Category: Uncategorized

Changing Conservatives In opposition the Tory party is a marvelous beast. All those principles which, when in power, we sacrificed in favour of what seemed like the \’sensible\’ policies required for governing, well see how we love them now. Adamantine we are in our defence of the Union, or against European encroachments on British sovereignty, … Continue reading “Who\’s Scared of Euroland?”

Okay, let’s play "Name That Nation": Al Qaeda is supposedly hiding there, the country’s rulers are fast developing "weapons of mass destruction," and the population, we are told, longs for "liberation." No, it’s not Iraq before the recent war, but Iran before the next war. How long before is an open question…. All the stories … Continue reading “On To Tehran?”

The British Empire, at the peak of its expansion, was credited for developing the "divide and conquer" military strategy. I wonder how history will remember the United States’ imperialist policies – "lie and conquer"? Perhaps. "September 11 has changed the world" we are constantly reminded. That was a lie. The truth was that a "new … Continue reading “Lie and Conquer”

I can’t say that I went out of my way to immerse myself in the media frenzy over golf star Annika Sorenstam playing with the men late last week, so I could have missed it. But in all the discussion of the greater significance of the event, I don’t think I heard anybody get to … Continue reading “Annika and Peace”

2’s column will return Wednesday. Here is a classic column from last year.The two premier magazines of foreign affairs recently featured articles with diametrically opposed themes on a much-discussed topic: is the US Empire on the rise, or in decline? In Foreign Affairs, flagship journal of the New World Order crowd, Stephen G. Brooks and … Continue reading “Classic Raimondo: Decline and Fall”

Next month’s summit meeting of European Union leaders in Thessalonica has prompted increasing speculation about the future role of the Brussels bureaucratic behemoth in Balkans affairs. The Empire is preoccupied with reshaping the Middle East – though if its Balkans “successes” are anything to go by, that’s another developing disaster. Russia has pulled out, daunted … Continue reading “The Folly That Is Europe”

In my previous column, I presented the following challenge to my pro-war readers: “…make a comparable list of pre-Iraq war news that is now nonexistent because of the war on Iraq. I imagine this is an insurmountable task. If you send me ‘Saddam is a tyrant no more’ stories, you better send me ALL the … Continue reading “Mini-Nukes”

Why are the neocons writing long screeds trying to disprove their own existence? Poor Jonah Goldberg is faced with an impossible task. He wants his readers to forget the history of their own movement, ignore the enormous literature documenting the neoconservative odyssey from left to right, and pretend that the doctrine of perpetual preemptive war … Continue reading “Outing the Neocons”

Truth has a way of asserting itself despite all attempts to obscure it. Distortion only serves to derail it for a time. No matter to what lengths we humans may go to obfuscate facts or delude our fellows, truth has a way of squeezing out through the cracks, eventually. But the danger is that at … Continue reading “The Truth Will Emerge”

There is a palpable grumpiness surrounding businessmen and foreigners here in Chengdu. Business is bad, there is no work for expats, travel is restricted and worst of all: the netbars have closed. For the common Sichuanese, the loss of Internet access, the roadblocks to scenic sites and the marked decrease in traffic – business or … Continue reading “Lessons of SARS”