Category Archives: Foreign Affairs

5 Lessons Labour should take from the Republicans

Posted on August 10, 2016 by paperbackrioter

I’m carving a niche out for myself as someone who can offer historical parallels to today’s political situation. Finally putting that history degree to good use. I’m on Progress today talking about what Labour should learn from the Republican shambles. … Continue reading →

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“But there’s no danger. It’s a professional career” – Humanitarian intervention in Libya

Posted on March 22, 2011 by paperbackrioter

“Doing precisely what we’ve done eighteen times before is exactly the last thing they’ll expect us to do this time.” – General Melchett, Blackadder Goes Forth. The debates over whether we should intervene in Libya have been another opportunity for … Continue reading →

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The Libya fiasco: Continuity New Labour?

Posted on March 11, 2011 by paperbackrioter

David Cameron is obviously a fan of Tony Blair. That’s been clear ever since he branded himself the “heir to Blair” months into his stint as Tory leader. The admiration also appears to be reciprocal – Blair said he supported … Continue reading →

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Thoughts from Cairo (via Istanbul)

Posted on February 5, 2011 by paperbackrioter

Below is an e-mail exchange that I had with Tom Trewinnard, who’s a fellow member of the Saddleworth Mafia and Greenhead College Massive. Tom blogs here and works in Cairo for Meedhan, an organisation that aims to encourage discussion between English and Arabic speakers … Continue reading →

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“You can’t handle the truth!” – A look at Wikileaks

Posted on December 5, 2010 by paperbackrioter

 These abuses had been going on perfectly well for years. What people hated was being told about it. (Sir Humphrey Appleby, The Compassionate Society). I had a half-formed piece about Wikileaks from August, around the time they released thousands of … Continue reading →

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My interview with Norman Finkelstein

Posted on November 24, 2010 by paperbackrioter

Norman Finkelstein is speaking at the University of Birmingham again tonight. So I thought that I would dig this interview I conducted with him for Redbrick out of the archives. I interviewed him in November 2008, and it didn’t get … Continue reading →

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The Rules of War

Posted on November 10, 2010 by hannahpaperbackrioter

Two significant stories have emerged over the past week relating to the western military presence in Afghanistan. The first is the publication of nearly 90, 000 American military files detailing incidents that occurred in Afghanistan, between 2002 and 2009, by … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreign Affairs, Hannah, Legal mumbo jumbo | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Guest Post: The Guardian’s Tea Party blogger

Posted on October 27, 2010 by paperbackrioter

I asked Danielle Blake to write something on Lloyd Marcus blogging for the Guardian ahead of the November mid-term elections. The fact that it’s been so late in being put up here is because of my uselessness, not hers. Danielle … Continue reading →

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An exploration through the turd-strewn swamp that is the “Ground Zero Mosque” Debate

Posted on August 26, 2010 by paperbackrioter

There have been two stories floating around the news agenda recently that I have wanted to write about. It’s taken this long because I only got round to watching Richard Dawkins’s documentary on Tuesday. The two incidents are useful to … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreign Affairs, Politics, Religion | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Guest Post – Iraq: The End?

Posted on August 20, 2010 by paperbackrioter

Hannah might be on holiday at the moment, but her dedication to Paperback Rioter remains. Here’s her take on the American withdrawal from Iraq: I’m on holiday in Paris at the moment.  So far we`ve managed to visit most of … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreign Affairs, Guest Post, Hannah | Tagged , , | 1 Comment