Tag: politics
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THE CONTRACT

Sitting in the cafe with a view of the Houses of Parliament, he double-checked the decoded message. A simple cipher using ‘The Ambassadors’ by Henry James – the numbers referred to the pages of the book, the first letter of the third line on each page combined to give the location. He had it right.…
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CLARITY

‘Just to be clear,’ I said, knowing I was in no way being clear, ‘there will be no further austerity measures while I am in charge.’ I ended the speech, turned and walked away from the podium, the loud applause ringing in the background. Not a bad start, I thought. This wasn’t so difficult after…
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CERTAIN UNALIENABLE RIGHTS

Rodney asked him to watch his pretzel cart while he took a break. It was another humid night. Larry sat on the wall and rested his weary feet. He looked up at the statue with the Rockefeller building behind it. A huge white face with white hands covering the eyes. Ain’t that the truth, Larry…
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NOSTALGIA CAFE

‘What’s that?’ Jessie pointed outside at the stars and stripes fluttering on the flagpole. ‘That used to mean something.’ ‘I like the colours, it’s pretty.’ ‘It sure was. Ready for your food?’ ‘I can’t wait to try it. You used to eat these ‘hot dogs’ all the time, Gramps?’ ‘And burgers, chips, pizza.’ ‘This food…
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TRANSITION OF POWER

The transition from elected government to populist dictatorship had not been an easy one. Trying to convince people that they were moving from the dark ages of democracy to the enlightenment of an autocratic supreme ruler was a hard sell. The fact that the elected government he was replacing had been so ineffectual and weak…