This blog has in the past found itself in agreement with the views of Cardinal O’Brien, the leader of Catholics in Scotland, especially over the release of the Lockerbie bomber. On the matter of gay marriage, we have profoundly to disagree. Marriage is a human right, custom and tradition pre-dating Christianity. It is not the […]
Sadly, yes it can. The Syrian people are now caught in a nightmare of suffering and violence. The insurrection has taken too deep a hold to be crushed by internal military means. Even if The Assad government razes whole districts and slaughters the residents, protests will erupt elsewhere. Yet the protesters lack the power to challenge the […]
Clearly there is a feeling in the Eurozone that the worst has passed and by signing up to the latest pact, governance of the euro becomes viable. Greece looks as if it will get its bail-out and the ECB has been busy pouring cheap money into European banks, many of which are technically bust. It […]
Sorry for the lack of posts recently. A virus slipped under the flu jab radar. Quite bad, but now better.
What is happening to Greece now is profoundly wrong. It is wrong because the economics will not work. It is wrong because it is wholly undemocratic. Taking first the issue of democracy. The European Union is an enterprise founded to preserve democracy, yet it has allowed its institutions to fragment in such a way that […]
The Assad regime appeared to have been offered a breathing space by the Russian and Chinese veto. Calling a halt to its bombardment of Homs during Sergei Lavrov’s visit, would have been a good gesture; offering something tangible to the Russians to take back would have been shrewd. Offering only feeble promises for dialogue, promises […]
Sergei Lavov has a big challenge ahead of him, when he visits Damascus on Tuesday. The Russians may have been surprised by the scale of the dismay at their veto of the UN resolution. Some of this opprobrium is misplaced. UN resolutions do not end conflicts and never have. To suggest that continued fighting is all down […]
The West is now busy blaming Russia and China for the violence in Syria, because they vetoed a not very good UN resolution. That is ridiculous. Russia is a faded superpower, but it is no longer fading. It has not yet made the transition from military strength to economic strength, but it will get there. China […]
The Liberal Democrats have a lot on their plate. It is an odd mix. There is the personal tragedy of Chris Huhne and Vicki Pryce, leading to both being charged with a serious criminal offence and Huhne’s exit from the Cabinet. Huhne protests innocence. If he is right, he will return to front line politics. […]
The leaked NATO report acquired by the BBC shows what so many who stop to think have believed for a long while. The Taliban is the strongest indigenous force both politically and militarily in Afghanistan. It also confirms that Pakistan plays a key part facing both ways, but no settlement can be achieved without its inclusion in […]