Russia has decided once again to line itself up with absurd and offensive positions by vetoing the Srebrenica resolution in the UN Security Council. Here is what looks to be the final text. Most of it is the usual rather convoluted language of UN-speak recalling and noting earlier positions. I […]
Thoughts by me from 2010 that are no longer up on the Internet. They read quite well now. Are ‘capitalism’ and free choices inherently moral or immoral? That debate drones on. We now are forced to distinguish between ‘justice’ and ‘social justice’, where the latter is said to trump the […]
The Greece referendum is generating all sorts of fascinating writing about Life and Diplomacy. The issues are deliciously complicated. Where to direct most derision? So many fat targets to choose from. Feckless Greek socialists? Mean German technocrats? Clueless top EU bullies? The bloated pretensions of More Europe? Technical blunders in […]
Back again. Here’s my latest Commentator piece, on the Greek referendum: Greece has long been seen as a disaster waiting to happen, and that disaster is now happening. Greece for far too long (a) has spent beyond its means, but worse (b) has not invested borrowed money wisely, and worst […]
Blogging and generally thinking something interesting continues to be meagre these days, as I rush from one masterclass to another. Last week it was back to Warsaw for two days of Drafting Skills and Negotiation Skills. Tomorrow back to Vienna for another Negotiation class at the IAEA. The IAEA is a […]
In case you have been missing me, I have been on the road. First at this year’s Dubrovnik Diplomatic Forum in Croatia. Then back at IAEA (in Vienna) on Leadership Skills. Dubrovnik is of course splendid, if not quite as affordable as it used to be. As for the Forum, the event […]
Here is a piece I have written for the Gatestone Institute on the basic message that we need to be sending Islamist extremists in general and ISIS/ISIL (or whatever their latest acronym is) in particular: Anything can be analysed indefinitely. Policy papers, strategy documents, roadmaps, risk management assessments, spreadsheets of […]
My piece on the withdrawing by Australia of its ambassador to Indonesia following the execution in Indonesia of two Australian citizens described this move in rather uncharitable terms: The real problem with withdrawing an ambassador ‘in protest’ is that it actually is a gesture of weakness, of faux toughness You […]
The firing-squad execution of two Australian citizens (and others) by the Indonesian authorities following their conviction on drags smuggling charges has caused official dismay and anger in Australia. And Australia has responded by recalling (withdrawing?) its Ambassador. Here is an account of some differing views on how far this makes […]
A lovely English cartoon summing up the X Y Z Affair, a famous row between the new United States and revolutionary France. Basically, the French Foreign Minister Talleyrand demanded a big fat private bung as a condition for serious bilateral negotiations. And, of course, the principled Americans turned him down flat. […]
