I am entranced not only by the sound of my voice, but also by the sight of it. Here once again is my contribution to the Churchill Archives Centre in Cambridge, describing my long and ever-fascinating diplomatic career. Many points of interest here, including on South Africa’s not-so-peaceful transition away from […]
Via Tim Worstall, this magnificent essay by Michael Lewis in Vanity Fair about the cultural and other problems which have led Greece far down the road of folly. It’s quite long, but all the more devastating for that as the writer follows the mysteries of corruption and tax-cheating into almost unbelievable […]
Remember much praised FCO blogger Philip Barclay, who achieved some distinction in writing about Zimbabwe when he was posted there despite the inevitable constraints of working in the UK mission? He’s written a book about Zimbabwe, which maybe gets closer to the heart of what was happening there (and how […]
The BBC have been in touch asking if I would be interested in joining the panel on the next Big Questions programme, featuring lively debates on moral issues. One possible subject would be the ever-fascinating subject of Homosexuality in Africa – as looked at briefly by me here. And here. Check out this […]
Here’s a remarkable website, apparently devoted to looking at the international development circus from a point of view of some, hem, scepticism: Hand Relief International a charitable organization committed to working anywhere where generalized poverty and misery will ensure significant levels of comfort for our staff They are off to […]
Over at Craig Murray’s place I posted a modest little comment on his piece about Eugene Terreblanche: Craig, As you know, I was posted at the British Embassy in South Africa as apartheid ended. I attended a rally of Terreblanche’s AWB movement once. The worrying thing about Terreblanche’s murder is […]
For no obvious reason the BBC website uses inverted commas here and there to give a hint of ‘qualifying’ or subjectifying or something words or phrases. Look at this latest example: Eugene Terreblanche ‘killers’ in South Africa court I suppose there might be a case for putting the word killers […]
The murder of Eugene Terreblanche has forced into prominence a number of difficult issues for South Africa. Namely the startling murder rate for ‘white’ farmers. And the fact that for all the impressive political reconciliation achieved (or not) in South Africa since apartheid ended, the ANC still enjoys celebrating its […]
Should we care about the appalling HIV rates in South Africa, if the people of South Africa elect someone who does not care either? Want a hyper-epidemic? All you need is a tradition of polygamy AND high levels of female autonomy. Big Men have their little network of wives and/or […]
One of the most doom-laden assertions from the Climate Change tendency is that said Climate Change causes mass conflict. See here for a classic noisy example: genocide in Darfur was caused ‘at least in part’ by Climate Change. But even the Guardian strikes a note of caution. As do the ICG: […]
