If one can demonstrate that there was such a plan (to remove the President of Cypress), and that Kissinger knew about it in advance, then it follows logically and naturally that he was not ostensibly looking for a crisis – as he self-pityingly asks us to believe – but for a solution. The fact that [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Politics'
Means and Ends – “The Trial of Henry Kissinger” – Christopher Hitchens
January 18th, 2012 · No Comments · History, Human Rights, Means and Ends, Morality, Security Policy, War
Tags:Cause and Effect·Ends and Means·Guilt·Iraq War·Politics·power·responsibility
The Pornography of Power - “The Trial of Henry Kissinger” – Christopher Hitchens
January 17th, 2012 · No Comments · Politics, Power, Quotes
I’ve noticed, time and again standing at the back of the audience during Kissinger speeches, that laughter of the nervous, uneasy kind is the sort of laughter he likes to provoke. In exacting this tribute, he flaunts not the ‘aphrodisiac’ of power (another of his plagiarized bon mots) but its pornography.
International Law – “The Trial of Henry Kissinger” – Christopher Hitchens
January 17th, 2012 · No Comments · History, Human Rights, Policy, Politics, Power, Security Policy, War
Many if not most of Kissinger’s partners in crime are now in jail, or are awaiting trial, or have been otherwise punished or discredited. His own lonely impunity is rank; it smells to heaven. If it is allowed to persist then we shall shamefully vindicate the ancient philosopher Anarchasis, who maintained that laws were like [...]
Tags:Human Rights·International Law·International Relations·war crimes
Lumumba – “The Origins of AIDS” - Jacques Pepin
January 14th, 2012 · No Comments · Africa, Colonialism, Congo, Democracy, History, Policy, Politics
In September 1960, Lumumba was dismissed by Kasavubu, and in turn Lumumba dismissed Kasavubu. The constitution did not allow for either of these moves. After a few days of confusion, Lumumba was definitively overthrown in a bloodless military coup led by the very person he had just appointed head of the army, colonel Mobutu. Lumumba’s [...]
The Benefits of Centralised Government – “The Origins of AIDS” - Jacques Pepin
January 12th, 2012 · No Comments · Africa, Communism, Power
Cuba stands out as the country with not only the lowest HIV prevalence in the Americas but also the highest diversity: about half of Cuban isolates are either non-B subtypes or recombinants. This reflects the acquisition of multiple subtypes of HIV-1 (or recombinants) by some of the internationalistas, the soldiers that Castro sent to fight [...]
Immigration and Race – “The Unfinished Revolution: How New Labour Changed British Politics Forever” – Philip Gould
January 11th, 2012 · No Comments · Campaigning, Complexity, Culture, Democracy, Electoralism, Ethnicity, Humanism, Leadership, Morality, Multi-culturalism, Philosophy, Politics, Sociology, UK Labour, United Kingdom
The politics of grievance can be harsh and it is never easy moderating a group where the sole focus is immigration. But immigration, like crime, like welfare abuse, is not an issue we can avoid; we must deal with it head on. Not just because of the sense of unfairness that people hold but also [...]
Tags:Democracy·Focus Groups·Immigration·Labour·policy·Politics·Refugees
In Defence of Focus Groups – “The Unfinished Revolution: How New Labour Changed British Politics Forever” – Philip Gould
January 11th, 2012 · No Comments · Campaigning, Democracy, Electoralism, Political Communication, Politics, Progressive Politics, UK Labour, United Kingdom
Despite the small numbers sampled, and the obvious lack of empirical rigour they entail, focus groups are the form of polling that I prefer. Although their scientific validity is less than that of an opinion poll, they are in a sense truer because you can talk to people as they really are, not as abstractions [...]
Tags:Campaigning·Democracy·Electoralism·Focus Groups·Labour·progressive politics
Sustaining a Reforming Government – “The Unfinished Revolution: How New Labour Changed British Politics Forever” – Philip Gould
January 11th, 2012 · No Comments · Campaigning, Democracy, Electoralism, Ideology, Means and Ends, Policy, Political Communication, Politics, Progressive Politics, Socialism, UK Labour, United Kingdom
David Marquand calls this the progressive dilemma: ‘How to transcend Labourism without betraying the labour interest; how to bridge the gap between the old Labour fortresses and the potentially anti-Conservative but non-Labour hinterland; how to construct a broad-based and enduring social coalition capable of not just giving it a temporary majority in the House of [...]
Tags:Democracy·Electoralism·extremism·Ideology·Labour·policy·Politics·progressive politics
New Labour – The Results – “The Unfinished Revolution: How New Labour Changed British Politics Forever” – Philip Gould
January 10th, 2012 · No Comments · Campaigning, Electoralism, Ideology, Leadership, Means and Ends, Politics, Power, Progressive Politics, Socialism, UK Labour
Labour’s journey was over too. It had won an extraordinary victory on 1 May. The statistics of success were a mirror image of the failure of 1983, the election that had finally persuaded me to get involved. In 1983 Labour had lost by 144 seats, in 1997 it won by 179 seats: a shift of [...]
News Bulletins are Fragmented and Confusing – “The Unfinished Revolution: How New Labour Changed British Politics Forever” – Philip Gould
January 10th, 2012 · No Comments · Campaigning, Newspapers, Politics, The Media, UK Labour, United Kingdom
On Sunday I wrote my first long strategy note of the campaign. ‘The electorate are not connecting with the election and do not understand most of the issues. They find news bulletins fragmented and confusing.’ This last point was important. Night after night I would show people the news (in focus groups), and they would [...]
Tags:Campaigning·Focus Groups·journalism·newspapers·Politics·The Media
