Another brilliant but hugely depressing article. I cannot understand how there isn't one Republican Senator who seems to even think about the damage being done as they just sit there and nod. Thw are all complicit in this insanity. It is astounding that in this supposedly advanced society we have just 2 madmen, Trump and Putin (well I suppose three with Netenyahu) holding the whole world to ransom and nobody does a damn thing about any of them.
What depresses me are the Dem Congressmen/ Senators who acquiesced in the appointment of Hegseth, Witkoff, Bondi, Patel, and ofc RFK. That's the most frightening aspect for me.
Oh, and all the RW journos & pols in the UK who told me that Trump's foreign policy would be better than Harris' or Biden's. Not one of those people ever gets held to account for getting it so publicly, confidently, catastrophically wrong.
And here of course we had Brexshit, an extreme right wing-driven economic disaster for this country which ten years down the line is still affecting us really badly.. These morons are now trying to get back into power under a different label but it's the same failed people that we had before. You are right they have done so much damage and not one person has faced any consequence.
Unfortunately we have our fair number of crazies in the UK as well, who hang on to Trump as though he is the Messiah despite everything we can see with our own eyes coming out of the US. It is so depressing!
Well, in the end only Hitler and Stalin were the two big ones that started WWII. For Stalin to get pissed off by dimwit Hitler who then haphazardly decides to invade his country in the same stupid way that earlier Napoleon did. All stuff, and the rest, that anyone with a mite more brain power than Putin and Trump would have taken into consideration. They and the sick ones supporting them (Hegseth anyone?) do not. I’m curious what will be left of human life on planet Earth once all this is finished, as it will.
Most people can't do anything Russia the US and Israel are sovereign nations. All three are powerful enough it's difficult to constrain them unless you want to take over their capitals.
It's up to their governments to and their citizens to stop it.
It seems the war is popular in Israel maybe Netanyahu isn't. In the US half the voters are republicans and like what's happening. Plus right now the Republicans could end this all tomorrow if they like.
Cannot fault a single word. However I remain hopeful that slowly the populist tanker is sinking under the weight of it's own folly. There will be brighter times ahead, but it will take some time.
Thank you Ian. I was almost in tears by the end of this one. The audio didn't sound as uplifting as it normally does, probably on account of your tiredness, but I sense, not just in you, but in a lot of my friends, that we've almost had enough, this is reminding us all too much of Brexit, a self-inflicted calamity brought on by 1 madman this time, whereas it was a phalanx of them 10 years ago. We must turn this tide, but like Canute, I for one feel powerless. Just one extra thought, in my view the most awful of the Trump enablers is Rubio, seeing him on Thursday sat next to Trump like a petrified weasel was nauseating, I detest the little twerp, because he knows what he's doing is immoral, but he'd literally wipe Trump's arse in public if he was told to. Despicable man.
You write so eloquently about such misery. Thank you also for raising the point that the poor around the world are already suffering and will suffer the most. There really isn’t enough coverage of that aspect in the mainstream UK media.
You're telling us a galling fable which unlike other fables we can watch being enacted. The worst of American politicians have thrown in their lot with the demented old fool in the White House. There's the real American Tragedy, which as you clearly show, ripples out from the former 'last great hope of mankind' and destroys that hope everywhere. This failure to uphold morality by the American elites will be the downfall of their tawdry polity. We will rebuild but without them.
This will end badly as he has managed to antagonize most of the coalition that elected him, even MAGA cultists will shit themselves if he sends in the Marines, more boots on foreign soil and body bags coming home. He will be a violent angry lame duck from November for the next two years.
It will be important to the future of the US that they hold a real reckoning come 2028. Everyone from the idiot self enrichers like Witkoff, Kushner, the cultists like Miller, the opportunists like Noem, Bondi, the Doge clowns and the masked ICE killers need to go to prison. Laws need to be rewritten to be tighter and not let this happen ever again.
I agree. I do understand why democrats were reluctant to be seen to take 'political revenge' upon Trump after his first term, but the collapse in norms and laws that has resulted from the lack of accountability has been devastating.
Nothing we see from the other autocrats comes close. You feel that Putin, Xi, Kim Jong Un would be embarrassed if they were shown the naked grovelling and debasement of those around Trump. It is way beyond parody. No amount of apologies, sackcloth and ashes, should save these people from being utterly humiliated and despised in future.
But in today's USA, little confidence that it will happen.
You could have started this with ‘once upon a time’ it sounded at the beginning like a children’s story. Somewhere along the way it turned into a Greek tragedy of a capricious Zeus having a bad war day. There needs to be a final act that avoids the Armageddon showdown between good and evil that we’ve seen from Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter to Narnia and Hunger Games because we lack a credible band of good guys. We just have one group of bad guys lining up against another group of bad guys at the moment.
Great to hear Thanos again. I guess he is over excited at your return. Welcome home.
Not all the judges in the US are biased. Trump has lost around 90% of cases against his policies that have come to court. His arse is being saved by the conservative majority on the Supreme Court who use the shadow docket to reach decisions that go against the rulings of most their peers and they don't even deign to provide reasons for their decisions. There have been some spectacular dissents from the liberal justices on the court resulting in veery public spats.
