Ages ago I gave an interview to the Krakow Post which has suddenly popped out into the open: KP: Which states are Poland’s natural allies in the European Union and which will are its rivals? CC: I tend to fear that on EU issues, Poland and the UK will end […]
Just read this from the BBC about Iran’s dilemma over whether to stone women to death, or not: The Iranian authorities like to portray an image of a country and a system misperceived and misrepresented in the West. It is an image that plays well with some western liberals, who […]
Look at the scale of the Republican victory below the main headlines: The North Carolina Legislature is Republican for the first time since 1870. Yes, that is Eighteen Seventy. The Alabama Legislature is Republican for the first time since 1876. For those saying this is nothing because it is the […]
Exhibit A: Trust: the behavioural challenge PwC Point of View paper, Oct 2010 Exhibit B: The Rational Optimist Let’s start with Exhibit A, a recent paper put out by PwC which looks at the role of Trust in corporate culture. Underpinning the analysis is the “ethicability” methodology advanced by Prof Roger Steare, a fellow Business and […]
A night of sheer misery. First, bitter disappointment for Tottenham who beat the European champions by a mere 3-1. Check out this footytube video and its commentary in French, where Gareth Bale is eloquently described as a TGV train as time after time he flies past one of the best […]
Over in the USA the Republicans – boosted by Tea Party energy – look set to win big tomorrow in the latest rounds of US elections. Pundits pore away over why President Obama’s erstwhile omnipotent appeal has waned. Is he too aloof, too clever, too Left, too moderate? Has he […]
I have just been sent a nice letter from Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne inviting me to be a witness before the new All-Party Parliamentary Group on Foreign Affairs when it launches its first inquiry into UK foreign policy. Any ideas on what I should say? (And no, NC, I am […]
Craig hits back with usual energy and rudeness at myself and Brian Barder. Worth a read if you can face yet more on Torture, Policy and all that. I have posted a long comment there: Craig, You accuse me of Attention Deficit Disorder? Excellent. As per the private email exchanges […]
One of the (few) points of writing this website is to provide a forum for intelligent thoughts for people interested in how government works or not in practice, especially in the foreign policy area. This is why I refer quite often to the pronouncements of former UK Ambassador Craig Murray. […]
Remember Jane Cordell, the deaf FCO diplomat who was taking the FCO to an Employment Tribunal after they refused to pay for her posting to Astana on the grounds that the ‘reasonable adjustments’ needed to make her posting work were just too expensive? She has lost her claim on all […]
