The wisdom of whales · 2009-07-23
Some people think whales are superior to us. Whereas we make shiny tools, cetaceans concentrate on socialising. While we consider it intelligent to manipulate our world, they are content to live in harmony with theirs.
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Four days in Germany · 2008-08-28
A salutary moment has arrived in the world of train travel. There is a second way of getting from France to Germany.
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Too much of a good thing · 2008-06-15
I have a happy confession to make. My opinions are still shifting. “Happy”? Well, everyone knows that only idiots don’t change their minds.
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Rights and wrongs in Kosovo · 2007-12-19
What example might the precedent of Kosovan independence set in Bosnia, in the Caucasus, in Cyprus, in Spain – in Belgium, even? Is it a good idea to encourage these various simmering national grievances? Is statehood really the inevitable destiny of every single nation?
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Travelog from the western Balkans · 2007-08-22
Bosnia is in the middle of Europe but you wouldn’t know it. The wilderness landscapes are stunning, and the little towns we pass seem oddly foreign – blighted by ad hoardings, Wild-West-style, none of which are for familiar brands. There are minarets everywhere. 1 in 10 of the cars on the road are foreign, but it doesn’t look like tourists.
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A study of citizen journalism · 2007-02-07
“Le journalisme citoyen va-t-il remplacer les médias traditionnels? Enjeux et prédictions.” That’s the title of my recently-completed masters thesis. It’s an analysis of collaborative online journalism – from Slashdot to Digg by way of wikis and the blogosphere.
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A tale of two football matches · 2006-07-02
Every free-kick and corner won is greeted by mad applause and chants of “Zi-zou!” and “Ri-bé-ry!”.
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It's not that bad · 2006-05-28
You may have gathered that France is going through a difficult patch right now. To the dogs, even. Well don’t believe it – it’s rubbish.
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In praise of pigeons · 2006-02-15
Pigeons are the only animals that most of us see every day, so it seems strange to me that no one knows the first thing about them.
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Constitution wars · 2005-05-05
As ever, it is so much easier to say “no” and to condemn than it is to be in favour of something – especially something flawed like this Constitution.
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Treatise on anti-Americanism · 2004-11-28
America is the world’s original popular democracy. It is therefore – despite its unpleasant, violent edge – about as unthreatening as an empire will ever be.
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Travelog from Central Europe · 2004-08-19
In Ljubljana I set myself the challenge of going three days without hearing another native English-speaker. This is tricky anywhere nowadays, but I calculated that in rural Hungary I would have as much chance as anywhere – and so far I have indeed heard none. But listening to the passers-by in Pécs I begin to wonder: does Hungarian sound like English?
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For its citizens only · 2003-12-30
The three ‘republican values’ are all revered in France. Every French person knows which country it was that invented the culture of rights – to ‘liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression’, specifically, according to the 1789 Déclaration des droits de l’homme. 215 years of law-making later and the values of the French revolution are more deeply embedded in French culture than ever.
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Conspiracy theories · 2003-03-10
So the USA is about to attack Iraq. It’s blatant imperialist aggression, blood for oil, the end of the United Nations, etc etc.
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Religion, French style · 2002-12-26
The Eglise Saint Sulpice, which from the outside looks like a cross between Notre Dame and the Parthenon, is impressively cavernous in the feeble candle-light of midnight mass. I and my fellow mass-goers are successfully awed like countless before us. In 2002 however, it seems the awe quickly wears off.
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Dispatch from Dresden · 2002-08-12
It’s been a real Mini Adventure and it’s nearly over. I’ve just arrived in Dresden, where they seem to be in the middle of a Noah’s-Ark-style flood. It’s been raining on a biblical scale all day, the river Elbe has burst its banks, and I am soaking – and that’s from doing nothing but cowering in shops.
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Boring is good · 2002-04-01
Everyone likes democracy. In the same way that everyone supports the national football team, we all agree that democracy is a good thing. So why don’t people vote?
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Hard choices in Kosovo · 1999-04-01
When will liberals learn to stand up for their values? We saw it throughout the Cold War, in Iraq, and now over the Balkans. Western liberals and left-wingers, particularly Europeans, fail to appreciate that the values they hold as their own are not indestructible. Occasionally, just occasionally, they need defending.
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CRX appeal · 1998-09-20
I like the Honda CRX MkI. It’s a perfect example of late 80s Japanese chic; inversely proportional in size and elegance to the prehistoric mobile phone carried by its brassy yuppie owner, shortly to lose his job in the recession.
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