In a comparison between American and British print and television programmes about current affairs, the Americans come out on top every time, despite the received wisdom. [More >>>]
A picture of my paternal grandfather, Levy, which is also a link to my album of other pictures on Flickr. [See complete entry for the photograph.]
There are two highly readable additions to this website, one by historian and veteran diplomat David Tothill on an intriguing incident in diplomatic history, the other, by my wife Jane, an expanded and up-dated edition of her story of my father and his family history, fascinating social as well as family history. (More >>>>)
Are diplomatic privileges and immunities an anachronistic perk for pampered diplomats, or a necessary condition for them to perform their functions? (More >>>)
The American embassy’s bizarre decision to join a few other diplomats in refusing to pay the London congestion charge (a form of road toll) has prompted renewed debate about diplomatic immunity and whether it can be abused with impunity (More >>>>)
A brilliant piece from the NYT magazine by Dexter Filkins on US soldiers in Iraq, recommended by award-winning British journalist Stephen Grey, who originally exposed the scandal of ‘rendition’. (More >>>)
Confessions of a Daily Telegraph Literary Editor: David Cameron, take note. (More >>>)
A letter of November 1942, from somewhere in the middle east, from a private soldier to his mother in London [More >>>]
The encouragement of democratic reform in Turkey is quoted as a main reason for offering EU membership to that country. But why confine it to Turkey? Other candidates spring to mind. [More >>>]
We are being ripped off by companies that make us pay through the nose to telephone them and then keep us waiting at our own expense. Time to rebel, as urged by the FT [More >>>]
