More from Janine di Giovanni
One of my most treasured birthday presents came from a colleague a few years ago: a small, leather-bound copy of the US Constitution. It sits on display on a table in the entryway to my apartment as a reminder to my son and I – and to anyone who comes to visit – of what binds America and what we hold dearest. The Constitution established our national government and fundamental laws; it guaranteed basic rights for our citizens.
As an American who spent most of her life in other countries and has now returned to the US, I watched in horror yesterday as the Capitol came under attack.
As a former war reporter, I am familiar with chaos and disorder – the tear gas, the broken windows, the riots. I am just not used to seeing it in America.
The America I woke up to this morning is not the America that I love and believe in. Watching the images of rioteers storming of the US Capitol, our ethos and what we adhere to – what is just and fair – was crushed.
The police acted slowly to stop Trump loyalists from barreling past barricades into the Capitol. And this is not over. It may well be a sign of things to come if our institutions continue to erode. What happened yesterday in the Capitol could not have happened elsewhere – in Canada, Britain or France.
Donald Trump has less than two weeks left in the White House. But even in that limited time he can be dangerous. The US president is still encouraging his followers – the red-hat 'Make American Great Again' crowd – to follow his 'ideals', his distorted version of justice and freedom. His supporters' version of “Give me Liberty of Give Me Death” translates into not wearing masks, gathering in large numbers, carrying guns and flaunting dangerous conspiracy theories. In their world, human rights, rule of law and freedom of press do not exist.
Mr Trump is certainly guilty of inciting his followers, and sedition is a felony in the US. Yesterday's events were an affront to US democracy. Back in school, I studied the writings of America's Founding Fathers – which included the first four American presidents – how they shaped a nation. Benjamin Franklin wrote: “The good-will of the governed will be starved if not fed by the good deeds of the governor”.
Yesterday we saw the governor, or rather President Donald Trump, stoking the fire, as he fuelled baseless conspiracy theories, inciting his supporters to violence. By thinking only of himself and not the good of the nation, he trampled on the values of the US Constitution, the framework and laws on which the country runs. Laws are the backbone of a nation and without that backbone in place, we will descend into anarchy – and not just for a few hours as it appeared yesterday.
Never have we Americans been so divided in our political beliefs, whether it is our views on justice or health care, from minimum wages to housing, to education to fundamental human rights, the divide is growing wider.
This morning I woke to commentators and political scientists here in America calling for Donald Trump to be impeached and convicted. The New York Times branded him a "willful arsonist who lit the match under the fabric of our constitutional republic." What we know is what Mike Pompeo warned voters back in March 2016 that Donald Trump would be "an authoritarian president who ignored our constitution".
Donald Trump started a fire. He appears determined to break everything before he leaves office. His Republican Party has enabled him and now they are split in two. Mr Trump has to go and face the consequences of his actions – if only to show ordinary Americans that even he – the commander-in-chief – is not above the rule of law.
Janine di Giovanni is a Senior Fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs
ENGLAND SQUAD
Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
World Cup warm-up fixtures
Friday, May 24:
- Pakistan v Afghanistan (Bristol)
- Sri Lanka v South Africa (Cardiff)
Saturday, May 25
- England v Australia (Southampton)
- India v New Zealand (The Oval, London)
Sunday, May 26
- South Africa v West Indies (Bristol)
- Pakistan v Bangladesh (Cardiff)
Monday, May 27
- Australia v Sri Lanka (Southampton)
- England v Afghanistan (The Oval, London)
Tuesday, May 28
- West Indies v New Zealand (Bristol)
- Bangladesh v India (Cardiff)
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The years Ramadan fell in May
Gully Boy
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi
Rating: 4/5 stars
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner: Omania, Saif Al Balushi (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
5.30pm: Conditions (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m
Winner: Brehaan, Richard Mullen, Ana Mendez
6pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,600m
Winner: Craving, Connor Beasley, Simon Crisford
6.30pm: The President’s Cup Prep (PA) Dh100,000 2,200m
Winner: Rmmas, Tadhg O’Shea, Jean de Roualle
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Dh70,000 1,200m
Winner: Dahess D’Arabie, Connor Beasley, Helal Al Alawi
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: Fertile De Croate, Sam Hitchcott, Ibrahim Aseel
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Volunteers offer workers a lifeline
Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.
When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.
Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.
Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.
“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.
Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.
“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh234,000 - Dh329,000
On sale: now
THE BIO
Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old
Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai
Favourite Book: The Alchemist
Favourite quote: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
Favourite place to Travel to: Vienna
Favourite cuisine: Italian food
Favourite Movie : Scent of a Woman
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
More from Janine di Giovanni
