Grotesque as it seems even to express things in such a way, there are only two questions about the mass destruction of European Jews during WW2 (the Holocaust): Did it happen? Yes/No How to assess it? Good/Bad The mainstream line for anti-semitic and anti-civilisational fanatics of all stripes has been to […]
My first personal encounter with something resembling War was back in April 1986 when the USA attacked Colonel Gaddafi – one of my very first postings described the episode. That event was, of course, not really War as currently understood – more a one-off action of ruthless retaliation aimed at […]
This piece by Jonathan Freedland offers the classic liberal-minded analysis of the Israel/Hamas conflict: Both sides point at the other with equal vehemence, a Newtonian chain of claimed action and reaction that can stretch back to infinity. So perhaps a more useful exercise – especially for those who long for […]
Samizdata folk are having a lively exchange over Perry de Havilland’s ringing call for Disunity in conservative ranks. His core demand: I am not calling for the ‘libertarianisation’ of the Republican party along the lines I would actually like, just for the party’s rationalisation. I am in essence calling for […]
The New Year’s Honours List in the UK sees an OBE awarded to Dr John Hemery. John for many years has worked as Director of the Centre for Political and Diplomatic Studies, developing sophisticated training modules for the new Diplomatic Services emerging across the former communist world, plus latterly different courses […]
Remember Slavoj Zizek, the self-indulgent Slovenian Marxist? Here is a fine if depressing piece by Adam Kirsch which drills deep into the black heart of Zizek’s cynicism. And finds … blackness: "To be clear and brutal to the end," he [Zizek] sums up, "there is a lesson to be learned […]
Former British Ambassador Brian Barder writes to the Guardian: Lord Bingham’s authoritative declaration that the attack on Iraq was illegal raises very important questions and you are right to call for an inquiry (Time for a full inquiry, Leaders, November 19)… … Any inquiry also needs to establish an authoritative […]
Proposition 8 passed in California, defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Who backed it? People like these: There are so many other groups in the exit polling that voted for Prop 8 overwhelmingly (as in, more than 60%): * The elderly (65+) * […]
Iain Dale identifies the top ten qualities a ‘good’ Prime Minister needs: 1. Decisiveness2. Conviction3. Understanding the motivations of Middle England4. Being a good negotiator5. Being a good conciliator6. Having a good TV presence7. Being a good parliamentary performer8. Having a thick skin9. Being able to cut through civil service bullshit10. […]
Here is a neatly turned speech in Boston by the British Ambassador to the UN, Sir John Sawers, marking UN Day. He recalls how Artur Rubinstein defiantly played the Polish anthem back in 1945 to show his contempt for the exclusion of a democratic Poland at the establishment of the UN. And […]
