Let’s look on the bright sider and assume that this year the ghastly North Korean regime implodes, leading to pell-mell reunification. Then what? In particular, who pays the huge bill to start to put right the mess: More than a dozen reports by governments, academics and investment banks in recent […]
As I wisely wrote back in 1998: It is scarcely an exaggeration to say that certain provisions of the new Constitution accepted by the Balkan nationalists at Dayton introduced a new apartheid-like discrimination in Europe. Article V laid down that “The Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall consist of … […]
My mention in the Times has led to various old friends getting back in touch, including Adam LeBor. Adam knows his Balkans and has written a much praised book about the rise and fall of Slobodan Milosevic: I especially recommend the quote from the ‘senior British diplomat’ on p. 308 in […]
In the Times Dominic Lawson is unimpressed by the tone of UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband in talking about Iran and China: Our diplomatic war of words with Iran is brewing nicely. Last week the foreign secretary, David Miliband, condemned as “disturbing” the Ahmadinejad regime’s “lack of restraint” in its […]
Nothing shows the power of the state so much as forced displacements – where local populations are told by the Authorities to move for the sake of the Greater Good. It is one thing this happening on a small scale to enable significant new development to happen and where a […]
Either the citizens own the state, or the state owns the citizens. In the latter case there are no citizens. Only serfs. The modern state tells us what not to do and sets conditions on what we can do. But it so far has not sought to demand that contracts […]
If we look at Iranian cities, we won’t find a single billboard publicizing a book. IRIB [Iran’s state broadcaster] doesn’t advertize any books. The national media doesn’t advertize even a single book shop from all across Iran, but there are advertizing posters on the walls across the city inviting people […]
I came to Raymond Chandler much too late in life. I have made up for lost time, reading several times all his private detective novels with their moody loner hero, hard-boiled egg baddies and lusciously bad dames. The frequent stylistic felicities and witticisms echo another of the last century’s great […]
Remember this song by Manfred Mann: I could never quite follow the words, but it has some great moments. Bruce Springsteen wrote it. A good note (so to speak) to begin 2010. Because here is Norman Fraser, again, moaning about my latest observations on Climate and all: This is a […]
As 2010 looms one looks back at one’s website stats for the site’s second full year: 2009 79000 Unique Visitors 178,000 Visits 634,000 Pages 2,076,000 Hits 2008 42,600 Unique Visitors 97,000 Visits 458,000 Pages 1,429,000 Hits Not clear to me how many of you follow by RSS feed and where if […]
