Opinion / Asia

Eagleton, Hobsbawm, Evil

What is it that makes Marxists so tightly entangled in their own folly, and so self-satisfied and proud of it? Here is T Eagleton reviewing a book by the ‘indomitable’ E Hobsbawm: In 1976, a good many people in the West thought that Marxism had a reasonable case to argue. By 1986, most […]

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Libyan Revolution: A Tale Of Two Thinkers

On the one hand, we have one-man band Dr Gene Sharp (my emphasis): His central message is that the power of dictatorships comes from the willing obedience of the people they govern – and that if the people can develop techniques of withholding their consent, a regime will crumble. For decades now, […]

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Arab Uprisings: The Limits of Diplomacy

A long post. Go and grab a coffee. Right at the very very start of this blog in January 2008, I wrote about one of most vivid pieces of work in the FCO, my paper about MTS and Non-MTS back from 1984 in Belgrade. Here’s the link. The idea was […]

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Egypt: Fantasy v Reality

You can always rely on the hard-left Seumas Milne in the Guardian to articulate the far opposite of what any normal person is thinking – a handy public service he gives us here, helping us all formulate our thoughts so precisely in opposition to his. Click on the picture above his latest article […]

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The Death Of Language: Vagueness

I know, I know. Egypt is a big deal so I need to share my thoughts with you on it. But even though it’s only February 2011 we already have the winner for the Article of the Decade. It’s this one, by Clark Whelton, former speechwriter for New York City […]

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Hillary Clinton’s Feminist Foreign Policy

Unsated by Steampunk Palin, you want more buxom feisty American women transforming the world against evil men? Swing by this Guardian analysis by Madeleine Bunting of Hillary Clinton’s feminist foreign policy: On countless occasions since arriving at the state department, Clinton has asserted that the rights of women and girls are now […]

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Back Again

After a longish pause from doing anything to this site under the throes of moving, I return after unpacking several million boxes and getting the broadband up and running. To my surprise a lot of people have been reading the site even though I have posted nothing. Hmm. BT’s performance when […]

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BBC Punctuation Gone Mad

Sorry, I was distracted from packing to spot this strange headline on the BBC web-page: US ‘revokes Venezuela envoy visa’ Why have they put most of that in inverted commas, as if it’s not true or somehow qualified or in doubt? The BBC’s own article on the subject reports a State […]

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Languages At Eton

Katharine Birbalsingh asks why any sane parent would want to send a son to Eton. The answer is all about aspiration and ambition, of course. Not everyone’s cup of tea, plus an option available only to a few lucky parents. But it’s worth mentioning that Eton is a towering if […]

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Mars, Venus, Extremism (Revisited)

Update  Welcome Browser readers A kind reader sent this comment: … while following the Holbrooke trail on your site I stumbled upon MARS, VENUS AND EXTREMISM … imho a brilliant disentangling of issues as alive today as when you gave the address. Should be framed This prompted me to re-read it – it’s a speech […]

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