking the foundations of the American justice system by treating it as a tool of political retribution

Politics

2 w. ago American Airlines fact checks right wing influencer who claimed a passenger was forced to change out of a Charlie Kirk shirt

Milo Yiannopoulos, a British far-right commentator, claimed the incident had occurred Wednesday during a flight from Dallas Fort Worth, Texas, to New York

Politics

2 w. ago German soccer star who condemned Charlie Kirk shooting banned from posting online without approval

Borussia Dortmund has reportedly placed social media restrictions on one of their players after he offered his thoughts and prayers to the murdered American MAGA political pundit, Charlie Kirk.

Events

2 w. ago The American political system is badly broken | Bernie Sanders

What we are witnessing right now is the rise of two Americas. One for the billionaire class. And one for everybody elseLet’s take a deep breath and, for one moment, forget about Donald Trump, Jimmy Kimmel, the UN, Charlie Kirk, Gaza, a government shutdown and the other crises that we face.Let’s talk instead about the reality which the corporately-controlled media and the corporately-controlled political system don’t talk about very much. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Democrats silent as Republicans seem galvanised after Charlie Kirk memorial

Democrats trod carefully in responding to event attended by nearly 100,000 that blended politics with religionDemocrats maintained a wary silence on Monday as Donald Trump’s Republican party appeared galvanised by a memorial service for the late rightwing activist Charlie Kirk that was part religious revival, part political rally.Nearly 100,000 people filled an American football stadium and overflow arena in Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday to pay tribute to Kirk, according to his his organisation Turning Point USA. The 31-year-old staunch Trump ally was shot dead on 10 September. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Democrats silent as Republicans galvanised after Charlie Kirk memorial

Democrats trod carefully in responding to event attended by nearly 100,000 that blended politics with religionDemocrats maintained a wary silence on Monday as Donald Trump’s Republican party appeared galvanised by a memorial service for the late rightwing activist Charlie Kirk that was part religious revival, part political rally.Nearly 100,000 people filled an American football stadium and overflow arena in Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday to pay tribute to Kirk, according to his his organisation Turning Point USA. The 31-year-old staunch Trump ally was shot dead on 10 September. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Amid the anger and hate, this is the big question: can societies still summon empathy? | Keith Magee

Free speech is vital for democracy but liberty cannot mean licence. We need to be able to prize the humanity of those we differ from and disagree withKeith Magee is a theologian and author, and chairs the Guardian FoundationSomething is happening, and we see it on both sides of the Atlantic. On the surface, it is about flags, identity and political allegiance. But to me, as an American living in Britain, recent events reveal something deeper: both our societies are normalising hate and othering in ways that corrode not only our politics but our souls.The something is aggressions and micro-aggressions: a coarsening of everyday encounters. I have snapshots. Recently, at a celebrated creative hub in London, I twice endured blatant bias. My guests and I – the only all-Black table in the room – were left in the dark, literally. As night fell, every other table was given a lamp except ours. When I raised it with management, I was interrupted, dismissed and told it was an oversight. A Blac...

Politics

3 w. ago ‘Our brand is crisis:’ Trump staffer caught on hot mic during Starmer meeting as he cites Sandra Bullock satire

The 2015 film portrayed an American political consultant hired to help a Bolivian politician win a presidential election

Events

3 w. ago Starmer defends UK commitment to free speech amid American criticism

The Prime Minister has come under fire from influential American figures amid accusations that new online safety laws restrict freedom of speech.

Politics