My country, always wrong
There is a strong cultural divide between the east and the west of Europe: You can reasonably assume that countries not polled in the east would mostly be in the …
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Fictional Ruthenia & Galicia – and real Ukraine
Twelve years ago I wrote my second novel. The action took place in an Eastern European magic kingdom, superimposed in another dimension over what is, in this world, western Ukraine, …
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The friend of my enemy is not my enemy
I remember fondly the times when the small states of Eastern and Central Europe enjoyed a near universal support among the American right in their aspirations for independence and freedom, …
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Ukraine 3 (updated)
Coverage continues. Top illustration: the Polish convoy with military supplies for Ukraine. 2:53PM: Amid many speculations, multiple sources say the decision has been made — and as soon as on …
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Ukraine 2 (updated)
More rolling coverage and snippets from social media (graphic by Imogene Salva) 2:15PM: Poland is supplying Ukraine with military supplies free of charge, including a Polish equivalent of “Stinger” missiles. …
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Ukraine (updated)
Disjointed thoughts at a tragic time, progressively updated: Putin is invading Ukraine – not just sending “peacekeepers” into the breakaway pro-Russia regions in the east of the country – in …
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Why the elites heart China
While the eyes of the world remain firmly focused on eastern Europe and the very real prospect of a major conventional war between Russia and Ukraine brought about by Putin’s …
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How P J O’Rourke saved my life
Since I was 5 I have bought and read thousands of books. I can’t tell you when or where I had acquired a particular tome on my shelves – it all …
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Every knee shall bend
Jennifer Say is a former Olympic gymnast who pivoted into fashion. After working for Levi jeans for twenty years, most recently as its global brand president, Say has been forced …
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The Monthly Chrenk
I know, I know, I’m sorry. On the oft-chance you have been popping in since late October to check in on any new musings and ravings, you would have been …
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Envy – the deadly sin of radical politics
I don’t know about money, but in the twentieth century envy has been the source of all evil, or at least most of it. It was envy that motivated the …
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Arthur and the Giant Bitch
Four days ago, I threatened to kill James Bond. Twitter banned me for it. Or at least that’s what it might seem like. What really happened was this post from …
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Want to save the planet, go nuclear
Amidst general gloom and doom, a small ray of light, showing that sometimes scare campaigns and endless demonisation does not work. This from polling published today by Essential about Australian …
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What if you staged a provocation and nobody came? A comedy in four acts
Hard lessons of January 6 have been learned and the September 18 rally at the US Capitol, ostensibly in the cause of those still held without charge for their Congressional …
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Heroes of Zero
Absolutism is stalking the land. Extreme policies are being proposed and justified as the only possible response considering the supposedly extreme nature of the circumstances they relate to. To paraphrase Barry Goldwater, …
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Galapagos of fear
The other day, my old blogging friends from the Manhattan Institute have asked me to explain to their American readers what the heck is happening in Australia. This is what …
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Livin’ in a left-wing psychodrama
I have a good news and a bad news. The good news is that we have managed to survive four years of the left fantasising and cosplaying “the Resistance” against …
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No more good news from Afghanistan
It’s not true that failure is an orphan. Afghanistan today is like Freddy Krueger, “the son of a hundred homicidal maniacs”, whose nurse mother was gang raped by inmates of a …
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If it’s up to health experts, we will never leave COVID restrictions
If it’s up to our health experts – doctors, scientists and researchers, administrators and bureaucrats – we will never return to the “old normal”. If it’s up to our health …
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