About
The blog is called Celleno because that is where my heart is and where I try to spend time away from the hurly-burly of Washington DC and London — and away from the deadline demands of new and old media, advocacy and journalism. Celleno is a small hilltop Lazio village along the heights running north from Viterbo and heading into Umbria. When I am not there ( and because of the internet sometimes when I am there) I work as a media and political counsel for an international non-profit after having stints doing similar work for an international think-tank and the UN. But my background is journalism, mainly political and business journalism and most of my career was spent as a foreign correspondent covering politics, economics and conflict in the US, West and Central Europe and the Middle East and with time spent on the Indian sub-continent and in Africa and Latin America. I was mainly a newspaperman — for The Times, Sunday Telegraph, the Scotsman Group, Glasgow Herald, Irish Sunday Tribune, Bonnier, Washington Times and New York Sun. Now, I am as much new media as old media.
The author is Jamie Dettmer
It’s good to see your material again after a gap of several years. I remember what a terrific job you did reporting on the corruption in the US Customs Service on the southern border. Your investigations for Insight Magazine boldly went where no one else dared to go.
Perhaps you could do an article or two comparing what you found then with what is happening with the Department of Homeland Security now? You would appear to be uniquely situated to comment on Janet Napolitano’s qualifications to defend western civilization from terrorism, not to mention Alan Bersin’s imitation of Hop Along Cassidy in the old days as US Attorney in San Diego. I don’t recall you having any reluctance to imbarass idiots in the past, please feel free to continue to do so again.
Jamie, it’s been a long time. Good to see you are still active. Do get in touch. Will be in Washington DC in April and it would be good to see you again!
Nigel Williamson
Active in all kinds of ways. Should be in DC in April but split my time between DC, Rome and London. E-mail me — jamiedettmer@hotmail.com