Opinion

Justice (Not) for Osama Bin Laden

Now and again we find via the Web a piece so smart that it changes the way we look at things. Such as this one over at Slate by Thomas Nachbar on the emerging assertions that Bin Laden was ‘assassinated’ or even ‘executed’ by the Americans. Read the whole thing, […]

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The Limits of Diplomatic Negotiation: NATO v Libya

Baffled by the sluggish rate of NATO bombing of Gaddafi’s forces in Libya, and the fact that this business is dragging on so inconclusively? Read this fine piece by Stephen Saideman at McGill University on the underlying negotiation going on. Really, I could not have it better myself. Thus: Simply […]

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Canada’s Criminal Hyperlinks – and UK’s Progressive Majority

Just when you thought that the Canadian elections had brought to power people making some claim to be ‘conservatives’ (and therefore, perhaps, taking individual liberty seriously) along comes a new draft law which inter alia makes you a criminal if you post on your own site a link to a […]

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Ancient Vandals – Deterred

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Swiss Health ‘n’ Safety – Too ‘Safe’ Haha

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Remembering President Lech Kaczynski

For the occasion of the first anniversary last month (10 April) of the Smolensk air disaster which killed President Lech Kaczynski and Madame Maria Kaczynska, I wrote a short piece recalling my own memories of them. It was published in the Polish weekly Uwazam Rze. Here below is the core of the article […]

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Ducklings – Gone

Yesterday to wild acclaim from associated Crawfs we saw first two fresh ducklings on Crawford Pond, then a further five. Seven! Ducklings! Bliss. By late afternoon yesterday six were left. Then five, first thing this morning. Now they have all … gone

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Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi Guestblogs at Iowahawk

This one will run and run. And run. Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, senior Al Qaeda operative, has kindly communicated with us via a guest blog at Iowahawk to decribe what happens when his new room-mate arrives in Paradise (RUDE WORD ALERT ADVISORY): Yo brosephus, what’s crackalackin’ with the booty smackin’? Longtime […]

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US/Pakistan: Bromantic (And Effective) Foreign Policy Analysis

Here is a strong example from Walter Russell Mead of elegant but tough foreign policy writing, this time on the increasingly dysunctional US/Pakistan relationship. Once upon a time India with its phony anti-Americanist ‘non-alignment’ as encouraged by massive Soviet penetration of the Indian establishment was the main reason for Washington to treat […]

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Diplomatic Skills: Multiple-choice Roads To Ruin

Last week I was back in stunningly expensive Geneva to give an ADRg Ambassadors training course on Mediation, Diplomatic and Communication Skills to an international organisation.   One of the exercises that captured the imagination of the course participants – mainly international technical specialists of differing levels of seniority – […]

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