The agonies continue at the LSE over the fact that it took Libyan money. Here is the sensible memo which an unhappy Fred Halliday wrote on the subject in October 2009. It reads quite well now. Here briskly defending what New Labour did by way of opening up to Libya is […]
Craig’s made a big effort to change his website. Here’s the result. Definitely a cleaner, sharper ‘look’, although some might wonder about his self-description: Former Ambassador, Human Rights Activist The experts in such matters always say that it’s best to brand yourself in terms of what you do now and […]
Dominique Moisi is a clever and agreeable French intellectual. I met him once over lunch. Here he is, bewailing what he sees as the professional limitations of diplomats who fail to see convulsions coming: In the name of “realism,” diplomats and foreign-policy strategists are naturally conservative. Indeed, it is no […]
I appeared on Press TV today in a pre-recorded Agenda programme due to go out on Saturday/Sunday. The subject was Libya, so everything we said probably will be well out of date by then. Press TV, for those unfamiliar with it, is Iran’s official international TV station and so steeped […]
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, […]
Help! Villagers are ordered by the police not to use wire to protect their sheds against burglars! Outrage! What actually happened here? If you read the article it seems that some community police officers warned local residents that "there have been cases where criminals have sued for injuries they have […]
David Cameron made a businesslike case in the Observer today for his Big Society initiative: The first objection is that it is too vague. I reject that. True, it doesn’t follow some grand plan or central design. But that’s because the whole approach of building a bigger, stronger, more active […]
These Britblog Roundups are getting erratic. This one, for example, is a week late. The previously scheduled one never appeared. Nonetheless, pressing on, let’s start with what really matters. The arrival of British fish and chips in Poland. An unapologetic feminist and trade union activist is unimpressed with […]
Is hosted by a Very British dude Who has a brisk line in literary criticism: Philobiblon tries to be more upbeat by reviewing "Rethinking Contemporary Feminist Politics" by Jonathan Dean which can be yours for £54 on Amazon. Those long winter evenings will just fly by. What caught my eye […]
Exhibit A: Trust: the behavioural challenge PwC Point of View paper, Oct 2010 Exhibit B: The Rational Optimist Let’s start with Exhibit A, a recent paper put out by PwC which looks at the role of Trust in corporate culture. Underpinning the analysis is the “ethicability” methodology advanced by Prof Roger Steare, a fellow Business and […]
