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Adam Lovejoy writes from Washington: What a show they are putting on here! It’s got everything in it: the drama, the suspense, the tension, the deadlines, the tired worn out faces of the key actors, the calls to protect the American people. Yes, what is now happening in the American capital is nothing more than a farce. The White House knows it, the members of congress know it, the lobbyists know it and the money men on Wall Street know [...]

(By Martin McCauley.) The party is about to end for the Communist Party of China (CPC). The climax came with the Olympic Games, followed by the Chinese astronauts blasting into space and returning triumphantly back. National Day celebrations begin on October 1 and would last a week. Then it’s back to reality. The Central Committee (CC) of the CPC convenes immediately after the festivities are over. It promises to be a volatile session. Ostensibly it is about agriculture but the [...]

We have recieved the following comment from one of our regular readers (“fiji islands”): It seems only the United States have the right to militarily intervene in the world’s hotspots. The God-blessed land of baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet is the only nation, it believes, that has the moral authority to convene military operations or “preempt” possible attacks – anywhere in the world. It even denies other countries the right to act in self-defense, as was clearly the [...]

(Martin McCauley.) Like everyone else the Communist Party of China (CPC) is following the election campaign in the US with great interest. Beijing would love to know who will win the contest to become the 44th President of the United States. So important is the election on November 4 that Ma Hui, the director for the Americas of the International Department of the Central Committee of the CPC attended the Democratic National Convention in Denver. This was the first time [...]

(By Christopher Lee.) Former Lib Dem leader, Sir Menzies Campbell, has produced a timely report suggesting that the military covenant – an agreement between the armed forces and society – could be broken irreparably. Campbell touches upon a subject about which we should all care deeply. If asked, we’re all for supporting sailors, soldiers and airmen and women. We may not agree that they should have been sent to Iraq or Afghanistan, but we support them as service men and [...]

It appears some of my readers have not been very impressed by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s performance during his first round of TV debates with Republican candidate John McCain. I have received this comment from the US from two of my regular readers, who wrote it the style of an open letter to Obama. Here is how it goes: Dear Senator Obama, We strongly supported you before, but after yesterday’s TV debate we now have serious reservations about your [...]

Sir Paul McCartney played a gig on Thursday in Tel Aviv, in front of 40,000 fans. There was a lot of fuss surrounding his trip because more than forty years ago the Beatles had been banned from playing in Israel by its government. The ban came weeks before the concert of the Fab Four. Even the tickets had already been printed and had to be destroyed. Of only people had known then how expensive those unused tickets would be now. [...]

Martin McCauley writes from London: The news that the Basque terrorist group ETA has killed a member of the Spanish armed forces on Monday shocked Spain. It was the third car bomb attack in 24 hours. Even more frustrating for the authorities was the fact that the soldier was murdered in Cantabria, the province to the west of the Basque Region. ETA has once again signalled its intention to strike against those representing the Spanish state, whether they’d be employed [...]

(By Martin McCauley.) The claim by the BBC Panorama programme that the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) had been monitoring the Real IRA bombers just before the carnage occurred in Omagh, on 15 August 1998, has sent shock waves through Ulster. If it is true it means a shocking breakdown in intelligence gathering and dissemination. The head of the Northern Ireland police force has stated that he was unaware that the mobiles of the bombers were being monitored. Apparently, GCHQ even [...]

Is it just me or does Foreign Secretary David Miliband really look like the white twin brother of the actor Will Smith? The same narrow brow, the strangely shaped ears, the same weird haircut that seems to be glued to the scalp and the same unhealthy glow in the eyes. And, of course, the same abysmal acting skills. Because just like Smith, who really isn’t a master of transformation and comes across exactly the same in every role he plays, [...]