In 1971 a young man from Liverpool named John Lennon wrote a song called Imagine. You may be relieved to know I am not going to sing it, but the last verse reads: You may say I’m a dreamer, But I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us And the world will live as one. There remain …
Winning the Race
“It was sure great to meet you and maybe we can catch up in London. Have a nice day”, said the slim young man. We were walking into an international leaders’ breakfast in the Hilton Hotel, Washington DC. We didn’t know each other, but shook hands and exchanged a short greeting. I did not think much more of it. A few …
Will it be Oilright?
Government ministers are experts at saying dumb things. On 20 January, in a House of Commons debate about the oil industry, David Mundell MP stated boldly: “We can deal with the volatility of oil prices and continue to provide the stable regime that is so important to the industry”. Just 48 hours later the death of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia provoked an immediate rise in oil prices and sent the …
War Hoarse
“We don’t need to escalate; you see war is not the answer”. These lyrics were written by soul legend Marvin Gaye, for his classic “What’s Going On” album in 1971. Sadly, we did not heed his warning. When Tony Blair became British Prime Minister in 1997 he had no previous ministerial experience. Yet by the time he left Downing Street in 2007, he had led Britain into 5 wars. Although …