John Slinger
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- Chair and co-founder of Pragmatic Radicalism
- Labour Party activist
- Strategic communications consultant
- Writer (I blog here)
- Interested in all things political, especially foreign affairs.
- Sometime musician on keys, guitar and violin (former keyboard player in The 7.20s).

Blog Entries by John Slinger

More Than Words Required to Make Responsibility to Protect a Reality

(1) Comments | Posted October 8, 2012 | 6:05 AM

I'm going to start this speech off in an unusual way - by quoting some lyrics in rock band Extreme's biggest hit - MORE THAN WORDS: "More than words is all you have to do to make it real".

To misquote the Bible...justice cannot live by words alone. The...

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Olympic Heroics Contrasts With International Weakness over Syria

(24) Comments | Posted August 6, 2012 | 5:36 AM

The immense strength and courage of the Olympic athletes and moral potency of the Olympic ideals of fair play and common humanity are in stark contrast to the practical and moral weakness of leading powers and the UN over Syria. In a parallel universe, leopards change their spots, shun the...

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Damascus Volcano Hastens the Defeat of Assad and Realpolitik

(8) Comments | Posted July 20, 2012 | 11:30 AM

The rebels' ability to strike at the heart of the Syrian regime's feared security apparatus, to battle its troops in Damascus and take control of border crossings, in a coordinated, well-planned and executed campaign, shows that Assad is doomed.

The 'Damascus Volcano' has not only left the regime reeling,...

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Planning Reform? Look to West Bank to See How to Tackle a Housing Crisis

(0) Comments | Posted March 31, 2012 | 4:31 PM

Last week, the Government published its new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Most commentators claim that they have squared the circle by protecting the green belt whilst simultaneously giving a presumption in favour of sustainable development.

Yet we know in our hearts that a squared circle is not just oxymoronic...

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'Responsibility to Protect' is Sacrificed to Realpolitik by a Morally Weak Transatlantic Alliance

(5) Comments | Posted March 18, 2012 | 7:00 PM

If the brave reporting of the late Marie Colvin and her colleagues wasn't enough, an analogy may illuminate the moral cowardice of the international community's response in Syria.

Imagine a team of heavily-armed police officers in a park witnessing an unarmed woman being raped by a smaller group of lightly-armed...

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