You first hit my radar thanks to your book on Maggie Thatcher. Her official Bio was too damn long, and too boring, while yours was a fun read and fresh perspective.
1. After finishing your book, were you less or more impressed with her than when you started?.
2. What would she say today about state of UK politics and the Tories?
3. What do you think, she'd be doing differently in Ukraine?
Boggle! One of our favorite travel games. Can be played in any language. The clatter of the dice followed by silent concentration is guaranteed to entice fellow plane or train mates to inquire and join in.
Claire, you wrote a few years back about how various European cities were handling Muslim immigrants. Do you see a change; have European cities become more of less welcoming and tolerant? What do you foresee as climate change, civil war, famine, and terrorism drive desperate people to migrate?
I think visiting the locations you deem the best from the linked list qualifies easily as a worthy [side-] endeavor of the upcoming 1st Annual CG Symposium.
Have you seen Mrs. Davis? https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14759574/ It's a dark comedy about a nun who refuses to give in to the AI that's taken over the world. It's absolutely hilarious, and it's really interesting to watch with your AI articles still rattling around in the back of my head.
Compare and contrast the novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy with the TV series version (starring Alec Guinness) and the film version (starring Gary Oldman).
Dear Claire, Please explain the global eruptions of violent tribalism: The Problem with No Name. Three years ago, you associated Gilets Jaunes, Brexit, and Trump (and other eruptions). You described their similarities. Since then, destructive protests and political polarization have only increased. Please explain the powerful causes afflicting the whole world, seemingly threatening liberal democracy and beyond. Previously, you included psychoanalytic underpinnings and the advent of social media. What is your revised model of The Problem with No Name?
IIRC, Claire's first novel, Loose Lips" was set —more or less— in the CIA's (or some similar three-letter outfit's) boot camp. No doubt their real-world recruiters would be hot to get their dibs into a sharp cookie US national Oxbridge Ph. D. Autobiographical? If so, who pulled the plug on that attractive career option?
Aaron, I’m very happy to hear that. What amazed me about that book is that he made that trek when he was in his 80s. His other books are equally good especially “Shadow of the Silk Road” and “To A Mountain in Tibet.” See,
(1) What do you think the prospects are for liberal democracy spreading into the parts of the world where it currently doesn't exist? To what extent, if at all, should the US be a midwife to this process, via its military?
(2) I would like to see a detailed list of what Viktor Orban in Hungary has done, that you condemn. Specifics.
I'm sure I speak for all, or almost all, subscribers in saying you are NEVER stale. No one can run 100% foot-to-the-floorboard day after day. The variation itself is interesting.
I am a snapper-up of -- well, not unconsidered, but not considered systematically -- trifles. Well, not trifles either, but information that is not fully available in the things I normally read [Almost the whole conservative press, and a fair amount of the Left).
When you wrote that bit on Orban, my attention was no doubt elsewhere. Now I'm trying to figure out Hungary. And OF COURSE I want to know what Claire Berlinski has or had to say about it. You're practically your own political tendency. (When I recommend your site to others, and try to characterize you ... "Well, a bit neo-connish ... but not really ... definitely for liberal democracy ... an optimist... wrote a great bio of Margaret Thatcher... has a coterie -- or associates -- who know all about nplaces in the world you've almost never heard of ... go on, you'll be hooked!" )
You first hit my radar thanks to your book on Maggie Thatcher. Her official Bio was too damn long, and too boring, while yours was a fun read and fresh perspective.
1. After finishing your book, were you less or more impressed with her than when you started?.
2. What would she say today about state of UK politics and the Tories?
3. What do you think, she'd be doing differently in Ukraine?
What do you mean by "Caesarism?" Do you distinguish it from fascism?
Raven, I wanted to quickly point out that I wrote a multipart series introducing and discussing this concept here: https://claireberlinski.substack.com/?sort=search&search=caesars. No, it's not fascism.
Boggle! One of our favorite travel games. Can be played in any language. The clatter of the dice followed by silent concentration is guaranteed to entice fellow plane or train mates to inquire and join in.
Claire, you wrote a few years back about how various European cities were handling Muslim immigrants. Do you see a change; have European cities become more of less welcoming and tolerant? What do you foresee as climate change, civil war, famine, and terrorism drive desperate people to migrate?
This is a great question and I'm putting it in the "worth a whole essay" category.
Wow, many excellent questions. I will add mine to the mix; please file it under your category, "French Culture and Politics"...
38 separate locations await your discovery at this link
https://www.davidlebovitz.com/paris-pastry-shops-chocolate-bakeries-patisseries-french-france/
01. How many, if any, have you sampled?
02. Which, if any, can you second?
I think visiting the locations you deem the best from the linked list qualifies easily as a worthy [side-] endeavor of the upcoming 1st Annual CG Symposium.
Have you seen Mrs. Davis? https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14759574/ It's a dark comedy about a nun who refuses to give in to the AI that's taken over the world. It's absolutely hilarious, and it's really interesting to watch with your AI articles still rattling around in the back of my head.
