Ever Since The Destruction Of Baghdad By

Economists, Like Royal Children, Are Not Punished For Their Errors.

A Century Ago, Petroleum - What We Call Oil - Was Just An Obscure Commodity; Today It Is Almost As Vital To Human Existence As Water.

Saudi Arabia Is A Puritanical State That Claims A Monopoly Of Wisdom And Virtue.

One Of The Admirable Features Of British Novelists Is That They Have No Scruple About Setting Their Stories In Foreign Settings With Wholly Foreign Personnel.

Governments Of Rich Countries Spend Some $6bn Of Tax Money A Year On Disaster Relief And Development Aid Overseas, While Each New Earthquake, Famine Or Tidal Wave Can Attract 1,000 Aid Organisations, From The United Nations Children's Fund And Oxfam To The 'jesus Brigades' Of The American South And Other Charitable Adventurers.