Hundreds of government lawyers have resigned and the Department of Justice has struggled to find replacements. Many Trump appointees have been ruled unqualified by lower courts and by state bar associations. The AG, Pam Bondi, retaliates by sacking anyone appointed in their place but this doesn't solve the problem. The administration has regularly defied court orders and even admits it in court. Her solution is a regulation that would enable her to ban state bars from investigating ethics infractions.
I have been shocked at the apparent absence of any mechanisms to stop what is in many ways state capture by the executive, in a country traditionally considered to be the leader of the democratic free world. What Trump has done to institutions and the rules-based order is horrifying, but it is even more horrifying that he has been able to abuse his power with so little domestic resistance, and without any threat to his position. The mid-terms may change this, but this is more hope than expectation.
‘A no-deal Brexit in military form’ is a great analogy for the foreseeable economic chaos caused by the Iran war stupidity.
The most frustrating aspect is that there has been credible reporting that the US-Iran talks before the bombing started were actually going well, with Iran co-operating and making a number of unexpected concessions. It was anticipated that further progress could be made, and that it was entirely realistic that Iran could be defanged without having to use force. Whether Trump did not fully understand the extent of this progress or chose to ignore it as an inconvenient truth is not clear, but it is unlikely Iran will want to make those concessions again.
I don’t think we should under-estimate Netanyahu’s influence on Trump in all of this. That is not to absolve Trump of his responsibility for this mess, but Netanyahu has always been hell-bent on destroying Iran, and with a dangerous combination of arrogance and delusion is absolute in his belief that this can only be done militarily, despite it being self-evident to most others that this will only serve to make Iran more hostile and unpredictable.
A great piece Ian. It brought to mind the murderous policies of other vain despots, Mao's Great Leap Forward, Stalin's Holodomar, among others. No checks, no restraints, cowed sycophants around the court. Why don't people remember this?
Another brilliant but hugely depressing article. I cannot understand how there isn't one Republican Senator who seems to even think about the damage being done as they just sit there and nod. Thw are all complicit in this insanity. It is astounding that in this supposedly advanced society we have just 2 madmen, Trump and Putin (well I suppose three with Netenyahu) holding the whole world to ransom and nobody does a damn thing about any of them.
I'd add the Hungarian president to that list. His reach is less wide, but he's regularly holding the EU to ransom.
What depresses me are the Dem Congressmen/ Senators who acquiesced in the appointment of Hegseth, Witkoff, Bondi, Patel, and ofc RFK. That's the most frightening aspect for me.
Oh, and all the RW journos & pols in the UK who told me that Trump's foreign policy would be better than Harris' or Biden's. Not one of those people ever gets held to account for getting it so publicly, confidently, catastrophically wrong.
And here of course we had Brexshit, an extreme right wing-driven economic disaster for this country which ten years down the line is still affecting us really badly.. These morons are now trying to get back into power under a different label but it's the same failed people that we had before. You are right they have done so much damage and not one person has faced any consequence.
Unfortunately we have our fair number of crazies in the UK as well, who hang on to Trump as though he is the Messiah despite everything we can see with our own eyes coming out of the US. It is so depressing!
Well, in the end only Hitler and Stalin were the two big ones that started WWII. For Stalin to get pissed off by dimwit Hitler who then haphazardly decides to invade his country in the same stupid way that earlier Napoleon did. All stuff, and the rest, that anyone with a mite more brain power than Putin and Trump would have taken into consideration. They and the sick ones supporting them (Hegseth anyone?) do not. I’m curious what will be left of human life on planet Earth once all this is finished, as it will.
Most people can't do anything Russia the US and Israel are sovereign nations. All three are powerful enough it's difficult to constrain them unless you want to take over their capitals.
It's up to their governments to and their citizens to stop it.
It seems the war is popular in Israel maybe Netanyahu isn't. In the US half the voters are republicans and like what's happening. Plus right now the Republicans could end this all tomorrow if they like.
Cannot fault a single word. However I remain hopeful that slowly the populist tanker is sinking under the weight of it's own folly. There will be brighter times ahead, but it will take some time.
insha'Allah
A depressing and brilliant read. Made even more depressing by you not telling us to fuck off, Ian 🙁
My sentiments exactly. Incorrect spelling of aluminium and not being told to fuck off - come on Dunt, you’ve slipped up this week!
Thank you Ian. I was almost in tears by the end of this one. The audio didn't sound as uplifting as it normally does, probably on account of your tiredness, but I sense, not just in you, but in a lot of my friends, that we've almost had enough, this is reminding us all too much of Brexit, a self-inflicted calamity brought on by 1 madman this time, whereas it was a phalanx of them 10 years ago. We must turn this tide, but like Canute, I for one feel powerless. Just one extra thought, in my view the most awful of the Trump enablers is Rubio, seeing him on Thursday sat next to Trump like a petrified weasel was nauseating, I detest the little twerp, because he knows what he's doing is immoral, but he'd literally wipe Trump's arse in public if he was told to. Despicable man.
