Alexander Isak was never told he could leave Newcastle this summer, insists Howe

Alexander Isak was never told he could leave Newcastle this summer, insists Howe

Swedish striker looks set to get his Liverpool move ‘I have no control over it’, admits Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has rebutted suggestions he promised Alexander Isak a transfer out of Newcastle this summer but indicated it may be in everyone’s best interests if the striker departed. Rumours that Newcastle’s manager had informed Isak he would be free to join Liverpool once a replacement was signed have been circulating in the 10 days since the striker posted an emotional Instagram post talking of “broken promises” but Howe has, quite vehemently, rejected that notion. Continue reading...

The Cracker Barrel mess exposes the cynicism of the rightwing culture war | Sidney Blumenthal

The Cracker Barrel mess exposes the cynicism of the rightwing culture war | Sidney Blumenthal

The restaurant means little to activists – it’s simply a tool to bludgeon perceived enemies and flex conservative power First they came for the Smithsonian. Then they came for Cracker Barrel. Whether it’s the museums or the corporations – or the universities, law firms, federal departments and agencies – the attack lines of the Trump culture war and its culture warriors are the same. The vicious full-scale assault on the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain after the company naively wandered on to the battle zone by altering its “Old Timer” logo exposes the cynicism of the whole operation and its ulterior motive to impose an authoritarian regime over every aspect of American society. Sidney Blumenthal, former senior adviser to President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, has published three books of a projected five-volume political life of Abraham Lincoln: A Self-Made Man , Wrestling With His Angel and All the Powers of Earth . He is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...