It’s not usual that the world gets a chance to see almost live the words of a judge handing down a sentence. Yet today’s sentencing of Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce gave us that rare chance. Here are the words of Sweeney J. And powerful words they are too. When […]
Remember this? … let’s also agree that we are at a technological and civilisational turning-point. For now these high-precision UAV/drones and their supporting networks are still controlled by a handful of states. Good. But the technology will leak and get cheaper and better. Not so good. In due course the […]
Over at Backbencher Lee Jenkins takes a look at some issues surrounding ‘international intervention’ from a libertarian-inclining standpoint: Yet international relations is a sphere refreshingly free of ideology. States are motivated less by values and ideals, and more by a narrow set of objectives and interests… Once you acknowledge what motivates a country’s […]
Have the Algerian authorities messed up this ghastly crisis, by forcing a deadly showdown? One view says yes. Even if the terrorists had started killing the hostages under their control, it’s better to keep trying to talk to them to head off complete disaster. An outcome in which some terrorists […]
Before the Internet how would we ever have been able to read a magnificent analysis by James Daily of the contract presented to Bilbo by the dwarves? The contract in the book is short and to the point. The film version (for padding) is far longer and a lot more […]
UPDATE: More fine examples added – see below Unless you have really been paying attention for a very long time, you will have missed my various attempts to share examples of diplomatic themes appearing in great rock lyrics. And the time has come for a former senior diplomatic practitioner (ie […]
The great American jurist Robert Bork has died. Here is an eloquent summary of his influence – and the shameful attacks on him by Ted Kennedy among others – by Roger Kimball. I once had the great pleasure to meet Robert Bork and his wife. He told me about his […]
Here I am at Commentator on the ghastly Leveson Report: First, the Leveson report fails to grasp the most important feature of the current ‘press’ scene, namely that the industrial model of newspapers is busily dying. We are moving back (or more precisely forward) to something much more like the […]
My post about looking at terrorism in terms of both legitimacy of outcomes and legitimacy of process has prompted a friendly reply from Eddy Canfor-Dumas (Head of Secretariat to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Conflict Issues, of which John Alderdice is a Co-Chair): An interesting response to what I think […]
A tongue in cheek (so to speak) Tweet by me this afternoon led to a micro Twitter spat on Gender and Sexuality. Cor! This is what started it: Charles Crawford@CharlesCrawford If it’s ok for women not to have men frisk them at airport security, why is it not ok for me […]
