As the Greek Parliament votes another impossible-to-implement austerity package and the world’s financial centres and European banks hope for the best, have a look at these nice chess examples of ‘Greek gift sacrifices’ (if you click the buttons you can watch the moves unfold on the screen). The idea echoes the […]
Horror! On the day this year’s FA Cup Final took place, other football matches were played. According to Iain Dale, this was a "great shame", nay "appalling". Really?
You may not have noticed, but in the last few days/weeks/months/years (depending on how you look at it) Bosnia and Herzegovina has been teetering on the Brink of Disaster. Why? Oh, for all the familiar reasons. Key posts in the central government unfilled, general political deadlock stretching in all directions, […]
Baffled by the sluggish rate of NATO bombing of Gaddafi’s forces in Libya, and the fact that this business is dragging on so inconclusively? Read this fine piece by Stephen Saideman at McGill University on the underlying negotiation going on. Really, I could not have it better myself. Thus: Simply […]
Archbishop Cranmer surpassed himself today with a gracious and thoughtful piece about the Royal Wedding, to the point of being quoted on Sky TV. Thus: The occasion brings to mind that on 28th May 1533, His Grace declared the marriage of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn to be good and […]
We have returned from Florida and I am emerging from jet-lag, just in time to appear today on the BBC World Have Your Say radio programme this afternoon on the rather incoherent subject of Privacy. If you are interested the link to the programme is here, until it fades away. I […]
Back from Belgrade. Mixed feelings. The city has stagnated since I was last there a few years ago. Some snazzy new buildings, but most of the place looks to be gloomy, poor and crumbling. The authorities have utterly failed to mobilise national business energy and SMEs, and instead are busy squeezing anything which still […]
A kind reader fairly deep in the former Soviet Union writes: Would be good to discuss your blog sometime. Interesting balance between being outraged/outrageous enough to stand out from the crowd and get people to read, and being sensible enough to matter Ha ha. Story of my life. It’s just […]
I have previously written here about the FCO’s approach to ‘consular’ work (ie helping British nationals overseas). See eg here: The media love to pounce on allegations of FCO staff being unkind or inefficient when they find British citizens overseas who have hit trouble. For every hundred people who write in to you […]
Here is my latest tirade over at Business and Politics about Football and Socialism. (Update: link did not work – apologies. Now fixed) I strongly recommend you check it out. If only for the beyond brilliant photograph of Vaniev Runieski, Stevan Gerardin, Gerd Balev and assorted other heroes of Soviet soccer. […]
