Attention to the Unseen

Rafael Behr writes: The story that May’s deal, sprinkled with magic codicils, could be transformed from a dud to diamond was dishonest. The Brexit ultras of the European Research Group put on a show of legal piety, convening a “star chamber” of jurists to evaluate the EU’s offer. They borrowed the nomenclature from Tudor England, not because the historical analogy is appropriate but as a stylistic affectation, lending bogus gravitas to what is, in reality, a conclave of veteran Eurosceptics…

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Kevin Rudd, former Australian prime minister, writes: I’m struck, as the British parliament moves towards the endgame on Brexit, with the number of times Australia, Canada, New Zealand and India have been advanced by the Brexiteers in the public debate as magical alternatives to Britain’s current trade and investment relationship with the European Union. This is the nuttiest of the many nutty arguments that have emerged from the Land of Hope and Glory set now masquerading as the authentic standard-bearers…

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The New York Times reports: The Trump administration is preparing to shutter many of its immigration operations abroad, cutting back on a key support system for those applying overseas to relocate to the United States. The director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, L. Francis Cissna, told senior staff members this week that the international division, which has operations in more than 20 countries, would close down by the end of the year, according to two people with knowledge…

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Hussein Agha and Robert Malley write: The spectre of sectarianism haunts the Middle East. It is blamed for chaos, conflict, and extremism. It defines what is seen as the region’s principal fault line: Sunni versus Shiite. It has the power and elegance of a grand theory that seemingly explains all. Sunnis, embattled and embittered by Shiite ambitions, radicalize in large numbers, join Al Qaeda, or enlist in isis. Shiites, moved by the anxiety of a minority, overstep and seek power…

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Michael Tomasky writes: From what I see, Elizabeth Warren is running the best race so far by miles. Warren is doing something none of the rest of them are doing. She’s running for president. The others are just positioning. I suppose that’s not necessarily true of Bernie Sanders, who has one gear and we know what it is, and we already know from last time what his positions are (although he has added a wealth tax, which I endorse heartily)….

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The Washington Post reports: President Trump returned to the White House from his private resort in Florida on Sunday. In total, Trump has spent all or part of 42 weekend days at the resort since his inauguration — time during which his schedule is almost always kept completely private. Shortly after Trump was inaugurated, this was novel. When Trump’s press team called a lid on the day on Feb. 18, 2017 — meaning that Trump would not be doing anything…

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Sarah Jones writes: Whatever you think of Ilhan Omar, you have to admit she’s fearless. In an interview with Politico’s Tim Alberta, the freshman Democratic representative from Minnesota criticized the insufficiencies of Barack Obama’s “hope and change,” pointing to the former president’s “caging of kids” at the border and his “droning of countries around the world” as proof. “We can’t be only upset with Trump,” she said. “His policies are bad, but many of the people who came before him…

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Rahm Emanuel writes: Few could have predicted that President Donald Trump would be this good at surrendering the political advantage of a strong economy. Not only is he now underwater in the three states that pushed him to victory in 2016—he’s now unexpectedly vulnerable in places such as Texas, Florida, and Ohio as well. His popularity rises to 50 percent or higher in states that total a mere 102 electoral votes. Probably of more concern to his campaign: He’s fallen…

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The Independent reports: Embattled Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the country is “not a state of all its citizens” in yet another apparent attempt to win extremist anti-Arab support ahead of the upcoming general election. The comments, made on Facebook, were a direct reference to the country’s 1.6 million Arabs, who make up almost a fifth of the population. “Israel is not a state of all its citizens,” he wrote in response to comments from the TV host…

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David Rothkopf writes: Just take what we know now, thanks to the great reporting of the Miami Herald and Mother Jones, both of which have broken a series of important stories about this tangled web of creeps trying to make a buck in the worst ways possible: Cindy Yang founded a chain of massage parlors. One of those was busted by Florida police. Robert Kraft, owner of the perennial Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots was arrested for what he…

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Andrew Sullivan writes: The question [of how to “write honestly about the Israel lobby’s power in D.C. without using any anti-Semitic ‘tropes’ at all”], it seems to me, is one of proportion. Take foreign aid. The U.S. provides the Jewish state with $3.8 billion a year in aid, and has committed to doing so for each of the next ten years. Compare that with what the U.S. gives other allies who are as wealthy as Israel: The U.K. got $150,000…

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Anne Applebaum writes: Britain has become a place where untransparent money, from unknown sources, is widely accepted with a complacent shrug. London is the world capital of offshore banking, home to the most sophisticated accountants and lawyers; a third of British billionaires have availed themselves of those services and moved their money beyond the reach of the state, according to a report Thursday in the Times of London. Many of them nevertheless continue to make donations to British political parties,…

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