What's the best neighborhood in Paris to rent an Airbnbnb?
Compare and contrast the novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy with the TV series version (starring Alec Guinness) and the film version (starring Gary Oldman).
How are your kitties doing?
What are some of the loveliest places you've visited?
What might Socrates (or Plato) have said about today's international headlines?
Real question that I've been wrestling with for months.
What do you think about the American “pediatric-Trans” medical pathway? Legitimate or not?
Dear Claire, Please explain the global eruptions of violent tribalism: The Problem with No Name. Three years ago, you associated Gilets Jaunes, Brexit, and Trump (and other eruptions). You described their similarities. Since then, destructive protests and political polarization have only increased. Please explain the powerful causes afflicting the whole world, seemingly threatening liberal democracy and beyond. Previously, you included psychoanalytic underpinnings and the advent of social media. What is your revised model of The Problem with No Name?
Could you give us a list of your favorite spy novelists with some notes on why you like them?
If you’ll take some recommendations from a reader of Claire’s, you might like “A Spy Among Friends”
https://www.amazon.com/Spy-Among-Friends-Philby-Betrayal-ebook/dp/B00I7696IG/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=1BZGV4ZTDWVPW&keywords=a+spy+among+friends+by+ben+macintyre+kindle&qid=1689966648&sprefix=a+spy+among+friends+by+ben+macintyre%2Caps%2C177&sr=8-1
and “The Spy and the Traitor”
https://www.amazon.com/The-Spy-and-Traitor-Ben-Macintyre-audiobook/dp/B07DHR7427/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=tXbax&content-id=amzn1.sym.a6902a35-db15-41bc-b73e-8acb54939e9e&pf_rd_p=a6902a35-db15-41bc-b73e-8acb54939e9e&pf_rd_r=146-8388410-8347763&pd_rd_wg=Vp7RX&pd_rd_r=c6f3b18f-75f9-42ea-8f3d-b7dea9349a49&ref_=aufs_ap_sc_dsk
Both are by Ben McIntyre and they aren’t novels but true stories. They are as riveting as any novel.
IIRC, Claire's first novel, Loose Lips" was set —more or less— in the CIA's (or some similar three-letter outfit's) boot camp. No doubt their real-world recruiters would be hot to get their dibs into a sharp cookie US national Oxbridge Ph. D. Autobiographical? If so, who pulled the plug on that attractive career option?
Btw I read Colin Thurston’s “The Amur River” which you recommended some time ago, and quite enjoyed it.
Aaron, I’m very happy to hear that. What amazed me about that book is that he made that trek when he was in his 80s. His other books are equally good especially “Shadow of the Silk Road” and “To A Mountain in Tibet.” See,
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Colin-Thubron/author/B000AP88L8?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true
Lin Wood defended Richard Jewell, but did RFK Jr really lead prosecution of Hudson River contamination, or was he just a front?
(1) What do you think the prospects are for liberal democracy spreading into the parts of the world where it currently doesn't exist? To what extent, if at all, should the US be a midwife to this process, via its military?
(2) I would like to see a detailed list of what Viktor Orban in Hungary has done, that you condemn. Specifics.
I'm sure I speak for all, or almost all, subscribers in saying you are NEVER stale. No one can run 100% foot-to-the-floorboard day after day. The variation itself is interesting.
This one:
https://claireberlinski.substack.com/p/new-caesars-hungary-edition-part
https://claireberlinski.substack.com/p/new-caesars-hungary-edition-part-41a?utm_source=%2Fsearch%2Fhungary&utm_medium=reader2
I've also written about him here:
https://claireberlinski.substack.com/p/orbans-grotesque-speech?utm_source=%2Fsearch%2Fhungary&utm_medium=reader2
https://claireberlinski.substack.com/p/dictators-demagogues-and-coming-dark.html?utm_source=%2Fsearch%2Fhungary&utm_medium=reader2
If you've already read all of that and you want even more, your wish is my command -- but I'm surprised by your appetite for my views about Orbán!
I am a snapper-up of -- well, not unconsidered, but not considered systematically -- trifles. Well, not trifles either, but information that is not fully available in the things I normally read [Almost the whole conservative press, and a fair amount of the Left).
When you wrote that bit on Orban, my attention was no doubt elsewhere. Now I'm trying to figure out Hungary. And OF COURSE I want to know what Claire Berlinski has or had to say about it. You're practically your own political tendency. (When I recommend your site to others, and try to characterize you ... "Well, a bit neo-connish ... but not really ... definitely for liberal democracy ... an optimist... wrote a great bio of Margaret Thatcher... has a coterie -- or associates -- who know all about nplaces in the world you've almost never heard of ... go on, you'll be hooked!" )
Anyway, thank you!
Did you read the long article I wrote about Orbán and Orbánism? It was in two or maybe even three parts.