I was chatting to a senior oil executive the other day (as one does), and I asked how that vast multinational corporation ran its top speech-writing function. "Oh,we have the usual – a team of young speechwriters, which is what you need these days." Really? Why do you need young […]
Here. Be shocked, as the Truth is revealed.
Welcome Browser and other new readers. After reading my thoughts below, check out this piece I wrote back in 2008 about inat. If you don’t understand inat, you can’t understand Kosovo or Serbia or anything about former Yugoslavia. Sorry, but there it is. * * * * * The International […]
Here is an interesting account from Devil’s Knife of his participation in a public discussion on Freedom and all that. I can imagine that his account of the end of Friendly Societies had some people bemused, but it is an interesting story: As in other things where the state starts […]
The legal processes surrounding the attempt by Belgrade to get former BH Presidency member Ejup Ganic extradited from London to Serbia to face war crimes charges rumble on. The latest hearing has ended. According to the Sarajevo media, judgement is expected on 27 July. Needless to say, media reports of […]
Most issues boil down to a simple number of questions: what’s the problem? what’s at stake for the various sides arguing about it? is any given outcome likely to be seen by all concerned as both fair (enough) and sustainable? And above all: who decides? Many key international disputes (Israel/Palestine, […]
Now that Cuba has agreed to release – and exile – a goodly number of political prisoners, Spain expects the European Union to ‘respond’ and be more flexible. I have written here on various occasions about Cuba. Maybe the most astonishing thing about this run-down Cold War relic is not […]
Are we about to see a major ‘spy swap’? "Why waste time on all those tedious legal processes and prisons? We get our spies back, and so do you." Hard for me at least to see why the Russians would want to do this unless the illegals/sleepers rounded up in […]
Fascinating interview with Clay Shirky at the Guardian website, where all sorts of issues dealing with the impact of the Internet (especially on old-style media outlets such as newspapers and TV) are covered elegantly. Examples: When we talk about newspapers, we talk about them being critical for informing the public; […]
Belgium emits the usual confidence that the UK even under the Conservatives will be absorbed into EU processes … nicely: Belgian negotiators are convinced that Mr Cameron’s hard line opposition to giving more sovereignty up to the EU, a pledge written into his coalition government’s agreement, will be sacrificed in […]
