Free Republic

I first met Qassem four years ago, at the height of the European refugee crisis. The BBC had sent me to capture the stories of Mideast migrants, thousands of whom would daily wash ashore on the Greek isles. He was around 15, malnourished and clearly traumatized. As we sat together in a cabin at a ­migrant camp on the island of Lesbos, his hunched body rocked backward and forward. His marginal life amounted to a speck of dust amid the geopolitical earthquakes that were remaking the region at the time. Yet the story he told opened a window onto the...

Two big problems hit the Obama White House on Oct. 1: the government shutdown, which saw hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed, national parks closed, and other disruptions. And the launch of the Affordable Care Act, which was always going to be tricky. The first problem was solved – temporarily, at least – when Republicans and Democrats worked out a stop-gap spending deal, also heading off (for now) a government default on its debts. By most accounts, the White House came out the winner, although President Obama was careful not to beat his chest too much about it. The...

Hillary drafted to tackle the Right By Toby Harnden in Washington (Filed: 20/11/2002) Hillary Clinton, who famously blamed her husband's woes as on a "vast, Right-wing conspiracy" is poised to become a Democratic leader charged with countering Republican attacks. Mrs Clinton is expected to head the US Senate's steering and coordination committee, a promotion that would put her in control of the Democratic "message" for the 2004 elections. The move could tilt the party, which is in disarray after its stunning defeats in this month's mid-term elections, further to the Left. Democratic centrists reacted with dismay while Republicans said they...