Finchley 1959 - Explore new Perspectives

Former New York Governor George Pataki has ended his campaign to be the Republican Presidential candidate in 2016. This comes just over a week after Senator Graham quit too, and just over a month before the first voters head to the polling stations. The moderate Republican Pataki failed to differentiate himself in the crowded 2016 field, and leaves 12 candidates in the race. George Pataki was the Governor of New York on 9/11 and based his campaign strategy on crisis management and foreign policy experience. He was also the only Republican candidate who supported same-sex marriage and one of the first ones to continusoly attack Trump over his comments during the early summer campaign period. Yet despite all of his best effort, he has failed to gain momentum in the polls, and never really polled above 2%. Not even in New Hampshire where he focused his campaign. He also failed to raise enough money to continue, and continues the "Curse of the Governors". Pataki became the ...

2015 has been incredibly exciting yet turbulent. Bloody yet promising. One thing is for sure, no one have predicted it the way it actually turned out. But we'll try it for 2016 regardless. The Paris Attacks, the fight against ISIS, the Pope's historic visit to the US, the Greek and Chinese economic troubles, the legalization of same-sex marriage in the US, Water on Mars, Volkswagen Scandal, new reigning record set by Queen Elizabeth II, Cecil the Lion, Women's World Cup, mass shootings and racial divide in the US, Climate Deal in Paris and the Nepal Earthquake were some of the events that dominated the news broadcasts in the year of 2015. We also lost some very influential people such as King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Leonard Nimoy, Lee Kuan Yew, B.B. King, John Nash, Christopher Lee, Omar Sharif, Helmut Schmidt, Maureen O'Hara and Lemmy of Motorhead just yesterday. Social Media also reached new heights as did Hollywood with Spectre, Jurassic World and Star...

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham became the latest Republican Presidential candidate to suspend his candidacy. While Graham consistently received positive feedback from his debate performances, he has failed to convert them to higher poll numbers and fundraising. The veteran Senator had a very strong foreign policy credential, but will be most remembered for his quarrels with frontrunner Donald Trump. Graham's exit leaves 13 candidates in the contest, although the number of candidates with even decent chances is about half of that number. Graham's campaign was always considered to be a long-shot one, but with the endorsement of 2008 nominee, John McCain early on, he was taken more seriously. However even with McCain's endorsement, Graham failed to lift off. Early on he received heavy criticism for being too boring and lacking public speaking skills, but he actually performed really well during the undercard debates. But the emphasis is on the undercard, as he nev...

The last debates of the year for both parties occurred, and now it is time to get ready for the Christmas Campaign. The Democrats met up in New Hampshire, where Bernie Sanders seems to have a small, yet comfortable lead over Hillary Clinton. It may have been the honorary home state advantage, but Bernie Sanders won the debate. He came out very strong and excited, and delivered a great performance. There were two things that could have seriously hurt him. Guns, but he handled those questions well. Data breach. Data breach? What data breach? That's right, no one cares about that. It only showed that the DNC really is against Bernie rise to stardom, but their plan backfired as the Vermont Senator gained more support. The latest polls show that he is increasing his lead in New Hampshire, and he is slowly, but once again chipping away from Hillary's lead in Iowa and nationwide after weeks of stagnating results. Hillary didn't have a bad night either. She was better tha...

It is now only 50 days till Iowa, and Ted Cruz is the new star on the block. Latest polls show that the Texas Senator overtook the lead from Donald Trump. In the string of latest national polls however, Trump is still leading, but his lead has also fallen, as Marco Rubio rises as well, but currently Cruz has the momentum. On the national scale, Carson's fall is the most visible change. He has made some controversial comments lately, and as a result is falling at a faster rate than President Obama's approval rate. Trump continues to be controversial, and it looks like his latest (disgraceful) comments against muslims might finally make him go down, to a degree at least.  It is also now time for Graham, Gilmore, Pataki and Santorum to finally quit. They clearly have no measurable support behind them after months, so they should just leave to make more space. Although it is not like their exit would give a huge boost to any of the candidates.  It is also time for Senator...

France held the first round of it's regional elections yesterday, resulting in a historic win for Marine Le Pen's National Front. In the first electoral test since last month's attacks on Paris, Le Pen triumphed by winning in her own region, and carrying 5 other races out of 12. Next Sunday, things could change in the second round, but the odds are in the National Front's favour. Whatever the results will be, it is clear that France is now a three party system. The people of France have raised their voices, and it is clear what they want. Just like in America, the anti-establishment sentiment is fast gaining ground. After the attacks on Paris that left 130 people dead, security has become the most important topic for people. Despite President Hollande's strong and confident response, his party couldn't do better than the third place. Former President Nicolas Sarkozy's party, The Republicans, have came second in a race that is seen as a very importan...

The UK has joined its coalition partners in carrying out airstrikes on ISIS in Syria. The Parliament overwhelmingly voted in favour of Prime Minister David Cameron's proposal late on Wednesday night, with a margin of 397 to 223. Within an hour, UK airplanes took of their base in Cyprus, and carried out the first round of attack inside Syria, mostly on oil fields. One of the most important goals of the government is to limit the income of the military group, and they are thought to be earning most of their money through selling oil. It has not be an easy road for David Cameron. After 2013's failed attempt to get the support of the MP's, most people thought that it is impossible to intervene. But something always intervenes. This time it was Paris. Since ISIS' attack on Paris three weeks ago, the public sentiment shifted. And David Cameron used it effectively. The British people are more afraid that this could happen to them as well, so latest polls show that t...