Steve McGookinTrump acquitted as GOP falls in line over insurrection
The United States Senate voted to acquit former President Donald Trump on the single impeachment charge of inciting insurrection. Seven Republican Senators voted with the Democrats, but the eventual 57-43 vote was not sufficient to find Trump guilty and potentially bar him from holding public office again.
While the Democrats were largely felt to have initially built a good case, they subsequently backed down on calling witnesses, handing supporters of the former President an inevitable victory under cover of the technicality of “constitutionality”, even if some of them wanted to have their cake and eat it.
Some Republican commentators were far from happy with the outcome, and amid worrying portents for bipartisanship, the future of the party remains very much in limbo as attention begins to turn to the 2022 midterm elections.
Calls are expected to grow now for a 9/11-type commission to investigate the events of January 6th. For the former President himself, meanwhile, an immediate future of further legal entanglements looms.
See Also:
History At Stake As Impeachment Trial Begins
From The Big Lie To A Great Undoing
***
UK hits vaccination milestone
With the impeachment process formally over, all elements of the US government can now turn their attention to combating the Covid-19 pandemic. Daily new cases dipped below 100,000 for the first time in months, but sadly the US is now closing in on half a million total deaths.
The British government, meanwhile, announced that more than 15 million people have now received their first Covid vaccination, with PM Boris Johnson praising an “extraordinary feat” in the roll-out since the first vaccination was delivered on December 8th.
Even as new travel and quarantine restrictions for travelers into the UK come into force on Monday morning, there is growing pressure on the government from right-wingers to do more to open up society more quickly.
In Northern Ireland, Health Minister Robin Swann outlined plans for a roadmap out of lockdown as medical officials warned that some restrictions would endure for a significant period yet.
See Also:
Leaders Need To Lead: The Executive and Covid-19
Life Is Harder Right Now. We Should Be Kinder To Ourselves
The Covid-19 Vaccine Explained
***
Brexit ‘will need a ten-year view’
With more warnings this week that British firms are experiencing trading difficulties, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that the potential benefits of Brexit should be seen in a “ten year view”.
Meanwhile, as it emerged that Amsterdam had overtaken London as Europe’s leading share-trading centre, there were warnings that London’s status going forward was not as secure as some may think. Dan Davies wrote in The Guardian that “The danger to London as a financial centre is not that existing business will move, it’s that in the future, new things will happen somewhere else. As the proverb goes, the stone age didn’t end because we ran out of stones.”
As the proposed “Festival of Brexit” stirred up some predictable antagonism and ridicule, here in Northern Ireland, the operation of the Protocol continued to dominate political and business discourse.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson went on US television at the weekend to say how important it was to make the Protocol work.
Meanwhile, there was talk of another potential infrastructure project linking Northern Ireland and Scotland – this time a tunnel, rather than a bridge, quickly labeled the “Boris Burrow”. One MP called the idea “hallucinogenic.”
See Also:
The Long Way Home – Finding A Way Through The Brexit Debacle?
Northern Irish Parties And Europe
Reinforcing Northern Ireland’s In-Betweenness
***
Myanmar military ‘cracking down’
The military appears to be tightening its grip on the people of Myanmar, with another internet blackout in force at the weekend and a heavy military presence reported on the streets of Yangon.
The moves come after further protests against the military coup and the imposition of US sanctions against key figures. There have also been protests elsewhere in the region over the coup against the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, which won November’s election.
***
Reporter praised for speaking out on mental health
Finally this week, coming full circle, one of the journalists who brought the dramatic events at the Capitol on Jan 6th to life for the world was a young Irish correspondent for CNN, Donie O’Sullivan.
This week in the Irish Times, the Kerry-born reporter, who did a masters’ degree at Queen’s in Belfast, opened up about his own mental health in an interview with Simon Carswell.
“I would say that the chaos that I have had in the past in my mind is far more terrifying than anything I have encountered, even at the riot that day at the Capitol,” he said. “The most terrifying position I have been in in my life has been in my own mind in the grips of anxiety and depression.”
His brave and honest story generated a tremendous positive reaction and reminds us that momentous events in the world don’t happen in the abstract, but rather can have hidden and long-lasting impacts on all of those involved, while we can’t always see or understand what is under the surface for anyone.
Even young people dealing with the everyday effects of Covid are being affected by our collective ongoing social dislocation and will need help as we move forward.
Thank you for speaking out about such an important topic, Donie.
See Also:
Will Mental Health Issues Be The Next Wave?
Putting Wellbeing At The Centre Of A ‘Build Back Better’ Recovery
***
See Also Last Week’s Five Points:
Also published on Medium.
