It’s almost 2019 and this is still the best YouTube clip of the decade…maybe of the millennium. Dr. Finkelstein speaking the truth…
Politics
Run for the Stronghold
From the Thunderheart soundtrack. A great film.
Palestine is Still the Issue — John Pilger
An excellent 2002 documentary Palestine is Still the Issue from legendary journalist and filmmaker John Pilger. Sixteen years later, the illegal Israeli occupation and daily torment of the Palestinian people continues. In the words of U2, “How long, how long, how long must we sing this song?”
This well-made documentary is well worth watching.
Diplomacy and Empathy
A good diplomat will always try to put himself in the position of the person with whom he is negotiating, to understand his objectives and needs, and try to imagine what he would wish, do, and say, under those circumstances.
— Satow’s Diplomatic Practice
Perspective
One of the main purposes of university education is to escape from the Zeitgeist, from the mean, narrow, provincial spirit which is constantly assuring us that we are at the peak of human achievement, that we stand on the edge of unprecedented prosperity or unparalleled catastrophe…It is a liberation of the spirit to acquire perspective…to learn that the same moral predicaments and the same ideas have been explored before.
— Martin Wight
The Nuances of Diplomacy
Diplomatists are specialists in precise and accurate communication. They are more than mere couriers or heralds; they are experts in detecting and conveying nuances of international dialogue, are equipped not merely to deliver a message but to judge the language in which it should be couched, the audience to whom and the occasion at which it should be presented.
–Hedley Bull
