Great news for all real friends of Israel that the US is no longer voting against the UN’s Security Council resolution against further Jewish settlements on the West Bank. As an imperial historian I can imagine nothing more obviously and literally ‘imperialistic’ than the latter. And nothing more likely to further incite the Arabs.

Obama is doing a lot of good things now that he is no longer answerable to special interests and lobbies. His ban on oil drilling in the Arctic was another. It shows what he might have done, and the president he could have been, if he had not been beholden to what is laughably called American ‘democracy’.

Trump will try to row back on these, I imagine. Will he have the power?

Assange’s recent comments on Clinton and Trump (https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/dec/24/julian-assange-donald-trump-hillary-clinton-interview) are unsettling for his supporters (like me), but should be considered seriously. He’s right about Clinton: a poor ‘establishment’ candidate, in my view, though it has been difficult for male pro-feminists to say so. She would probably have continued America’s interventionist mistakes in the Middle East. Trump might not; probably for the wrong reasons, and in harness with worse policies in other areas, e.g. nuclear; but at least he may change the game plan, in ways that could open up other opportunities. Yes, it pains me to write this, too.

Could Wikileaks have been responsible for Hillary’s failure? If so, it would be the most incredible act of revenge in history, since Mrs Bobbit (?) cut her husband’s balls off for cheating on her.