Michael Day

Michael Day is a freelance writer and former foreign editor at the i Paper and Rome correspondent for the Independent

Today

Michael Day

Don’t forget the evil of the Iranian regime

From our UK edition

America’s war on Iran was supposed to give Iranians their freedom. But even in February, at the start of the conflict, the prospects for regime change seemed doubtful. Now hardline IRGC generals appear to be calling the shots. They’ve used the war as a pretext to go after opponents and increase the Islamic Republic’s repression to horrific new levels. More than 6,000 people, including protesters, journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders, dissidents and members of ethnic and religious minorities have been detained under the guise of national security. Many are executed after being dragged through kangaroo courts.

Tuesday

Michael Day

The BBC’s new Civilisations treats us like idiots

From our UK edition

Everyone’s moaning about political bias at the BBC. They have done for years. And they’ll continue to. The right’s accusations that the BBC is anti-Trump and anti-Israeli are mirrored by the left’s accusations that the BBC is pro-Israel and reluctant to criticise Brexit. This indicates the difficulty of the broadcaster’s role, and suggests it’s probably doing something right. The bigger issue with the BBC is that it is dumbing down its output, a process that it’s half confessed to with its vow to make ‘lighter’ content for ‘C2DE’ audiences, whatever they are. If you want an example of this condescension, look no further than the BBC’s latest blockbuster series, Civilisations: Rise and Fall, which began on Monday night with the Sack of Rome.

Friday

Michael Day

Is it too soon to say the truth about Dick Cheney?

From our UK edition

Long before Donald Trump arrived on the political scene to warp all international diplomacy and finance around him, there were US administrations creating greater calamities. George W Bush's first government, from 2001 to 2005, was one of them. Dubya wasn't a sleazy grifter or a weapons grade narcissist. But on his watch the United States did, with its war on Iraq, bring chaos to the Middle East and spark an explosion of Islamic terrorism for which we’re still paying the price. Cheney was a man devoid of empathy, who used US superpower to slay hundreds of thousands of people and smash things Of course, the Iraq invasion wasn’t his idea. The 'brains' behind the disaster were the neocons.

Saturday

Michael Day

Venezuela isn’t to blame for America’s drug problem

From our UK edition

There are plenty of accusations you could level at Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, the ex-union leader and bus driver, whose corruption and incompetence is steering the economy of his oil-rich Latin American nation off a cliff. But responsibility for America’s lethal drug habit is not one of them. That hasn’t stopped Donald Trump trying, however. 'We smoked a drug boat, and there’s 11 narco-terrorists at the bottom of the ocean,' Hegseth bragged Thus, we’ve seen Trump’s doltish 'Secretary of War' Pete Hegseth gleefully bombing small Venezuelan boats that he claims were carrying drug smugglers. 'We smoked a drug boat, and there’s 11 narco-terrorists at the bottom of the ocean,' Hegseth bragged after the first sinking on 3 September.