February 13, 2010

Malta: Some notes from the conference, tweeting, etc

I have wifi inside the conference hall here, which is nice. I did a bit of tweeting already-- here. The appearance of the US ambassador here just now was interesting....
Posted by Helena Cobban at 05:23 AM | Fulltext link (2 comments)

In Malta, discussing Jerusalem

Well, on Thursday I was finally able to get out of Washington... I had a long layover in Munich yesterday and got here to Malta, to the U.N. conference on...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 03:52 AM | Fulltext link (1 comments)

November 15, 2009

CNI study-tour blogging at FPFD

Just a reminder to all readers to check out my/our new blog, "Fair Policy, Fair Discussion", which now has five or six posts that are quick takes on what we've...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 11:42 AM | Fulltext link (9 comments)

October 22, 2009

That corporate thang

Well, it's been quite the mindshift transplant for me the past couple of days, getting my head around budgets, HR policies, management structures, etc in my speedily assumed new job...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 09:40 PM | Fulltext link (0 comments)

June 07, 2009

First-day thoughts: My latest trip

One cool thing about Quakers is that, by tradition, we don't use the Nordic/pagan names of the days of the week that are common in western society, but use a...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 03:18 PM | Fulltext link (7 comments)

May 22, 2009

IPS piece on Turkey's role in region, world

... is here. Also here. We're on our way to Ankara, going via Bursa, which was the Ottomans' capital for many years before, finally, they were able to figure out...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 05:05 AM | Fulltext link (35 comments)

Transit systems, Turkey

I'm writing-- and also, crucially, posting-- this while traveling on a Nilufer long-distance bus from Istanbul to Bursa. We were promised wireless on the bus; and yes, here it is....
Posted by Helena Cobban at 05:01 AM | Fulltext link (3 comments)

May 19, 2009

Open Thread, Istanbul, London

Hi, all. I'm in Turkey for a couple of weeks on a great trip that combines some good time with the spouse (to celebrate our 25th anniversary) and some good...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 02:59 AM | Fulltext link (16 comments)

May 02, 2009

Some notes from UNESCO klatch, Doha

I got into the hotel at 1:30 a.m. last night, grabbed five hours sleep, wrote my presentation for the conference I'm at, which is jointly hosted by UNESCO and the...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 05:06 PM | Fulltext link (9 comments)

March 01, 2009

Another day in Jerusalem, with some walking

More blustery and foul, rainy weather in Jerusalem today. In the morning I did great back-to-back interviews with Naomi Chazan and Yigal Kipnis. Naomi's the Chair of the Meretz Party,...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 11:41 AM | Fulltext link (6 comments)

February 26, 2009

A walk in West Jerusalem

I woke to sun, blue skies, and a light breeze here in Jerusalem today. My first appointment was with Daphna Golan, a veteran leader of the Israeli peace movement who...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 07:56 AM | Fulltext link (17 comments)

February 05, 2009

Gaza ceasefire-consolidation talks update

I've been busy recently: I've been in New York with editors and (separately) the new grandbaby... Also, preparing for my next reporting trip to the Middle East, which starts this...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 11:10 AM | Fulltext link (2 comments)

January 10, 2009

Going to Syria

This afternoon I'm leaving for Syria. I'm part of a delegation of (non-governmental) US citizens-- most of whom are considerably closer to the "Establishment" here than I am-- whose goal...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 11:44 AM | Fulltext link (18 comments)

October 17, 2008

I'm traveling. Your open thread

... is here. By the way, I've been in the Pacific Northwest of the US for two days. Fabulous. San Fran tomorrow....
Posted by Helena Cobban at 11:00 PM | Fulltext link (7 comments)

October 15, 2008

Notes from Southern California

Coming here has reminded me (again) of what a huge, diverse country this is. First observation: There are almost no public signs here that there's a national election afoot, whereas...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 11:39 AM | Fulltext link (5 comments)

April 04, 2008

A week in the west (and drama in Salt Lake City)

I got back to DC yesterday after a week in the western portion of this fine North American continent of ours. I started off (as previously noted) at a couple...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 04:09 PM | Fulltext link (2 comments)

January 18, 2008

Beirut, briefly

I'm in Beirut, briefly and very busily. Tomrrow is Ashura here. Interesting. I have a lot of work to catch up with here, then return to Damascus Sunday for a...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 07:31 AM | Fulltext link (4 comments)

April 12, 2007

Lille, London, the art of global conquest

I'm in Lille, in northern France, where I'm teaching a two-week course on Transitional Justice at the city's Institut des Etudes Politiques (Sciences-Po). It seems like hard work but the...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 02:30 PM | Fulltext link (9 comments)

March 15, 2007

London, Coventry, (Oxford)

I haven't posted much here lately... Mostly because I've been busy catching up with old friends and colleagues here in England, and also traveling around a little and meeting some...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 05:30 AM | Fulltext link (5 comments)

March 07, 2007

Thoughts on traveling to London

Posted by Helena Cobban at 10:27 AM | Fulltext link (46 comments)

February 27, 2007

Returning to Damascus

Posted by Helena Cobban at 04:15 PM | Fulltext link (11 comments)

February 11, 2007

A few random notes from Cairo

1. We're staying in "Garden City", a portion of the near-downtown that used to be filled with very gracious 1930s-style Art Deco homes. Now, few of those remain, and they're...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 03:53 PM | Fulltext link (6 comments)

January 02, 2007

New Year developments

May 2007 be the year in which the US citizenry and all the other peoples of the world turn significantly away from its reliance on violence of all kinds: physical...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 03:27 PM | Fulltext link (4 comments)

November 01, 2006

Travel, conference, disutility of war

The conference in Amman on nonviolent leadership was incredibly moving and absorbing. So much so that I didn't get a moment to blog for most of that time. I'm on...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 07:50 PM | Fulltext link (3 comments)

October 28, 2006

UNU conference in Amman

The conference is totally awesome. Today we heard an Indian Gandhi scholar called Dr GK Prasad talk about Gandhi's legacy; veteran US civil rights activist Michael Simmons talk about Martin...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 05:29 PM | Fulltext link (0 comments)

July 15, 2006

Netherlands, art, jurisprudence, etc

We're in Amsterdam at nearly the end of our fabulous summer trip. It was good to start in Venice and end here. Both cities have a lot in common. Not...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 09:54 AM | Fulltext link (5 comments)

June 28, 2006

Birthplace of the European Ascendancy

Posted by Helena Cobban at 04:13 PM | Fulltext link (12 comments)

March 07, 2006

More Gaza

Well, guess who I've been hanging out with in Gaza these past couple of days... If you guessed Ismail Haniyeh, well yes, you could be right. (Did you see this...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 09:18 AM | Fulltext link (51 comments)

February 28, 2006

Tel Aviv etc.

Yesterday morning I wrote a long piece for Salon-- putting in a lot more of my Dore Gold material along with the Dr. Mahmoud Ramahi material and a bunch of...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 02:26 PM | Fulltext link (39 comments)

February 26, 2006

Life, logistics, Jerusalem

I am still waiting for my Israeli press card to come through! This is a pain, as I can't get to Gaza without it. But tomorrow I'm going down to...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 04:04 PM | Fulltext link (21 comments)

September 21, 2005

Not in Kansas

Guess who....
Posted by Helena Cobban at 07:19 AM | Fulltext link (1 comments)

September 17, 2005

Strategic Studies in Geneva

The blogosphere is a pretty amazing place. I've been at the annual (or actually not-quite-annual) conference of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, here in Geneva. The IISS is a...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 04:25 PM | Fulltext link (5 comments)