You write so eloquently about such misery. Thank you also for raising the point that the poor around the world are already suffering and will suffer the most. There really isn’t enough coverage of that aspect in the mainstream UK media.
You're telling us a galling fable which unlike other fables we can watch being enacted. The worst of American politicians have thrown in their lot with the demented old fool in the White House. There's the real American Tragedy, which as you clearly show, ripples out from the former 'last great hope of mankind' and destroys that hope everywhere. This failure to uphold morality by the American elites will be the downfall of their tawdry polity. We will rebuild but without them.
This will end badly as he has managed to antagonize most of the coalition that elected him, even MAGA cultists will shit themselves if he sends in the Marines, more boots on foreign soil and body bags coming home. He will be a violent angry lame duck from November for the next two years.
It will be important to the future of the US that they hold a real reckoning come 2028. Everyone from the idiot self enrichers like Witkoff, Kushner, the cultists like Miller, the opportunists like Noem, Bondi, the Doge clowns and the masked ICE killers need to go to prison. Laws need to be rewritten to be tighter and not let this happen ever again.
I agree. I do understand why democrats were reluctant to be seen to take 'political revenge' upon Trump after his first term, but the collapse in norms and laws that has resulted from the lack of accountability has been devastating.
Absolutely Spot on
Nothing we see from the other autocrats comes close. You feel that Putin, Xi, Kim Jong Un would be embarrassed if they were shown the naked grovelling and debasement of those around Trump. It is way beyond parody. No amount of apologies, sackcloth and ashes, should save these people from being utterly humiliated and despised in future.
But in today's USA, little confidence that it will happen.
He is monstrous as are those lick-spittle minions who enable him.
You could have started this with ‘once upon a time’ it sounded at the beginning like a children’s story. Somewhere along the way it turned into a Greek tragedy of a capricious Zeus having a bad war day. There needs to be a final act that avoids the Armageddon showdown between good and evil that we’ve seen from Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter to Narnia and Hunger Games because we lack a credible band of good guys. We just have one group of bad guys lining up against another group of bad guys at the moment.
Great to hear Thanos again. I guess he is over excited at your return. Welcome home.
Not all the judges in the US are biased. Trump has lost around 90% of cases against his policies that have come to court. His arse is being saved by the conservative majority on the Supreme Court who use the shadow docket to reach decisions that go against the rulings of most their peers and they don't even deign to provide reasons for their decisions. There have been some spectacular dissents from the liberal justices on the court resulting in veery public spats.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/oct/04/justice-ketanji-brown-jackson-supreme-court
Hundreds of government lawyers have resigned and the Department of Justice has struggled to find replacements. Many Trump appointees have been ruled unqualified by lower courts and by state bar associations. The AG, Pam Bondi, retaliates by sacking anyone appointed in their place but this doesn't solve the problem. The administration has regularly defied court orders and even admits it in court. Her solution is a regulation that would enable her to ban state bars from investigating ethics infractions.
https://abovethelaw.com/2026/03/doj-proposes-rule-blocking-state-bars-from-investigating-ethical-violations-by-government-lawyers/
That AG is way out of order and control. Is she even qualified enough for her job? I think I heard she was not.
I have been shocked at the apparent absence of any mechanisms to stop what is in many ways state capture by the executive, in a country traditionally considered to be the leader of the democratic free world. What Trump has done to institutions and the rules-based order is horrifying, but it is even more horrifying that he has been able to abuse his power with so little domestic resistance, and without any threat to his position. The mid-terms may change this, but this is more hope than expectation.
‘A no-deal Brexit in military form’ is a great analogy for the foreseeable economic chaos caused by the Iran war stupidity.
The most frustrating aspect is that there has been credible reporting that the US-Iran talks before the bombing started were actually going well, with Iran co-operating and making a number of unexpected concessions. It was anticipated that further progress could be made, and that it was entirely realistic that Iran could be defanged without having to use force. Whether Trump did not fully understand the extent of this progress or chose to ignore it as an inconvenient truth is not clear, but it is unlikely Iran will want to make those concessions again.
I don’t think we should under-estimate Netanyahu’s influence on Trump in all of this. That is not to absolve Trump of his responsibility for this mess, but Netanyahu has always been hell-bent on destroying Iran, and with a dangerous combination of arrogance and delusion is absolute in his belief that this can only be done militarily, despite it being self-evident to most others that this will only serve to make Iran more hostile and unpredictable.
A brilliant article. Faultless and powerful. You are a good writer, but on this occasion, a great one.
"Thanos!, shut the fuck up... I don't know if you can hear this but my dog is losing his tits outside".
There's more sense, fact and empathy in those words than in anything Trump or Hegseth will shit out either this week or any other.
Great article, but the audio version is even better.
The audio was very good. Had me smiling, despite the existential nature of the piece.
A great piece Ian. It brought to mind the murderous policies of other vain despots, Mao's Great Leap Forward, Stalin's Holodomar, among others. No checks, no restraints, cowed sycophants around the court. Why don't people remember this?
Fantastic article Ian. Although profoundly depressing.