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Katrina: Why the Red Cross was banned from New Orleans after the hurricane

The American Red Cross website confirms that the Red Cross was banned from entering New Orleans after the hurricane lest its relief efforts discourage evacuation. Hardly credible? [More >>>]

The UN summit and the US amendments

 In a cogent piece on his blog, Owen Barder has highlighted the mainly negative implications for international development aid policies and practices of the many amendments proposed, at the last moment, by the controversial...

Two wars to defend freedom: exploding an American and a British myth

American claims to have fought two world wars to defend freedom against tyranny need qualification in the light of the facts and dates. There’s a sort of parallel with Britain’s failure to support Poland in 1939… [more >>>]

The Observer’s ‘revelations’ on Iraq, Blair and the FCO: how not to spin an uninteresting story

A letter from the head of the FCO to the Cabinet Secretary obtained by the Observer doesn’t bear out the sensational spin placed on it by the newspaper’s report… [more >>>]