Over the last month or so, we've kept you up to date on the spate of attacks on Ban Ki-moon's leadership at the UN and his responses. Ban's willingness to...
Richard Gowan
Richard Gowan coordinates the International Security Institutions program at the Center on International Cooperation, New York University. He is also the UN Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and an associate of the Foreign Policy Center (London).
North Korea’s secret weapon!
Who do you think wrote this poem? "My Ideal World." It begins: "If I had my ideal world I would not allow weapons and atom bombs anymore. I would destroy all...
Urban farming fantasies (survivalism gets hip)
Yesterday, I visited Brooklyn's Rooftop Farms, one of the best ideas to come to fruition (literally) in recession-era New York. It's, er, a farm on a rooftop...
Ladies’ Ban
It's the 15th Non-Aligned First Ladies Summit this week! (You knew that.) And guess which smooth-talker had this to say: I participated this morning in the...
Ban Ki-moon: analyst, nostalgist or leader?
Ban Ki-moon has given a long and enlightening interview to the Wall Street Journal (which duly responded by publishing a rather mean article about his time as...
Everything Sarah Palin has done, ever
From the Wasilla Frontiersman, Sarah Palin's hometown newspaper: To the editor: I am a supporter of Gov. Palin from Staten Island, N.Y., and blog exclusively...
Three years to go till World War III (max)
Is Afghanistan just the prologue? The Times of India thinks so: A leading defence expert has projected that China will attack India by 2012 to divert the...
G8 update: Sarkozy, Berlusconi seize Medvedev and drag him to jail, 1930s-style
What on earth is going on here? The only reasonable interpretation is that our leaders are attempting to re-enact a scene from Michael Mann's excellent 1930s...
Italy: great in the G8 and on the plate
Further to Alex's grovel below, it's time for me to clarify my position on Italy's place in the G8. Yes, I was the one named source in the Guardian's piece...
World leaders change. Clichés endure.
Ban Ki-moon has come out fighting against recent criticism in a pretty strong interview with AP. But I'd hoped not to hear this cliché about leading the UN...
G8 update: Sarkozy thrilled to see Obama’s pen
Full-scale photo here.
G8 gets off to a brilliant start
Bugger: The world’s major industrial nations and emerging powers failed to agree Wednesday on significant cuts in heat-trapping gases by 2050, unraveling an...
Ban Ki-moon: subject of a Jewish plot? (No.)
Last month, I gave a quick overview of media coverage of Ban Ki-moon as he reached the half-way point in his term at the UN. There've been positive pieces...
Patriotism + fighting malaria + Diddy = a piss-up
If one man can see the links between global health risks and national security, it's Diddy: “Official Vodka of Summer” and Diddy Celebrate Military Service...
Killer (probably not) in the rain
Raymond Chandler got it wrong: In fact, an analysis by The New York Times of rainfall and homicides for the last six years shows that when it rains...
How not to write a newspaper headline
From the Press Association, a headline to thrill the dullest reader: UN chief to attend committee
Ants!
From the BBC, something to make you feel a bit icky: A single mega-colony of ants has colonised much of the world, scientists have discovered. Argentine ants...
Earth to Russia: mumbo-jumbo is not a foreign policy
From a new op-ed by Dmitri Rogozin, Russia's ambassador to NATO, on the "abduction of Europa": Today, the identity of the west is being challenged by colossal...
Ban Ki-moon: “noodge” or gambler?
Next week, Ban Ki-moon reaches the halfway point in his term as UN Secretary-General. There's been a trickle of negative stories of late about his...
Jackson tributes: Chavez, Marcos and 1,500 prancing prisoners
Yesterday, David picked up on a fake tribute to the late Michael Jackson from "David Miliband". Here are some tributes, culled by the New York Times, that...
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