Ephems AFK
Ephems will be on holiday for the rest of November, so your killer comments will go unanswered for a while. (More >>>)
Brian Barder's website and blog Brian Barder's website and ephems
It couldn’t happen here
It couldn’t happen here. But that’s what we said before they abolished detention without trial, the presumption of innocence, double jeopardy…. [More >>>]
The Tory Davids face to face
Cameron vs. Davis in their television combat may have impressed their Tory grassroots target audience, but it was dispiriting for the rest of us: right-wing experience versus policy-lite charm. (More >>>)
David Blunkett’s downfall: the texts and the timing
Mr Blunkett’s difficulty in disentangling the obligatory from the optional in the Ministerial code of conduct is understandable in light of the relevant texts. His problem is with the timing. [More >>>]
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 >>>]
Levy Barder
A picture of my paternal grandfather, Levy, which is also a link to my album of other pictures on Flickr. [See complete entry for the photograph.]
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 >>>)