'Call it the power of inevitability', scroll the white letters on a black background, as a woman wails in Islamic fervour. 'You know you have to be here.' Cut...
Jules Evans
Jules Evans is a freelance journalist and writer, who covers two main areas: philosophy and psychology (for publications including The Times, Psychologies, New Statesman and his website, Philosophy for Life), and emerging markets (for publications including The Spectator, Economist, Times, Euromoney and Financial News).
Miliband is bad enough for the FCO, let alone the EU
David Miliband is in Russia, the first visit there by a British foreign minister since 2004, though Lord Mandelson was there last year, and did relatively...
The Russo-Georgian War…once more, with feeling
Here in Tbilisi, where I've come to attend a friend's wedding, the city is filled with nervousness and excitement. A few days ago, the police sealed off...
The Pentagon’s new spiritual fitness programme
Exclusive interview with Brigadier-General Rhonda Cornum on the Pentagon’s new spiritual fitness training programme, which uses Stoic techniques.
US military’s new resilience course
Just watched a rather depressing Dispatches programme about post-traumatic stress disorder in UK troops - guys coming home and expecting to be attacked at any...
Shag camp
I went to the Climate Camp yesterday, on Blackheath, next to Greenwich Park, a brick’s throw from the Royal Observatory. The camp is maybe a 150m-diamater...
Another free lunch for investment banks
The Bank of England today decided to inject another £50bn into its asset purchase facility. Since February, it has already spent £125bn buying bonds from UK...
ECB tight-lipped on ABS bail-out
As you probably know, one of the main causes of the huge debt bubble of the last few years was the fact banks created Special Investment Vehicles (SIVs) - or...
NYC’s climate counter
Deutsche Bank Asset Management, which is one of the leading investors in renewable energy, last month put up a 50 foot electronic counter in Times Square,...
Our broken economic system
I enjoyed Andrew's post below, though I'd dispute the assertion that Adam Smith and the other 'great theorists' of capitalism thought it was amoral. That's...
RBS to go green?
News in the FT today that three environmental groups have filed a suit to make sure the Royal Bank of Scotland does more to promote renewable energy,...
Our new head of MI6 in action
If you want to see Sir John Sawers, the new head of MI6, in action, check him out in this steely confrontation with Iran's foreign minister, from Norma...
Islamism’s Animal Farm moment
The post-election crackdown in Iran is a frosty ending for what had been a genuinely exciting and optimistic spring in Middle Eastern politics. Consider: in...
‘If you are watching this, I’m dead’
Watch this remarkable video from Guatemala, recorded by the lawyer Rodrigo Rosenberg, in which he accuses president Colom of ordering his murder. He was...
UAE torture sheikh arrested
I wrote a few days ago about a member of the Royal Family in the United Arab Emirates - brother to both the ruler of Dubai and the minister of interior - who...
Should we believe the US Treasury’s stress tests?
The results of the US Treasury's stress tests of America's 19 biggest banks yesterday were less bad than many were expecting. Nine of the banks, including...
The Mafia goes green
The FT has an interesting story today about an investigation into Mafia involvement in multi-million-euro wind farm deals in Sicily. Italian and EU subsidies...
The End of the American Century
Justin Webb at the BBC speculates whether this interesting article at Salon.com by Andrew Bacevich, professor of international relations at Boston University,...
The ‘Buy Iraq’ conference
I was at the Invest in Iraq conference yesterday, being heralded by Lord Mandelson as a "new chapter" in Iraq's history. I wondered if the timing was planned...
Banco De Gaia
Lord Browne recently complained that not enough private financing was going into the renewables sector, particularly offshore wind farms, and he called for...
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We can’t rely on any leader to pull us out of the inequality crisis. It’s up to us.
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Switching Ministers and Crossing Canyons
At the end of July, after months of lockdown, my first trip outside The Netherlands was to Tunisia. Just before I flew, the Tunisian prime minister tendered the resignation of his government. That meant possibly another minister of justice; the fourth in a little over...