Current affairs in the media: US versus UK
In a comparison between American and British print and television programmes about current affairs, the Americans come out on top every time, despite the received wisdom. [More >>>]
Category: International Affairs
Two additions to the website
There are two highly readable additions to this website, one by historian and veteran diplomat David Tothill on an intriguing incident in diplomatic history, the other, by my wife Jane, an expanded and up-dated edition of her story of my father and his family history, fascinating social as well as family history. (More >>>>)
Diplomatic privileges and immunities: booze and abuse
Are diplomatic privileges and immunities an anachronistic perk for pampered diplomats, or a necessary condition for them to perform their functions? (More >>>)
Diplomatic immunity and the London congestion charge
The American embassy’s bizarre decision to join a few other diplomats in refusing to pay the London congestion charge (a form of road toll) has prompted renewed debate about diplomatic immunity and whether it can be abused with impunity (More >>>>)
American soldiers in Iraq
A brilliant piece from the NYT magazine by Dexter Filkins on US soldiers in Iraq, recommended by award-winning British journalist Stephen Grey, who originally exposed the scandal of ‘rendition’. (More >>>)
More EU enlargement: a modest proposal
The encouragement of democratic reform in Turkey is quoted as a main reason for offering EU membership to that country. But why confine it to Turkey? Other candidates spring to mind. [More >>>]
The World Affairs Group at Keele
A remarkable adult group assembles weekly at Keele University to hear a long talk on a current affairs subject, the brainchild of a very remarkable man — Owen Powell [More >>>]
A legal blog on Lynndie England
A liberal/legal American blog casts disturbing light on the case of Lynndie England of Abu Ghraib [More >>>]
Why Blair went to war in Iraq: it wasn’t all irrational or dishonourable, but…
There were respectable and logical reasons for using force against Iraq, but they were vitiated by failures of nerve and judgement as to lawfulness and timing. [More …]
Kosovo: a myth on the road to Iraq
The NATO attack on Serbia over Kosovo was illegal, unnecessary, unsuccessful, and fraudulently justified. Belief in its success led on to Iraq. [More >>>]